Nishikawa Auto Service

Out of town here at Here at UCLA Oncology and my car ignition system quit working. just one phone call told them my problem and I feel like they went out of there way to fix my car. This company has true ownership of what they do and how they value the public’s needs .They make you feel like family.
Can’t ask for any better than that.
Thank You Nishikawa Auto SVC INC.

Super nice people. I brought my car in to Nishikawa because Pep Boys on Colorado (don’t go there!) told me that my rear wheel cylinders were leaking and that my rear right brake light was not working and needed to be replaced. I became suspicious when they told me about my brake light because I can see the reflection of the brake lights when I back into my parking at work, and it hadn’t been a problem.
I decided I needed to get a second opinion, so I brought it to Nishikawa. They called me back telling me that everything was fine with the car. The rear wheel cylinders were not leaking, and that the rear light bulb in the brake lights looked as if someone hadn’t screwed it in. They just tightened it for me.
When I got the bill, they didn’t charge me anything. I love this place. I like that they’re honest (unlike Pep Boys) and that they’ll only charge you for things that are actually wrong.
Thanks, Nishikawa Auto Service! You’re awesome.

These guys are the real deal. Thank you Unilocal for steering me to them. My car broke down while I was in Pasadena and AAA gave me a couple of options. I went straight to Unilocal and decided against my options, instead choosing these guy. So glad I did. They were so helpful in diagnosing what was wrong with my car and their customer service is phenomenal. Ultimately I decided to have my car towed back to Hermosa Beach because that’s where I live, but if that were not the case I would have left it with Joe and his awesome team of mechanics. The pricing for my transmission work was more than fair and you’ll get great service. You should definitely consider Nishikawa for any auto repairs.

A front turn-​signal light and back brake light went out simultaneously yesterday on my ’97 Camry, so I thought I’d see if the mechanics at Nishikawa would have time to change them. I told the receptionist that I had previously brought in my car for service; she immediately flagged down a mechanic, and both jobs were done within 5 minutes. When I asked how much I owe, the mechanic told me there was no charge! This used to be the case at Toyota dealers, but hasn’t been for a long time. In fact, once in Monterey we paid a dealer $ 56 to change just one bulb! And we had to wait a half hour.
In short, Nishikawa knows how to treat customers well and create customer loyalty. I will not be using a dealer again any time soon.

They’re a little busy, but they are possibly the best shop I’ve ever come across.
I normally do most work on my cars myself, but while doing my brakes, I came across a couple caliper bracket bolts that were way too firmly locked down. I realized that that I was simply too damn weak to remove them (they’re torqued to something ridiculously high). I couldn’t fit a breaker bar under the car, even with it raised up on jack stands, and my impact wrench is a crappy Harbor Freight one that is worthless. Long story short, I couldn’t get the caliper guide bracket off, and thus I couldn’t change my rotors. Now I needed a shop lift.
You like how I’m being all defensive and trying to emphasize that I do, in fact, know my cars? Manly-​man stuff right there. Anyway, I called up a few body shops and asked how much they’d charge just to swap out the rotors. All the other shops tried to pretend like it was a crazy difficult job (It isn’t. If you’re doing pads anyway, it’s maybe 5 minutes more per axle tops), so I just hung up because I don’t like being lied to. Nishikawa didn’t try to play any games. In fact, I feel like they charged me too little. I’ve done brakes countless times, and it simply isn’t possible to do in as little time as they quoted me for. But they stood by their price. And, as expected, they did take longer (almost twice the time, but still fairly quick). But they didn’t charge me a cent more. In fact, the guy refused to take the tip I tried to hand him. He literally ran away, laughing and saying, «Heyyy I appreciate it man, but I don’t do that! Seriously. Have a good day!»
That’s honesty.

My father owned Overbey Transmission in La Habra which is still there by name because of the reputation he had. The new owners paid for his name. Joe and Dave (Father and Son Proprietors) do business as he did. Honestly and competently, and at a more than fair price. What else could you be looking for in automotive repair.

This is the best auto shop to go to whenever you have car issues! Joe helped me out and he is totally down to earth and friendly! He will tell you the truth about what’s going on with your car and not lie about it like other mechanics! They have a great friendly environment. Best auto shop ever!!!

We’ve only recently started going here, but their service has been great. They took me in last minute because I hit a dip hard and needed some advice. David looked at it right away, assured me it wasn’t a big deal, and fixed what was needed in 30 minutes and sent me on my way. They turned a stressful situation into a smooth fix.

