Fast Brakes and Oil Change

During my first visit, David had recommended I get my break pads replaced in the near future. I didn’t listen, procrastinated, and ultimately damaged the rotors. When I came for the next oil change, they fixed everything and even gave me a discount for returning business. Like last time, David was very helpful and answered my many questions. I appreciate the honesty and great work and will be coming back!

I have a lemon car; a Ford Focus 2007, but I kept it because I don’t want to buy new yet. I will in a few months. For years I went to Ford dealers in l. a county/​Hollywood, and a local car repair there. When I arrived in San Diego, about a year ago; I went to a terrible place for maintenance in Hillcrest — Hai’s Auto. They worked on the front brake, but apparently broke something else. I noticed some rattling and the car was not driving right. I took it to Ford in Chula Vista close to work. Turned out I had a broken master cylinder, and the brakes were down to nothing. I am not commenting on how much I paid. The car drove fine this winter until one day after work I noticed the engine lights were on. Took it back to Ford and they said it was something to do with the fuel injector. I did not have to pay as much for that so I asked Ford to fix the problem. The year went well after that, and the car drove fine. In April, I was at Kaiser, and I noticed «Fast Brakes» on my way out, so I went there for my oil change. The maintenance was also to proceed with the engine flush. After some assessment, Fast Brakes said the spark plugs did not match. I wasn’t surprised since the later mechanic who had worked on that in Hollywood probably messed up! Fast Brakes took care of the problem. This month, June; I had a few interviews in different counties, and I drove quite a bit. On my way back to SD, I took my car to Fast Brakes for maintenance. Nothing was really needed but I mentioned of a vibration I have had since I bought the car. The many car dealers and repairs in l. a always said there was nothing wrong, and it was all in my head! Fast Brakes put the car up again, and they asked me if I had hit anything over the past few months. Turned out it was a cracked arm next to the tire, and it needed to be fixed. Anyway, I apologize for the long writings, but frankly it is hard to find honest mechanics in California. Doesn’t matter where. It just is. I want to thank Fast Brakes for their honesty, and helping me keep this lemon car a bit longer. Next year I’ll get a better one. I just can’t right now because I’ve spend as much on my teeth as I’ve spend on the lemon car. No more comments.
Ms.Cox/Faculty– California public schools.

I was in and out in 30 minutes. David was extremely professional and knowledgeable. He kept me informed along the way and also offered suggestions on things that I might want to consider getting done. I highly recommend them to anyone needing to get an oil change done.

What a great first experience I had here! The staff are friendly, very helpful, & professional. David answered every question I had & took great care of my subie! Will be coming back.

I wish there was a way to post less than 1 star.
I used this place twice on 2 different vehicles of my own. It’s a $ 20 oil change, I’m more than capable of doing it myself but I can’t compete with the price. Most of us can’t even buy the oil for that price, and not dealing with disposal, yeah I’m in.
They take WAY too long for an oil change. I’m not an idiot. From the time my vehicle goes over the pit to the time I leave should NOT be 30 – 45 minutes. Anyone can change oil t home in 10 minutes even without the facilities these «experts» have at their disposal.
Where they really fuqued up is with my GF’s car. I sent her there because she drives a lot of miles, so oil changes are frequent. Again, $ 20 is hard to beat.
First time she went in, they gave her a list of things that were «wrong» with the car:
1. There was no oil in the engine (LIE)
2. The engine was knocking (LIE)
3. Engine and valve cover were leaking (valve cover, ok… but «engine», bit too general)
NONE of those statements were true, but they tried to scare her into multiple extra repairs
1. Valve cover gasket replacement
2. Breather hose
3. Radiator hose
After she politely declined the repairs they immediately started offering to complete the repairs for much lower prices. Smell a rat, anyone? I let it go then…
Soon after that first visit, I replaced all of the said items, for a fraction of their price BTW. (That’s understandable because they have labor costs and overheads). However:
Yesterday she had the oil changed again at the same place. This time, they took just as long but didn’t try to upsell on the repairs. But. The report that came after the oil change was word-​for-​word, letter-​for-​letter IDENTICAL to the previous report, despite the fact that everything they suggested had already been repaired. I still have both reports.
And there’s still no knocking, never has been. The oil level was perfect before going in (I checked)… But they overfilled the oil so much that after leaving her car belched smoke for the first time EVER, for quite some time after she left the place. (Probably have a fuqued catalytic converter now. Thanks, dick.)
DO NOT USE THIS PLACE, THEY ARE RUNNING A SCAM AND TRYING TO CON THOSE THEY THINK ARE NAIVE.
If you own this business feel free to contact me. I will not deal with a «manager» or any of your other minions.

