Advanced Auto

Ron is a special person. He genuinely cares about what he does and who he helps. Every experience I’ve had at Advanced Auto has been terrific. I have sent dozens of friends there an d they all agree. Great job and thank you!

Great customer service and timely. I needed a good tune up (e.g., new plugs, wires, distributor cap, oil, etc.) And Ron and his crew had everything completed in 1.5 hours. First time here and I came because of the great Unilocal reviews and I needed to find a new local mechanic. Yes they provide great service and you will pay for it. Their labor rates are higher than average ($ 115 per hour). The labor cost me ²⁄₃ of the bill. A tune up is a simple job and I could have done it myself (and I am by no means a car expert) for under $ 100. Instead, I paid $ 350 after tax. I will go back to them, but repairs that I can do myself are not worth the high labor rates.

I accidentally put the wrong fuel to the gas tank and there were a lot of hassles. Ron quoted me at the right price and fixed my car. (the other shop’s quote is $ 1,000 more than Advanced Auto’s). Ty was very friendly and greeted me with smiles. I think I made the right decision to choose Advanced Auto.

Can’t go wrong here. They are as honest and service friendly as a business can be. They go above and beyond. I usually do my own work, but working 6 days a week, 13 ½ hours from when I leave till when I get back (work in the valley) leaves me little extra time. It’s a relief to know I’m in good hands when I go here. They know their stuff and really do care, something that is not too common nowadays. I know enough about vehicles to know if a person dose know. They Do, Thanks Ron for all your hard work and ethos. :)

A+ for customer service. I was in town for the day and my car needed a brake job. With just a 2min phone call Ron made time In their busy schedule and took my car in for service. They did my brakes, oil change and went the extra mile and had my car detailed. Excellent customer service and auto service shop.
Thanks again Ron!

My daughter is a student at UC Santa Cruz and had her first, «OMG, car not working moment!» It happened to just be a battery, but with her class schedule, and work, she was stressing out. Me being 400 miles away left me feeling helpless but knowing that Unilocal always comes to the rescue, I started Unilocaling Santa Cruz Auto Repair. Found Advanced Auto, spoke with Tyler over the phone, within the hour car was at their shop, the fixed a couple of other minor things, honored the price they quoted even though the battery they ended up having to get was slightly more expensive. This is what customer service is all about. Thanks Guys! Now if we could just close the distance between Riverside, CA and Santa Cruz so I could bring my car to you… LOL!

DISCLAIMER: Once you bring your car here, you will never want to bring your car anywhere else!
I came in today for a check engine light on my car. Ron and his team not only did a diagnostic on my car, but he also checked for other problems that may not have been found on the computer! As Ron was walking me through what we would need to fix, I realized that the cost was out of my budget and decided not to get the work done. In the end, Ron’s honesty and his genuine care for his customers won me over, and I would come back ¹⁰⁄₁₀ times if I ever have car trouble in the area.
Thanks Ron, Tyler, and the rest of the team at Advanced Auto!

You can look far and wide for a good mechanic, this place sets the bar. They are honest in their diagnostics, they stand by their work, and they are a pleasure to work with. I have brought both my Lexus here for minor repairs and will trust my cars with no one else after seeing their quality. The price a slightly higher than other places, but the quality was high, and it was done much faster. The other place wanted my car for 4 days, Advanced Auto had me in and out the same day. This will be the only auto shop I bring my car to, no matter what the make and model.

I was visiting Santa Cruz. Heard one of those funny noises in my Lexus!
Went to one place and they told me my alternator was going out!
I called Advanced Auto and told them what was going on. They took me right in, checked my car and told me I just needed a New Battery only!!!
OMG this company saved my life! So trust worthy! They could have told me it was the alternator and charged me so much more money! LOVE these guys! If you don’t go here, you shouldn’t go anywhere!
Thank you so much!!! Xoxo

Had to use these guys one day when I was in a hurry. They are professional, fast, honest. The owner is a local family guy. I couldn’t recommend a place with higher regard. I am not sure you can get better service than this place.

