I was charged $688 for a muffler and 2.25 straight pipe install. I was told that the muffler was a 50 series Flow Master for $180. After I pickup my supra I noticed the exhaust sound wasn't consistent which Flow Master and lifted the car to discover a generic no brand muffler and very poor welded job. When I confronted Omar, he said that despite my muffler not saying it was a Flow Master. I called Flowmaster the company to confirm, and they let me know they do not create Flowmaster mufflers without the Flowmaster brand emblem. Advance Muffler also had installed a 'magma flow" muffler on my son's Acura Integra a few months back so I also lifted his car to find that his muffler was also generic with no brand markings. I spoke to Omar about the situation and he refunded my Supra install and stated he is not a muffler guy and didn't know. I believe this shop often claims to sell you brand name mufflers, like Flowmaster at a premium price and installs generic no name mufflers not expecting customers to ever check. read more

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Best customer service I've ever had in Pasadena. Special thanks to Omar and his crew for making things happen. They helped me find the rare parts I needed for a classic car. They priced everything fairly and met me lower than market price. They finished the installation in a timely manner. Truly an amazing business that helps its community. If you have any car questions or need basic service done, please give them your business. Thank you again for all you guys do. read more

Kirk is the best. Been here multiple times with multiple cars over the years. Great work, fast and at a fair price. As we have recently bought some older cars for teens have needed his services several times this year. Highly recommend. Next time I have a muffler/exhaust issue I am 100% coming here. He works alone most of the time so call ahead to make an appointment and make sure he has room. read more

Had Kirk do an exhaust reroute on my Tacoma for a RCI skid plate. He came recommended from RPM Off-road. He is truly skilled and understands his craft. Flat skid plate achieved and excellent weld quality read more

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I had the opportunity to meet Kirk & Omar and man did they did an amazing job with my xj. I appreciate they took me with such notice and what how they completed the needs of my rig. I needed a customized down pipe and all the other shops I went said they wouldn't be able to do it or I needed to provide the down pipe to complete the install. It was a mess but I am happy I came across this shop, which I highly recommend. read more

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My car is pretty old and was making a lot of noise and so I took it in. I needed some welding done and Kirk immediately welded it and also found a gasket that was completely destroyed. I was really appreciative that he took the time to look for other potential issues with my car. He was really reasonably priced and was pretty much upfront with the cost from the beginning. Super responsive and my car felt almost brand new (or as much as it can be, granted its a 2003 car haha) afterwards. I was super nervous about going to an auto repair shop but I had found this place through yelp through the reviews and I was more than satisfied with the work done on my car -- Kirk is amazing! read more

Kirk is awesome, down to earth and everything is priced fairly. Def recommend. -Anthony read more

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This review is long overdue - months ago, someone stole my catalytic converter (2015 Prius). I called every Toyota dealership in the greater LA metropolitan area, and the part was on backorder for 4-6 months. I panicked and called every independent mechanic near me. Some quoted me ridiculous prices, others didn't have the part in stock. I got so lucky with Advanced Mufflers - it's less than a mile from me, and they had a factory catalytic converter in stock. Kirk was kind, responsive, fast, and just all around incredibly trustworthy. I'm really glad he's in the area, and I won't hesitate to recommend him to anyone. read more

I was having problems with my brakes on my 1963 Impala SS. Brought it here Mario took care of it, did a great job for a very reasonable price. I've already recommended this place to friends and family read more

We will continue to bring our vehicles here. Kirk and his team have taken great care of our vehicles in a very timely manner and he is so nice! read more

These guys are honest and have amazing prices. Across the street at another muffler shop they tried to charge me three times as much to change a universal muffler. Advanced auto mufflers installed my muffler with all extra parts included at a very reasonable cost. I would recommend them highly. Their prices are extremely reasonable for the Pasadena area. And the quality of their work is excellent. read more

Advance Muffler and Auto Repair - GMC YUKON GETTING MY BORLA MUFFLER INSTALLED. Thanks Kirk!! - Auto Repair Near Me - Pasadena, California