DON’T GO HERE! A short, skinny, dark skin male will try to up sale you on a oil change. First they will say your car needs more than 5 quarts of oil and so we have to charge you an additional 10 dollars. 2^nd they will say that the cheap oil they use is a no name brand and if you want better quality Conventional oil (not synthetic), you have to pay 15 dollars more which is $ 35. And some other bull crap about oil filter is $ 5 more. Overall, you end of spending close to $ 50 for a simple oil change! They are scammers be aware!

My husband brought the car in for an oil change. A minor incident happened two days later when it was my day off. I called them, they told me to come on down and even offered to tow if I felt it was unsafe. Three people came over to address the issue and assure me it would be fixed soon. They Fixed the issue and within 20 minutes I was back on the road. Talked to some people waiting for their cars and they were repeat customers. My husband has been going here for years. I can see why. The crew really got me back on the road quickly and feeling very safe. Thank you Midas/​Speedee on Friars Road!

Came to Fast Brakes & Oil Change by chance when I was looking for a last minute oil change in my area. I had phoned a couple other places before hand, but they wouldn’t have been able to take me in without an appointment, and not until the following week. Fast Brakes was able to accommodate me right away and the entire process took no longer than 30 mins, which is perfect when you have a young baby with you.
The team that assisted me was very professional, particularly David and Victor. I not only appreciated the fast service, but I was also thankful that the staff was not pushy with other things that needed servicing. David made suggestions for non-​urgent repairs, but was not insisting that I fix them on the spot. In the past, this has happened one too many times because I was a «woman» and «don’t understand the urgency of car issues.» Goodness.
Overall, I would go again for another oil change and perhaps other mechanic needs. The pricing was definitely reasonable compared to other oil change stations in central San Diego.

Completely honest, and my oil change was $ 19.95 per my coupon. no upselling was done at all. On the safety inspection they found the serpentine belt was cracked. My car is a 2002 so no doubt that was the case. They fixed it quickly and the cost was reasonable. Very efficient and friendly staff. I will be back

Place is good if your in a rush… Prices are reasonable but definitely not my first choice. Noticed some of the guys with dirty hands touching the inside of the car, gloves are a must at all times!

This location is convenient and the staff had good customer service. I was in and out. I didn’t stay longer than 20 mins. for my oil change. They took really good care of my eclipse. Damian and Alfredo were awesome. I recommend asking for them when ever you go into the shop.

So, get past the up-​sell that happens at most oil change and repair shops and I was happy with the service here. They promised me 20 minutes for my car and 30 for my wife’s car for an oil change. Both came precisely on time and at the advertised price ($ 19.99+tax). Knock another star off because for both cars they lost our keys and had to search for about 5 minutes. How they don’t have a system for this is mind boggling… A simple basket would a the trick! I think Victor is the manager and his customer interaction impressed me.

I am very pleased with the service provided by manager Nancy and mechanics Damian and Alex.
I saw their discount advertisement at the nearby grocery store and am very satisfied with their genuine work ethic and prompt job in replacing both front and rear brakes.
They are committed to quality care and accommodate their customers. They made small repairs on my 1996 Celica and I was impressed with their willingness to address customer needs and highly trust them with my car repairs!

