Al’s Tire & Tune

BEWARE!!! TOTAL RIP OFF place!!! to all customers who might be looking for SMOG CHECK certification in Monrovia to be certified by STAR STATION only.

Al is friendly and makes you feel like you can trust him. Got a couple tires replaced here and just got a smog check done. Not giving 5 stars since the smog check seems a little expensive compared to other nearby locations at $ 55. Both times we’ve been here, Al has gotten us in on short notice and finished the work quickly.

Have you seen the Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets a $ 2,800 repair quote from his mechanic? George’s response is classic «Of course they’re trying to screw you – that’s what they do. It’s because you don’t know anything about what’s going on under there! They could tell you you need a new Johnson rod in their for all you know.*»
This is why Al is so awesome. I’ve used him on multiple occasions and he’s always been straight up with me, not too mention affordable. I especially appreciate that he does the same for my wife, who took her car in one time simply because the check engine light was on. Al took a look and simply reset the engine, no charge.
I’ve done big and small with Al — new clutch, new connector wires to the battery, oil changes, tires, etc. Al never tries to up-​sell and usually comes in under the other guys. The place itself is no frills, but there’s enough parking in the next lot if something goes wrong and you need to just drop your car off when he’s not open, as I’ve had to do twice.
Plus, Al is a generally cool guy. So if you’ve got repairs, give him a call. He’ll give you a straight up, no bs answer, promise.
* The classic mechanic lecture from Seinfeld:

Went to see Al at last minute notice to inspect a car we were at a dealer nearby. He was very helpful and thorough at the car inspection. Great guy, professional service and clean work space! The honesty was as though I was at a friends shop!

The worst $ 60 I’ve spent in a while.
Came here to get my smog checked. My check engine light was on so I asked if he was qualified to fix any problems related to the smog check that the check engine light might be causing. He charged me $ 60 to tell me that the check engine light wouldn’t allow me to pass my smog check (which I already knew), and then proceeded to tell me that I should drive the car around for a while and see if the light would go off and then come back. What?! My tags were due and I needed a mechanic, so I took my car someplace else.

The last honest mechanic.
Thankfully this place is close to my work for all my auto needs. Oil changes, smog checks, crazy gas pedal surging, that funny rattle, etc.
Al was referred to me by a couple of people I know. One of whom is an actual employed mechanic (at another place) and assured me Al is honest. Another is a friend who really knows his stuff about cars and also assured me of Al’s honest, quality, fairly priced work.
Al once referred me to another place for a problem I had that he thought could be done faster and more efficiently at another place. What mechanic these days is honest enough to refer you somewhere else if they think that is the best choice for you? Not many.
He doesn’t try to force extra unnecessary work on you. As a woman who knows very little about cars, I finally feel secure taking my vehicle in for maintenance and repair. As a man who has a woman who knows very little about cars, you can feel secure sending your wife/​daughter/​girlfriend here.
It’s a little hard to see from the street, so you may have driven by it and didn’t even know it was there. It’s worth the tiny effort to hunt it down. It’s in a little industrial auto alley east of Weinerschnitzel. Pull into the little side street, Cypress, next to the hot dog place and its the first auto place you see with the drive way on the left side of the street.

What a great experience at Al’s! I just moved here from out of state and needed a very quick smog. He was so courteous and efficient. And when I came back to get my car, he even gave me a business card for a totally different mechanic who specializes in my type of car, just in case I hadn’t yet found a local audi mechanic. I will definitely be back and will be happy to refer him to folks!

Al is great. It is such a nice feeling to know i can drop off a vehicle, tell him the problem, give him the keys, and tell him to call me with a diagnostic, then to fix the problem. All of this done with a fair price. he has worked on my last 3 work trucks and i even stopped taking my new cars to the dealership for routine maintenance because i was sick of getting added costs from my dealer. I completely trust Al and his work.

I was a visitor of the city of Duarte from the distant land of San Diego when I unfortunately had a slow leak. I came across Al’s Tires through my Unilocal app. Fortunately for me, it was the closest tire shop to my hotel.
Anyways, Al and his young associate wern’t able to fix my tire because it was beyond repair but they went out of there way to assist me in finding other options.
I really appreciated it because usually businesses of this type won’t refer you to there competitors. He wasn’t looking out for his own personal gain but was just being a kind human being.
If I lived in this area, I know without a doubt this is where I would go for my car needs. They worked on my tire for about a half hour, yet he didn’t charge me. Stand up guy!
If u see this Al, I was the guy with the hybrid. Thanx!

I bless the day I found Al’s Tire & Tune.
This little hidden gem of a mechanic is nicely sequestered behind a Wienerschnitzel’s and across the street from a 24 Hour Fitness. After being disgusted with other mechanics in my area, I decided to try out Al’s. Believe me when I say that Alfred is a genuine guy. He’s honest, the fees are fair and service is taken care of in a timely manner. Plus, he’s super nice!
He’s been my mechanic going on 8 years now and I’ve never looked elsewhere. I dread the day he decides to retire. Hopefully by then, we’ll be driving hydro cars!

Only recently moved to LA and was extremely worried about finding a new mechanic in this area. I was quite lucky to stumble on Al’s shop when getting a smog check done on my car. I’ve been back there 4 or 5 times now for oil changes, tire problems, and a few other odds and ends on both my car and my wife’s car. He’s always been very upfront about pricing and I’ve never felt as though I was being scammed (and I’ve had that feeling once or twice regarding my car). Several times he has told me to wait and see if situations with my car get worse since repairs could be costly and are probably not necessary. A less scrupulous mechanic would have charged a ton for un-​needed work.
One slight problem with his shop is finding it. I suggest a careful map search before heading out. You need to turn south onto the tiny road «Cypress Ave» from Huntington and hang a left into the parking lot where the road turns 90 degrees (it is immediately on your left after turning into the lot).