Dublin Autoworks

Will never go back to this place… I would rather take my car to the dealer and save money…

First Bart (the guy who runs the place) needs to understand the meaning of customer service. I can’t even comprehend how he is running the place being so obnoxious and rude to the customers. Second, the prices are way too high (even more than authorized dealer). Third, he said that there will be an additional discount and just restated that a part of artificially jacked up «Diagnosis fee (which is $ 190!)» is my discount. Plain dishonesty! Avoid this place if you can.

I just had my second great experience with Bart and the other folks at Dublin Autoworks, so I figured it was time to write a review.
Yesterday all the check engine lights came on in my ’07 Subaru Forester, and upon calling the Livermore Subaru, I was told there was no way they could fit me in until Tuesday of next week (!!). Because I had a good customer experience when I brought my husband’s car in for a smog test at Dublin Autoworks, I decided to give Bart a call to see if he could help me out.
Not only did they fit me in immediately, but Bart remembered me and our conversation from more than 3 months ago! Love that customer service! I dropped my car off at 9am and was assured that they’d have it ready by the end of the day as long as they could get the parts. I checked in at 1pm and found out they were going to Walnut Creek to pick up the part my car needed so I could have it back in time. At 3pm I got a call that the car was ready to go, and they were coming to pick me up.
Great service and kind, understanding people!

I just had my 90K service on my Subaru done here. They gave me a complete list of items/​issues to be performed and an estimate. I made the appointment for the following Monday. When I and dropped it off, a tech., Steve, went with me on a test ride to listen to a front brake rattle that other shops could not find/​fix.
I left the car and got a call within an hour — they found the rattle problem and they gave me the alternatives for the fix. I told them to go ahead and the work was completed by 4 PM the same day.
The brake issue was in addition to the original estimate. But, I was very happy to have it all taken care of quickly and without any hassle and it was all done based on the price estimates given to me.
There was a little problem with tracking after they rotated the tires and they did their best to get it to track but we, finally, had to put the tires back to their original positions. The proper ‘fix’ is to get new tires. They’re nearing their normal wear-​out mileage and the belts have shifted or the wear patterns are too prominent to allow rotation.
I’m a happy camper.
JQ

What? You can’t give negative reviews on Unilocal?Bummer.
Dublin Autoworks will try to rip you off… They don’t work hard at finding the exact cause and optimal solution and they will not only try to scam you. Worse yet, they make a show of it.
Maybe some of you may have had better experiences here, but I was flat out disgusted.
I have some weird vibrations in the car and take it to Dublin Autoworks. They are prompt in seeing me, and overall, it’s a nice location and well done building. I’m thinking they’re a professional group and this should be a decent experience.
The man behind the counter hears me out and then I hand over my keys and they take it in, stating they need 45 minutes. So I head to IHOP for some coffee.
Upon returning, the man has a grim smile, shakes his head, and says I have a blown gasket, and i’m looking at at least a couple of grand in repairs, possibly more. While talking to him, the mechanic comes over, calls the guy I’m talking to over, and they huddle together a little bit away while the mechanic holds a part in his hand. The counter guy and then mechanic then walk over to me and show me the part, a greasy piece of metal, and the counter guys says to me that situation is worse then expected as the mechanic found another issue.
He says repairing the vehicle will be very expensive…
So, thinking I’m getting taking for a ride, I take the risk to drive the vibrating car down to my usual place, Agnew Auto, and I learn that there are no issues… just a small mechanism at the base of the engine leading to the exhaust that leads to the catalytic converter that was not locking properly. A half hour at Agnew and my jeep was good as new, and Agnew didn’t charge me a dime.
Unless you have money to burn… and I mean burn in a camp fire just for the hell of it… stay away from this place. They don’t do proper checks to really analyze the problem you may be having, and will just want to replace parts and charge you for labor and their margin on parts.
Yeah…this place is as «Eek! Methinks not» as it gets.

If I can give NEGATIVE STARS, I would. I don’t like writing bad reviews, but if I can prevent someone else from getting ripped off by these guys like I did then at least it’s worth it. First of all, we took our Honda Odyssey because the check engine light came on. They plugged the car in and said it needed a bunch of things done that amounted to over $ 1,300 in repairs. My gut told me that it just didn’t sound right. I said thank you, but I’ll have to think about it since it’s such a large cost. The guy took offense and charged me 135 bucks just for that diagnotic! I then took the van to another mechanic that a friend recommended and the mechanic said that it wasn’t anything close to what those yahoos said at Dublin Autoworks. Stay away, I repeat, STAY AWAY from this place unless you like getting ripped off and giving your money away!!!

user rating: 1 out of 5 stars
by rc guy 05/​10/​2011
Don’t beleive any of the good reviews about this place or Bart; he probably wrote them himself. This guy bart or shum is a crook. I had a flat tire and pulled into his shop expecting to pay at most $ 30 for him to put my spare tire on. This crook thought i was in a bad situation and tried to charge me $ 200 for labor to put on my spare. Since i didnt want to wait for AAA to come, I comfronted this crook and told him thats not how you make a living. To make a long story short, i paid this crook 75 to put on my spare tire. Stay away from this place. This guy is very dishonest and will rip you off.

