Smitty's Service

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Fixed a problem created by another mechanic.

Afterwards, I ended up taking it somewhere else, and they found a lot of problems with my car that Smitty's missed. Smitty's overcharged me.

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Got the estimate the same day and when all was comp.eted they were below their estimate in spite of having to replace a few extras. You won't find a more honest group of car people in all of San Diego!

The service writer was professional and helpful.

Excellent!  The service was friendly, the person who  assisted me (Sam) pleasant and responsive, and the price for the service was reasonable. However, my recommendation of Smitty's Service goes beyond their simply doing a good job at a fair price and being friendly.  A little background is needed here.
The last time I had my truck serviced I went to the Toyota dealership that originally sold me the vehicle for a 50K service that was supposed to cost about $70.   By the time I was through, the bill paid totaled $536 due to the cost of several additional ?recommended? procedures.  I paid them to do three jobs related to the brakes (probably needed given the mileage on the vehicle then) but declined the others, including a replacement of the rack and pinion needed, they said, because there was some seepage in the right front boot.  Had I accepted that recommendation and let them do the work, it would have cost me nearly $1,500.   I also declined several other services, that were less expensive but not cheap.
A little research when I got home (Consumer Reports and others) convinced me that three of the services that they had recommended were not necessary or worth the expense.  I then checked Angie's list and called four highly rated auto service businesses for quotes on the rack and pinion job.  All of them quoted prices considerably below that of the Toyota dealership.  When I spoke with Mike at Smitty's, however, he didn't just provide an estimate.  He asked me some probing questions about why I wanted to replace the R&P.  When I told him what the Toyota dealership had told me he asked wither I was hearing noises or seeing a lot of power-steering fluid leakage.  I was not.  He told me that about 80% of vehicles on the road have some leakage from the R&P boots and that, if it were his car, he wouldn't have the work done based on a little seepage.  He said the vehicle should be safe to drive as long as I checked the power-steering fluid periodically and didn't see significant leakage or
hear noises.  I took his advice and have been driving the vehicle for several months with no noise, no evidence of significant leaks, and no problems with the steering system.
While Mike talked himself out of a job that day, he demonstrated to me why Smitty?s has such an excellent reputation on Angie?s
list.  Because of his honesty and great customer service (although I wasn?t, technically, a customer since I didn?t
purchase any services from them) I decided to take the truck to Smitty?s for its next service.  They performed the
service for $57, fully checked out the vehicle for safety, and made only two recommendations for additional work neither of which, I was told, were critical or even necessary given my truck?s low mileage and very good condition.  What a refreshingly pleasant experience it was to be treated with honesty and consideration and to pay a fair price for a quality service instead of being extorted, as I felt I had been by the Toyota dealership.  I?m planning to take my Hyundai Sonata in to Smitty?s for its service next month and to continue having my vehicles serviced by Smitty?s in the future. 

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I trust Mike and his staff. I am very comfortable bringing my Mercedes to Mike's shop. 
He has done excellent jobs with a reasonable price. 
I called Mike at 9:00 am.  He gave me a quote on the phone. I brought my car at 10:00 am.
Mike called me at 12:00 saying that it's ready to pick up.  He fit me in on such a short notice and completed it on the same day.
I highly recommend Mike Smitty's Auto Service. 

Smitty's is a great auto repair shop. Experienced, competent, friendly, fair, and not expensive. What more can you ask for? This is a second generation family business where the owner lives a block away and commutes on his bicycle. He grew up in the business. So the operation reflects an unusual sense of community presence and accountability - they won't cheat, mislead or overcharge you because they're too good for that, but also because they're not going anywhere. I've taken both of our cars (older Hondas and Jaguar) for service there for several years. Yesterday, they did an inspection of a used car we were considering purchasing for my mother-in-law. They did a thorough assessment and provided a Kelley Blue Book value based on the specifics of that inspection. They also provided a list of needed repairs and their costs. This made the decision (to pass on the apparently-desirable car) easy. All for $45. When the shop has done repairs on our cars, they are always done properly, for a fair price, and on time. Mike, the owner, sets a tone of casual, good natured San Diego style and his employees act like helpful, team players with the customers. The only drawback is that they are not open on weekends, so you have to schedule your service during weekday business hours.

