Toy Connection

Took my FJ there to fit a new after-​market bumper, winch, lights, etc. Excellent work, done quickly and promptly, and lots of good advice about what products to use. These aren’t factory parts, accurate to the width of a hair — they all require some old-​style engineering, modification and so on to install, which Jeff and his crew did well and goodheartedly. For sure this isn’t your Toyota dealer with spotless, epoxy-​floored workshops and dedicated front-​office staff. But those guys won’t touch this kind of work, and wouldn’t know how to do it.

Been coming here for years. They have serviced a bunch of vehicles I’ve owned. 1^st gen Tacoma TRD, 1^st gen Tundra, two 1^st gen IFS 4runners and 1 first gen 85 Pickup. This is the only place I take my Yota 4×4’s that I trust to do solid work. Yes, they are slow and communication is lacking. Be prepared to wait for your truck to be completed if you take it in for repairs. If they say it will take 1 week, don’t be surprised it takes 2 weeks. They are busy for a reason. See all those customer cars lined up outside in queue for their turn on the rack? It’s backed up because we all know they do quality work and stand by their products. Learn to be patient and call every so often to check up on the status.

Awesome place for all your Tacoma/​4Runner needs with great customer service! Jeff and Tom are cordial, kind, and willing to answer any questions you have. They have a plethora of knowledge and will tell you exactly what you need to get your Toyota up and running. Go here, they know what’s up.

I love these guys! Jeff always treats me with respect and if I don’t know the details of what needs to be done; explains and answers my questions so that I can make an informed decision. I absolutely love my 1999 Toyota Four Runner and treat it like part of my family… yet it is also my commuter car; I drive it a lot and and it needs care and maintenance. They are great at letting me know costs and timing and are familiar with me and my truck from one visit to the next. Great service I can trust and solid workmanship! Thanks Jeff, Tom and the rest of the team, it is great to have a shop you can rely on! Every time (more than a dozen times, everything from a tune up to major engine rebuild) they have done work on my truck it has been excellent and my truck runs great!
I have read the other reviews and I feel like I must respond… «The place is dirty and unorganized» — let’s have some perspective people! This is not an organic day spa it is a truck dismantler/​Toyota junk yard/​Toyota repair shop. It is dirty work, they spend their time on tearing apart and repairing trucks and cars, not fancying up the shop. «Bad communication» — again, these guys are working on the trucks and cars, not waiting for the phone to ring. They do get back to you when they can but they are busy (because they are good and have a lot of business). Not to mention you ought to be proactive with any car shop you take your car to. Take the initiative, ask your questions, follow up – they are busy repairing your truck/​car right. If you still feel they are «sketchy» take your car to a day spa; I am sure you will be happier and so will the rest of us that want solid truck repairs not sunshine and glitter.

I noticed that from the other reviews that you DO have to drive communications, know what you are talking about, and expect a relatively long repair cycle. It’s always nice to be respectful, let them resolve the problem, and pay cash with auto mechanics as well (or pretty much any independent service business). That’s how I operate, so I was o.k. with all of that with that right from the start.
I have an 87 Toyota 4runner, which is the kind of car these guys specialize in. I have a second car, and a bicycle, and I hate driving anyway, so I always take public transit and ride-​sharing when I can. In other words, I could care less if it takes a week to repair the tranny on my truck.
I’ve had these guys do quite a bit of work on my truck. Brought it there half a dozen times. Lots of major stuff — engine, tranny, clutch, you name it. And there is more to do as I beat the crap out of that thing every time I drive it. I plan to keep having them do all my repairs going forward.
I have a pretty good understanding of cars, and can do a lot of work myself, but I choose to spend my time inside cars or on a bicycle, not under cars. Generally, I know when I’m getting good work done. These guys do pretty good work, and at a good price.
For some of the work, I first obtained rough estimates over the phone from a close shop to my home, because I was just too lazy to go to Santa Clara — pricewise, it’s always come out to be a much better deal to just go to Santa Clara.
They are overbooked, and they work in a warehouse with only a couple bays, and they have a junkyard built up all around them. So don’t go there looking for super fast service, or a super clean environment.
It’s going to take as long as it takes and it’s going to get done right. The caveats to that are:
1) Obviously they want to move you through as fast as they can because they can’t store your car, so sometimes you car is done quickly.
2) They will sometimes make mistakes like everyone else, but the mistakes they have made on my car are exceedingly minor, and they fixed them the next time I brought it in.
I highly recommend these guys for anyone with a Toyota truck. That’s all I have experience with. Don’t know if they can fix your SAAB. I get the feeling these guys all own toyota 4-​wheel drive trucks and enjoy them.

Well some time has gone by, and all my previous thoughts proved true.
These guys basically charged me 3 – 4 hours labor for what should have been a 1 hour diagnostic and 1 hour of work, but probably only did about 30 minutes of real work, meanwhile keeping the vehicle in their sloppy mess of a dilapidated junkyard for no good reason.

Everyone here is nice, but this place lacks communication and they seem to be very disorganized. I asked them to assess problems with my vehicle and never heard back, I had to call multiple times. Nevertheless, my vehicle was there for 6 months. I’d never go back.

Brought my ’03 runner here and received a sweet quote. So it was aces with the decision.
I arrived and it looks a little shady. But the reviews said otherwise for the service itself. I left and was told about 5 pm it would be done. I received a call about 4pm Zander all was gravy. They weren’t able to get the alignment that was quoted in the time as well but other than that, all was taken care of and looks and feels great!
I would definitely recommend these guys, just don’t worry about the organization of the shop. You should have a great experience here.

