City Auto Sales & Repair

Found this place from Unilocal.Aly is a great guy, friendly and efficient. I definitely would recommend it to others and come back. It’s hard to find a good place that’s open on Saturdays.

I came here on a referral and was absolutely blown away: honest work at a fair price.
To give you some background, I have a 15-​year-​old Honda for which I do most of the work myself: all oil changes, changing spark plugs /​cap /​rotor, changing brakes, transmission fluid changes, radiator flushes… I enjoy working on my car and will do all the minor work.
One day, my car wouldn’t start. I went through a checklist and arrogantly assumed that the spark plugs were ok; I swapped out the main relay and convinced myself that the fuel pump was dead. I towed the car to City Auto Sales with my diagnosis and asked them to change the fuel pump.
They called me a couple of days later: «We need to change your spark plugs.» Hmm, odd — they only have 35k miles on them, but I gave my permission.
The next day: «Your car is running. It was just the sparks.»
I am floored. I came into the shop as a customer ready and willing to pay for a more expensive job, but they gave me an honest diagnosis and correctly fixed the problem.
Needless to say, I have a lot less faith my OWN skills — but hey, I have a mechanic I can rely on. I will be back for a new clutch and timing belt. They’ve earned my full trust. Highly, highly recommended.

Because of all the five-​star reviews I saw here on Unilocal,I contacted Ely this morning about my car not starting. Big mistake was to call my roadside service for a tow. After 3 hours, no one showed up and I get a call that the tow truck broke down. Ely called his tow company and Brian at Mission Pass Towing arrived in about 40 min. Great guy and I arrived safe and sound with my vehicle. I was in and out in less than an hour. I highly recommend this auto shop – such an honest, hardworking owner and crew.

Elie is the best dude when it is about diagnosing the most complex automobile problems (no matter what brand it is — i have had all different sorts like Audi, Volvo, Acura.). In last 3 years i think i have been to him about 5 – 6 times with the problems which were either mis-​diagnosed by other guys in town or estimated terribly wrong in terms of $$ amount.
Elie has always been the most efficient, accurate and honest about the problem and money he charges. Now i just drop my car and pick it when it is ready — no discussion on expenses because i know he will just do whatever it takes and charge only what it takes for him to repair.

With thanksgiving just passing, i must say, i give thanks for an honest mechanic shop. Ely was very professional and had me taken care of. My car engine blew and he was quick to answer all of my questions and gave me the expert help i needed. Ely will not try to get one over on you. He is probably the last honest mechanic left .i have recommended him to many of my friends and they were also happy with his professionalism. I recommend if you are looking for a car shop, dont hesitate to stop by city auto! THANKS AGAIN Ely. I really appreciated your help and support. Will be seeing you again when my car needs your help
–Kimberly

I know it’s tough to find an honest mechanic but these guys are it. Walked it, they looked at it for free and gave an honest opinion even though they would make zero profit. Don’t judge the place from the outside, they are very good at what they do and very honest as well.

I moved to the Bay Area in early 2014, and was very sad to leave my mechanic of over 5 years back in Arizona. I’m a big fan of seeing someone personally, versus going to a dealership, where I might be looked at as a walking dollar sign. I love cars, and have loved them since I was a teenager. Unfortunately, being a woman somehow puts a misaligned target on my head as «automobile illiterate.» As you can imagine, it’s very infuriating when I get quoted $ 500 to change my front pad brakes when I know very well that it is nowhere near that. Which is the biggest reason why I prefer a mechanic that I can rely on.
I was referred to Elie from a good friend of mine, Jessica. She had been seeing Elie for many years and recommended him to me. I live in San Jose, so it is easily at least a 20 – 25 minute drive, without any traffic. However, with such great reviews from her, and also helping her pick up her car from Elie’s shop when she needed help, I was able to witness what a great job he did without actually being a customer first.
My first customer experience with Elie was for some body work repair. A neighbor in my complex had hit my car and didn’t leave a note. And since some of the apartments in my complex are used for company housing, sometimes the employees have rental cars. Which was exactly the case in my situation. I was being given the run around for ELEVEN MONTHS on trying to get my car repaired from the damages of one of their employees in a rental car. My calls went ignored, voicemails unreturned and emails were apparently «lost in the mail.» I called Elie and asked him for his advice, and expressed my extreme frustration with the whole situation. He told me that he would take care of it, and THE NEXT DAY my car’s repair began. Elie was nice enough to talk to the insurance company for me, since he has a lot of experience with it, and he also helped coach me with the steps that I needed to take, to resolve the issue from my end. Needless to say, a year later with Elie’s help, from City Auto Sales & Repair, my car was fixed and in great shape.
The detail of the work was impeccable. The paint job matched the rest of the body, the front bumper and fender were fixed just like it looked before. I would highly recommend City Auto Sales & Repair to anyone. Not only do you have a great mechanic and shop who know what they’re doing, but you also have someone on your side and that isn’t out to screw you over. And that, to me, is worth it’s weight in gold.

