R and S Service

Best repair shop — EVER. R&S has been fixing my family’s cars for years and I can tell you these guys always tell it to you straight and never try to sell you something you don’t need. And your car is ready when they say it will be.
Oh R&S, if only you still sold gas.

What a great guy! I took our Jeep to his shop, on a Friday, hoping he could find out why our Jeep wouldn’t run at idle without dying. We left the Jeep there about noon, and he said, «I can’t promise, but we’ll try to look at it before closing time». It turns out that we forgot to leave him the key for the lock on the engine compartment, so when he did try it was locked. So we came back at 6:30 PM (two hours after their closing time) and he was still there working on another vehicle, but he came over to look at our Jeep. He spent about 15 minutes looking at various things, then finally adjusted the mixture screws on the carburetor, and, voila, the Jeep was running great again. I asked him how much we owed him and he said, «no charge»! What a nice guy!
And this isn’t a one-​off deal for me either. I’ve been using R&S for years, as a Tiburon resident, and every time, have been happy with the result.

John and his team are top notch! Smart mechanics, completely honest and extremely competitively priced. We had assumed they, being in Tiburon, were high priced. But a friend referred us three years ago and we have found R & S to be VERY cost conscious and value driven. Simply the best!

Dammit, one-​star guy. Now you’ve made me take time out of my day to write a review because the guys at R&S are way, way, way not one-​star.
Let’s start with a bit of history. I don’t live in Tiburon now but there are certain vendors I drive back across the bridge to see because of their professionalism, quality, and courtesy. Dora Gavros, DDS comes to mind and so does R&S.
Have you ever driven by R&S and thought to yourself «hey, weird, a gas station with no gas. I wonder what happened there?» Ok maybe not — but it’s your lucky day because I’m going to tell you anyway. About a decade ago, Chevron told all of its affiliates that they would no longer allow them to sell gas if they didn’t build an «Extra Miile» convenience store on to their property. Most gas stations complied, including the one out at the end of Tiburon Blvd, which used to have a very competent garage instead of a junk food dealer. R&S, on the other hand, basically told Chevron where to stick their gas pumps and kept their garage. As you might imagine, this wasn’t a profitable decision; but they are mechanics, not convenience store owners.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been going to the guys at R&S for tune ups and non-​warranty work. Sure, I could probably get a better deal driving myself to San Mateo or Petaluma. I could probably get cheaper work going with a major repair shop as well. I would not, however, get the level of care or attention to detail that is the hallmark of a small shop.
If you live in Tiburon, you don’t know how lucky you are to have an authentic auto garage right downtown. I mean, come on, they don’t make’em like this anymore unless you want to brave a seedy neighborhood or a long bus ride.
So, James, I’m sorry R&S mind meld with your car didn’t determine what was wrong with it. Sometimes that happens, it’s machinery. Stop ruining the Unilocal reputation of solid local businesses because you wanted a labor discount.

You don’t often stumble upon a auto service (mechanic) that you feel is overly honest, well here they are! I knew I needed new brakes, called and made an appointment. They asked for make and year, I said I probably needed a complete new disc for one of the wheels, they said they would order for all wheels. I was certain they would claim I needed to change throughout, charge an arm and a leg, but I was dead wrong! Charged me for what was needed, said there was a bit left to go on 2 of the pads and that I could drive another 5 – 6 months on them. I have been back many times with various problems, they are always courteous, fix problems quickly and are relatively cheap compared to other similar businesses. I’ll be coming back!