Chiefs’ Regent

Honest as the day is long!
I took my car in for what I thought was a scheduled tune up and to see if I needed the brakes done. I left without needing anything done on my car. It was in good shape. They revieved with me how the car looked and advised me to come back in 15K miles for the tune up.
When was the last time you left a repair shop feeling good? They have my business for life…

Robert is simply the best! He is so friendly and can fix any problem that I’ve had with my car. I won’t trust anyone else with it!
Plus the gas station there has the cheapest gas in town!

Owned and operated by retired Navy Chiefs, this establishment is a staple in Poway for all of my family’s auto needs.
From our Hondas, Toyotas, BMW’s, Volvos, Mercedes and Fords, we’ve brought all of our cars to Chief’s Regent since they opened more than 20 years now and are always welcomed with friendly, experienced and expert mechanics that go the extra mile to ensure our cars are taken care of.
From oil changes to engine overhauls and smog checks, these retired Navy Chiefs work hard to guarantee their product, and for folks like me, my family, all of our friends and the community of Poway and beyond, it’s a comforting, homegrown relief from the rigors of corporate Jiffy Lubes with big signs and sub par service.
If you need your car worked on, visit Robert! If he could spend his Navy career making sure the planes our country’s pilots fly are safe and sound, you better believe he’ll do the same for your car.
Support your veteran, get great service, and get your vehicle repaired for a reasonable price!

Robert has worked on my cars for years. I used to take my cars directly to the dealership and without telling him the diagnosis the dealerships used to give me, he’d give me an honest assessment and I was able to validate that the work being done on my vehicles was the proper solution. This is a no bs place. The work is honest, they don’t upswell me on things I don’t need, and the work is always consistently great.

Unfortunately my 2001 Sentra had engine trouble when I was out visiting my family in Poway. Fortunately it was just down the street from Chief’s and I managed to get my car into them. On a busy Friday afternoon they diagnosed the problem before 5 and told me my cracked radiator would be repaired in one day. By Saturday morning I was back in business. Thanks Chief’s for saving my weekend!

Why only 3 stars? These filipino men were very kind, honest, professional and when work couldn’t be performed here, they recommended Star Smog Check down the road.
You don’t see many honest workers in the mechanical field anymore!
Thank you!!! Highly recommended… My family has been bringing their vehicles here for years…
Salamat!!!

I took my car here for service, they ended up breaking the muffler mounts, then they re installed them backwards and mounted my muffler with a clothing hanger, and the worst part was they didn’t even tell me what they had done, so i didn’t notice the damage until I had gotten home. I would recommend never going to this place. I personally will never use this shop again

Honest service! Robert is the go to guy if I need anything done to my vehicle. The mechanics are all about safety and very polite and willing to talk about your car anytime there’s a concern. Thanks again CHIEFS…

Dishonest. Lousy
They gave me a discount for replacing my timing belt, … did the whole job for $ 250ish which was a really nice deal. 5 months later the water pump broke and with it, broke the timing belt and some other parts, costing $ 700to repair.
Little did I know before I asked them to repair the water pump damage that water pump should be really replaced at the same time as the timing belt! The ‘discount’ they had given me to replace my timing belt was really a scam, a «time-​bomb» waiting to go off to cost me more in repairs. Another mechanic told me that if they replace the timing belt and not the water pump, it’s likely that it would break in a few months — as it did for me.
2 days after all this, I made the mistake of going back to them again to replace my thermostat (radiator was overheating). He said the part was around $ 15 and would take him less than 20 mins to replace. He billed me $ 120 after replacing it! How much are they charging for labor?!

My family and I have been going to Chiefs’ for years; even after we moved up to Ramona. They’ve done regular maintenance all the way up to body work from a fender bender I was involved in. Their prices are fair and from what I’ve experienced they are very honest. I’ve taken my jeep there before to have them look into something small and they didn’t charge me anything; other shops would have charged me at least $ 50. The ONLY reason I didn’t give them 4 stars was the fact they are a little unorganized (which I think they are working on fixing). They are just great mechanics that seem to fall short with customer service; like not calling you when the car is done or forgetting to leave your keys with the gas station attendant for pick up. Other than that they are great.

