Alioto’s Garage

Kevin Normoyle is your guy. Ask for him! He is an honest employee and will give you the fairest quotes. Other body shops were trying to charge me twice as much as he quoted me, for some damage on my rear bumper. He fixed and it looks brand new

I have geico insurance. This place has a geico insurance adjuster on site. He’s very nice. The staff is very nice. Kevin, the manager is really cool. They arranged for a rental car for me and made a fast seamless transition when I had to leave my car for two days to have a dent repaired. Very satisfied and will be bringing my vehicle back for any more body work in the future.

I had the unfortunate experience of hitting a huge pothole in SF after some big rains which flattened my tire. Then to add insult to injury, while the tire was being changed, the jack slipped and crushed some of my under body (about $ 2k in damage). I had to file a claim with Geico and I chose this Geico certified place primarily based on the Unilocal reviews. Also the location was convenient. I live in southern Marin and felt like I would get good service here over the San Rafael certified Geico center. I was wrong.
The first appointment they had was on Christmas Eve day which was fine as I just wanted to get in a rental so I wasn’t driving on a donut. The drop off process was easy and smooth. My estimate was done that day. It was estimated to be about 5 days. I expected it to be a little longer due to the holidays, etc.
That following Monday I called to follow up. When I spoke to them, he asked me «I didn’t call you to go over your estimate?» I replied he didn’t. He went over it with me over the phone. He told me they were starting to work on it and it should be done by the end of the week. He advised me the tire would have to be payed out of pocket (technically two incidents in insurance’s eyes) or I would have to file a second claim which was fine. I told him I would pay out of pocket to replace the tire. He told me he would get me an estimate on the tire but never got back to me.
I followed up on that next Wednesday as Geico called me telling me that they needed more information to update my claim status. I talked to the shop and they told me they would update Geico. I again asked about the estimate for the tire. I was told they would make a note and get back to me.
Friday rolls around and car still isn’t ready. I follow up on the following Monday. Granted this is now a week and a half since I dropped my car off. I was told that they were working on it and now it should be ready the end of the week. I told the guy that’s what they told me the previous Monday! I asked him about the tire estimate and he had no idea what I was talking about. He told me that he would ask someone and get back to me by the end of the day. I told him I didn’t want to pick up my car and then have to go get the tire replaced after everything else was fixed. Of course no one gets back to me again. So I call at the end of the day and got voicemail. I requested a call back from the Manager. My voicemail went unreturned.
I called back again on Tuesday. Again spoke to another gentleman who told me «No one got back to you? I will check in to it personally and get back to you by the end of the day!» You can guess what happened. No one got back to me by the end of the day.
So now I’m frustrated and I call back on Wednesday (now two weeks in to when I dropped the car off) and speak to the manager Kevin. Who now says my car will not be ready until Friday. He had still not gotten the quote to replace my tire. I also explained to him some of my frustrations with it taking a long time and with people not calling me back. It seemed like he could care less.
Well Thursday I was promised a call with an update on my repair and how it was going. I never received a call. Way to make your first time customers feel better about their experience.
I am so frustrated with the customer service here. Over two weeks now for a estimated 5 day repair. And it is impossible to get someone to call me back and get a straight answer. If they hadn’t started the work, I would’ve pulled my car out.
I was now told that my car would be ready next week, almost 3 weeks in to the repair. And I had to call again to find this out.
Finally I get my car and they did a good job and knocked a bit off the cost for the inconvenience but still overall I had a bad experience. All I wanted was for folks to keep their promises in returning calls and keeping up with the schedule. I’ll give an extra star for the attempt at making me a bit happier and the end result. But overall experience was not more than 2 stars in my opinion.

This place is great! Kevin especially was very helpful and friendly. It’s never fun when you get into an accident but they made it as painless as I could have hoped. Then had it finished when they said which was great because I needed my truck for the weekend. Thanks again guys!!!

Kevin, the manager, was a pleasure to work with. He responded promptly to our emails and phone inquiries. He explained thoroughly the work that needed to be done and gave us an accurate sense of the timeline. The workmanship of the garage is impeccable. No complaints from me!

Work was completed quickly and effectively. As far as I can tell, the replaced piece looks good as new. Only complaint is minor — a couple pieces of painters tape left on in places invisible when the hood is closed, and some paint specks that are easily removable with a fingernail or cloth.
All in all I am very happy with the service I got at Alioto’s and would go back if I ever am unfortunate enough to need to go to a body shop again. I will recommend to friends without hesitation.

