I am so incredibly impressed with Auto-Motives and thier crew!! I had my 7.3 Excursion towed in to them last week. Finding a good diesel mechanic in Santa Cruz is slim pickings. Our friend gave them an excellent referral so there we went. Greg called me the next day with some choices and was completely supportive of all of my questions. He was kind and forthcoming and most importantly, he listen to me with enthusiasm. I called Greg back yesterday with the direction I wanted to go and he was right there with me on it. He called me today to inform me, We.Are.FIXED!!! I have to say.... Engines are Engines.... they are the constant. What makes this shop exceptional is the service and they have that 10 fold! I'm so glad and thankful. Josh, Greg and the crew will forever have our business and they will be the ONLY shop I refer. Thanks again Auto-Motives!! read more

Auto-Motives - Auto Repair Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Okay, I finally got work done by these guys. They seem honest and were friendly in the beginning. I woulda given them five starts BUT as the year went on and I brought the vehicle back a few times for other repairs, they got over working on it. I think they aren't interested in doing anything but straight forward projects. They basically told me there's nothing more than can do for me. The same thing was told to my husband years ago with another vehicle with completely different problems. I have a great mechanic now who seems appreciative of the continual business my vehicle brings in! read more

I have taken our cars, including the vehicle equipped for my disabled daughter, to Auto-Motives for years. They are efficient, affordable, and they are easy to deal with. Give this place a try! read more

Highly professional. Stand behind their work. Josh is a very admirable businessman as well as highly skilled mechanic. His customers regularly bring donuts and coffee and even lunch for the whole staff out of appreciation. read more

Leaky seals rear axel and pinion seal , rush job and did not install correctly , I do not recommend this shop .

Auto-motives is our go-to place!  We have been going here since it was Bob Herberts Auto-motives and Josh was working for him.  He is hands-down THE BEST!  We hadn't seen him for a couple years because we purchased our 2 cars at Honda and they came with these all-inclusive care packages but what a mistake!  After finding that Honda didn't rotate our tires in 30,000 miles - YES 30,000 miles even though it was documented as part of the package performed!  We were quoted $600 to replace one bearing - Josh did a complete workup of the car and replaced BOTH bearings for $580.  He's so honest, his staff is good - don't waste your time with dealerships - trust me!!! read more

Cannot day enough good things about this company. I recently bought a shuttle bus that I'm renovating into an RV, so I wanted her checked out top to bottom. Josh did a great job, kept me well informed, and even finished the repairs quicker than promised. Originally I had taken her to another place and, not only did it take them two days to complete and oil change, they basically told me the whole vehicle needed rebuilding. They had zero customer service skills and were obviously in it for the money. Amy experience here was completely different, so needless to say they will be getting all my business. read more

Great shop! Trustworthy, skilled and reasonably priced, everything you'd want in a mechanic.

My car was being repaired for 3 weeks at a local auto body shop that couldn't get it right. I called around to find a good mechanic so i was referred to Automotives by friend working at Hayes European. I knew the service would be great soon as Automotives' friendly receptionist answered on the first ring. She scheduled me the earliest appointment within 24 hours and by 9am the next morning my car was immediately being looked over and I was able to communicate with the mechanic about what he found and repairs needed. The mechanic was thorough and confident without taking much of my time. Parts were ordered and by the next morning my car was being repaired. I got my car back by 4pm and it was such a relief to have my car back, fixed, and ready for a full cleaning after 3 weeks being in an autobody shop. Very grateful for great mechanics like Automotives. read more

Dealing with Josh 'the owner' and his colleagues is very professional and real. He is very truthful about what needs to get done and not. How many liars do we deal with every day? It's bullshit. Josh is truthful. Work is real and done right. That's all I have to say about this shop! read more

I am so happy I found this shop! We've had a few bad experiences with other mechanics in the past. Josh was recommended to us by a friend years ago and we will never go anywhere else. Honest, reasonable, straightforward and top notch work, couldn't ask for more. read more