They continually go above and beyond expected service! Kirk and Marco know the ins and outs of all makes and models and care about service. A fully equipped show where you leave satisfied and safe in your vehicle. I RECOMMEND THEM HIGHLY TO FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FOLKS LOOKING FOR TRUSTED AUTO SERVICE. Go there for repairs AND preventive maintenance! Don't waste your time or money anywhere else..... read more

My near perfect (never selling!) 1996 Civic needed quick muffler/pipes repair and my husband found Kirk! Great job, good price, very nice guy. He took us home and picked us up at no charge. It's good to know that we have a trusted person to help us with our Honda. Restores faith in kindness of strangers! read more

This automotive repair shop is 1 of the best I've ever had my vehicles repaired at they were courteous clean helpful and affordable. The staff there an owner was helpful in diagnostic my problem with my truck and car read more

My brother bought me a magna-flow exhaust system for my 2002 Lexus SC 430. I called Kirk and he fit me right away (got lucky with that). I jumped under my car to check his work and its text book perfect. My car sound great and I feel I found my go-to-guy for all my other cars. Great work at a very reasonable price. read more

Advance Muffler and Auto Repair - Auto Repair Near Me - Pasadena, California

Kirk is a pro. I appreciate him fixing the muffler on my classic car at a reasonable price.

Just like others that have reviewed, I was victim of catalytic theft. Shopped around and the prices I was quoted were nauseatingly high. Then I called advance mufflers and spoke to Kirk. This guy is up to date and knows everything about the current Cat theft rules and regulations when it comes to replacement. He had my car finished and ready for the road with current paperwork for the upcoming referee appointment within 2hrs. The price was also the cream on the top. He was asking the absolute lowest by far to replace the cat. I had to ask twice to make sure the price was right. He said "you already got robbed, no need to gouge you and make you feel bad again." I would take anyone to this shop. Honest good mechanics are hard to come by. read more

Advance muffler was referred to me by a colleague, and I'm glad I was! Kirk installed a Borla cat-back exhaust on my 2017 Camaro 2SS, and he did an amazing job! Kirk is detailed, specific, and a true professional at what he does. He measured in millimeters the exhaust tips to ensure that they were absolutely symmetrical, and kept asking me how it looked to me along the way. Kirk truly takes pride and has a lot of passion in what he does, which shows in the quality of work he does. I've been recommending Advance Mufflers to my car enthusiast friends because they admire their cars as much as I admire mine, and trust only the best. I will be making more modifications to my car and Advance Muffler will be first on my options list. read more

Advance Muffler and Auto Repair - Borla catback installed on my 2017 Camaro SS - Auto Repair Near Me - Pasadena, California

I have a model of car that is very popular when it comes to catalytic converter theft. Started my car yesterday and heard a suspicious noise. Found this place on Yelp and dropped in. Someone indeed had tried to steal my converter. Kirk showed me the cut they had started. He welded it back up and added some bars for protection, and 15 minutes later I was on my way! Fair price, great service. I HIGHLY recommend! read more

I came here after reading all the positive reviews and after having my car worked on there twice I'd not come back. The first time was to have the power steering replaced. I live less then a mile from this place and I didn't even make it back to my house before the power steering went out. It was worse then when I took it to them. They told me they must have gotten a bad part. They took the car back and an hour later it was fixed. Two weeks later I took the car in toh ave the timing belt replaced. Which happened to be on a Friday. With in two hours of having the timing belt replace I was broke down on the side of the road. They forgot to tighten a nut causing a belt to come off a pulley. Even I, as a woman who knows nothing about cars could see what the problem was. I have a great picture of it. In fact, the bolt was sitting in theb ottome of the engine compartment. The shop told me that it again was the power steering pump and they would replace it. That the bolt that IN THE BOTTOM OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT JUST CAME OFF. and that NONE of the parts in question were removed for the timing belt. So for two weeks my car ran fine, then when I take it to them it blows up thew same day. Yet they expected me to believe it was a faulty part and not their work. I found that hard to believe but I did. After doing much research on the internet searching for timing belt work on my model car. I also called the dealership r and asked if those parts would need to be moved for the timing belt, indeed they did. So either they did something odd with the timing belt OR lied to me about what parts they did have to move. Either way, I don't care. I wouldn't go back. The shop is very busy, more then one employee said to me they felt rushed. The girl who rang me up stated she was frazzled and over worked. In short. Would not go back. read more