Opens at 8AM (NICE). Closes after 6:30PM (even better). Took my car in at 8:30AM and got it out at 6PM.
Awesome Job Elias. They have great warranty too.

Took my car there and was fixed fast and the price was reasonable as I searched around at few places. Elias was very nice and promised me good service and very efficient…

Thank you Unilocalers for this great recommendation!
My 2012 BMW 5 series had some sort of oil explosion in the engine where the oil started leaking all over the engine, driveway and other areas under the hood. I was so freaked out! My brother, who is an auto mechanic as well (but does not specialize in European cars), took a look at it and scared the crap out of me when he told me 2 things: 1) Best case scenario, you need a new head gasket for about $ 1k and 2) worst case, you need a new engine for like $ 8k-​$ 10k. Both scenario sucked but he suggested to take it to a shop that specializes in BMWs instead of taking it to a BMW service center (because we all know the service center will charge an arm and a leg) so i looked on Unilocal and found these guys.
I called the shop and they told me they can look at the car for free. So i arranged to have it towed on Wednesday 9÷2÷2015.
Today 9÷3÷2015, I received a call with the best news ever. They told me that they called their buddy at the Fremont BMW dealership, gave them the VIN and found that the car was actually RECALLED because of a oil leakage issue in the engine.
What is even more amazing is although this shop will not charge me for anything since they are going to send the car over the BMW to fix it, they are willing to see if they can have BMW arrange a tow to pick up the car and take it there. He told me that he will take care of it and not to worry. WOW!
I NEVER EVER had this kind of service from anyone who is not getting paid for it. ANYWHERE. I am definitely going to take my car here when I need to get it serviced.

I can always trust my car with Elias! I love it here. I’ve brought here now a dozen times. I can always count on it being done when they say it will.

My car failed smog and I needed a mechanic ASAP to end this nightmare. I took my car to Elie and he exceeded my expectations. My car was such a pain to diagnose but Elie didn’t give up. He came through and even changed my brakes for a very good price. He pretty much didn’t charge me for a lot of the time he put into my car and I appreciate it. It’s annoying to have to pay a mechanic to tell you that he can’t fix something or that the problem is not resolved. Elie is honest and reliable. Highly recommended!

I stopped here to do pre purchase car inspection. Mechanic was very helpful.
Immediatly he pointed out major problems and did not charged me for it, since it was obvious that I am not going to buy that car.
Thanks you!

For second time, my car’s battery was dead yesterday when I was expected by my friend to pick her up. I quickly thought of Eli. Eli helped me started my car last time (almost one year ago). He is warm hearted, professional, and humorous.
After knowing what happened, he was so kind and drove to my place to help me start my car. When he came he found that it was because the unlocked back door that drained the battery. And advised to drive the car around for 10−−15 minutes. I follow his suggestion and went to pick my friend up. The car is back to work again!
I definitely recommend Eli to my friend and neighbors if they need help for car repairing. Thank you Eli!

Lee has been working on my car for about four years now. He always gives me an honest opinion and provides quality service at great rates. Lee has helped me out numerous times and has even righted the wrongs of other mechanics I have encountered. I am so grateful to have met such a trustworthy mechanic!
Thank you Lee!

