The Original Specialists Jaguar, Land Rover, & Audi

The best of the best!!! These guys are the real deal. Top drawer mechanics who do an extraordinary job. I am the original owner of a 1986 Jaguar, and they have serviced my car since I moved to San Diego in 1989. Just to be clear. This is not a toy I take out of the garage on special occasions. It is my only vehicle, and The Original Specialists have kept my car in tip-​top working order for 26 years! They know what they’re doing.
Over the years they gained my confidence with their integrity and work ethic. I have never been pushed to have unnecessary repairs made. If an issue is discovered during maintenance, they monitor the item, and don’t recommend repair or replacement until the time it truly needs to be taken care of. On many occasions they have gone out of their way to find alternative and less expensive options for me. And their prices are extremely competitive.
How’s the customer service? If there was an Academy Award for customer service, Tod would have at least a dozen Oscars! He listens, he’s patient, and having been a Jaguar mechanic himself, he is extremely knowledgeable. He’s also kind and calm. It’s your car. You’re upset. He understands. How often do you get that in the world… you walk in, and even if you may not be on your best behavior, there’s Tod behind the counter, calm, kind, and competent. Does it get better than that?
Call them. Take your car in. You won’t be sorry.

Great service, was thankful that they offered me options to save myself some money. This place ended up being over $ 500 less than the dealership and even offered me a loaner while they repaired my car!!!

In life, you know, we look for four things: 1) good health, 2) good relationships, 3) a nice living, and 4) a great auto repair shop we can trust! I can’t help you with Nos. 1 – 3 but No. 4? If you own a Jag, an Audi, or a Land Rover, take your vehicle here. It isn’t fancy. It isn’t the easiest to find. It doesn’t have a putting green, or an attached restaurant. But it does have fine people you can trust to do the best they can to repair your car, for an honest rate. Todd, Mike, and David are «the guys» who will tell you what needs to be done, no up-​sell, no hard-​sell, just the truth. I’ve had two Jags the past 20 years, and no other auto mechanics have ever touched them but The Original Specialists. I kind of have a feeling that’s why I’ve only had to buy two!

With mechanics I always look for two things:
1. Pleasure/​easy to work with
2. Interested in what’s good for my car and my wallet.
Basically, I need to be able to trust my mechanic to tell me what is important to replace and what can keep on leaking.
These guys really impressed me in both of these categories, being very easy to work with and competitive in knowledge and price. I would definitely and already do recommend them to my friends

I have owned seven Jaguars over 30+ years and still own three. Original Specialists has worked on all of them. I cannot recall a single instance where I was unhappy with their work or they didn’t resolve the underlying reason I brought the car (s) to their facility. Their prices are competitive and their staff has been knowledgeable and helpful. I can’t speak to their expertise in other marques, but I can recommend them without reservation for Jag service and repairs.

I have a 1996 Jaguar XJ6 and got it when it was 5 years old. After spending a lot of money taking it to the dealership (Cush Jaguar at the time) for basic work that I’m not sure was even necessary, I started coming to Original Specialists. I love my Jag, but if I hadn’t found Original Specialists I probably would have had to sell it years ago due to the cost of some services. I’ve been coming to this place and working with Todd and Dave and other techs for 14 years now. They own Jags too by the way so familiarity with these cars is obvious. My biggest thing for car service is that the place be honest in letting me know when work is really necessary and the potential impact of waiting to have it fixed — and then letting me decide when it happens based on my personal budget and other factors. I like to be able to call in and ask questions when I’m not necessarily sure I should bring it in – thanks to Todd he’s always there. That’s why I keep coming back and that’s why I recommend it to my friends who are Jag owners. If you make an appointment, please be aware they’re the SECOND Jaguar place on Santa Fe Street. I think they lose some people who aren’t familiar with their location which is a shame.

The Original Specialists knows what they are doing regardless of what you have read. I have been here many times with my Land Rover and they never disappoint. They can beat the dealer price on anything, any day of the week. They are always very professional and will not steer you wrong. David and Todd the techs are awesome and the owner Mike, if you have the pleasure of meeting him, is an upstanding man who does everything to keep him business top notch. I have great knowledge of the car industry and how shops are supposed to be run and look and Mike does everything by the book. The bay is always full, the floor is always clean, he takes all safety precautions and is extremely good to his staff. Spending enough time in his waiting room, you will get to know how awesome this shop really is and how good of care your vehicle is in. Not to mention they can do just about anything and always do a complimentary car wash before your vehicle is returned, which is usually pretty quick. I highly recommend this business to anyone with a Mini Cooper, Land Rover, Jaguar and Audi’s.

