Stanford Arco Auto Care

Simply the best! I haven taken my cars here numerous times, and Mr. Kim is the best mechanic I have ever known. He is incredibly honest, efficient, and speedy. His prices are also great. He has done engine work, oil change, and other repairs on both of my cars, and also given me honest assessments of what work needed to be done. I feel so lucky to have found him, and I could not recommend him more highly.

Mr. Kim is the most knowledgeable, honest, polite and professional mechanic in the area. I’ve been bringing my car to him for regular oil changes and checkups after trying few other places. If anything is wrong with your car/​needs to be replaced, he will let you know whether it should be addressed immediately or in the near future, and never overcharge when he does take care of problems. I also appreciate his well organized, classical music blasting garage.

My go to mechanic in Palo Alto. Always a good interaction.
Friendly Korean gentleman with an impeccable small garage who plays classical music. Has helped me out even before he is about to close and answers casual questions or goes for ridealongs to help diagnose issues.
Also, his prices are totally reasonable.

Have 1 job done under this shop and am thusfar very satisfied. Checked the rates for the same job (replace starter), and his out the door price was on the lower side. More importantly, the main guy (I believe it is Mr. Kim) took the time to explain things and did the job in a full day. He also took in my car after hours (9pm) while he was having dinner.

I’ve been going here to get my car checked out for about 3 years now. He’s straightforward and honest with you about everything he does with your car. Case in point: once, when I took my car in for regular maintenance, he told me that I might need to replace my brakes next time, but that they were fine until then. At the time, I drove pretty infrequently and conservatively, so I probably wore down the brakes less than usual. The next time I showed up, I asked about the brakes and once again he said the same — they’d need replacing next time, but they were currently fine. When my brakes finally did need to be replaced, he let me know and was clear about the price (very reasonable, all things considered). Would recommend in a heartbeat.

I’ve been coming this place for more than 10 years. This time, my car didn’t start in the morning and thought it’s starter problem for various reason. Called him to see if he is available any time soon, but he suggested to check the battery one more time with indoor light on to see if it dims when it starts. I was skeptical because I already tried to jump start it but failed. However, to my surprise, it was indeed the battery problem, and it turns out I didn’t make good contact at first trial. After confirming the problem, I tried to jump start the car again, but more carefully this time, and went to costco to buy a new one. I cannot thank him enough for saving my time and money.

I just came here to check on my Honda accord’s engine indicator light. He was very courteous and helpful with my problem. He even gave me the problem codes based on the diagnostic device he used. Since it was not a major issue, he reset it and told me if it comes back then I probably need to replace oxygen sensor, which does not affect my cars performance. The price was fair and it’s not like other auto shop that often overcharging you or rip you off on services you don’t need. I highly recommend anyone to come here for auto repair or oil change.

I brought my car for oil change and he let me know my car had a problem with a water pump, which was pretty serious. If it were not for him, I would not have known the problem and probably I would have suffered. Since he is a mechanic, he could fix the problem in a day! Thankful for saving me from a lot of trouble :-)

I was so impressed by the quality of service here that I’ve been compelled to leave my first Unilocal review after 3 years of being a lurker. Mr. Kim is fantastic! He’s honest, quick, and courteous.
I called in to get a quote for replacing my front brake pad and discs, and Mr. Kim quoted almost half of what the dealership wanted to charge. I quickly made an appointment.
The following Saturday, I dropped my car off, and he asked me if I had a time I needed it back by. When I told him that any time would be fine and that I’d be going to do work at Starbucks, he immediately expressed concerned about making me wait until his estimate of 2PM (I was in at about 9:30) and wrote down «ASAP» on my paperwork.
Even though I assured him that that 2 was no problem and that I was in no rush (I had a lot of work to do!), I got a call at 1:30 telling me my car was ready! He even offered to come and pick me up!
Overall, a great experience that will leave me recommending Mr. Kim to anyone I know!

Incredibly reliable, affordable, helpful and prompt mechanic. He even tells you when something is unnecessary. He explains everything and doesn’t treat me like an idiot. Excellent!