Car repair can be a daunting task for a lady, but this place made it a piece of cake. After getting a quote at the dealer, I contacted Advance Muffler at the recommendation of a friend. Not only was the service much less expensive, the repairman took the time to explain what the problem was, how he repaired it, and what to do in the future...all without making me feel like a moron. I highly recommend this place if you need repair work done. The only reason that I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is the waiting room. It's a little...dingy. Instead of waiting there, I actually walked down to Starbucks. read more

Just got my truck back an they did a great work I would recommend them to anyone who needs work done. They where kind an let me know what they going to do an kept me informed all the time read more

I recommend these fellas , I first met Kirk while he was working on my brothers 71 Chevy truck exhaust, which an Excellent job was done , they do more then just Exhaust as I needed some work on the rear end to my 70 EL Camino and Kirks man Mario took great care of my street rod .. I read some of the comments some bad many good about the shop , Sorry they don't have a greeter for some that feel the need better greeting customer service but I'll say this there all hands on guys there always busy and it an honest shop read more

Used to be a bummer having to have our vehicles serviced. Since we met Mario and Kirk, all that has changed. Feels like family here. Top notch service, super quality work. Old fashioned kindness is hard to come by, honesty and integrity, even harder. Look no further than Advanced for your car care Jim Fischer Ben McGinty read more

I've known Kirk foir many decades , he's as honest as they come . Recently our old truck back fired and blew the rusty old muffler off , the tail pipe was already bad from backing it over a curb . Kirk knows I'm a Journeyman Mechanic and I'm *very* picky , I told him I wanted it as quiet as possible whilst still having a flow through muffler ~ He put it up on the hoist and had me going again better (quieter) than it has been before , affordably too . -Nate read more

Update: Mario has done major work on a 2005 Camry that I gifted my nephew and on my mom's 2006 Equinox. We are happy with the work. A little bit in sticker shock of the prices (about $4k between the two vehicles) but he came highly recommended by my regular mechanic. read more

Very happy for great service. They honored my original quote even tho prices for CATS changed due to COVID. Would recommend any day. Thank you. read more

Called Kirk in the morning and set an appointment in the afternoon. I was a little late but he still took me in. I wanted to install a '05 STI catback exhaust on my '01 Subaru 2.5RS but I knew it would need some minor custom fabrication. Kirk relocated one hanger on the muffler, added an extension to the mid pipe and made a custom flange to match up with the existing cat. It was awesome to see him at work! I even documented the install (see photos). I am really pleased with the install and how awesome these guys are. Highly recommended! read more

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Kirk went above and beyond to help us with a catalytic converter issue! It's nice to find a mechanic who is honest and helpful. We aren't "car people" so it's nice when you know you aren't getting taken advantage of. We will 100% be back! read more

Kirk added dump pipes/ cut-outs to my 1949 Ford. As always his work is beautiful, performed in a timely manner and reasonably priced. read more

Advance Muffler and Auto Repair - Kirk added dump pipes to my '49 Ford. Another beautiful job! - Auto Repair Near Me - Pasadena, California

Kirk did a fantastic job on my 12' Challenger SRT-8 exhaust system! The quality of his work is incredible. He also did a muffler job on my old black 09' challenger. I would highly recommend him and his crew! He did everything in a timely manner and at a very good price. I"ll be back later on for other car related services. Thank you Kirk! -Blake Testa read more