I brought my 2012 Toyota to Nishikawa Auto Service for maintenance instead of taking it to the dealer – I will definitely come here from now on!
I made an appointment for 8am (they open at 7:30). They asked if I was planning to stay in the area to wait, so I think they even tried to get my car done faster. They told me it would be about 1 – 1.5 hours, so I hung out at Starbucks right down the street for the first hour then headed back to wait in their waiting room until it was ready.
In the past, different Toyota dealer locations have told me that my fuel injection had an unusually high amount of carbon build up. I asked Joe to check it out for me to get a second unbiased opinion about it. He looked at it and told me the dealers were likely just trying to squeeze more money out of me because the carbon buildup wasn’t bad at all. He suggested filling up with Costco Premium gas once a month to prevent build up and said that’s what he does with his car.
Thanks, Nishikawa Auto Service!

Joe and his son David run an honest business here. They have fixed a lot of our car problems caused by bad mechanics in the past. They always tell you what is wrong, explain it to you and don’t try to give you services you don’t really need. I appreciate their honesty, hard work and treating me like I know what they are talking about. I have a few co-​workers who also go here and have had the same experience. Highly recommend.

David provided excellent service: gave me a quick estimate, offered a fair price relative to what the dealer wanted to charge, and was extremely accommodating in terms of the timing of our drop off and pick up. He stayed late on NYE so we could come get our car.

HONEST MECHANICS FOUND HERE!!!
«What is that?» (you might be asking) «A paradox?»
I can assure you that this auto repair shop is the real deal when it comes to great mechanics that aren’t trying to take your money while screwing with your car, and Nishikawa will restore your faith in humanity when it comes to dealing with mechanics.
Let me provide a little background information on how I ended up taking my car to this great auto repair shop:
I went to Sears (rip off) to replace a flat tire that I thought was under warranty, but for some reason they decided to also look at my car and see if everything was «running okay.» Sure enough, something was «wrong» with my 2003 Ford Focus, and it was going to cost me about $ 300 to repair all the issues. Ummmm, WHAT?!
Fortunately, I’m not a complete idiot, so I decided to call around Pasadena to see if anybody could beat their prices, and I came across Nishikawa (courtesy of my boyfriend and Unilocal), and I’m so glad I did.
Sears told me that my valve cover gasket — whatever that is — was deteriorating because it was old and fluid was leaking onto other parts in my car; it was also time for a coolant flush)…and that was going to be $ 300ish to fix. Upon calling Nishikawa, I found that Sears was ripping me off in a variety of ways.
I told Nishikawa about the gasket cover issue and the coolant flush — they quoted me only $ 200! (remember, Sears wanted $ 300)
I even mentioned other minor things that seemed off with my car and asked about getting those issues fixed, and including their previous quote of $ 200, I was at a total of $ 270 — STILL better than what Sears was trying to sell me!
I dropped my car off when they opened today (8AM), and there was already a line of people waiting (they’re popular!). I went to pick up my car around 3:15 — 3:30***, and I was astounded to find that I was only charged $ 92!!!
Joe (great guy who worked on my car!) was kind enough to walk me through all the things he quoted me on (that Sears tried to get me to «fix»), and I was pretty pissed to find out that some of the bolts on my expensive-​to-​replace valve cover gasket had «magically» loosened up, and the only way those become loose is if somebody loosens them. WTF!
SO, to condense an already long story/​review:
My car is fine — the bolts just needed to be put back into place. The issues I have with my car are minor, so Joe referred me to a few places I could go to for parts/​services that are reasonable.
I am a happy customer, and for future repairs and maintenance, I will definitely be returning here for the honesty, integrity, and quality of work done by these great mechanics.
***The only little «flaw» this place has is that they’re super, super busy, and if I hadn’t called to check the status of my car, there is a slight possibility I wouldn’t have heard from them by the time they closed (I’m not complaining — just FYI!).
Take your business here and avoid Sears like the bubonic plague!

Took my ’07 BMW to Nishikawas after a recommendation from a friend and I couldn’t be happier! New Century BMW told me I needed to replace my oil pan seal at a cost of $ 1200 and that I needed two parking bulbs replaced as well. When I brought it in to Nishikawas Joe said it was odd that the oil pan seal would need replacing as that is something that they don’t normally need. After checking it out I did NOT need the seal, just a clamp and some tightened bolts, and the two bulbs were fine… total bill, $ 55! They saved me over $ 1100! I won’t be going back to New Century BMW but I will be
Back to Nishikawas Auto Service!

David took care of our car today. Super nice guy. He explained what our 2000 corolla needed. No upselling, just honest, quick, and affordable service. Will definitely be back here for future oil changes, maintenance and repairs if any.