Smitty's is my favorite auto repair service provider. I have since moved which is why I don't go to them any longer, but would recommend them in a heartbeat. They were always honest, reliable, and well priced. In fact, the first few times I went to them, they either diagnosed and fixed something minor for free or referred me to someone else. that integrity is why I continued to go to them for the 5 years I lived in the neighborhood.

I was a walk-in to the shop because I was hearing a scraping noise from my car. I told them what I was hearing and that I didn't think the sound was coming from my brakes because I had just had them checked with my last oil change at the Honda dealership and they told me my brakes were fine. The gentleman at the desk listened to my story and then suggested two courses of action that could be taken. I could have the brake inspection first and then if it wasn't my brakes they would check the engine, that would be $20 bucks but the charge would be credited if my brakes needed to be changed. The second option was to get a tune-up check, which would be $35 but if it wasn't the engine I would have to get the brakes checked and incur the $20 charge on top of the price of the check-up. He actually suggested I start with the brake check, which I was fine with. I asked if they would be able to get to it today and he was honest and said they were pretty full and it might take all day but they would try. Before leaving he asked if I needed a ride home, and when I said no that I was walking he asked one more time to be sure. Around 4pm one of the mechanics called me to let me know that the problem was indeed with my brakes, explained exactly what the problem was, what would need to be done, the cost and a breakdown of the cost. He mentioned that they closed at 5 that day and asked I wanted them to go ahead and try to fix them, I said yes if he thought they could finish. He said they would try and that someone would call me to let me know if they couldn't finish today. At 4:45 I called just to double check and they told me that the brakes were done and they were taking the car for a test drive. I told them that I was going to start walking that way. By the time I got there it was shortly after five but they were still there. It was great service all around, they were very professional and manged to get my car done when they already had a full day of jobs. I will definitely go back in the future!

I have been using them for about 10 years and I have never been disappointed. The owner is amazing and is very knowledgable, honest, and trustworthy. The mechanics that work there are exceptional. He educates you and wants you to understand your car.

It was good experience.  They were very upfront about what this was going to cost and how long it would take.  There was no bait and switch. I will be taking my car back.

The quality of work was good. The price is not most competitive in town. It was on a little higher side than average.  I received on the phone a quote from both Tracy and Mike. Mike's price was lower than Tracy's. Mike said his quote was recorded. When I brought in my vehicle, I was charged Tracy's higher quote. If you are looking for the lowest price, you might want to go elsewhere. If you are willing to pay a little more for good services, Smitty's is the place for you. 

They are not the cheapest around, but you get what you pay for.  They only fix what is broken and do not try to sell you repairs you don't need.  They are always helpful and work hard to meet your special needs.  The quality of the repairs is always top-notch. They are always very professional. They really know cars, too.  My BMW requires special treatment during repairs and maintenance, but they know exactly how to work with it.

I got them of Angie’s List.  It is a family-owned business.  They are honest.  I would rate them highly.  I would use them again in the future.

It's always a pleasure to deal with Smitty's and this was no exception. All the personnel are cheerful and good communicators. The mechanics are highly experienced. I learned that one has been fixing cars for twenty-eight years, another for "only eighteen". Since my problem was serious they got me in right away. As usual they found the most cost effective way to do the job right. I was not expecting to get it back the same day but that happened too, as it usually does. I was not expecting them to do the periodic service at the same time either, but they did. Just can't say enough about these folks.

As always, it went great.

Mike and his staff also did any repairs and maintenance I needed on 2 cars I owned previously, a Pontiac Phoenix and a Toyota Camray.  Their prices are very fair and their work is exceptional.  They always had my car ready as arranged.

I think they are honest and very knowledgeable.

Honest mechanics, who knew?!?! I took my car to Smitty's for an a/c repair. The details aren't necessary, what is important to note is that they quoted me $770 for the work. No one wants to pay that much for anything, so I took my car home and drove with the windows open for a week or so. Then the heat got to be too much, so I begrudgingly took it back to Smitty's and gave them the go-ahead to do the $770 repair. At the end of the day, Mike called me to let me know my car was fixed and that they figured out a way to get to the a/c through the glove compartment and the total cost would only be $89.! Yes, $89, almost $700 less than I was prepared to pay! How many other shops would have just not told me that and happily taken my $700+?! Yeah, pretty much all of them, except for Smitty's. They will get all of my business from now on!