Courtesy Tire Center

I come here whenever I need to do any maintenance on my car. Chris is their primary mechanic. He is ASE certified, extremely knowledgeable, and can work with you to get the best price. He is happy to talk with you about cars, especially if you are concerned about a nagging problem, or are looking to buy or sell your car. The rest of the staff is cool too! These guys are trustworthy, friendly (dare I say courteous), and they won’t break your bank. This is where I go, when I have any issue with my car.

A ball joint that lasts only 20,000 miles… hmmm… I can see on the alignment report that they supplied me with that the front end is way out of spec, so how can they have charged me for the job? I think these guys like to fix one thing at a time and keep you coming back for tires and «alignments» when they should have replaced everything the first time, AS I HAD SUGGESTED.
The best was when he asked if I took it somewhere else, because my tie rods were «loose». Cmon, really? I go around to different mechanics just to mess with him? I don’t have the time or the motivation to play games like that, and that was the most ridiculous cop-​out I’ve ever heard from a mechanic.
Bottom line: $ 290 for upper ball joint, tie rod ends, and idler arms, which is an awesome price, BUT THREE «ALIGNMENTS» & NINE RUINED TIRES LATER I still had to get the SAME BALL JOINT REPLACED, along with THREE MORE TIRES and ANOTHER ALIGNMENT!
Grand total, including what it cost to get the rest fixed CORRECTLY at another shop: $ 1213.85! I just payed THREE TIMES as much as it should have cost to get it done right the first time.
No fn way I would ever go back to these guys, not even for tires.

I wanted to have a tire alignment in my car and my mechanic recommended that I go there. The man I talked to (I think he’s the owner) was very helpful and super honest. He asked one of the guys that work there to stop doing what he was doing to work on my car. I asked him his opinion about brake pads and hub bearing, as at Evan Tire they had told me I had to change them immediately and they said they were fine. No need to replace. They did the job very fast and charged me $ 50 to align the 4 tires. I highly recommend this place!

Sorry Brandon — that was your own fault not his.
Clutch went out on my car, my usual mechanic (Jake at Kensington Automotive — 4142 Adams Ave corner of Marborough and Adams) was in the hospital. I went down the street to Smitty’s as it’s always been highly rated. They wanted $ 1200. Hey come on — this is a 2005 Eclipse Spyder GT not a Volvo!
So I went down to El Cajon and saw Courtesy Tire and went in and asked if he could do a clutch job. Sure enough. $ 650 and a day later and my Eclipse is back on the road.
Great service and most certainly will go back again.

Would’ve given this place 5 Stars but then I got robbed while paying the guy.
So I’ve been running on spare tire for awhile, and I guess its time to get a new tire, I was driving by and saw that banner «$ 10 Used tires» so I’m like, ok, I just need something better than my spare tire.
Made a U-​Turn and parked.
Talked to the guy, I asked them if they have a tire for my car, I gave them the size and he checked and they have one in stock. So I asked, «how much is it out the door, installed and everything»
«$ 25-​»
I was expecting more, like around $ 50+ but I guess I can do $ 25… I told them, I’ll be back later cuz im returning some stuff at AutoZone. As I was checking if I had enough cash with me, I remembered I had extra cash stashed somewhere. So I came back in and asked the guy again, «So its $ 25 out the door…» then he said yes. I told him I have the money and he toldme to bring my car at the back.
The guy that installed my tire was pretty quick, It didnt take more than 5mins…
I had the money in hand, and I remembered I had some change in the car, I grabbed $ 2 worth of change.
The guy came up to me «Do you have the $ 25?» I handed him $ 25, and he said thanks, and then i handed him the $ 2 change… I was gonna ask him to give me $ 2 in bills, then he goes, «$ 27 is fine (with a smile in his face)! Thanks!» He turned around and left…
I was like… WTF this dude just jacked my $ 2!!! But then I thought about it, the tire was cheap and it was still in good condition… ehhh, they can have the $ 2 for tip

The owner is very nice and helpful. I never felt like I was getting taken advantage of… I had to get a new tire and it took 5 minutes — my boyfriend had to get his tire patched and it took 8 minutes. The prices were good and well worth the service!

So you wake up one morning and realize the steel belts on one — no, two — no THREE of your tires are wearing through. Bad sign. But it’s a Monday and you’ve got to be at work by 9am. What do you do?
Head down El Cajon Blvd and see if you can find a decently reputable place to get a few tires. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one open. If you’re luckier, you’ll find one with a decent selection and decent prices. And if you downright hit the jackpot, you’ll run across Courtesy Tire where:
1. They open at 8am.
2. It’s run by the same guy for 20 years who’s both *nice* and helpful.
3. You’ll get out with 4 new tires for $ 200 in under and hour.
I ended up going back the next day to have them adjust the alignment and do some brake work — both of which I was satisfied with. These guys do a lot of work for the small used car lots on El Cajon and I was impressed by the fact that they would drop what they were doing to take care of my car — I felt like I was getting the VIP treatment.
I also liked the fact that he didn’t try to upsell me on anything. He asked what I wanted, told me what he had, and gave me the options. I appreciate that, and I appreciate the old-​fashion (although not fancy) service that I got.
Five stars all around.