Battery and alternator crapped out so I ended up coming here.
They replaced both quickly and at a reasonable price.
Even Tyler was even nice enough to give me a ride back to work while the car was in repair!

Honest work. Reasonable prices. They know their stuff. What more could you ask for in an auto repair shop?

Advanced Auto saved my vacation. I heard a weird noise coming from my car just as a friend and I were getting into Santa Cruz from Davis. Tyler reassured me that Advanced Auto would be able to take a look at my car on the spot. After immediately getting my car on the lifts, Advanced Auto diagnosed the problem and fixed it for a reasonable price within a couple hours. My friend and I were able to explore Santa Cruz in the meantime without skipping a beat.
Also, Tyler was awesome. Nice, personable, and trustworthy. Highly recommend Advanced Auto.

Car broke down on vacation. Ron was absolutely great. Fair price, great service & repair. Absolutely recommend for anyone in need of attentive car service.

I never Unilocal,but Ron and his team deserve praise. They are fair, accommodating and professional. They do good work, quickly and for a reasonable price.

I was visiting Santa Cruz on vacation, and the starter on my Acura went out. They got me in and out in just three hours, and the family trip to the beach and then camping was saved. Thanks a ton

I’ve been taking my cars to Ron and Advanced Auto for 4 years now, a refugee of a good but extremely high-​priced mechanic before him. Ron and his crew consistently give me honest and thorough service and are so pleasant to work with. I usually just hang out while they do my tune-​ups and use his wi-​fi to get my work done while I wait — and enjoy the steady stream of traffic coming through the office.
Ron grew up in Santa Cruz and, as he puts it, everyone knows him so he can’t afford to mess up – word will get out quickly through the local network. And, far from messing up, not only do they give good service, they are extremely reasonably priced. Plus, he has the best collection of Bay Area sports bobbleheads around and is a Santa Cruz Warriors supporter.

Stopped by here a couple of weeks back for a pre-​purchase inspection on a used car I was thinking about buying. The car was a 2011 Civic and looked really clean, but I’d just feel dumb dropping that much money without having someone else look it over first.
Anyway, they quoted me $ 85 for the inspection and said it would take about an hour — all pretty reasonable. I came in at the scheduled time and they got me in right away, saying they’d take the car for a drive, check out the engine, brakes, and tires, and generally give it a thorough once-​over. I wandered off to grab some coffee and when I came back an hour later they were just wrapping up. I pulled out a card to pay, but the guy manning the desk (Travis, maybe?) said the only problem was low air in one tire and I didn’t owe them anything! Sweet! I think they felt bad charging money to tell me there was nothing wrong.
With all the mechanics that charge $ 100 to scan a check engine light, fix things that aren’t broken, etc, the honesty here was really refreshing. If I didn’t live so far away this would definitely be my go-​to shop! Thanks guys!
P.S: Sorry I didn’t have any cash! Should have at least left a $ 20 for the beer fund… my bad!

I went to see Ron based on the other reviews – and they are right!
My mechanic over the hill had told me I needed a new car because the transmission was going. That seemed a little drastic, so I looked on Unilocal and found Ron. He was absolutely as reviewed on Unilocal.He drove my car for 15 – 20 minutes the Monday after Christmas, and told me yes, the transmission was starting to go and a rebuilt one would cost $ 3500. He took the time with me, tho’ there was likely no money in it for him.
I pumped him for info on what car to buy and how to do it. He recommended Johnny Garcia to fix a dent before I traded it in. Johnny fixed it for $ 400 – when a body shop over the hill had estimated $ 1900!
Wonderful!
I will recommend him and Johnny forever!

Best mechanics I’ve ever had in all my years of driving and having cars! Seriously, they know what they are doing! My car always runs better after they check it or fix something… I recently had them check out my car before going on a road trip, and not only did it run way better, but my «check engine» light had been on and was off after that! I also had to get my transmission replaced recently… They did a great job, were done quickly, and it was a fair price, as it always is there!
I can’t say enough about Advanced Auto… Its really a 5 star place!!! And that’s hard to find in this profession sometimes. They are genuinely good people, who run a genuinely good business! I wouldn’t take my car anywhere else.