Went here for an oil change when I found out my regular mechanic had closed down his shop. Because my car's a Corolla and pretty standard when it comes to oil changes, I honestly did not expect it to take longer than 20 minutes. I get there, drop off my keys, and I wait. The owner comes by to tell me to change the air filter, which I agree to, and he goes back out to work on the car and call a parts place for the filter. Half an hour goes by, and no updates. After fifteen minutes (this is 45 minutes in total, just for the sake of reference), I stand outside and look at my car and no one is doing anything with it. I guess the owner saw me looking at it because he then started putting oil into my car and telling me it was only going to be a bit longer. In the end, it took about an hour to get an oil change and air filter changed out of my car and it cost $90, which seems absurdly ridiculous ($30 for the oil change, $20 for the filter and $40 for labor, according to the owner). He also neglected to tell me until the end that the parts shop was late in getting the air filter to me, which I wish he would have told me sooner so I could just forgo it this time around and leave after the oil change was done. He also wrote my name down as "Karl"... which is not my name. The owner was nice, and I went here primarily based on the 5 star ratings from Yelp but I would definitely not come here again for something like an oil change. read more

Very down-to-earth and honest people (not to mention one of the mechanics is pretty easy on the eyes). I was helped within minutes of stepping out of my car. The mechanics and owner are genuine in their assessments & seem to keep to their estimates of costs, time, etc. I used to take my vehicle to big-name dealerships to get service done, but no more. Advance is my new auto repair home. read more

I am just going to have to parrot everything that everyone has said about this place already. The guys here are super friendly and really talk to you like a normal person. No sales pressure or big words that fly over your head (especially for ladies!). I took my car in, because it was leaking oil. I called ahead to see what time would work out and was told to simply come in in the morning. So I drive up, and they recognize me and my car from the conversation I had with them the day before. He pulled my car right into the shop and started working. These guys checked out the "service engine" light for free and turned it off FOR FREE. They also told me that the leak most likely came from a misinstallation of the filter from the last place I went. They performed a standard oil change, charged me like 35 bucks, and sent me on my way in less than two hours! LASTLY, they told me to come back in three days so that they could verify their work. This they also did for FREE! This place truly cares for their customers. Go there and you will not be disappointed. Even if you are a car dunce, it will totally be fine. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! read more

Advance Muffler and Auto Repair are always my go to shop! The owner and mechanics are honest and do quality work for a great price! read more

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After reading the reviews on Yelp, I decided to take my car in to Advance for a leaky coolant issue. I called the shop on Tuesday and asked them if it would be more convenient to stop in on Friday morning or Saturday. Mario told me that Friday would work for him, so I got there just as they opened. I am admittedly car-retarded, and have been screwed over by mechanics in the past. (Which is why I now ALWAYS do a Yelp search before I go to a new mechanic. It hasn't let me down yet. :)) Anyway, Mario said that he would diagnose the car while I waited. It could take anywhere up to 90 minutes. I asked him if he could let me know sooner rather than later since I had to go to work. While he looked under the hood, I filled out the paperwork and then spent my time in the Starbucks a couple of blocks away. Twenty-five minutes later I got a call from him that everything was done. I had a loose hose. He tightened it and showed me where the leak was coming from. He also added extra fluid to my washer container when he noticed that my check fluid light was on. I also have a missing hubcap on my car. I asked him for his advice on where I could get a new one and he was very helpful by removing an existing hubcap, reading me the numbers and telling me where I could find one for cheap. Mario was super nice and didn't even charge a dime for his services. I will definitely go back next time there is an issue with the car. Thanks Advance! read more

My 1997 Nissan Quest was leaking coolant somewhere in the engine compartment. I took it to another mechanic and I paid their diagnosis fee to have them check it out. They gave me a quote, it was a little high, but luckily I didnt have time that day to leave the minivan with them. The next morning I went back and fortunately they didnt have time for me. I saw Advance Muffler and Auto on my way back home and decided, why not, let me see what they have to say about my car. Well, JJ looked at it, and gave me a quote that was less than HALF the price I was quoted at the other place! Before JJ did the work, he also warned me that there may be other hoses or gaskets that may need replacing if they broke while he was removing them (which is reasonable as my minivan has over 300k miles, and all original hoses and gaskets). He told me what it would cost IF anything else broke. I gave him the go ahead and throughout his time working on it, he occasionally explained to me what the progress was. Aside from the very awesome price, I REALLY appreciated him keeping me informed of the progress instead of leaving me wondering what was happening!! - btw, from when I got there to when I drove off, it was a total of about 5 hours. He didnt charge me 5 hours of labor, the total time for parts to be delivered was maybe an hour or so. Guess what? I wasnt charged 3 hours of labor either..!! I HIGHLY recommend this place.. and ask for JJ. I found my new mechanic I can recommend to others! As a side note, there was a couple who came in to have their check engine light looked at. JJ took about ten minutes and came back in the office to tell the couple that there was a wire that was disconnected that was causing the check engine light to come on (the husband had changed the starter a few months ago and knocked the wire loose). Some mechanics would have taken advantage of that situation and do unnecessary work! Not JJ. Honesty goes a long way! read more