As much as I didn’t want to have to come here, the team here made the experience awesome.
I was rear ended along 101 on a rainy day and it being my first accident I’ve ever been in freaked out. From the moment I spoke to Geico, I was put at ease. The next step was finding which autobody shop I would take my car to from Geico’s massive list of options.
I opted to go with this specific Alioto’s because of the reviews left here before me. All places are going to have their (+) and (-) reviews but this one seemed to be my best option. And even though it was further than the other Alioto’s (which was about 2 blocks from my apartment), a little more time spent on this is nothing compared to having my baby perfected again.
They kept in constant communication via email and once they finished assessing my car, set me up with a rental car that was there waiting for me. Later that day they updated me with an estimate of how long it would take for the job to be competed. Having a popular Lexus, the parts wouldn’t take long to get and I think they said 5 days (on the following Tuesday).
Next thing I know, I am going about my day on Friday afternoon trying to figure out how to call fastrak for the rental call when yay! I got a call that my car was done. It was after 3pm so I had the option of keeping the rental car till Monday or going down there by 5pm when they closed. Of course that wasn’t really an option. I was on the road in minutes to pick up my baby!
When I arrived, they got my car out and explained to me all the work that had been done. I don’t speak car so was thankful they took the time to explain it all. Fingers crossed I never get in another accident but I would be back without a doubt if I had to get work done again.

I have taken my car here twice for broken windows. Alioto’s always treats me so well, and takes even better care of my car. They make the insurance process a breeze, to make sure everything is handled smoothly. Both times, they were able to get my car back to me within a few days. There’s no place else in the city that I would take my car.

Kevin and the staff fixed my bmw 335i which had been hit on the drivers door and rear panel. Its like brand new. I just had to go back once to get the door latch adjusted a millimeter and they took care of it in 10 minutes — really really happy. Well done. Super professional work, quick turn around and friendly staff.

I had someone or something that dropped on my hood. Then while I was at Valley Fair shopping center last year. I called GEICO.
They schedule a rental and continue to call me with updates. I picked up my car today and the work was great. It looked like the car I had shipped over. Now with street parking I hope to keep my car looking this good. Great customer service and follow through.

Poor at responding to emails and dealing with non-​standard issues.
I wanted some non-​standard body work done (not going through my insurance but rather taking their money and deciding to do some but not all of what they will pay for).
These folks seem geared up for dealing with insurance companies and being the preferred provider for my Geico insurance, and they may do well in that role.
After having brought the car in to the Van Ness location to talk about my options, I decided what I wanted to do and emailed asking how much to have them install three body panels that I would buy elsewhere. I got no response to multiple emails over multiple days, and was about to abandon them when I sent an email to their head office saying «why isn’t the Van Ness office responding to my emails?».
Suddenly Kevin was very responsive for a little while, and quoted me $ 250 for the labor. I ordered the panels, but again there was no response to my email asking where to have the panels shipped. After a few days of waiting I needed to move forward and just decided to do the work myself. Still no response weeks later from Alioto’s.
Maybe they just didn’t want to work with me because they don’t like to work with cost-​conscious customers. That’s fine and understandable, but they need to figure out a way of communicating that other than blowing me off.

Yep — Kevin and the crew at Alioto’s Van Ness rock.
We’re typically fairly careful about where we park, and though comfortable paralleling on steep inclines, will avoid doing so if we’re able, in part to reduce stress on the transmission and in part to limit the likelihood of being hit with something more than the usual bumper grind by someone who may not as accustomed.
You can see where this is going: that day finally came.
Out of necessity, we parked on one of the steepest hills in the ‘hood, which also happens to be one of the steepest in the city … and woke to find extensive damage not only to the front, where there was an impact of some significance, but also the rear, where our car had been pushed into the one behind it.
Of course, the offending vehicle had long gone… but to the credit of the driver, there were multiple notes left with contact details and explanation.
So — we got in touch and shopped around a few quotes for the driver’s insurance, including Alioto’s, and opted for take it there — not because they were the best price (they weren’t; insurance was covering, though), but because they had really good Unilocal reviews, were super pleasant and accommodating when I took it in, explaining the process, providing guidance on turnaround etc., both in the office and during the walkaround.
We were not at all disappointed: all OEM parts, which Kevin & Co. explained — and a realistic estimate on repair time: in on a Monday and out on a Thursday.
What more can one say? We were able to support a local shop (also convenient for us) and the car came back looking pretty fantastico, too.