Took my 2003 Durango to them because the transmission was slipping due a mistake made by the Jiffy Lube in Poway. To make this short, to properly check the transmission fluid in a 2003 Durango the car needs to be put into NEUTRAL. Not PARK. It says it plainly on the dipstick. Jiffy Lube FAILED to do so and so did Chiefs. Chiefs then argued that it was fine when in fact it was STILL extremely low causing me to burn my transmission out more. The fact these guys will not check things properly is a RED FLAG.
If you have a Durango, always double check on the dipstick and w/​the people to make sure they are doing things the CORRECT way.

I first stumbled upon Chief’s Regent when I moved to Poway in 1988 when I was looking for a place to do a clutch replacement. The estimate included machining the flywheel so that was what I was prepared to spend. I knew that these guys were honest when the final bill was lower since the flywheel was OK. In the decades since, they have proven time and time again that they are just hardworking, honest guys. I would never go anywhere else unless they recommend it. It is such a nice piece of mind to trust your mechanic… and I trust Robert and Danny wholeheartedly.

Danny, Robert and the whole crew at Chiefs’ Regent are friendly and honest. They don’t have a fancy waiting room with magazines and coffee, but more importantly, they don’t sell you services that you don’t need. This is a no-​nonsense mechanic’s shop. They don’t upsell the «fill in the blank» system flush. If you ask, you can opt for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts or after-​market parts. When I had Danny replace my fuel pump, he laid out the costs of OEM vs. after market pumps. I opted for the after-​market part since it was about $ 200 less expensive. Bottom line: These guys aren’t the cheapest nor the most expensive mechanics, but they are definitely honest and highly skilled. These qualities are pretty hard to find in mechanics these days.

You can’t go wrong with these Gents– Retired US Navy Chiefs (MC, etc.) — Honesty and Integrity… and Quiet Excellence– Concur with all the other reviews.
I trust these guys to take care of my son’s car. None Better– you will not be sorry with Master Chief Robert, Danny, et. al.
r/​CAPTAIN US NAVY

First of all I’m disable second i truth-​ed this guys they DID NOT DO THE WORK BUT TOOK MY MONEY (420.00)& consumer affair & the BBB is involved. I call to tell them about the car it wasn’t working Danny said Robert wasn’t there. I called for 3 days the 3^rd day Danny called me a BITCH. I talked to Robert on that Monday about it he wouldn’t fix my car he told me to drive it more & he said Danny called me a bitch because his wife died 3 or 5 yrs ago and he was angry. I call a less 8 times to resolve this & now the state has my car they had there mechanics check it & said the part wasn’t repaired a piece was added to make it run. The whole case will be on the BBB website & consumer affair. I tried to ask them to fix my car right again & he told me to go to HELL! U go in with one problem u will come out with others especially women!!!

Love this place. Excellent service at prices you can’t beat! I have had 3 cars in the last 14 years, and Chiefs Regent is the only shop I trust with my auto repair.

Robert is a great mechanic and gets things done so fast. I agree with Geraldine in that he checks and then fixes what you ask him to check and doesn’t try to sell you anything you don’t need. He’s been taking care of my 91 Honda Accord that still drives beautifully after 18 years! Very honest people!

It’s the repair shop in the Exxon gas station. Always pretty busy and reasonably so. They fix everything, from oil changes, to 60,000/100,000 mile maintenance. He does it all!
Great, honest, car mechanic. I have been coming to this shop for years now. Danny definately knows what he’s doing and charges reasonable prices. He doesn’t try to sell you things your car doesnt need, and doesn’t try to fix things that don’t need repairing. I trust him with my baby, my Acura — and I don’t trust many people with my car.