Randy and company were an extreme pleasure to deal with and were both professional and friendly and I would recommend Advance Muffler & Auto Service to anyone who lives in the area or who happens to break down in the area like I did and expect an honest, fair, and friendly experience which is a rarity in the auto mechanic world. Now if you want to read the details of my experience, read on... I live in the San Fernando Valley and was out in Altadena/Pasadena area on a hike with some friends and upon leaving the hike, my car broke down, just wouldn't start. I left the car in the area and my friend who lives in the area recommended I take it to Advance due to his past experience with them. He said that they put a new belt on his car and that was all he needed to fix his problem and didn't even charge him for it so I was definitely interested in taking my car to Advance after I heard about that experience. I called ahead to let them know I was interested in bringing my car to the shop and this was on Dec 31st. They told me that they were trying to close shop early, at about noon, to give the guys time off for New Year's Eve so I had my car towed there at around 10:30am. They greeted me and were expecting me which was nice and that's when I met one of the mechanics, Randy, who was awesome. Randy immediately took to my car to diagnose the issue after he listened to what I had to say about the symptoms. Within a few minutes, he had checked to see if the spark plugs were getting juice and after seeing that they weren't, went on to the Distributor. He took the cap off and tested a few of the leads and found that the problem was that the Distributor went bad and showed me exactly how it worked and how there were no pulses of energy going from it to the plugs when the other mechanic tried starting the car. He got on the phone, called to one place to get a quote on a rebuilt one (which he asked me if I wanted instead of a new one) and once he heard the price of the first place, he told me he could probably do better and found one for about $40 cheaper at another place. So he told me the price of the part, gave me the price of one hour of labor and sent me on my way because the part wouldn't have come in by the time they closed at noon. I was perfectly fine with coming back after the New Year and really appreciated Randy showing me exactly how he diagnosed the problem. After the new rebuilt distributor was installed, the car started up perfectly. Thank you Randy! read more

Kirk was very helpful and made it easy to do business with them. I came in for advice on replacing my muffler and he gave me the pros and cons of doing it "one way versus another." I returned a few days later and they had me in and out within a couple of hours. The sound produced by the muffler was exactly as he described it, only better. Not too loud, but "throaty." Call it fun. Kirk took the time to explain other variables related to the muffler and answered all my questions. The price was almost half of what I thought it would be. Great service, great product, and I will definitely return from here on out. 5 stars! read more

Advance Muffler & Auto Service is... - Honest - Competent - Ethical It is rare these days to find this particular combination in any auto repair shop type environment - a known bastion of incompetent retards posing as mechanics, outright scammers and blatant rip off artists. My first visit today to Advance had me leaving with an accurate, no charge diagnosis of what it wasn't (the catalytic converters) and ended up with me tooling just down the road to Midas to find out what it was (they had no clue). Midas, in turn, shamelessly tried to rip me off for over 1800.00 in unnecessary and unneeded repairs....(see my other review on these creeps) A few hours later back it was back to Advance again with a wallet that was now $85 lighter due to the fake "diagnosis" by Midas. I came seeking a recommendation to a repair shop that could actually accurately diagnose and repair my vehicle so I could make it back to San Diego. After patiently listening to my tale of auto-woe and attempted highway robbery, the guys at Advance sent me to All Car Specialties in San Gabriel where, low and behold, they actually diagnosed the problem (bad fuel pump) and fixed it. Thanks Advance for keeping things in the auto repair biz honest and reputable. Your stellar reviews say it all, keep up the great work!! read more