Penasquitos Auto Repair

This shop was recommended by a friend who was employed with Napa Auto Parts. I asked him for a place where women can take their cars for repairs and not feel taken advantage of, condescend to, and disrespected. He sent me here and added that his whole family used its services. I’ve been going here 5 years and trust them completely. They will do necessary upkeep and repairs and will tell you honestly when you do NOT need a repair. Prices are reasonable but if you want cheap, you’ll pay for it in other ways. (dishonesty being the biggest problem!)

If I could give zero stars, I would. Confidence and honesty means everything when it comes to a mechanic and for years I believed Sean and the guys here. I never checked the parts numbers to see what they ACTUALLY were putting in my cars. We took all 5 cars here for years, then for some reason last year in Jan., Sean kept saying «call back next week for an appt.» when I needed an oil change, and for 4 weeks I did. He never would make an appt. for me. Got tired of trying to get in and decided they didn’t want my business anymore. Went to a shop recommended by a friend (been very happy there), took it in for a service last week, found out I needed a new water pump! The thing was, PQ Auto Repair had just replaced it 20,000 miles ago! Called Sean when we found out, he told us the warranty was only 12 mos., or 1200 miles. Really? For a Toyota part? Sean never offered anything, not to stand by their work, work something out, nothing (until I went to see him about the GMB pump the day after it was fixed — easy to offer to help AFTER its been fixed). Had the work done by our current mechanic, who showed us the cracked water pump — a GMB brand we were charged $ 159.96, almost 3 years ago! My new Toyota water pump I paid for on Thursday cost $ 143.07. Sean always said they were using Toyota parts all of those years we went to him, NOW he says «Toyota equivalent». I wasn’t given the choice to buy a cheaper water pump, it was just put in and I was charged more than what a Toyota brand would have cost! It makes me want to go back through all the records for our 5 cars to check the parts that were put in. I trusted them blindly, I wish I hadn’t. I wouldn’t trust them.

a good and honest auto shop is hard to come by. the gents at PQ auto repair are exactly that. this place was initially recommended to me by a close friend of mine who is also a mechanic and takes his vehicles there as well.
i have been going here for a handful of years now and my family have subsequently started bringing their cars here as well. Sean at the front desk consistently goes out of his way to accommodate and inform the customer no matter how busy it gets there, and Tony always gives it to you straight in terms of what your vehicles’ needs are and what your options are.
i live in downtown. i wouldn’t make the trek up to rancho penasquitos for something as simple as an oil change if i didn’t want to support such a well run and friendly organization.

I went in with no appointment on New Years Eve. Sean, who works in front, is very efficient and friendly. He took care of each and every customer with a smile and kind words and seemed to know most customers. A+ for customer service!
Brent, who fixed my car, was great! My car was making a weird noise and he took it out for a drive and figured out what the problem was. My car was fixed and ready to go a couple hours later. Brent was awesome! I highly recommend this place! They also have free internet, coffee, and water in the waiting room! Overall a great experience!

I don’t live in PQ anymore but I make the trek from downtown to this garage because of the excellent service I consistently receive. I have gotten consistent high-​quality professional service from these folks for the last several years. They communicate with me on when my car will be ready and help me prioritize the work that needs to be done on my car when my budget is tight. They also help me understand the work that is being done and charge me a fair price for their quality work. I will absolutely continue to bring my car to this auto repair shop. They have over and over again earned my loyalty.

Fair prices.
Friendly service.
Quick service.
Professional.
Recommended!

They may not have the cheapest rates, but they seem to be trustworthy. I told them they made a mistake on my bill and asked them to change it. Later I found out I was wrong about the bill and let them know, but they let it stand anyway. The difference was only about 10 bucks, but that was a really nice thing for them to do. Some of the best customer service I’ve had anywhere.

I woke up one morning with a dead battery. and not just dead, but like… DNR.
My «car guy» is not local to where I live. I found these guys online and they opened early. They let me come right in, and totally hooked me up. Thank you to Sean and everyone who worked on my car :)

Youngest sis needed a smog cert for her car so we called this place to inquire about their smog services. The man we spoke to (gosh can’t remember his name) was informative, patient, and honest with our questions over the phone. They don’t take appointments so it’s probably best to call ahead and get an update on their customer load for that moment.
She forgot her DMV papers so I drove to this auto repair to meet them for the smog check. The location is located in the 76 has station and there’s a decent waiting room (gratis coffee and water awaits those who are thirsty). I would say my sis waited about 50+ minutes for the smog check. The cost was $ 49.95 (inspection) + $ 8.25 (cert). Not bad and it’s about average for what a repair shop would charge for a car that healthily pasts a smog inspection :)
So yeah not a bad place to check out if you’re in need of a smog cert.

I ended up not needing the services of this company, but I give them a thumbs up for great customer service.
My car radiator hose sprung a leak about two miles from the shop. In the case my boyfriend wasn’t able to fix the hose (which he is able to do), I called to find out their night drop off policy.
The gentleman whom I was on the phone with just before closing informed me of the policies on how to drop my car keys off in their night box. He also told me he would get the car fixed up tomorrow.
As I mentioned above, I ended up not needing the services. However their being so polite to a potential customer made me happy. I work off Mira Mesa Blvd, so I know where I will be taking my car in the future if I need any sort of work or maintenance. 1

I’ve been bringing my car here for last 5 yrs. These guys are super honest & knowledgeable. Today I got a new radiator, smog check, & routine service. My car is always done in a very timely manner. I highly recommend them.