I brought my car in for a checkup since this is literally right next to my office and I could just work while he looked at my car. I’ve been going to a shop in Sunnyvale and realized it would be much easier just to bring it here.
Since I’m right next to him, I just asked a couple days earlier when would be a good time to bring it in, and he said this coming Thursday he would be free.
He finally fixed the persistent notification lights on my dashboard about the back lights! I’ve been just telling everyone that they are just on and not to worry about it.
Very reasonable prices and super nice, and explained everything on the invoice. Service is also super fast. I even got to practice my Korean with him!
Also, on a different day, he did a quick checkup to see why my brakes were squeaking for free. He just told me to drive around a bit and took a look at them. Mr. Kim is awesome!

I’ve brought my car twice to Mr. Kim.
First time, one of my tail light was out.
Being a n00b at cars, I brought it to Mr. Kim (without an appointment), while he was still busy with other cars.
He quickly checked my lights, replaced the bulb and said «the bulb is $ 10.»
I asked «…that’s all you’re charging?» His response was «that wasn’t much work at all.»
I paid (with tip) and told Mr. Kim that I’ll definitely be coming back to him for a bigger maintenance.
Second time, I brought in my car for a much needed routine maintenance.
This time I made an appointment to come over in the morning.
Mr. Kim carefully discussed the details of the work, gave me two options for the work with estimates, and said if anything comes up he’ll let me know.
He later called me to say one of the brakes probably needed some work and gave me an estimate for that. I agreed to the work.
Anyways, at the end of the day Mr. Kim charged me MUCH LESS than what the estimate was! He simply said «actually there wasn’t much work involved. Your car is in pretty good condition.» Awesomeness.
TL;DR: Mr. Kim is friendly and professional. He does an excellent work and honest about it too.
I’ll be coming back to him as long as I’m in the Bay Area!

Nice honest dude and gave me straight up advice answering my general questions about my car, seems to have a lot of experience and cares about you. Cleared a CEL (gas filler cap cracked) and fixed the electrical snafus at the same time for only $ 20, even though it probably took him 30 – 40 minutes.
Came here on a Thursday at 9:30AM, he was pretty swamped with 3 cars. Tried again Friday at 10:15, was pretty free.
I mentioned some other concerns like the H22 always burning oil and he told me since I had 140K miles on my car the best way was to just live with it — no attempt to do a lot of spurious work.

Really great and reputable mechanic. My car has had suspension problems for a while that made driving in it feel like a roller coaster ride very time. I put off fixing the car until the alternator broke and I had no option. The car is a 2001 civic with only 80,000 miles, but I was considering just scrapping it because of the issues and it’s body damage.
I took the car to Arco just to see what it could cost to fix it and Mr. Kim quoted me a price that was lower than most. He fixed the car really quickly, and also took the time to fix some cosmetic damages to my car that he didn’t charge for. The biggest improvement is unjamming my driver side door which was stuck and couldn’t open.
Mr. Kim won’t rip you off. I went to several mechanics who quoted me much higher prices and told to me to fix parts that weren’t broken. AutoZone quoted me $ 6000 — ridiculous. Mr. Kim is able to have a great business that’s built from his reputation, and I would be willing to recommend anyone to him.

It’s been said before, but I’ll reiterate it since I think Mr. Kim deserves it… this place is very good. I had the horrible misfortune of having the clutch on my car go out the other night and had to take it in to get replaced. Friends had recommended SAAC and it didn’t disappoint. I thoroughly researched how much I should expect to pay for the clutch replacement and Mr. Kim was either right on it, or perhaps slightly below it even, but in addition threw in a free oil filter and oil change. Very nice! Personally, he comes across as a very nice and courteous gentleman who has a lot of integrity, which was really appreciated. I really recommend this place.
Oh, and he gave me lots of advise on what I should and should not do to my car before I sell it soon, as well as some maintenance suggestions. This was all given to me after I paid, and was not done to solicit service for his shop.
Thank you.

