Peter’s Automotive Service

Every once in a while, I get one of these treats from the Universe that makes me feel so adored. Discovering Peter’s Auto and «V» is definitely one of these. I used to take Buggy to a place in the city, and didn’t even know where to start once we moved to the East Bay. I always thought Peter’s little shop looked nostalgic-​y cool in our hood. Well, Buggy needed just a little work, which took us there. V was awesome – friendly, communicative, and super fair. He took the time to check out stuff I hadn’t asked about (and saved me major bucks and troubles with his find) and went ahead and fixed it same day. He didn’t come up with any random unnecessary work, and charged a very fair price. He’s a nice guy, easy to talk to, and clearly good at and enjoying his work. Buggy and I really appreciate having him nearby :)

Vee is literally the best! Anytime someone asks me about my car, I never fail to tell them about this awesome mechanic that I’ve been going to for about a year now. If you need a mechanic (and whether you know anything about cars or not), Vee is definitely your guy. He is honest, reliable, knowledgeable, and never condescending. He is super nice and helpful too — I’ve stopped by at least 3 different times with short questions about my car, and Vee always makes time for me!
Example 1: I’ve had a problem with the cigarette lighter part of my car for about a year now, such that I have never been able to charge my phone while in the car. Before I found out about Vee, I brought it in to another mechanic who told me it would be expensive to fix it because he would have to take out the whole center compartment because the wire needed to be pulled or something or the other. Vee just fixed it in 5 minutes today because he knew right away what the problem was AND he didn’t even charge me for it!
Moral of this story: Vee is smart, knowledgeable, helpful and nice!
Example 2: After leaving my car parked for about a month because I was traveling, I came back and noticed that there was a weird grinding sound whenever I drove the car. I brought it to Vee; he immediately jumped into the car and we drove it around, and he then told me not to worry about it, it was because I hadn’t driven it for a while. Again, he didn’t charge me for it!
Moral of this story: Vee is honest, smart, knowledgeable, helpful, and nice!
Example 3: My car was having hella problems 1 year ago: it was stalling ALL the time and finally I had to get it towed. It was after hours for the shop, but I basically had the tow truck drop it off on Vee’s lot over the weekend. Vee did not mind at all even though I gave him no notice, and he fixed it up for me. It was an extensive repair but Vee’s price was very reasonable (I checked the prices in the area, and I am a legit penny hoarder). One year on, my old ’96 honda accord is still doing great!
Moral of this story: Vee is reasonable, honest, smart, knowledgeable, helpful, and nice!
He also tops up my fluids whenever I stop by, whether I had something done or did not. Even though this review might make Vee super busy in the future, I don’t mind because he deserves it!
tl;dr: VEE IS AMAZING. Go to him; you won’t regret it!

Took my endeavor here for a transmission tune-​up! They are so knowledgeable and friendly, and I got my car half a day later. It’s also the only shop in Berkeley I could get to so I am very grateful to have found them! Vee’s a beast, and he is extremely intuitive with auto mechanics.

Through living in Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond and I now commute from Vallejo to stand by my five star rating based on over two decades of Peter and Vee’s straight shooter, efficient all around excellent automotive services. Friends recommended this place and I remain grateful … Michelle

Peter’s Automotive is reliable, reasonable and all around great to deal with. Peter found a worthy heir for his shop when he passed it to Vee.

Vee is amazing. He’s serviced my Honda for the last 2.5 years and every time has provided quality care and affordable prices. He is the happiest and most honest mechanic I have ever worked with– genuinely LOVES what he does and will not rip you off. I highly recommend working with Vee if you are looking for someone who works fast, efficiently, and with integrity in his work.

I agree with the other reviewer. V is absolutely awesome. A friend whom I respect highly told me that V is the last honest auto mechanic around — and he’s right! I’d been ripped off for years by different mechanics and thought I’d just have to live with that since I know absolutely nothing about cars, and it’s all too obvious that that’s the case. But V is incredibly honest and really seems to know everything about cars. He knows exactly when you really need to fix a problem and when you can let it slide. I have to admit I had some doubts about some of the things he told me not to worry about, but he was always right in the long run! Those things never got me into trouble, but I’m sure that if I’d gone to any other auto mechanic, they would have capitalized on my anxiety and taken me for a ride…

After years of feeling taken advantage of by mechanics, I finally found a totally honest, reliable, and reasonably-​priced one. Vee is THE BEST, hands down. Of all the repairs he’s done on my car, none of the problems has ever returned – he fixes it reliably the first time. His prices are far more reasonable than any other mechanic I’ve visited, and when I can do something easily myself, or the repair isn’t worth making, he’ll tell me. I have saved so much time, money, and stress by going to Vee at Peter’s Automotive. Even when I was living in Davis, I would take my car to him on my trips to the Bay Area – he’s that good! He’s also very nice and helpful.
I highly recommend!

Wow, no body has ever Unilocaled this place yet! I happen to hear great things about this shop and decided to go check it out. You can’t go wrong! Gives you the best service here. Great prices for the work. I recommend all my family and friends to patron this place. The owner which just goes by «V» is a great guy and knows his stuff. Very well trained and experienced. Good thing to remember is to call first and schedule an appointment to drop it off. Car will be ready when promised. I love Berkeley, and this is another reason.