Auto repair service near Santa Paula, CA

Please call 800-266-0554 to contact Automotive Radio Equipment Company, Inc. This is an old location for A.R.E. and we service the entire state of California. Log in to www.arecompany.com for further details on the services we provide to the automotive industry. A.R.E. offers a full range of current major brand stereo equipment, navigation systems, mobile office, and alarms for any vehicle.

Robert and Ricardo went above and beyond my expectations. I wanted to compare the Yokohama and Nitto tires side by side in person so I asked if I can order both tires and decide from there. No problem with a big smile was the answer I got and they had both tires at the store within a couple of hours and installed them that same day. They drove me home and picked me up when it was all done. They had the lowest price in Valencia who had good performance tire brand and sizes I wanted in stock plus "REBATES". I went back the next day and purchased another set of Hankook tires and once again, I wasn't sure if I should get the V12 or S1s. So they ordered both for me again and I decided to go for the V12s. To be able to compare 4 sets of tires side by side and only buy 2 sets without a deposit is unheard of these days unless the shop is confident that they can sell anything and everything the customer wants to see. I will surely be back just for this reason alone. If you're picky and love premium hi-end performance tires, then this is the shop for you. They surely have all the good stuff and the shop is definitely capable. A lot of negative reviews here and yet people keep on coming. They're busy for a reason. So go figure. Don de los Reyes

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.

DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM HERE. Back in July I purchased a 1958 Chevy Apache pickup truck from Larry. I found the ad for the truck on Craigslist, and was excited to come see it as it was exactly what I was looking for. The ad stated that the engine was a 350 "Bowtie". After getting the truck home I noticed that it had a HUGE oil leak so I took it to my mechanic to have him track it down and fix it. It was my mechanic that noticed that not only was the engine not a bowtie, but it wasn't a 350 at all! It was a 283! After this discovery I had many phone conversations with the dealership trying to get them to renegotiate the purchase price based on the fact that I bought the truck thinking it had a 350 in it. They just gave me the runaround before finally telling me to sue them. Overall this was a very frustrating and disappointing experience. Please do not buy a car from Woodland Hills Quality Motors.