Bay City Automotive

They kept my 1983 MR2 alive waaay past its expiration date (30 years)! Now they’re showing that same dedication to my 2008 Prius.
Sometimes I pummel them with questions and they patiently humor me. They’ve never been quick to charge for non-​fixes, even if they put my car up on the diagnostic machine. Nor have they pushed to have work done when even remotely unnecessary.
It’s nice to have a place I’ve never felt talked down upon or overcharged for being mechanically illiterate.

Wife’s MDX has been getting all major maintenance services for close to ten years. Never disappointed with Jim and his crews with many good experiences. I would like to leave specifically two examples of those here to give some perspectives to others who don’t know this place;1. Actual charge was less than estimate by some amount. Jim told me that the work was done in shorter time. 2. Jim refused to charge for a small work which took some time however, I ran away with leaving $ 20 bill on the table… I was very happy that day

Took my 2002 Toyota to them and Jim was quite easy to work with. He clearly explained what they’d do, what it’d cost (410 estimate and actually paid 427) and when I should expect the car back.
The car feels like new after the 120k service that I got done for my Camry. They did a great job and charged me a fair price based on the market survey I’d done. I will definitely be going to them again.

I am a retired mechanic and I have been taking my Japanese cars and trucks to Jim and Don for over 16 years. These are the most honest and cheapest mechanics you will find in the Bay Area! I just had my truck’s water pump, timing belt, 90K service, and much more done by them. Their price was $ 1265, which I was quoted $ 2700 and $ 2300 from theToyota and Lexus dealerships. Jim and Don do top quality work and they absolutely stand behind it 100%.

I have been taking my car to Jim since I bought it in 2010. He is a very honest guy. He will only recommend repair if it is absolutely necessary. He sometimes won’t charge you for assessments. Fair prices, trustworthy people, and great work is all you’ll experience when you go there. I absolutely recommend this place for all types of automotive work.

We’ve been coming here since we found it in Bay Area Checkbook a few years ago. Jim is fantastic. He does great work, and he keeps us from doing unnecessary work. Whenever we go to our local Honda dealer for a coupon-​discount oil change, the dealer tells us about all the work we «need» to have done. We then take the car to Jim, who explains exactly why we don’t need most of that, and does the stuff that’s actually necessary for much less than the Honda dealer wanted. (And in our experience, he does better work.) Highly recommended.

I was recommend by a friend to Bay City and I went there for a timing belt change and Jim and Don where great, I arranged to have the system worked on a Saturday and Jim showed me that my Accessories belts needed to be replace too since they show signs of cracking and they did not charge to much for them and they checked the water pump and said that it did not need to be replaced yet. They finished in a few hours and later that day one of the belts went off the pulley tracks and I called Jim but unfortunately they where already close that Saturday and where to be close Sunday and Monday too, so I left a message with them. Then promptly on Tuesday at 8am when they opened, I received a call from Jim asking me to bring the car in and they could fix the problem for me. So I went over about 9:20am and showed Jim the problem and since I was there I asked if they could check my brakes too since my wife complained about hearing a squeaking sound when the brakes where applied. Later Jim calls and tells me that my brakes are fine but just have a lot of dust and that he cleaned them for me and the car was ready. When I get there I asked him how much for checking my brakes and he tells me not to worry about it. Jim and Don are nice people and very honest, they not only fixed the Accessory belt but had it replace with a new one since the previous one was defective and they checked, cleaned and adjusted my brakes for free. You cannot ask for any better service then what they had provided. I highly recommend them.

I brought my Lexus in to have them check the front suspension as I was getting some weird tire wear and to repair the drivers side mirror which was loose and did not adjust electronically. Two hours later they called and said the front end was okay, no problems, and the mirror was simply a stripped and loose screw which they repaired. When I went to pick up the car there was no charge as Jim said «we really didn’t do anything». I argued they must have spent some time on the car but still he refused payment.
With their good reputation and great customer service I plan to always go there for service.