The first time I went to this shop I was struck by how willing the owner was to help me and for how little. I have an old Toyota and I always took it into this shop for my regular service. However, I have been experiencing problems with the brakes recently, and the last couple of times I have been in I asked for these to be looked at specifically. The problem was basically this: when breaking slowly, the breaks seemed to be really soft, so I could push the pedal all the way to the floor and my car would only come to a stop slowly, sometimes it would just glide. Pumping the break on the other hand seemed fine. Anyway, every time I took my car into this mechanic, he told me my breaks were like new, so i left happy & with a full wallet.
But then this problem got worse, so I got concerned and took my car into a Toyota dealership. The break fluid was leaking and one of the gaskets on the hydraulic mechanism was out of place. Of course the dealership probably charges above average but they identified a real problem that has consequences on my (and other peoples) safety. So my warning about this place is this: yes it’s cheap and honest, but actually it isn’t thorough, at least not for me on this very important issue.

This place is GREAT! He is a very nice man, he definitely knows what he is doing and he charges a very very fair price! Don’t think I’ll ever go anywhere else again!
I had my broken radiator changed here and he also checked the rest of my car (fluids, tire pressure, lights, etc). Got a recommendation of how to fix my light bulb issue (it keeps turning on and off randomly) and also some advice on my broken AC, which unfortunately is not his specialty (yet I hope!).
I can only recommend going here! The garage is immaculate, he is very friendly, and as I said before, he really knows what he is doing, which is most important.

Ok so May 21, 2011 Judgement Day passed and it turned out to be a bad joke… er, I meant to say ‘mistake’. Let’s just say if it happened for real, and while I would have been easily left behind to fend for myself against the VCs and lawyers in post-​Apocalyptic Palo Alto (I know, Pure Hell), Mr. Kim at Stanford Arco Auto Care would have been one of The Chosen Ones to ascend the heavens. The man is just incredibly courteous, fair, thorough and honest– a true professional. He replaced all front and rear brakes, some metal disc thinga-​mabob that my breaks grinded down on metal-​to-​metal, some brake clasp doohickey, AND happened to notice and replaced a faulty headlight, filthy air filter, and dirty break fluid– all for about $ 430 incl labor and tax. I had called in the morning, left the car there 20 minutes later and the work was completed easily before the end of the work day.
Almost wish my car would break again so I can see Kind Kim again (uh-​oh, just jinxed myself… oh-​well). Just hope October 21 is not for real otherwise I will be out one honest mechanic.

I took the Unilocalers’ advice and called the mechanic here and he gave me a quote that was much cheaper than the other estimates I received to replace my front brakes (between $ 100 and $ 180 cheaper, depending on the estimates from the other places). He told me it would take three hours, and I was handing him my visa card three hours later, on the dot. He was so nice, because he knew I was waiting, he even offered me his car while I was waiting! But I was happy to walk to California street and treat myself to breakfast.
And, I really appreciated that his quote included tax. That never happens. He also checked all my fluid lines and replaced a burned out bulb (that seems to be his thing), all in three hours.
I’ll take my car back here for everything I can!

It’s a pretty big bummer to be a college student far away from home when your car breaks down. Luckily, my dad is a mechanic and was able to locate a good mechanic for me. After growing up with my dad warning me about mechanics trying to cheat you by adding expenses and fixing things that don’t need fixing, it was a relief to be able to trust a one in the area.
My car was overheating and the problem was either the water pump, radiator, or thermostat. When Mr. Kim fixed the radiator and realized that the problem was actually with the water pump, he didn’t try to charge me for the extra labor of putting the old parts back or try to play it off like there was also a problem with the radiator which is what a lot of other mechanics would do. Not only did he fix the overheating, but he also fixed something else free of charge that made my 1994 engine MUCH stronger. It was something small, but I really appreciated it. I am definitely going to go back to him and will strongly recommend him to all of my friends.
The shop is very neat, and seems well taken care of. It is a small place, but perfect for a small business like Mr. Kim’s. If a simple, honest, and helpful mechanic isn’t good enough for you, he has the very reasonable prices.