Not happy with this place. Way overpriced. The other reviewer that said this place is way overpriced was correct. $ 1000 for a brake job? Unfortunately, I was in a bind and I sooooo wanted this place to be good. In my neighborhood and I always try to go out of my way to support local businesses, but I cannot endorse this place. Way overpriced and lousy customer service. The guy said my car would be ready by noon — probably sooner he said. So I trusted him, five minutes before noon, he calls me to tell me it will be another half hour because they hadn’t done the brake fluid flush and the guy was out test driving another vehicle. I didn’t get my car until 1:30pm (and hour and a half because he’s not communicating with his mechanic). I will not be going back to this place and will look for somewhere else next time.
I am guessing the positive reviews on this place were before it changed hands or people that like to pay too much for auto-​repair and lousy customer service.

Great and honest people. I went to a smog place in poway first. Worker told me you failed all over the board. Then his explanation was all over the place. So I paid and left. Call this place and spoke to Sean. Went it told him my story and 30 minutes later the car passed smog. No lies just good work and good answers. Pricing was good and I’m glad I found them

I went in today to get a smog check for my RV. The state of California requires not more than 1 monitor not checked in the ODBII for a vehicle to pass smog. As long as the there are no fault codes recorded. The owner of Penasquitos Auto Repair said he will fail my vehicle if there is one monitor not checked. He just lost my business and I will tell all my friends not to go here. Why would Penasquitos Auto Repair place a higher requirement to pass smog than what the state of California requires. Only reason I can think of, he is incompetent or would use this as an excuse to rip people of declaring repairs are needed when they are not.
Jeff

I really like this place. The owners are young men who have lived in the area their whole lives. The first time I went, I was impressed with the constant stream of local business. The second time, they were very helpful and their work is fast. My insurance adjuster even was impressed (Allstate). Both jobs were very big, one a new clutch and two a new brake system. Efficient, honest and helpful. All I want in auto repair.

REFUSED service! Real classy!
Took my car in for the 60,000 mile maintenance I had scheduled earlier in the week, and also for a noise coming from my front end. Without telling me anything about pricing, I was handed a paper to sign with a $ 56.00 charge. I asked what the charge was for, and was told it was for the work to check the problem in the front end. Ok, fair enough. I said, «scratch that, let’s just do the 60,000 mile maintenance.» I said another shop looked for free, couldn’t isolate a problem, and didn’t charge me. I didn’t argue about the fee — I just changed my mind since they charge to diagnose. I said I would just like the 60k mile maintenance.
I was told, «ok that’s fine». I went to hand my keys to the guy and he tells me «that’s alright.» I was confused. He said it again. I asked if he refusing me service. He said yes. I asked why. «Because I know what type of car you have». «I don’t need any issues.» — Ok, what does that mean? I asked several times again why I was being refused service and got no more explanation than that.
Prior to this part of the conversation, I had told the guy I wanted the 60,000 mile maintenance, but the air filter and oil change wouldn’t be necessary, I do those myself. I was then sarcastically asked if I just wanted my tires rotated. I said no, I want the rest if the maintenance. I even had the exhaustive list in hand. So you know, there are a lot of other things that go into a 60k mile maintenance. Manual transaxle fluid, coolant, differential fluid, belt inspection and changes, brake line inspections, and on and on… It’s around $ 700-​$ 1,000 depending on the car and the shop.
So why was I refused service? Because I want to have some say over what service is going to be done? That’s ridiculous! That is so insulating!!!
You don’t want my business? You don’t like money? I don’t get it. You don’t know how to service my car? Say so, don’t turn me away for no reason. I would have let you do what you could and taken it somewhere else for anything you couldn’t handle.
Let me say that so anyone reading this gets the context, because I always wonder about ‘the other side of the story’ in bad reviews. I had not, and never did, raise my voice. Nor did I insult anyone or do anything else that warrant turning a customer away. I had given my address and phone number. I was obviously there for work to be done.
I guess because of their prime location this place picks and choose customers based on if the people have no basic automotive knowledge and want someone they can stick it too with the bill. I’ve never been denied service in my life. This shop is a real class act. Thanks «Sean».
Avoid this place at all costs.

I really miss this place. They always did great work on our cars and never ripped us off like a lot of other places. We recently moved to otay ranch, but after paying 85 dollars for a synthetic oil change down here, I think I would rather drive the 30 minutes here and get good work done by trustworthy people.

I went here with my check engine light on and the problem was solved with ease. The gentleman at the desk, Sean, was more then helpful calling me whenever something came up and informing me of everything going on. They are very fair and only did repairs for what was needed to be done. Very honest shop. Ill be going back for sure.

I just got hung up on by a nice gentleman who didn’t like the fact that I pointed out that his price for replacing lug nuts and studs on my car was outrageous. I tried to point out that I was quoted something different but ended up having a conversation by myself. Thanks!
PS: I just realized this might not have been the place I called. Forgive me.

Yup, it’s a gas station /​auto repair shop. However I can vouch that these guys are more than capable of handling pretty much all repair issues. I’ve had to fix several mechanical problems (one major) on a 200k import and they completed all work to my satisfaction.
— Friendly
— Correct diagnosis (No «digging around» to figure out an issue. They know what it is right away).
— Fair Pricing
— Some wiggle room on price if you’re having a lot of service done.