Ed’s Best Auto Service

Excellent auto service and honest!
He is my mechanic for the last 17 years and 4 different cars!
Believe me, I would not stay with him if he was not so good.

I’ve never met a more knowledgeable mechanic as Ed. I’ve been going to him ever since I had my first car. I’ve had Buick, Honda, Nissan, Subaru and he’s been able to fix them all with no problem and at such a great price. I can always count on Ed to get me back on the road. The last time I went, he noticed I had one of my head lights out and he replaced it for free and filled my fluids! That’s how you know you have someone you can go to who actually cares. I can’t give Ed enough praise, I just refer all my friends to him as thanks for all the years of taking car of me. Excellent customer service, fast, friendly, and reliable. It’s definitely a 5 star business. However, if there were cookies available in the waiting area… it might be a 6 star business.

Ugh, a seeing that drip under my car… after investigating, I narrowed it down to the high-​pressure steering fluid hose, or the steering rack itself. I had a pretty good of how much they should cost to fix.
I dropped off my car at Ed’s Best, and got a phone call back later that day — after putting the car up on a lift and having someone turn the wheel, they could see the rack itself was leaking. He explained what the part was, how much it would cost and how long it would take. The price was in line with my expectation — maybe a little less, which is not common for work done in this area.
After I picked up my car, all seemed good. Now it’s been a few months, and I can say that the problem was absolutely fixed right — not a drip since then.
Easy to deal with, fair prices, good work — nothing to complain about at all. If I have another problem, I’ll definitely bring it here.

Wow gotta say I’m confused by some of the negative reviews. I’ve been going to Ed since 1996 when I got my first CA car which was a total junker. For very little money Ed helped me nurse 2 years out of a $ 350 rust bucket from Maine. He never pushed work that wouldn’t be a good investment for the car. So far he’s worked on 4 of my cars from the junker to the Acura, and delivered excellent service, reasonable prices and clear and intelligent answers to my questions. Always been kind. Even spoke to me at length on my cell when an oil leak left me stranded 10,000 miles high at the top of Little Big Horn, thousands of miles away. He helped me get the service i needed out there and get the car back on the road safely which I promptly drove directly to his Berkeley shop (with some overnight accomodations) He’s given me lots of free advice and fixed numerous little things without charging me, and sent me to other shops when they could do the work cheaper (like my last muffler replacement) Honest, intelligent and reasonably priced, I totally trust the guy!

what a joke i take my van in for an engine swap they have it for 10 weeks getting a run around from every possible problem finally get it back wont stay started leaking oil engine light on. i tell ed whats going on he says bring it back next week ill fix it so i bring it back he has it for 2 more days and it stays started but oil still leaking engine light still on i take it to another shop he fixes the engine light ed had the distributor 2 teeth off the oil leak was due to them not replacing the gaskets on the oil pan and over tightening the timing cover bolts so that had to be replaced then the shop tells me that there is also an coolant leak coming from the intake manifold they did not put new gasket there as well 6 hour job so im out $ 850 to the new shop will be looking for an auto lawyer asap

Simple story tells it best:
I was leaving town with the car on Friday. On Wednesday, check engine light comes on. Call Ed Thursday noon, he says bring it by at 3:30. He checks the car’s computer code for the check engine light. It’s an O2 sensor; maybe needs replacing, maybe just «lazy». In any case, it shouldn’t affect my trip and he resets the light. What a relief! «How much do I owe you?» «Oh, don’t worry about it. Tell your friends!» I mean, I know it only took 15 minutes of his time and expertise but Ed’s fairness and generosity of spirit has has my trust now. Also, I’m going to go one better than telling my friends, I’m a’gonna Unilocal it!
The light came back on, by the way, so the sensor needs replacing and this Friday I’m driving the car to Ed’s.

Ed is hands down the best mechanic I have ever had. He is trustworthy, straightforward, and has a great sense of humor, which all make the whole car upkeep and repair process a lot less painful. If it’s broken, he can fix it. If he can’t, for example if it’s extensive body work, he’ll make sure to send you to the guy who can.
My 95 Corolla has been through a lot. Ed has replaced my radiator, fixed a bunch of leaking hoses, replaced my rear view mirror, fixed the electrical wiring after my car was broken into, patched my tires. the list goes on. All this work, along with the regular upkeep of oil changes, tire rotations, break pad replacements, etc., and I can honestly say I’ve never felt the pressure and distrust that many people complain about with their mechanic experiences. His prices are fair, his knowledge is extensive, and he has always gone out of his way to keep me informed about what he’s doing and what the options are. I highly recommend him!

