Nor Cal Automotive

Phil is an awesome individual. He fixed my brakes in 24hrs and has very good pricing. It’s hard to find a trustworthy mechanic these days. Go see Phil if you want not only to save your piece of mind but want excellent reliable service. Thanks Phil !!!

Definitely recommend this place to everyone! Totally trustworthy and thorough. It’s too bad they aren’t all like Phil!

Phil is the nicest mechanic ever!!! Waaayyyyy less expensive than the Subaru dealership and faster!!! Best shop in town by far! Shop is clean and the service is excellent — I will 100% be going back!!! Thanks Phil!!!

Phil is honest, quick, and reasonably priced. He’s been working on my 2003 Lexus IS300 for a few years now, and even though I moved to the North Bay, I still take my car to him. He’s done major and minor services, always upfront with what it’s going to cost. Couldn’t ask for a better experience!

Phil is a great guy. I had him do maintenance, repairs, and a suspension upgrade on my 2007 Mazda3 years ago. I’ve moved to the South Bay but will continue to use his services when the need arises. An honest mechanic is hard to find and he’s definitely at the top of my list.

I found Nor Cal Automotive on Unilocal and have been bringing my car there for service. Phil is knowledgeable and thorough, and you can tell he has a lot of experience working with cars. The shop is clean and scheduling an appointment is really easy. Bottom line — Phil is a good, personable guy who will give you an honest opinion on what needs to be done (or not done) to your car. Highly recommended.

It’s great to have a good mechanic you can trust. The rates are good and you’ll get an honest take on whether or not some problems are worth fixing. No hard sell at Nor Cal.

I was pretty upset when my old mechanic moved to Sacramento because its hard to find a good mechanic you can trust. I asked around and Phil was strongly recommended in San Mateo. Well, I just got my brakes replaced and I’m completely satisfied. Phil gave my car a once over since he hadn’t worked on it and I had a sloshing sound coming from my engine bay. Brakes are solid and no more sloshing. Pricing was fair too. I’m not a stickler on price since I value trust and good work over a good price, and Phil delivers. I usually don’t have many issues with my Camry, but I know where I’ll go if I do.

Found Phil through Unilocal based on the great ratings, and I am glad I did. Had some suspension work done by Phil for my Subaru WRX including sway bar and end link installations. The job was professionally done and the price was very fair. I was very pleased about it, I will definitely bring my car to Phil for future services.

It is really difficult to find a reliable, affordable mechanic, and I’m so glad we found Phil. His girlfriend, Maria cuts my hair (she’s terrific and at Avenue Salon in Burlingame) and so I found out about Phil from her. He’s extremely responsive regarding scheduling, stays in great touch with you while he is repairing your car, and runs everything by you before completing any work. He is terrific and really such a great find. We will not go anywhere else to have our cars fixed and will tell everyone we know about Phil. I forgot to mention that he will fix your car fast, which is EXTREMELY important because it is impossible not having one around here!

Found Phil at NorCal Auto on Unilocal,and went to him for his 5-​star reviews, and he did not disappoint. I initially took my Subaru WRX in for an oil change, but found out my battery was only running at 40%! Phil took care of the battery and oil change in about 1.5 hours, and my car feels great! THANKS PHIL!

The top 3 things I look for in a mechanic are: 1. Quality, 2. Trustworthiness, 3. Pricing.
I had to change my timing belt and water pump on my Acura, so I shopped around for the best place that can do the job and give me the best value.
I started with Unilocal and I got different quotes from those mechanics who had the best ratings and reviews. Phil @ NorCal wasn’t the cheapest, but he said he will match the lowest price I found, and he did.
Needless to say, he did an excellent job and my car is back on the road and I’m happy. I’m definitely going to be a repeat customer. Thank you, Phil.

I have been taking my car to Phil to get work done for a couple of years now and I am very pleased to have a dependable, trustworthy mechanic. It is easy to schedule a time to get my car checked out and Phil is always very thorough with the work done to my car. The prices are very reasonable and I have the upmost trust in Phil to get the work done well. I have sent some of my friends to Phil and they now rave about him too. I would strongly recommend taking your vehicle to Nor Cal Automotive if you are looking for top notch service by a knowledgeable mechanic.

Phil is GREAT! My 06′ Titan had blown both freeze plugs and I drove it to death coming out of Truckee. Having to replace a V-​8 in a truck is never fun but Phil sourced an engine close by and relatively cheaply. He walked me through the process and even saved my dead engine to show just what driving with no coolant will do to an aluminium head. LOL I’ve been back for scheduled fluid changes and maintenance. If you own a car and it is having any problems take it to Phill @ Nor Cal Automotive.

