Jay’s Automotive

I just had my oil changed at Jay’s. Once again I received exemplary service. They even topped off my windshield wiper fluid & coolant. I recently moved to Oxnard. But still drive to Ventura to have my car serviced. Jay’s is worth going out of your way.

I had my car towed there because AAA recommended them. So I figured it would be caring and safe. Got there and the man who came out was not that friendly and so since I was in a hurry to get to work, I left my car in their hands. I was told it would take 45 mins to run a test to see what the problem was, or I can pay to have the part that the tow truck drive suggested it be repaired. Not wanting to take my chance I chose the testing first, 3 hours later and $ 99.78 to run a computer check I was told it was nothing. And I would need to buy an alternator at $ 600 just for the part. Not including labor. Um, no. Had them speak to my husband, and which they cut the cost down for him to $ 49 instead of $ 99. Would they still have charged me the higher amount if I never had him call? Weird. Anyways, not much help, had a second opinion, and turns out its not the alternator. If i had trusted them i would be $ 600+ in debit. All in all, I would never trust these guys, EVER. Turned out if they had did the right test, that I paid for, they would have known it was a sensor… a $ 44 part. Thanks guys for nothing.

Today is the second time I’ve been to Jay’s with my 2007 Toyota Prius. The first time was for a serpentine belt and leaky hose. They did both services for less than the price Ventura Toyota was going to charge for the belt.
This time I was convinced I needed new brakes due to some squeaking combined with my car having 114,000 miles. They called back and said I still had 30%-40% left of my breaks and everything looked great.
Greg, Rick, and Jay are genuinely friendly. You never leave Jay’s feeling like you got «had.» If they are busy they are worth the wait and I would suggest making an appointment either by phone or online. I have recommended them to friends and family.

I agree with Carolyn B. This USED to be a great shop. Today I called and asked them to swap the starter on my car. It is older and parts while easy to find can take a while to get. I had a rebuilt in hand, still sealed in the box from a reputable parts house. Jays refused to do it because (according to them) they only make money on parts. I offered to pay the difference and them some just to get the part swapped, and to hold them harmless concerning the starter. No amount of money would make them budge.
There are lots of other shops just as good, Use them, not Jays.

Jay’s USED to be good – honest, straight-​forward, trustworthy. The techs were well-​trained and fine communicators and Jay seemed to run a tight ship.
All of this has changed recently, I’m sad to say. I went to Jay’s to get my oil changed a couple of weeks ago. While that was being done, I thought I’d have the interior dome light bulb replaced – little thing, shouldn’t cost much, right? The tech at Jay’s calls and quotes me – I am NOT making this up – $ 75 for the oil change (I drive a small Toyota pickup truck – not an 18-​wheeler!) and $ 90 for the light bulb. Yes, you heard right. I said, «No.»
An oil change should be around $ 35 or so. And the lightbulb should cost less than $ 10 and take only seconds to install. I was so shocked about the gouging that I confronted Jay himself. He made no apology and offered no explanation other than that the tech should have quoted something closer to $ 20 for the lightbulb «labor.» I countered that surely Jay’s does not charge more to women (one can never be absolutely sure that an auto repair shop does not do that – it’s happened to me in the past at another establishment, I kid you not). Jay of course replied, «No, we wouldn’t do that.» However, no retraction on the crazy, out-​of-​scale costs I was quoted.
As an aside, I ended up ordering the lightbulb online, and it cost me $ 10 – including shipping. I installed it myself in under a minute with no tools whatsoever. Glad I didn’t fork over my money for that! Even if I were rich, I would not prefer to be robbed.

Fair prices and I can trust them. Jay the owner was a mechanic so he can talk to you from both perspectives.

I took my wife’s Honda Odyssey to Jay’s for a 90,000 mile service. The car ran better than ever before and the low price for service was a very pleasant surprise.
Jay has also worked on my ’96 Bentley Turbo R with amazing results, as well.
This is the place to go for all your automotive needs at a fair price!

Totally awesome service!!! Jay’s is very honest and has trustworthy mechanics. We only take our vehicles to Jay’s. Highly recommend.

Jay’s is the place to go and get your vehicles serviced. They are super nice, they don’t take advantage of you, and get the service done in a timely manner.

Jay’s Automotive turned out to be my worst nightmare! There would be no stars lit if it was up to me, but I had to click one to post! One means EEK! METHINKS NOT! I took my car into Jay’s to have him help it pass smog, and he cut out my original catalytic converter and put in a possibly used non-​specific to my car’s make catalytic converter that only lasted only 8,066 miles. The worst part is that he welded it into a muffler system that was full of holes! I had to spend 3, 475.70 to restore my car back to it’s factory condition. I have been restoring my 1990 Mercedes 300 TE (great cars that go and go 500,000 miles or more if they are taken care of) that was shipped here from Germany. The family that owned it previously picked it up in Germany on those European travel packages Mercedes Benz offers, must be nice! They traveled around with my car around Europe, and then shipped it here to the states. It is in mint condition, and you can tell it has been garaged it’s entire life. I was on a government program called The CAP program when I had Jay’s Automotive assist me with my smog problem. Jay just did the cheapest possible thing to get my car to pass smog! He did not care about the longevity of my car or care about me! When I was being towed recently the tow truck driver said that he gets complaints about Jay’s Automotive all the time. This was the validation I needed to act. If you need something done on your car, make sure you become informed about what is needed before you let anybody work on it! I wish I had! I tried to tell Jay through a letter recently the heartache he has caused me and he did not care. I tried to get justice in court, too, but since so much time has gone by and the judge was not educated about unethical automotive practices I am not sure the issue will be addressed correctly helping me recover some of my money. I only drove 8,066 miles the last three years because I have undergone medical problems. But… the BBB is on this and they are taking it seriously! Please be careful! Type in complaints and the name of the business and usually something will pop up. I wish I had!

Took my car into these guys to get my oil changed (since I have a BMW i was sort of holding off, not wanting to go to the dealer, yet not trusting Wal Mart of JIffy Lube). Definitely trustworthy. I have recommended them to people I work with as well. They have 2 Master Mechanics and work on everything from BMW, Mercedes, to Ford & Chevy. Foreign & Domestic.
They may not be the cheapest in town, by first comparison, but when all was said & done, these guys really took care of me and saved me some money as well.