Sat down in the lobby.
Twenty minutes later «uh — we can’t change your oil because we don’t have filters that fit. You’ll have to get one from AutoZone.»
Ok, AutoZone is literally across the street, so it’s not like I had to make a trek, but could they not have run over there themselves? Anyway, a $ 14 filter in hand, I go and give it to them. The kicker? At the end they are generous enough to give me a TWO WHOLE DOLLAR discount for my troubles. Talk about going the extra mile.

I went here to get a few services done but I didn’t have a ton of time and didn’t want to wait too long. The guy kept dropping the price to get me to agree and stick around. When I told him I was short on time he said it will be finished in a half hour. I didn’t have a problem with that, so I said okay.
Someone would work on my car for a few minutes and then they would leave to go do something else or talk to someone. Customers came and went for oil changes but I stayed, waiting. I ended up waiting an hour and a half in total. When I told the guy he said «oh really?! Sorry» and sent me on my way. To top it all off the technician working on my car peeled out of the garage when he tried to beat the traffic coming around the corner. Thanks for ruining my tires and putting my car at risk!
To me, there’s nothing worse than a business who isn’t honest with you. Making a promise you can’t keep makes me believe you don’t appreciate your customers. I won’t be coming back.

I came here to get a routine oil change for $ 19.98. Upon arriving I spoke with Hector and explained that I wanted a basic oil change. He attempted to up sell me which is fine because I understand that is part of his job. I expressly told him that I did not want a synthetic blend and if he could not do this I would just take it to the dealership. I told him the only reason I was there was that it was closer to my home. After disappearing for a bit to see what kind of oil I needed he came back and we confirmed that I would get the $ 19.98 oil change. About half an hour later he came to me and told me that they did not have the agreed upon oil in stock and that I would need to go with the synthetic oil which I expressly told him I did not want. At this point my car had already been completely drained of oil and had to have oil put back in my car. He told me that I would get a discount on the service which was $ 70 for the synthetic. I asked him repeatedly if it would be $ 60 and he several times told me yes. I waited another 20 minutes before my car was done and went to pay. At this point he said my total was $ 74 and I said that I had repeatedly asked if it was going to be $ 60 and he told me yes several times. He was very rude throughout this exchange.
This was very poor service and should have been told that they did not have the type of oil I needed in stock before work began on my car. Instead he chose to do what he wanted and I was forced to pay for something I clearly stated I wasn’t interested in. This may seem like a cheap oil change but I highly recommend not coming here.

My car had a flat. I know they don’t service tires but I was not sure if it’s a flat or low on air. So I took my chances and the staff were very nice. They put my car on a lift and found out it had a nail!!!
It was very nice of them to take their time and go beyond their call of duties.

I needed new front brakes/​rotors badly and was recommended to Fast Brakes. Everything was really easy and fast. After they took a look at my car, they called me to let me know what they were planning to do, upon my approval. From dropping off my car to picking it back up, it was about 30 – 40 minutes total! They even threw in an oil change for me. I will be going back!

Scumbags. I came in for a routine oil change. Waited an unreasonable amount of time while these guys sprayed each other with compressed air hoses and horsed around. Got my keys back, got the dreaded «hard sell» where they get all pissy if you don’t want their egregiously overpriced extra work done. (I deal with a REAL auto shop down the road for significant work.) When I got done it drove like crap. Took it to my guys a short time later to find they never changed my oil filter. That my friends, is fraud. You charged me for a service that wasn’t provided. BEWARE of these con-​artists and protect yourself by paying 10 dollars more and getting quality work done! I plan to contact the BBB and any other regulatory bodies that monitor businesses like this. They should be shut down.

These guys rock, i didn’t have a problem at all when i went here for my oil change. It was 15 till closing and they still took my vehicle. Chris told me they will take cars up till 6pm when they close. He asked me what type of oil i wanted and said it would be done in 15. I think it only took them like 10. They didn’t try to upsell me or anything of that nature.
Just an FYI, they don’t vacuum your car or any fancy crap or have a long wait time, or try to tell convince you that the cabin filter should be changed etc. like other places.