I can’t say enough good things about this place. I was given a list of body shops that geico insurance pre-​approved for my mini copper convertible repairs. Even though I live in Oakland, I chose this shop because the reviews were so much better than the approved shops in the East Bay and I’m glad I did! Kevin and his crew were thorough, professional and timely. My car had extensive damage to the front and rear ends, but you’d never know it now-​it looks perfect and the trunk works even better than before the accident. I’d also like to add that Kevin and the office mgr Jennifer (?) went above and beyond the call of duty by running out and washing and drying the rental car supplied to me by Enterprise as they dropped it off dirty. I will definitely use this shop again when the need arises. Kudos to Kevin and crew on excellent customer service and fabulous workmanship!

I just happened to be looking at the previous reviews I’ve written and noticed this one listed under Alioto’s Garage and wanted to clarify that when I had initially written that review I was referring to Columbus Auto Body on Van Ness which has since been (or may have been already at that time in Jan. of 2012) acquired by Alioto’s.
I thought I should take the opportunity to remark on two separate recent encounters with Alioto’s on Van Ness and the one on Folsom. Both were great experiences. In both situations there was a need for some follow up work done. In one case a vert small dent that I didn’t notice when the «accident» happened until after I picked up the car from the repair, they handled it easily by having a mobile dent removal service come to my house to fix the «ding» for lack of a better word.
The other recent experience was I noticed the paint was peeling on the front bumper after I had tapped someone else’s car about a year earlier. When I brought it over they readily agreed that the paint had probably not been set properly when the repair from the year and a half ago had been done, that they were willing to repaint the entire bumper and we agreed I would contribute since there was damage that I had because of my having bumped into someone. It was totally fair and without any resistance.
It ended up I traded the car in before I had a chance to bring the car over to get the bumper redone, but wanted to reaffirm that it’s been a pleasure doing business with them.

these guys saved my car! I think they have changed names, but I was so happy with my service and the awesome job they did on my car. They even caught that my alignment had been trashed due to the accident I was in, and they fixed everything perfectly. Will always recommend them.

The owner Bob was very professional, delivered what he promised and his office manager was extremely helpful also. He did fantastic body work on my Audi A5 and I am sending him my daughter’s car for body work next!
Thank you.

The staff at Columbus is terrific. Bob, the manager took care of me. The moment I arrived the receptionist waved me into the office and excused herself from her phone call to take care of me. She pulled my file and grabbed Bob who was already on his way to meet me. He inspected the car, took a few pictures, explained what would need to be done and told me it would take about 3 days total.
After about 10 – 15 minutes we walked back to the office, where, to my surprise a driver from Enterprise was already waiting for me to take me to their office for my rental car. I was really impressed that the receptionist took the time and effort to call them without me even asking.
As promised they had my car ready within 3 days and even called me on day 2 to let me know that it would be ready the following day. Bob even took the initiative to replace my license plate lights, which I didn’t even know were out, and he did it as a courtesy.
I highly recommend Columbus, they are a great team, very professional, timely and courteous.

Having to work with a body shop usually means something bad happened and my situation was no different. After being hit in a gas station parking lot, I was not looking forward to having to deal with my insurance, a body shop and a rental car company. However, when I arrived, I was greeted by a friendly and smiling face, Kyan, that took care of everything. I had very little information for her to go off of, but Kyan took what I had, contacted my insurance, and called Enterprise to pick me up. In what seemed like no time my car was being fixed and I was driving a rental car home. I had set aside my entire afternoon to take care of all of this and arrived home wondering what to do with all my free time.
While I really hope to never have to go back, if the unfortunate happens, there is no other body shop I will consider.

I have a 1993 BMW 325i convertible which was in very good condition until last year when I had two minor accidents — one to the front fender and one to the rear bumper. After much thought I decided to restore the car and took it to Columbus Auto Body who I have used in the past for car repairs.
I met with Kyan and she quickly provided me with an estimate which I found to be very reasonalbe. She also agreed to take care of a few extras in additon the the major items. While the work was being done, she provided me with a ride to my office and picked me up when the work was complete. I was very satisfied with the job, but unfortunately the antenna was back ordered. When the antenna finally arrived, Kyan not only replaced it without charge, but also had the car completley detailed for me. Needless to say I was very pleased and will use their services again should the need to arise.
Thanks for restoring my car to its former glory!

Recommended by my insurance company after my car was burglarized.
Kyan, was helpful and the shop’s work was good. A couple of issues came up after the repairs, Bob and Kyan were responsive and took care of the issues right away.