I took my Mazda to Ed’s best after an accident that totally scrunched up the front side of the car. At first they seemed to be really helpful in that Ed offered to have someone come over to his shop to do an estimate on the body work while he looked over the interior damage so that we wouldn’t have to take it to two separate places for the full repair.
Ed took a little longer to get back to us (like most mechanics I’ve encountered.) This didn’t necessarily bother me, everyone’s got work to do, some things take longer than expected.
When I did finally pick up my car, however, I was a little taken aback. After spending nearly taking a long Muni, Bart, walking about 2 miles and dropping nearly $ 4,000 Ed was short and rude. saying nothing friendly and nothing more than «you’re gas is EXTREMELY low. Get to a station now!» (I understand being irritated if a with a low gas tank if the car is in for a routine inspection, tune up, etc… but I had absolutely no intention of getting in an accident and had absolutely no way to see in the future that it would be annoying for poor Ed if I did not fill up my tank before doing so.)
Furthermore, I had my car for no more than 2 days before I realized that the horn still didn’t work and that there was still a subtle chirping noise while driving my car (I thought I paid $ 4,000 for him to rebuild my car). After calling Ed back and asking him about these issues he said that I could bring it in and pay for another estimate and for some more repairs. I refused. I just spent a hell of a lot of money for things to still not work 3 days later.
My breaks were squeaking also (not Ed’s fault, ill give him that.)…so I took it to a shop closer to me in the City, Auto Trust Services on Brannan St. (PLEASE GO HERE INSTEAD).
These people were friendly! They EXPLAINED things! They even mentioned that perhaps the reason why some things still weren’t right was because old, corroded parts that didn’t even belong to a Mazda were being used in my car instead of parts that would work.
Ed is rude, condescending and a thief.
AUTO TRUST SERVICES on Brannan was WONDERFUL. look them up on Unilocal.They have Fantastic reviews. Will get back to you as soon as they have an answer. I never even had to consider calling them, they worked so quickly. They were nice. They waited and let me ask as many questions as I wanted. They even brought my car out and showed me what they did. They stood by and made sure everything worked until I drove away. Lastly, they offer (at least right now) a %20 discount off labor for first timers. PLEASE GO HERE INSTEAD.

Ed has been taking care of my cars for the last 13 years. He is quick, his work is reliable and I never feel like I am getting ripped off price wise. This week Ed took my car the morning it broke down and within 24 hours he had the part special ordered and installed in my car.

I’ve been going to Ed for years – all very satisfying experiences. He’s done everything from changing my oil to replacing my clutch and starter to odds and ends like fixing my windshield wipers motor. When he replaced my starter and the unit turned out to be faulty, he replaced it with no extra charge. Just an honest, straight-​shooting guy. Sorry to see him leave Addison st., but he will give you a ride to where you need to go from his new location on San Pablo.

I failed my smog test and thought I was in for major repairs. I drove into Ed’s, he looked under the hood, pulled out a little hose, went to the back, grabbed the right piece and fixed my issue. I asked him «how much?» and his reply was «That is my good deed for the day.» I was truly amazed. Talk about a «WOW’ experience!!! Most people no longer even hold the door open, this guy fixed me up with no expectation. I highly recommend Ed, he deserves the really good Karma he put out.

I’ve been taking my car to Ed for 10+ years. I’ve never had a bad experience. The prices for service are at the low end of the scale and he’s never tried to pad the job with unnecessary extras. I’ve also been pleased with the results.
I haven’t been there since he moved to San Pablo (which is unfortunate, since it’s not near BART).

I found this place to be helpful and friendly for some small things like oil changes and maybe brakes, but when it came to bigger ticket items, I felt very disappointed. Here is my experience: I had a coolant leak, and they replace the radiator for about $ 500. Weeks later, I was still losing the same amount of coolant. When I asked about it, Ed just gave me some double talk — I don’t think he even worked on the car himself. He just spoke in generalities and sent me on my way. Secondly, I took it in for a tune up, and he said one of my cylinders was not working…$ 4800 for a new engine. He didn’t even offer to do a leak-​down test, just get a new engine. I took it for a second opinion, paid the $ 120 for the leak down, and my engine turns out to be just fine. So this guy is either lazy, incompetant, or a crook. But hey, that’s just my perspective. Careful.

Ed has a small shop, but do not be fooled by it’s humility. They seem to be able to do anything there and Ed and his team are all very friendly. The whole group comes across as very honest and sincerely do not seem driven to fix something if it is not needed. I just had a bunch of work down there and it cost about ¹⁄₃ of the dealer’s prices.
Note that they have a sign that says they are moving to San Pable Ave from their Addison St. location.

I have taken my Murano to Ed twice for two different issues and received great service. And he’s an honest guy who knows what he’s talking about. For example, he rotated my tires, and right after that the car started pulling to the left. I took it back the next day and he explained it was probably because the tires wear differently and when you swap them, they just do this. He swapped them back and sure enough, the car stopped pulling — exactly as he said.
I’ve also gotten other work done there and would highly recommend him for price and service, and as a good honest mechanic.

Ed’s is very straightforward and no-​nonsense.
Thanks to Unilocal,I found Ed’s when I needed to get a wheel alignment. I did do some homework and compared prices and packages for tire rotation and wheel alignment. I included chains and independent mechanics. Not only did Ed’s offer the best price by far, Ed knew what he was talking about.
Compared to the folks at some of the other chain auto places that I talked to (some workers didn’t even know the price of these services and had to ask others), Ed was quick and straight to the point in quoting his services and setting up an appointment.
The place does look like it was designed in the 1940s: the space is tight and features one narrow drive-​in lane. But it also had an independent feel. No frills here.
Oh, the car drives really well. I will go back there when I need another alignment.

I had always been told good things about Ed’s Best Auto Service from friends that lived in Berkeley. One of my friends brought his Jeep to Ed for years, and another had him service her VW Jetta.
Funny story, one time this anonymous friend was picking up her Jetta, and she ran into Ed’s car, slightly damaging both vehicles. Ed fixed the damage to her car cheaply, and didn’t say a thing about his own car.
When I had some undercarriage damage on my brand new Prius and the dealership wanted to charge me an unreasonable price for the repair, I brought it to Ed. He decided that he couldn’t do the work on my brand new hybrid, which required some computer stuff he didn’t have. But he coordinated having my car moved to another shop, and did not even charge me for looking at it.
Ed’s an honest mechanic and a friendly local businessman.