Diablo Auto Specialists

I was referred to Tim by my colleague who raved about Diablo Auto Specialists. I spoke to Tim and I would have to agree with the other Unilocal reviewers that Tim is one of the best you will encounter when it comes to auto repair. He is very honest and fair and will tell you exactly what your car needs. Tim was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of information about my car to help me make an informed decision. He provided really great advice. Thank you, Tim for providing excellent customer service!

As many of the other reviewers have pointed out, Tim is great. He really makes this place tick… informative, personable, and professional. Everything you want in a Auto Specialist. I’m very happy to have found a GREAT AUTO REPAIR CENTER so close to my home.

Tim is very welcoming and personable, always explains other options and gives great advice. I brought my lexus gs430 there for multiple services and have only had good experiences. He will go out of the way to provide an exceptional customer experience, once I had to put on a front liscense place — most places will do it for a small charge and Diablo Auto put it on free of charge. I won’t take my car anywhere else, they are also about 60% lower in price than any of the dealerships in the Bay Area! I highly recommend this place to family and friends, it’s a win-​win every time.

Tim and his crew do outstanding work. They have serviced all three of our cars, a Toyota, Mazda and Volkswagen and I have been exceptionally happy. Tim is very professional and very helpful. He carefully explains the work required and has never suggested more work than was necessary. They are prompt and fairly priced. I highly, highly recommend Diablo
Auto.

Beyond satisfied with the service and professionalism at Diablo Auto! Staff is friendly and helpful and don’t try to trick you into thinking something is wrong with your car. I even brought it in once because my car was making a strange noise on the left tire side. They ended up finding a rock that was rubbing against something which caused the noise. They did not charge me for any of that visit! They could have easily charged me for their time but they didn’t. They are a honest trustworthy business which is hard to find these days.

Diablo Auto Specialists is the ONLY place I will take my car. The prices are fair and the service excellent. Two+ years ago, they replaced my water pump which since then started to leak. I was just over the warranty for miles and time but Tim still replaced it under warranty. It’s hard to find honest service like that. I highly recommend them for the best car care at affordable prices with excellent service.

My car stopped running (about three weeks ago) in San Ramon on Bollinger Canyon Road… right in the middle of rush hour at around 4:30…and it was scary at times but AAA came right away and helped; the next day it was towed to Diablo Auto Specialists; my brother brings his car in there and he was always happy with the work and owners. I have to admit that it was completely my fault that the car was in such a bad shape as I’ve never taken care of it… if it started then it was fine… found out the hard way that it really doesn’t work that way.
Tim, the owner, is very friendly and helpful, and within a day emailed me the problem and started to repair the car. Within two days everything was repaired and car is running great. It’s a very good place to bring your car (I will never bring it to the dealership as they have lack of concern for repairing vehicles as soon as possible and would rather take their time, and I’ve found that out in the past).
I highly recommend this place and from now on I will bring the car in there for it’s yearly checkup!

When my passenger’s feet were getting wet while I drove my 2004 Cadillac I suspected a problem with my air conditioner. I searched the web for an auto shop close to where I live that might be able to fix it. Diablo Auto specialists is located in Walnut Creek not far from my house. I went and talked to the owner Tim about what was happening and he took the time to go out to check and be sure that it was water leaking and not some other fluid (like gas). He said that the drain might be clogged and asked if I could bring it back as he couldn’t look at it that day. When I brought it back in Tim said it would take a while to check and asked me if I could leave it. It was a gorgeous day and I didn’t mind taking a walk to the library which is close to the shop. After sitting, relaxing and reading I got a call from Tim telling me the problem had been checked and fixed. The A/​C evaporator drain case had been unclogged, drained and checked and was working without any leaks. Time told me that if the part ever failed it could be replaced, but that the labor would be expensive and that for now everything appeared to be working fine. I appreciated his candor and honesty. I am happy that I have found an auto shop that works so efficiently and will certainly not hesitate to return if I have any future problems!

Tim is one of the best you’re likely to encounter when it comes to auto repair. He is honest and fair; he will tell you what repairs are needed now and what might be coming down the road, but he never tries to talk you into getting repairs you don’t need. They have worked on my Acura and Toyota and the work is always done well with no surprises. Highly recommended.

Responsive, reasonably-​priced, quick-​turnaround and quality work. Highly recommend!

The service was efficient and a good value. Tim, the owner, runs an honest and very knowledgeable service team. We will be bringing our car here for future service.

Tim has got to be one of the most patient, thorough and cerebral mechanics ever. He’s very calm and clear in explaining what’s going on with the car. He doesn’t try to over sell you. He’s methodical and thoughtful. I’ve always felt I got a great deal working with Tim, and usually learn something along the way. Thanks! Chuck

After trying to find an establishment to get my car serviced on an emergency basis (all locations telling me 1+ week just to inspect the car) Diablo Auto Specialists not only made time in their busy schedule to diagnose the problem but were also able to fix it same day.

Another shop in Walnut Creek that I had been taking my car to for oil changes kept telling me that I needed to do my shocks & struts. It was going to be about $ 1400 worth of work and I was putting it off — I called Diablo Auto Specialists to get a quote and Tim said to bring it in for an oil change and he would see if I even needed to do the shocks & struts. A few hours later he called me at work to let me know that they did not need to be redone, nor did the power steering fluid & brake fluid changes that this other shop had also recommended. Diablo Auto Specialits have definitely earned my trust and my business.