Fast, honest, reliable service. Warm and friendly staff. No hidden charges. Will absolutely recommend and go again.

My service light had been blinked blinked for a while (to be exact — for a month). It really bothered me and made me worried. I have been busy so, no other choice –just let it be… When I was on my spring break, I promised to myself to get it done. I was debating between going to mini cooper service center or just regular auto shop. My warranty with mini was over 2 years ago. I realized I will get charge by the regular rate and will be damn expensive.
Having said that, I decided to shop around the auto shops in the area to check whether they offer mini cooper check up service. With my limited knowledge about car, I called all lists it’s popped up in Unilocal.Honestly speaking, I don’t even know what difference between body shop and auto shop. Some said that they don’t handle the mechanic problem. ok you are the body shop then lol Finally, I came across to find City Auto Sale & Repair.
I called to make an appointment at 8.30 am. Everything went smoothly. Eli, the owner was the one who took care us. At 10.00 am, he called me that we need to change brake, rotor engine oil and filter. Moreover, he fixed my car bumber and touch up color which I had it since last year for Free! All of this was finished around 1.00 pm. It’s same day service! When I picked up my car, he kindly gave me a homemade cookie along with a bottle of starbuck mocha… lol this is the point.
In short, wat a relief! This place is hand down! Eli went beyond my expectation. He stands behind his work and goes the extra mile. He is a great mechanic and knowledgeable. He is also honest and straight forward. Importantly, I was impressed with his friendliness. It’s rare to find this kind of service these day… I don’t hesitate to recommend all of friend to go with him… and of course! his Starbucks won’t impel me to write this review but his service does !! Great job Eli!

I stopped by a few minutes before they closed to have find out why my check engine light is on. Could not believe how many people were in line just to talk to the boss, but he took care of everyone even way past business hours. Too many codes came up so he opened the hood to inspect. Note that we just back from a long trip and had to have my starter replaced while we were out of town, but did not offer this info. After a few minutes, he reset my light and advised that I drive it for 10 – 20 miles & to bring it back if the light comes back on. He suspects that the sensor had been jogged a bit and caused it to malfunction. Sent me on my merry way without charging me. 170 miles later and it’s still good!
This place just earned a repeat customer!

I was looking for a shop for a brake job for my ’03 Honda the Friday after Christmas, which was hard to do since everyone was so busy around the holidays. Also, finding an honest shop can be difficult being a female driver but Elie was straight to the point and let me know that my rear brakes were okay for another year so I just needed my front ones changed. I really appreciated that.
He’s also super friendly! He offered me some home made cookies and even asked if I wanted a burrito when he was ordering lunch for the shop. He also offered that he’d change a wire that’s holding my front bumper on the side to a clip so it’s more secure.
One star was taken off for the following reasons:
1) It took much longer than the estimated time they gave me and it was inconvenient for me since I had to work after. They were waiting on some parts to arrive, I think. It would’ve been nice if they kept me posted instead of waiting until I asked why it was taking so long.
2) Also as soon as I drove off, I heard clunking noises so immediately had to drive back for them to adjust something, which was kind of disappointing considering it’s just a brake job.
3) I also had whizzing noise coming from turning the wheel, especially when it’s cold. Jiffy Lube had said that it’s the compressor, not the fluid because the fluid was full. Elie said it was the fluid and there was no leak but after filling it, it did not fix the problem.
Lastly, when I asked for a quote over the phone for a brake change he estimated $ 150/​pair but I ended up getting charged $ 240 since I had the pad and rotor changed. The price is very competitive but it would’ve been nice to get a «range» rather than the lower cost. But He took off $ 50 from his original quote of ~$ 300, basically rotated my tires and filled transmission fluid for free, which I thought was good customer service.
Overall, good experience, good people, good service.

Ely is the best. This guy had the best customer service EVER!
Going above and beyond for you and your vehicle is just a call of Duty for him. His experience and knowledge are top par. If you are in the bay this is the place to go. Honest, experience, timely and always the best price and services.