Rebuilt my husbands Toyota truck engine back the late 90’s. Did a great job then.
Now my Nissan’s been in several times over the last 2 months, and they’re still doing a GREAT job.
Thanks guys!!!

These guys know my know my Nissan Armada!!!

I have been going here for over 15 years. The two Owners are honest and do great work. I am a regular repeat customer. Instead of going to dealers, and getting gouged — I have them do all of the maintenance for my cars. I am an Mechanical Engineer and can do the work myself, but I rather do other things with my time. I have recommend Bay City Automotive to my family and friends for years.

I went in here for an oil leak on my 92 Lexus. They did what they said they were going to do which was replace the valve cover gasket. It was cheaper than other shops but here is the problem.
They failed to tell me about the many other leaks around the engine which were right next to the valve cover (a cam plug) and the other valve cover that was leaking. The oil filter was barely hand tight so oil was dumping onto my exhaust. So when I drove off from this shop I was still smoking oil and smelling it in the car. I thought it would just need to burn off. After a week I took it to another shop off Curtner and 87 (Eurohaus Motors) they actually fixed all my oil leak issues for a great price! I don’t think Bay City Automotive used the «valve cover gasket kit» that comes from the part dealer because they did not even replace the little grommets that create a seal between the bolts and the valve cover as well as some other little parts that should be replaced when doing the valve cover.
I just feel like it would have been nice for this shop to take it to the next level and tell me there were some other issues that should be addressed. I expect a mechanic to be like a good doctor for my car and not just throw a band aid on a ruptured aorta. There was no additional information or warning that I may still experience leaks if I do not address the other obvious leaks.

have been going to Bay City for quite a while always utilizing their major services package on my ’97 Acura Integra, and boy do they rock! They have never tried to take me to the bank, and are VERY reasonable on their prices, especially when other places want to make you pay sometimes double for less work.
My Integra just reached 120K miles, so they will be seeing me in the very near future. My grandfather turned me on to them as he had been taking all of his cars there before me, so they’ve earned their reputation. Highly recommended.

Unfortunately, I ran over something on the freeway and it may have caused an oil leak. Whatever I ran over lasted only one second and it sounded like something metallic. I also had a gas leak for awhile. The mechanic I usually go to sold his business. After reading the reviews about the mechanics listed, I decided that Bay City Automotive was the place to go. I went to get an estimate on the oil and gas leak. The estimate would have cost $ 80, but instead if was free. Jim gave great advice on oil leaks and gas leaks. Theyr’e honest and give great customer service just like the reviews said.

Frankly, I am hesitant to write a 5* review for these guys as it’ll lead more people there and they become too busy ;-). But, putting that selfishness aside, I had to vote for these guys. I have been going there on and off for about 8 years now with both my cars. Their’s is not a cheapo shop like you find in mailing coupons. They are quality, honest and competent shop. Everytime I go to other mechanics, they do all the pep talking as though they are the honest guys in the world and tack on lot of repairs that doubles or triples the original estimate — don’t know if they are really needed or not. But, these guys, no pep talking (not much talking for that matter actually, just sign, handover the key and walk off), no nonsense and no BS. Just clean: whether a repair is absolutely needed or not and how long it will last if you don’t fix it. Couple of times, for the problems I reported, they actually said, no need to fix it now and it’ll last for a while. Can you imagine a dealer saying it?

