Brake repair service near Eagle Rock, CA

Not happy with this place or the work, took my M3 there one time, and that was all it took. First off I had plenty of work done, header install, carbon intake installed, water pump, coolant hoses, O2 sensors, thermostat, crankshaft seal, and instructed him to repair the oil leaks. Ed says he repaired my oil leaks, yet my car continues to leak oil, he damaged a $400 wheel, which he said, if the shop he knew, could not fix it, he would buy me a new one. When his shop failed to do so, I asked about a new wheel, of course he then said, he had no money to get me a new one, so I paid out of my pocket for a new wheel. I had him install my carbon air box, and he removed my OEM clamps, threw them away and replaced them with some junk hose clamps, stating he did not have the tool to replace the clamps, not sure what that has to do with me. So I took my car to check on the oil leaks and was told and shown by the shop, how the oil pan was not only missing bolts, but some were sheared off from over torquing, I was also missing header and sway bar bolts from his header install, my power steering hose was not secure, causing it to rub on part of the motor, damaging it, there were a few other things he failed to do, now costing me over a $1000 to repair after paying him over $2000 for less than subpar work. Do yourself a favor, and stay away.

I am new to the area so I relied on Yelp and Google ratings to help me find Hank's Tire. It's an "old school" place - been in business since the 50's and it is second generation family owned - a gem of a find. They educated me, didn't pressure me and made me and my car much happier. Thank you guys!

You should know a few things about Pep Boys right off the bat. First, they charge about the same as many dealer mechanics. So, you should basically just take the car to the dealer or an upmarket independent who has more reason to care about your car. In addition, you will wait an awful lot for service with such a markup. Again, if one pays a premium, one expects a certain amount of service. The last thing you should know is that they seem to lack an enforced policy with regard to their work. If you walk in, you are just dealing with Mike, and if Mike does not feel like giving you a refund, that is that. My story is that I took my Buick in to have it checked out since I was going to drive it across country. They charged me $485 for a belt and two radiator hoses. This is somewhat of a premium price and I will discuss that is just a minute. I got my car and drove it for a few days (it was repaired on 6/5/2014). The radiator then blew out in Jackson Hole Wyoming (on 6/13/2014). This is pretty far from where I live and it really created a lot of problems for me. The fluid it leaked was green. It turns out that they put regular pro-line coolant and not Dex-Cool as the manufacturer recommends. This is documented in the receipt and I saw it with my own eyes. Did this cause my blow out? It’s hard to say, but if a surgeon leaves a surgical sponge in the patient and they get sepsis, it’s likely they will blame the surgeon. When I brought my receipts and material to Mike Zdralek the service manager, his opinion was that I needed to prove it was their fault. The funny thing was I was extremely polite and was trying not to point any fingers. Even a simple apology would have been nice. Now I’m out $485 for the repairs which had absolutely no effect in preventing what they were intended to do. I brought the car in to prevent a radiator blow out, and they did the job wrong and it blew out … in the middle of nowhere. The extra repair cost me $471 (plus $200 to have the part driven in from Idaho Falls). So I’m out over a thousand dollars now with nothing to show for it. The interesting thing to note is that a whole new radiator at a standard mechanic costs the same as two hoses and a belt from Pep Boys. This gives you an idea of the markup they charge on work. In the future, I will not bring any business to Pep Boys. I hope that the %20 margin they made was worth it. That’s the last they will see of me and the last dollar I will spend with their store.

General auto repair.

Star Auto Service is amazing. They really do the job right and take care of their customers. From the shuttle service to calling and giving me updates, I really appreciate their attention to detail. They even gave me a loaner car -- a Mustang which is considerably cooler than the minivan I left for repair. I've had a problem with an automatic side door that wouldn't stay open. The dealer spent an entire day and insisted I'd have to replace the whole door. I brought it to Star Auto and they were able to fix it for a fraction of the cost. They sent me a diagnostic of the whole car with pictures identifying the problem. Excellent service and great repair. A+++++ Jodi B.