RIPPED ME OFF COMPLETELY!!! This is NO JOKE…
LIARS…ABSOLUTE LIARS
I went in with some various issues to my 2010 Range Rover Supercharged. One of the issues was needing new brake pads… easy right? Finally got the car back and the car nose dived and pulled to the right when you pressed on the brakes… this was after they supposedly test drove the car and had me take a taxi to come up there and pick it up.
So I took it back and asked them to fix it, so a few days later I get it back and… the brakes were soft and not too responsive? Plus there were some other issues going on I wont bore you with…
SO they took it back again… they TOOK THE CAR TO RANGE ROVER DEALER to have them look at it… then gave it back to me and claimed that it was just how a $ 109,000 car with a 510 horsepower engine and 21,000 miles was supposed to be…
I thought that was odd, but hey I’m not a car guy so ok …over the next month the brakes squeaked anytime you used them and got softer.
I took the car today to another shop to have them look at it. I showed them my old invoice from the the Original Specialists and they looked at the brakes. I just got a call from the owner of the new place I took it too and he was sorry to tell me that the 2 front brake pads were the cheapest pads you can buy… about $ 55 dollars and I was charged $ 431.50 on my invoice… JUST FOR THE PAD… not including installation and that the rotors and all parts around them (which I also had installed) were not lubricated!!!
He said the pads were not even safe for that vehicle…
So EVEN when I complained and took the car back up there and told them they felt soft and that they felt dangerous to use on a 6000 pound SUV… they said that they were fine…
LIARS…ABSOLUTE LIARS… I caught them and I am going there tomorrow to get a refund. ABSOLUTE LIARS.
Review other places you’ve been to

These guys don’t know how to repair Audi’s — do not take your car to them. They charged me $ 1,200.00 for work I didn’t need and I had to go elsewhere to get the job done. The manager doesn’t have any repair experience-​and the mechanic’s training is questionable. Too bad I didn’t see Max’s review before going there last year. And yes, they don’t back their work– and yes they want to re change for poor workmanship. This place needs to be investigated! Money laundering comes to mind.

Since they specialize in Jaguars and Range Rovers they know them pretty well. The work gets done well and the staff has been doing it a long time. The cost is more than other places which is a drawback, but that’s the only problem I’ve ever had here.

Friendly, professional shop that does great work and answers your questions. The prices are fair and the service has always been top notch! It’s the most trust worthy repair facility I have ever gone to. The owner respect’s your car and your wallet and honestly recommends repairs based on the practicality of the repair. The quality is first rate and the workers are very knowledgeable of foreign cars.

I have been taking my car here for awhile. They are very nice and try, but I find myself spending a lot for troubleshooting that is not always effective. May try another option next time.

I found this place after purchasing my Land Rover, as the previous owners had brake and other work done there.
It’s hard to call it a «shop» when it is so clean and pristine, not just the lobby, but the working/​dock area as well.
I just had a brake light that stayed on, but knew there was something else wrong, but not exactly what.
They did a diagnostic and were VERY honest and caught a couple of MAJOR things that another mechanic missed. It turns out a belt was just about to break, and nobody else was able to see that, amongst other things.
Just during the diagnostic process they topped off fluids, washed and dried it and gave me a courtesy ride as well.
I will have future work done here, they are a little pricey, but they are Land Rover and Jaguar SPECIALISTS, they do work you can’t get done at Joe Schmoe Auto, etc. and are HONEST and nice guys.

I took my 1996 XJ6 to them because it was over heating, they said they could not find an exact reason for the problem and tried a lot of trouble shooting. This ended up costing me over $ 1,000; a new temperature sending unit, some new hoses etc… My problem was not resolved and only ended up getting worse. I took my jag back to them a few times, they looked at it for free guaranteeing their work which was nice, but at last I had to take my car to another place to be fixed.

I remember coming here over 20 years ago with my dad when I was a kid. Some of the same mechanics that were here then are still here now. These guys know their stuff! They are off of the Garnet Avenue exit and Damon Street and can be seen from the 5 freeway so they are super easy to find. They just started working on Land Rovers so if you have one, bring it here. If the service job will take a while, they do have a courtesy shuttle to take you where you need to go and they will wash your car when finished with it. There is also a lobby with a table, chairs, and coffee. I highly recommend this place!