Tim and company have been servicing my vehicles for years. This time was just for a squeal, and I knew I could trust Tim to take care of it without trying to sell me more than I needed. It was a minor adjustment and I was done, knowing that Tim had the total car checked before I could drive it away. Safety is the more important part of the experience and I feel better knowing Tim and his staff have checked the car for anything that is wrong or could go wrong in the near future. Always a pleasure doing business with them.

Tim Stussi is great! I have been taking my car to him for over a year and he has done a great job. I totally trust him to check out everything on my car and tell me honestly if something needs to be fixed. It feels great to have a car mechanic you can trust!

Tim is the BEST!!!
I got same day service for my 2013 Honda CRV that was thoughtful, thorough and made me feel… special. There are not many businesses left that truly take care of the customer, Diablo Auto gets my highest rating and you know i will be going back to them again and again. Do yourself and favor and call this place before you take your car anywhere else.

I could not be happier to write a glowing review for Tim and Diablo, which is candidly long overdue. My relationship with Tim began a few years ago when my wife’s Civic was on it’s last legs. We needed it to last another 3 –4 months before we got her new car. I called Tim up and essentially said «My budget is $ 1000 and I need this car to last another few months». He looked at it and said «I can keep this car running for years for $ 400.»
If you look at my post date, you’ll notice it’s the day before Thanksgiving. Nay, the afternoon before Thanksgiving. Our Camry would not start. I called Tim up and asked if he was open on Friday or the weekend, thinking I had no shot at today. He said no, but we talked through the issue and determined it was the starter. He talked me through getting the car to start so that I could drive the car down to his shop.
He said he would order the part from his supplier, have it ready by the time I got there and he would stay until it was finished so I could have the car for the weekend. He got the work done in time and charged me a fair price… This could have gone seriously worse.
If you haven’t ascertained by now, yes, I would probably recommend Tim to just about anyone with a Japanese car.

I have to join the minority of people crying price-​gouging on these guys, I’m amazed at all the 5 star reviews, people must not be shopping around, or doing internet research at the quotes they’re getting.
It was about 2 years ago when I first came to Diablo Auto Specialists for some routine maintenance. I don’t remember the details of that first visit, but the part that stuck with me was the guy saying, «By the way, you’r struts are worn to the metal, you’ll need to replace those within the year or they may go out while you’re on the highway and you’ll lose control of your car and possibly die.»
This is the exact kind of BS scare tactics that should raise red flags when going to a mechanic. It’s also worth mentioning that there was a strange knocking sound whenever hitting the break ever since taking the car to them.
Fast forward about 18 months, my girlfriend and I were going to move down to Texas and drive the car down. The shocks were obviously bad so I figured it would be best to get them taken care of. We take the car back for a quote, and it was an outrageous 2 THOUSAND dollars. They said they had to custom order the parts and it would take a week to get them and several days to install. I knew this wasn’t right, you can buy struts for around $ 100 each and it’s a pretty straight forward job.
I’ll cut it short and say that I took it to another mechanic who deserves his 5 star rating. He physically rode the car with us to feel out the problems, put the car on the lift and checked everything out with us. He said the struts were definitely worn down, but it was nothing urgent. The tires on the other hand were completely bald and he suggested getting those replaced more importantly. He said he would replace the struts if we wanted, and quoted it at $ 400 – 450 for the whole job (600 with the new tires), front and rear struts and alignment. That’s less than a QUARTER the amount these buttclowns wanted.
There’s a real difference between an honest mechanic who is reasonable, and a mechanic that flashes a big smile while he steals your hard earned money straight to your face.
I would steer clear of this place, unless you hate having money.

EDITED POST:
After my original post (see below), Tim called me up to discuss the points below to remedy my experience with his shop. He offered me a full credit for parts and labor for part 1, which I’ve used part of for a Service B for my Mercedes. He also offered a full diagnostic/​inspection for my Acura. After I left it with him for a few days, he confirmed that I do still have a power steering leak (which I was aware of before but was struggling to solve), and that there is a slight oil leak from an unknown source (which was news to me).
Originally, my updated rating of this shop was 2-​stars, but I have to change that considering how much Tim cares about his customers and his reputation. He is really a nice and knowledgeable guy.
A tow truck owner said he’s never had to tow a car back to DAS after work was done. That is impressive and speaks volumes about the quality of Tim’s work. It may be a little pricey compared to other shops in the Bay Area, but for WC and his location, it’s probably on par.
Also, Paul is no longer at DAS.
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ORIGINAL POST:
It makes me really sad to finally sit down and write this review. Tim has been nothing but helpful in the past, however, in the last year or so, I’m not sure what has changed, but I no longer service any of my vehicles here.
Story 1: My Acura was sputtering out after the engine was already warm and it was happening intermittently. A mechanic buddy of mine thought it was the idle control valve. DAS said it was my ignition and starter. I thought DAS might be right so I spent a few hundred bucks to change out the parts. One week later, the problem was back. I took my car to a shop in SF and they confirmed it was the idle control valve… problem solved.
Story 2: My Acura was leaking oil and Paul thought it was because the oil pump housing was bad. They wanted to do the equivalent of a timing belt service to check on it (easily a full day’s job and probably $ 800 in labor). My mechanic buddy fixed the problem because it was just a bad oil pan.
Story 3: I had another major service coming up on my Acura and asked for a price from DAS. I thought it was high so I called my other shop in SF and they offered to do the same work for $ 300 less.
I don’t want to say that my opinion has changed ever since Paul joined DAS, but it does seem oddly coincidental considering all of my past experiences and reviews have been stellar.