Well, I’ve been taking my 24 year-​old Toyota here for years and never felt ignored or dismissed before last Wednesday, ⁷⁄₉. I don’t know if Joe was having a bad morning or WHAT… my car’s brake lights were not turning «off» and I’d had to disconnect one of the battery terminals the night before so the lights wouldn’t drain the battery. I brought the car in that morning, at 7 a.m. and waited for the shop to open. I told Joe the problem and he thought it was «electrical.» He told me he «didn’t know how long it would take to check out» and couldn’t help beyond that. I asked whether it could be the brake pedal switch (I had read this online) and could he just take a quick look? Nope. He actually suggested that I do it myself!!! Really? I felt very frustrated as I didn’t have all day to wait and meanwhile the brake lights were still «on» wasting battery life. I felt dismissed that Joe could not or would not brainstorm with me a little bit as to what I should do. So I left. No, I did not cuss him out.
I instead called the tire place I had bought tires from years ago and asked if they could help me. They said «bring it on in and we’ll take a look. Sounds like the brake pedal switch.» This place is BRAUN TIRES on Colorado Blvd in Glendale. Dave is the manager and what a sweet man. I was out of there in less than 45 minutes and it turns out that it was the CLIP that holds the brake pedal switch that needed replacing. NOT a problem with the electrical system, Joe!
I really am disappointed that Joe did not take the time to at least check out the brake pedal switch (or have someone else do it) and really feel it was because he may have been in some pain and just didn’t want to crouch down there. But to suggest that a customer do so (who also has joint pain) was ridiculous. Not only that, but a customer who has been loyal for years. I felt I deserved more consideration. I will not be back nor will I be recommending this place any more.

HONEST & FAIR! I needed my A/​C looked at and repaired. I told the repair guy that I wasn’t willing to spend more than a certain amount to get it fixed and for him to let me know how much everything would be. Not only did he call and tell me exactly what was wrong but he also advised me not to get it fixed based off my budget that I told him about up front. He was very kind about it and not pushy at all! When I went in to pick up my car I was expecting a $ 79.99 initial service fee (which I had agreed to– it’s their standard for looking at a car I believe), he told me there was NO CHARGE! I was floored. He said that he didn’t need to charge me that fee because he could tell right away what the problem was and hardly took him any time at all. I would highly recommend this place :)

I’ve been a Nishikawa customer for over 5 years and, like most of the reviewers here, have had uniformly positive experiences.
The highest compliment I can pay Joe and David is that I would (and often do) recommend them to female friends and family members without hesitation, since many auto repair shops (especially dealerships) still try to take advantage of women customers.
(I hope that’s becoming a thing-​of-​the-​past, as more and more dads teach daughters, as well as sons, about basic automotive mechanics and maintenance, how to change a flat, etc.)
David told me that, in fact, majority of their customers are women.
Enough said… two thumbs up!

The only time I get to visit this location is after the sun goes down. No, there isn’t a car project I am participating in unless you consider one that is relatively tall, red paint job, decals, and spits out a lot of tacos. Yes, tacos! That’s all I am good for is consuming tacos. If you don’t like it, there is always another truck a block North up the street. I can only recommend the salsa/​condiments from that other truck.

Friendly owner Joe who readily explains when and why to do or not to do maintenance work. Prices are about half what I get charged at the dealerships.
Wish I found Joe and his team sooner. They not only do great work, but are good people. Great karma!
Tips:
–Closed Sundays and Mondays. Open Tuesdays — Saturdays only.
–Parking is tight. Best to enter workshop going south on Fair Oaks from California. Their business is on the right side.
–Plenty of seating in the office if you’re waiting for your car. Free coffee. Bathroom available. Starbucks down the street.
–If they have someone available, they can drop you off at home or work.
–They will tell you what your car needs and do the non-​warranty work, but then you have to take it back to a dealership if you have warranty coverage. That’s what I was told, but their policy could change. Call Joe to confirm about any warranty service.
–They will reset your dash maintenance lights after service.

Incredible customer service!
One of my headlights was out and since the time change I really needed to get it fixed. I drove down Pasadena Ave to what I thought was an auto repair shop. It wasn’t and decided to Unilocal.Found that Nishikawa Auto was the closest and I could walk back to work… tomorrow, no walking shoes today.
I pulled in behind another car. Waited patiently, while David helped another customer. When he finished I told the customer who was waiting that I only needed 3 minutes. I asked if he could fix my headlight and asked if I could bring it in tomorrow when I would have better shoes to walk to Old Town. He said, «I’ll drop you off at work, I’ll get your information on the way». I moved out of the way of the customer I was blocking and off we went.
On the way I asked what time he closed and he told me 5:00 pm. I was going to have trouble getting there by 5 and having someone drop me off. He said he would come back and pick me up. We made arrangements for 2 pm.
A little after 2 pm, he was there, my car was done. We had a great conversation to and from his place. Outstanding pricing; it was an unimaginable pay it forward moment. I will be back.