Phil is an excellent mechanic and a great guy!
I very highly recommend Phil at Nor Cal Automotive!
My Subaru Outback needed some attention. There was a mysterious noise coming from the rear (suspension?) and granted the car was getting up there in years & miles, it was necessary to check this out. I found Phil on Unilocal,called him up, and had a positive first impression so I made an appointment.
His shop was clean & seemed well organized. Phil put the car up on the lift & gave it a very thorough inspection, bumper to bumper. The best part was that he showed me and explained everything to me as he went though the inspection! He didn’t seem rushed at all, rather, he performed the inspection with a lot of interest and curiosity, as well as being very knowledgable about the car, especially about Subaru Outback models!
In the process of the inspection, Phil found another problem that was important not to miss — a loose tie-​rod end — and explained to me what it does, how it works, and how it’s replaced.
Then we went for a drive so I could reproduce the ‘mystery noise’ for him. It took some time but eventually worked, so he could try to solve the problem. Overall, Phil was very generous with his time in diagnosing the problems on my car, and to explain everything.
After replacing the tie-​rod end, he called me with news that the wheel bearing was seriously wearing out on the same wheel as the tie-​rod end. It was a very fortunate find, and it otherwise would have gone unnoticed except for Phil’s keen ears, expert knowledge and wealth of experience!
Alas, the «mystery noise» is still there, but I’m extremely satisfied with Phil’s work on the wheel bearing and the tie-​rod end, so I’ll just chalk-​up the mystery noise issue to the age of the car. Nevertheless, Phil is an excellent mechanic, and an honest and very respectable self-​employed businessman. We will be taking all our cars to Phil from how on for anything more than the ususal DIY stuff like oil changes, etc. I very highly recommend Phil at Nor Cal Automotive!

Phil is the best. Our mechanic retired and he recommended. He is fair and explains everything to you.
I am thrilled we found him.

There aren’t enough amazing things I can say about Nor Cal Automotive. Phil takes me car within hours of anytime I call and always gets it fixed within the necessary time frame. Being a woman I always think that auto repair people are trying to rip me off but Phil always gives it to me on the straight and narrow. I know he would never perform work on my car that wasn’t necessary and he is always looking out for my best interests. He also lets me know which services I can wait on and which ones I can’t — I mean a girl still needs some money each month for shoes right?!

I had NorCal do significant suspension work on my 2009 Subaru Forester XT: sway bars and end links (front and rear), change all 4 springs, and strut tower bar.
First off: no other shop I talked to in the area had a clear idea of how to do this work. Phil was the only one that had very clear command of what is involved. The only other shop I talked to that knew what they were doing was over 1 hr away and almost double the cost.
The work was very professionally done: timely, fairly priced, and excellent execution. In addition to the work, I was often given some very valuable feedback on some other aspects of the vehicle that came to light during the installation.
I can’t recommend Nor Cal highly enough: they can compete with any shop around on both quality and price. They are my go-​to shop from now on.

Phil is the man to go to for all your automotive needs. He is a very honest man that will tell you what needs to be fixed right away as opposed to other shops that might try to take advantage of customers with little to no knowledge of automobiles.
I have taken my Integra to him for all basic maintenance work as well as upgrades. He was able install many aftermarket parts for me such as intake, headers, lowering suspension, and full catback exhausts. On top of that he was also able to custom weld an exhaust to fit my car due to a factory defect from the manufacturer. Also has knowledge in electronics and helped me hook up a fuel cutoff switch.
Recently just bought a ford ranger and took it to him right away. He was able to give her a full inspection and give me a diagnosis of what needs to be tended to in order of importance. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have known all the things he told me. Was able to give me quotes for everything and get the job done quick.
Aside from his mechanic skills, he’s a very nice guy and easy to talk to. His shop is always very clean and very organized. It’s always nice to have a mechanic that knows where all of his tools are. Two thumbs up for sure!

Mechanics are a dime-​a-​dozen, but good honest mechanics are rare. He’s taken care of me on jobs ranging from routine oil changes and timing belt maintenance, to suspension work, a complete brake swap, and some minor modification work. Talk to the guy for a few minutes and you can already tell that his moral character is unsurpassed (aka, he won’t shaft you).
It’s a shame his shop is tucked into the wall, just down the street from the famous Nini’s. Just make a right into the driveway just before the blue and gray trash bins. I like to take my car there and go to Nini’s for some homestyle breakfast.
In summary, Phil is the type of mechanic one would want to return to in the long-​term.