Mission Auto Repair

See the damaged oil filter pictures i posted. I found my drain plug washer lodge into my oil filter after taking it to mission auto for an oil change. Of course i didn’t discover this for several months after the fact when i decided to do my oil change myself. It’s ridiculous!

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I started using Mission Auto Repair at least twenty years ago, when it was the Union 76 repair station on Market. Jim has never overcharged me, has a team of very competent mechanics, is honest about what needs to be done and what not. I trust him implicitly. The place is kind of a dump, but that does not detract from the professionalism and decency of the owner and staff. Your radio may be switched to Chinese when you take it out. Small price.

This is a great auto repair shop! The mechanics here do great work, are always consistent, and are always fair about their rates and charges.
I haven’t come in to do any major repair on my car yet (fingers crossed that I won’t have to) but the several times I’ve come in for tire rotations, oil changes, etc have been great!

I don’t really trust this place any more — no matter how cheap they are. Each time I have been in, it takes about 3 days for them to just LOOK at my vehicle. The last time I was in, I was told I had a catalytic converter problem. They ‘replaced’ it at 320 bucks, but I had to go back for the same noise and problem again. James told me they didn’t realize my vehicle has ‘2’ catalytic converters. It took them another 2 or 3 days to fix and another 250 bucks on my end. I got the vehicle back and the noise continued so I went to another shop to get a 2^nd opinion — new shop told me that my vehicle DOES NOT have 2 catalytic converters. I won’t be going back to James again even though he’s really nice. I feel cheated.

Change a pipe and the problem was still there till I went to another auto repair store, and found out they totally changed the wrong part for me and charged me $ 500 which never being cheaper than other stores. I need to spend much more money to fix again. Won’t go there again.

Had to take my car here over the Fouth of July weekend. Believe me, I hate auto shops cuz when I go in as a woman who doesn’t know a thing about mechanics. I was honetly surprised… James the Owner is an absolute sweetheart, knows his stuff and got my car back up rolling.
I would not hesitate to bring my car back here as I have complete trust in James.
Thank You!!!

Late post… this happen a year ago.
I use to like taking my cars to this place until I notice a leak in a radiator hose and I was losing coolant. I took in my car and told them exactly where I saw the leak. They said they have to inspect it. I also asked to get my belts replaced, it was time. I leave the car there and they said they will call me later. 4pm rolls by and no call. So I call them. They said they didn’t have time to look at my car. Ooookkkk.
So I bring my car back the next day at 11am. Waiting waiting waiting and no call back so I call them at 3ish. They said there is a leak cause the pressure is low but they haven’t found it. WHAT? I told u exactly where it is!
I bring my car back again the next day and they found it. Why? Cause I told them where it is. They finished fixing the leak and replaced my belts right at closing time. The guy didn’t charge me the labor to fix the hose but…
While driving away from the shop that night I notice my interior display was dim. I check to see if maybe they dimmed it. Nope it’s up high. Maybe it something else. I park my car at target and notice my headlight were dim too. Didn’t think too much of it and did some shopping and was gonna head home. I try to start my car and it WON’T start! I get a nice gentlemen in the parking lot to jump my car and it starts fine. I hop on the freeway and everything turns OFF!!! WTF?!? Good thing I was only in the slow lane and manage to coast it to the shoulder. I get it towed to my bf buddy’s little shop but have to leave it over night therefore I had to take a taxi home.
My bf’s buddy looks at it the next day and said nothing is wrong just the fact the other shop didn’t plug the alternator back in. Wtf??? Really? These guys put my life and my car’s life in danger and wasted a lot of my time. I think it is really poor when you don’t look to make sure everything is put back in place before returning a vehicle even a quick look or even turn on the engine to see if anything is wrong.
They get 2 stars because their previous work (many years ago) was great. But it seems recently they just don’t care.
PS
Iono if it is coincidental… about 1 month later after my car repair with these guys i was looking at my engine and noticed a ¾−1 inch crack on my radiator. How that happen? I left it alone for a good 3 – 4 months and the crack got about 3 – 4 inches longer and started to over heat. I still wonder if they are the cause of the crack.

Fantastic place. I don’t generally write reviews unless it’s totally worth it and this place rocks. They will tell you that you don’t need to fix things even tho you foolishly ask them to do random fixes. Price to fix a brake for instance is $ 160 !!! original Lexus parts (I verified it) while same things cost $ 300 in sf and $ 450 at dealership. I have 2 very expensive cars and have always brought them here. He even did my 60k for dirt cheap since most things on my 60k list were not even fixes. Bottom line this is the best place you can go to get your car fixed reliably and cheaply.

I love this place! Always good service, reasonable price, great work with fixing my car. I have been here for over 5years, and I never changed. This is always the first place come to mind when I need fixing my car.

Only been here a few times, But I find this repair shop pretty honest. Owner James doesn’t talk too much, but when you ask anything, he ask back and make a pretty good determination of your problem and does the repair well. James has fixed all my problems so far. I’m pleased up to date and the prices are good. No unnecessary repairs.

James is very honest. He may not talk too much. He gets the diagnostics accurate and communicates clearly. In this business, honest is the most important thing. Most of us don’t know much about cars. We rely on the mechanics. Now-​a-​day, you can’t even trust dealers. In fact, they are the biggest crooks. I will recommend everybody to take the car to the mechanic they trust, not the dealer. I tolled my car 50 miles back to James’ Mission Auto. That’s how much I trust him. He can easily save you the money for the toll. Most importantly he gets the job done right.

Definitely bring your car here if you want totally inept people working on it. I called just to ask how much a diagnostic would be, as my check engine light had just come on. They answered the phone with «hold on». No hello, no name of business, just hold on. Ok, so I waited. Someone answered after a few minutes and I again explained what I wanted, and was told «hold on». While I’m thinking about hanging up, a third person answers. I tell him what I want. He says, «what?!» like it’s a totally foreign request. Told him again, and he said «What do you mean»? Told him again, and he said, «You’re buying a car?» After I explained again, he still had no idea what I was talking about.
End story? They don’t even know what a diagnostic check is. Steer clear.

This particular auto repair shop is pretty good. I have been a returning customer for over 11 years now to them, i only go to them when something i cant repair my self. Every diagnostic made to my car are never a miss, always right the first time. The price is really fair, unlike most shops would charge hourly based on computer. They even sometimes beat other quotes on same repair else where. I recommend this shop for anyone needs repair on their cars.

I have been going here for about 9 years. I have two VWs: one is a 77 bus and the other is a 2002 Golf TDI. Both have been well taken care of. James never charges me a «diagnostic fee» and his repair fees are insanely reasonable. He’s as honest as they come, too.

I have a Saab 9 – 3 convertible. I called Planet Saab in SF to find out the cost of the replacement for my water pump, $ 495. What a a rip off. I was driving around and happened to stop by Mission Auto Repair, $ 230. I dropped my car off at 1pm, done at 430.
Just like the prior review, they don’t find other stuff and try to sell it to you.
While I was there waiting for my ride, I was thinking of other repairs that I can have performed since they are SO reasonable and inexpensive. I could only think of one thing, I had a stripped oil drain plug, they removed it and replaced it with a good one and only charged me for the part.
All I want to say is please support this shop. I’m so glad that I found them.