Now normally I wouldn’t even bother taking time out of my busy schedule and write a review online unless the service is the worst thing imaginable or in this case, the best automotive shop I’ve ever come across. I brought my Integra back in 1999 to Jim for service and was very satisfied with the work. My next car, 1999 Prelude has also visited Jim on multiple occasions up until recently and not once was I ever dissatisfied. My most recent problem that occurred last month was a timing belt changed (106,000 miles) I initially had done at Pep-​Boys (bad mistake). My Prelude ran awful so I bought it to Jim (which I should have done in the first place) and he concluded it was bad installation. Few days later, one of the tensioner went bad so back to Jim it went. By now after spending a couple hundreds of dollars, I hope my Prelude would be running good but that only lasted two days. Soon, my driver side wheel shaft gave out causing my car to vibrate violently during freeway speed. I was originally advised of the wheel shaft by Jim and crew a year ago but chose to ignore it since it rode fine for the time being (my fault). Jim replaced the part and perhaps the best thing an auto shop has ever done for me, he installed it free, no labor since I’ve been through hell with my car the past week. That’s the extra mile that made me very appreciative for what he has done. These are the type of customer service and professionalism that all shops should mimic. The pricing is very reasonable and Jim is definitely not the type to squeeze out every penny from the customers. Forget the dealers; bring your car here for honest, trustworthy service!

I’ve been taking my two cars to this place for regular maintenance and troubleshooting for the last 4 years. I’ve been very pleased with Jim, the owner. He is a straight shooter and only does what is necessary to fix your vehicle. This is the only repair garage that I actually trust to give me the straight scoop. I have tried other places, but they either overcharge, do a bad job, or lie. I consider Bay City to be one of the last honest repair garages.

Back on mid February, I had Jim inspect my Nissan Maxima’s struts. He told me that the front struts needed to be replaced and charged $ 80 for the initial inspection. It cost $ 530 and he would apply the $ 80 to the total cost.
After checking around with Courtesy and Bel Mateo, I both charged $ 550 and $ 625. So the obvious choice was to go with Bay City. The car was completed in about 4 hours and my cars suspension is like brand new.
I highly recommend using Bay City if you have a Japanese car.

Bay City Automotive is a mechanic shop in Milpitas specializing in Japanese cars. I’ve taken my Honda there for more than 10 years, and I recommend going out of your way to come here if you need your car serviced.
Jim and his assistant are competent and honest. At the risk of encouraging them to raise their prices, they’re a bargain for routine (e.g. 90K) service. They did a ton of work on my car at its last major interval, and the total was less than a grand. When I’ve had an unexpected mechanical problem, they diagnose and fix the problem on the first try.
To sum up, Bay City Automotive heartily gets 5 stars.

you know, as you flip through those penny saver ads, thinking «gee, I really need to get my x, y, z done for my car, cuz it’s a piece of poop» you try to find the one that saves you the MOST money… and well, it’s true people– you get what you pay for. [see my gas 76 station review on white and story. GRRR and wheel works on tully, DOUBLE GRRRRR]
Jim is awesome. Bay city automotive has always given me great customer service. I have a honda civic. and I was a regular for about a year– but for some reason, stopped going because I thought it was on the expensive side for oil changes and such (when you’re 18 – 19, everything is expensive). Then I started going to wheel works and other places for little hiccups here and there. Plus I was out of state for a good couple of years. OK im rambling. ANYWAYS, so after one mess up with wheel works, I decided, I’m going to come to Jim to have him NOT bull shit me. So I took it there, he had it for an hour– came back and said you are fine. You just need to change this and that in a few thousand miles. Wheel works was pullin your chain. A while later, I went to 76 gas station– 20 bucks for an oil change. Who can mess that up? They did. They messed up the lup dup of my engine… so I brought it back to Jim and he said well they overfilled your oil– let me drain it for ya. 40 minutes later. DONE. BOTH times he didn’t charge me a dime. BOTH those times, he had checked my breaks. and guess what BOTH wheel works and 76 gas station said my breaks were fucked. JIM actually brought my breaks out and showed them to me. and said I still have a lot of padding.
ok, cutting to the chase, these guys are honest mechanics. Needle in the hay stack. AND– best part, you do get what you pay for… and honestly, it’s not that expensive, excellent service, and they get it done RIGHT. I’ve never had any problems. SO any car issues I have, I’m definitely definitely bringing it to them…
Now adays, you gotta pay for honesty in the mechanic world—