Clean garage — check
Friendly staff — check
Nice waiting area w/​free beverages– check
Outlandish prices — check
If it weren’t for the cost ($ 77 for a conventional oil change!!!) this place would get my continued business (and 5 stars). I’m willing to pay a bit of a premium for excellent service but this place flat out charges way too much for what you get. And, as others have noted, the final cost was even above the estimate provided minutes earlier, with some miscellaneous things like washer fluid tacked on.
For all of the positives I’d reluctantly spend $ 50 for their oil change but no way am I going back for $ 77.

Have had nothing but absolutely horrible experiences with Dublin GMC and refuse to take my Acadia there anymore. I wanted to find a service center nearby and found Dublin Autoworks on Unilocal.Lots of reviews had good things to say about Bart and their service and I wasn’t disappointed. Super easy to get an appointment and Bart and his staff were super friendly and gave us excellent service. Will definitely use them for all our car needs from now on.

Another one-​star for this place. Charged me $ 800+ to replace a coolant pipe and hose, including 4 hours of labor at $ 135/​hr. Bart said his mechanics had to remove the entire intake system to get to the parts that needed replacing, but strangely, didn’t charge me for the (non-​reusable) intake gasket… Could have done the same job in half the time at home with my own tools, but I’m on active duty @ Camp Parks so he had me held hostage & charged accordingly (after telling me he «supported the troops»). Wish I had had the time to check with the other shop nearby (Automotive Consultants). Avoid like the plague, unless your wallet is feeling too big for your pants…

VERY expensive for a smog test. charged $ 118.00 whereas if you go
to another local guy he will charge $ 50.00 it should be no more than $ 60.00 for a SMOG test. Also DON’T be fooled by all the candies and goodies they offer you. They rip people off for a reason. My car was in the shop for 10 minutes and I got charged $ 118.00

I went to Dublin Autoworks to do a smog check. I had my 3 yr old daughter with me when I went there. I was worried that my daughter would get impatient while we wait for them to service my car. I was surprised at the cleanliness of this place. And the owners made sure that we were comfortable. In their waiting room, there’s an area where kids can play and they have computers so you can check your emails or browse the internet while waiting. My daughter was having so much fun that she didn’t want to leave when the car was ready.
I would recommend this place to friends and family.

They told me over the phone the cost for an oil change would be $ 59.95 for an oil change, plus $ 3-​$ 4 more per quart for synthetic. My truck takes 6 quarts, so it should have been $ 84 at the most, which is already a very expensive for an oil change, which I am okay with if I get great speedy service. They ended up charging me $ 123 for the oil change. When I tried to discuss the pricing with them (compared the quote), the manager, Bart, just smirked and refused to acknowldge the clear discrepancy and unfair pricing. This is by far the most $ I’ve ever spend on a basic oil change. What a horrible experience. I feel terribly ripped off and I cannot recommend this business to anyone.
–Ralph

More cheers for Bart.
Did you know Bart gave me a lesson on what to do if my Toyota Corolla Accelerator had problems (since all of the recall news)… he said turn my car to Neutral. Don’t do anything crazy or sudden and kill the engine but I’ll be okay. This guy is the best.

Bart and his wife provided excellent service. Very courteous on the phone, and service was prompt. Went here for a simple oil change and wiper blades. He wasn’t pushy, and also very knowledgable.
Inquired about price qoutes for a 120k maintenance and he was very helpful in doing so and answered all my questions. Even gave a candy cane for my wife’s bday. Thanks again Bart.

Top-​notch and trust-​worthy. They won’t recommend any maintenance that’s not necessary. They are fast, pleasant, and the waiting room is clean. As a matter of fact, they just came over to let me know that my car is done as I sit here writing this 5 star review!

These guys are pretty damn cool. I take my STI here when I need Oil Changes. They take care of you and are really nice. They are a bit expensive but overall I will pay a little more knowing they service top notch cars.
This is not a jiffy lube nor do you want to take a nice car to a jiffy lube. I judge these places by how neat they look, what type of cars are being worked on, and overall the general knowledge of the staff. Yep! They get my business because the meet all of the above and have been great since day one.