Left my truck out on the street with windows down and key in ignition!!! Never touched my truck for 3 days to diagnose rough running. I could not get anyplace on the phone so after several calls i got a ride to find out what was going on. This is when i found my truck. Engine cold and just sitting on the street far from the shop on the schetchy looking street. I took my truck away and was fixed perfectly in 1 day by adjusting the timing and valves. Cost me $ 200 cash. Message me if you need a perfect toyota mechanic. As for parts maybe you can get those from these guys but i would rather go any distance to avoid this place. Thanks.

Jeff is friendly and knowledgeable. I spoke with him once for about 3 minutes. Unfortunately, the other guy assigned to help me was not helpful. This establishment is unorganized, takes forever to get back to people, and does not communicate well. They ordered the wrong part, but wouldn’t call me back to explain the delay. In short, the three days I was told it would take to receive the part when I paid took three WEEKS! I had to go down PERSONALLY to get information about the hold up! And when the correct part arrived, it cost EXTRA! Never ever ever giving business to these guys again!

I’ve purchased several items over the past few months from toy connection. aside from one grille that wasn’t correct for my truck (model/​year), everything i’ve bought has met all of my expectations. Even when it came time to exchange the incorrect grille for the right one, the guys at Toy Connection were friendly and got me the correct item quickly. They are a great resource for good quality used toyota truck parts.

I have been here over a dozen times and every time I’ve received excellent, top-​notch service. Jeff and his entire team truly are Toyota experts and they know how to build your rig right the first time. If you’ve been wanting to go camping and do some off roading with your Toyota truck, then this is the last place you’ll ever need to go in the entire Bay Area to have your truck built right. They are a distributor for a few different 4WD manufactures and have a H-​U-​G-​E inventory of restoration parts for any Toyota 4WD dating back to the late 70s. Do yourself a favor and swing by and check out all that they do. You won’t regret it!

busy shop but very knowledgable and friendly.
competitive rates as well

Ive been coming for years now and id have a hard time going anywhere else. Jeff the owner is a busy man so things do take time, so be patient!

Tried to upsell me on unnecessary work. Attempted to charge an hour over book rate for the job. I do not recommend this establishment.

Best and cheapest when it comes to finding Toyota parts. Jeff is great and even though he’s extremely busy he takes care of every customer. Highly recommended source for hard to find Toyota truck parts.

Just bought a 1996 Land Cruiser from Jeff. The guy knows his stuff and he knows his stock.
The is THE place to go if you need a hard to find part for your Toyota Truck. Keep in mind, it IS a wrecking yard, first and foremost, so don’t expect a clean lobby with leather couches and copies of the latest Conde Nast on the coffee table. If you want that go to a Toyota Dealer, but expect to pay $ 400 for that missing hubcap.
Jeff is super busy, so when you get a hold of him talk fast and get out of the way. No cry-​babies!

NEVER, I MEAN NEVER GO HERE! I bought a new rebuild motor here 20 months ago. Already blew out a gasket and is completely rusted on the inside of the motor. He promised to «take care of me». He never told me he would charge me for anything fixing his motor and did not have me fill out a work order/​estimate, nothing!
Key points regarding my experience with this business and its owner Jeff:
— The truck sat there for exactly 31 days! Before they replaced a simple gasket.
–Because they work in a junk yard they have no room to park customers’ cars. They parked mine way down the street across from some business and it got a ticket.
–I called him 19 times over a period of 31 days. Each time he was very short over the phone giving me a new excuse of «haven’t gotten around to it yet» or «should be done in a few days». These excuses were repeated for a month. He’s not capable of staying on the phone for more than 8 seconds at a time.
–Not once during any phone call did he tell me he would want compensation for re-​fixing his work. When the truck was finally finished he drops the bomb of wanting X amount, bla bla. I explained how unprofessional he was and how disappointed I am. He agreed to accept a mere $ 200 for a random additional part replaced. And I requested to part ways amicably, we agreed after I listened to him whine.
–I show up this morning my truck wedged between 5 cars in a narrow driveway with Jeff and his receptionist both cursing at me calling me a «piece of sh*t» and being aggressive in their body language. I’m wearing a suit and tie, without me saying one word back, he grabs his tools and begins to undue parts under the hood and take back his work. Who does that!!! We already agreed to $ 200 cash over the phone when you calmed down yesterday. He was so intent on making a scene he’d rather put back bad parts on a customer’s vehicle instead of taking $ 200 cash requested by HIM!
–I had to CALL THE COPS! They had to mediate the situation and oversee he was not sabotaging the vehicle, cutting wires, loosening bolts, etc. It took a while, but he finally released my truck. And it drives like shit now!
–When the cops showed it seemed routine to come to Toy Connection, as if they’ve done this before. hahaha
–Furthermore, when I picked up my truck, the ticket that was placed on my vehicle during Toy Connection’s possession is missing along with my registration card that was in my glove compartment. MYSTERIOUS! These guys were filled with retaliation for an upset that is simply not my problem or fault!
–This place is FILTHY! The office area has old parts, food, and trash on the floor and window cills, oil spilt, gunk everywhere! F rating! ABSOLUTELY REPULSIVE BUSINESS

Perfect place for my 4runner Toyota.
Quite rare these days: They actually know their subject.
I love to browse by, show my problem and get a fast expert roundup plus reasonable estimate. Did all my repairs there. They have everything.

I sure wish they would return phone calls.
I was stoked to find a toyota 4×4 specific used part source locally, however, they are just not too responsive. I know they have what I need, they must just be too busy to take my money.
Called yesterday, emailed today, maybe I will fax tomorrow.