We have been going to this shop for many years. They are hard to find back behind another shop, but completely worth it. We have old cars with lots of problems that they have worked on with skill, timeliness, courtesy, and value. I've never been over charged. They have even suggested partial measures to keep our old cars going for a bit longer when full repairs would have been too big of an investment for our beaters. They are very thoughtful. read more

Josh and the staff at Auto-Motives have cared for my car for several years now, and I am very pleased with their service. They have never tried to do more to my car than what was really needed, and I appreciate this respect for my budget. I have found their work reliable and reasonably fast. I recommend them to anyone looking for a good auto repair shop. read more

Josh & his team are the only honest mechanics you will ever find!! I came in thinking i needed new brakes and they checked it out, said I still had 15,000 miles left out of the current brake pads. saved me from tossing $500 out the window! & what other repair shop will have a full lot of broken cars on a monday & still fix yours right then & there because you dont have a ride home? I wont take my car in anywhere else, Auto-Motives is THE best repair shop in Santa Cruz, no matter what kind or age car you have, they'll fix it if it needs it and save you money when it doesnt! read more

We have taken all our families cars to this repair shop for the past 25+ years! They have proven over & over again that they are the most comprehensive , honest , clear communicators and customer first oriented ! They have saved our family loads of money numerous times by evaluating & advising us about our out of state student's car repairs estimates that were loaded with unnecessary add-ons! They always share what options there are for repairs! I offer my highest recommendation to this shop .....They are my one and only car doctors! Doug Dirt Greenfield read more

Josh always provides great service and he is very friendly and great with communication. Their prices match up exactly to what you'd expect, you won't ever get ripped off at this place. Service is always quick. Everyone there has great communication, is very friendly, and I know I can trust them to look out for my vehicle. They're always checking to make sure everything looks good even if I don't ask, which is great because it gives me some peace of mind. They always inform me if something else needs servicing besides what I brought my car in for so you will never ever get workers who are just looking to do the bare minimum to get your money. I will always bring my vehicles to auto motives as well as recommend them to anyone who needs servicing. I have a Cadillac, which isn't the easiest of cars to work on, and most shops would charge extra just for the brand name, but this place beats the dealership and other shops in every way. Hands down the most trustworthy auto repair shop in the county. read more

Go see Josh if you want an honest mechanic who will tell you exactly what your car needs and doesn't need. I have trusted Josh for years and I continue to receive exceptional service. Josh serviced my Ford Explorer to 400,000 miles. And he now is looking after my Acura MDX. Great local mechanic with knowledgeable office staff who will take very good care of you and your car !!! read more

Hands down this crew is amazing!!!! Shop is clean, they're honest and friendly. Communication is on point. I most definitely will bring my Ford F-250 diesel back. Thank you josh, Katy, and Aurelio! read more

Took our Honda 2002 Civic by because Ocean Honda quoted us $600 for torn compliance bushings. Chris stopped what he was doing, inspected the vehicle and explained the problem to me. Turns out he worked for Ocean Honda for 16 years. He was so pleasant and caring that we will be taking the car back to have the work done. They've already done work on our Suburban, so I know we'll be satisfied with their service. read more

I recently started using Auto-Motives for my Duramax truck. I was very impressed my first visit. I made an appointment for them to diagnose a few problems i was having. Took them a few hours. Josh and i went over all the notes he had which were in good detail. He showed and explained the problems and what was going on and what needed to be replaced. After talking to Josh I went in to pay for the diagnostic only to hear that it was free. At that moment I decided this was to shop in going to from now on. Overall experience: Great people. They take the time to explain what needs to be done and why the problem is happening and answer all your questions, even if they might be stupid questions. I felt very comfortable leaving my truck with them and I had no doubt I was getting a good honest price for the work. read more

I'm amazed to find a bad review here (from 2015). Josh and his team are friendly, efficient, cost-effective, and just plain great to work with. It's been a very long time since we felt so comfortable with a car repair shop. We've been customers for more than a few years ... read more

I had some troubles with my 2005 Chevy Duramax dually and had it towed in for diagnostics and repairs. I checked around to see who could take care of the duramax problems, and they were recommended by another shop. It was my first time there. They were quick and thorough and fixed a number of items, including the factory problem. Attention to detail and customer dialog was very complete, and very thorough. I would be glad to recommend them, and glad to come back. Thank you read more

The short story is I had my truck worked on 300 miles from home when it broke down. I got home and had a service light came on the next time I drove it. Automotives was reccommened by an other mechanic that did not work on diesels. Josh found where the first mechanic had crushed a wire causing it to short out and do about $600 damage. Josh fixed it and wrote a detailed explanation on the work order. I had to sue the first mechanic and Josh's work order was one of the reasons I won my suit and collected my money. He is my diesel mechanic from now on. He also worked hard to get my truck fixed so I could keep camping reservations I had for the next weekend. A great honest place. read more

Josh and everyone at Automotives get it done! They have gone out of their way for my old car and myself many a time. They are prompt, fast, even fair, and generally nice guys. I am always pleased with their work and they even seem to always do a little extra, which my old Honda can always use. YES, use Auto-motives! read more

Update : I'm not surprised by his response to say the least. The last time we used him was to replace some bulbs in our dash. When we picked it up, less bulbs worked before and the rpm was no longer working. When we called, he couldn't fix it for three weeks. We took it to mark Chandler who had no clue how a mechanic could screw up bulb replacement and he fixed it quickly.. Ever since Josh was recommended by Mark Chandler, we've used him as our diesel mechanic. We were relatively happy with him as our mechanic until today when we were given pretty confusing, jarring excuse as to why he couldn't do a repair. We have a Dodge, which he as done work on and serviced multiple times the last year or so. Last time he had our truck, I asked what it would cost in labor to replace the injectors. He gave me a number, I said great, and we'd be seeing him once we could afford the parts for it. I call today to get a number for the same service (now that we can do it) as well as installing a FASS. Out of nowhere, he now tells us he doesn't have much experience with Dodges and doesn't feel comfortable doing the repair. Strange considering he said he had PLENTY of experience doing Dodges when we first started using him, and Dodges are one of the easiest trucks to replace the injectors on. So to say I'm thrown for a loop and pissed off is an understatement. I was sending my mom and grandparents to him with their trucks as well as friends. I will now be informing them of his unprofessional behavior and letting anyone who asks know to watch out. I'll be informing Mark Chandler as well that he probably should be sending his diesel customers elsewhere. read more

Josh and the whole crew at Auto Motives are great. I dropped my car after hours when the fuel pump went out on me. He had his guy open the gate to make sure my car was safe inside. They even replaced a couple bulbs for me free of charge. Saved me a huge hassle cause I would never have gone to an auto parts store to fix em. They do great work and Katie is awesome at keeping me informed of the status of my cars. I can't imagine going anywhere else even though I live on the westside. read more

This is one of the best auto maintenance businesses anywhere. They have been consistently skillful, honest and fair in helping me to keep my older Lexus running. Joshua Doak is a talented and straightforward mechanic who knows his stuff and runs an efficient operation that produces a great outcome in a timely matter. I can highly recommend this as an alternative to costly service operations associated with auto dealerships. read more

I was traveling across the country and my truck's check engine light started flashing on the way down Hwy 17. I barely limped it into Auto-Motives and Josh began to help me immediately. Their team is fast, professional, knowledgeable and honest. It turned out there was major problem with my (266k) engine and Josh detailed all my options for replacement. There was no charge for the diagnosis and his Dad even gave me the auto sales magazine he had picked up that morning (since replacing the old truck became an option). I would recommend them to anyone, especially anyone with a Chevy truck. read more