From February 2020 through October 2021, my catalytic converter was stolen three times. (The third…read moretime, I had an anti-theft shield, but the thieves cut the CC up within the shield and fished it out in parts.) When I got it repaired and a new shield installed in 2021, I hoped the new anti-theft additions to the shield would mean I'd never again experience the dreaded no-catalytic-converter roar when I started my car. I was lucky for a while, and even in my year-and-a-half in the Mission District, which has a far higher rate of auto theft and vandalism than my original/current neighborhood, my CC survived. Unfortunately, within a few weeks of moving back to my rebuilt flat, my old neighborhood welcomed me back by stealing my CC for the fourth time! This time, however, the insurance company totaled my car. Although I bought the car back from them, I would need to get my title changed to a salvage title and eventually to a revived title. That's where Advance Auto Care comes in. You see, even though my 2025 CC-less car was largely identical to my 2021 CC-less car, the California DMV considers total losses to be something requiring all kinds of fees, inspections, and paperwork. In order to keep my car on the road, I would need to get it VIN-confirmed (TBD), smog-checked (done), and safety-inspected (done, hence this review). I figured the safety inspection would be just a formality, but it's a little bit more complicated and a lot more expensive than that. You can only get your vehicle inspected at specific shops, and while the DMV website claims that inspections range from $80 to $100, I found some shops that were charging almost $350 and none that were charged less than $200. I called Advance Auto Care, and they said they could do an inspection for $280, to be paid whether or not I passed. They said it was first come, first served, so I picked a day and drove to the location in the Bayview on their Yelp listing. But their Yelp listing was more than a decade old, and they had since moved to 3rd Street on the Central Waterfront. So I had to drive all the way there. They took my car, and I took the train to Dogpatch and found someplace to eat. Less than an hour later, they called me and told me my car was ready to be picked up. I was elated because the person didn't say anything about my car failing the test, but I asked anyway, and he said, "No, you didn't pass. You need front brakes and you need to fix your tire-pressure sensor." Way to bury the lede, bro. I would have needed new brakes no matter what, so my car would not have passed the test, but I really wish I would have known that the stupid sensor light was an issue. See, old Priuses were designed stupidly. Each tire has a sensor that determines the tire pressure, and it if gets too low, a light on your dashboard lights up. Ridiculously, the light doesn't indicate *which* tire's pressure is low, and each of those sensors has a battery, and each of those batteries will die eventually, so even if your tire pressure is fine, you'll have a "safety" light on your dashboard on when those sensor batteries die, and you'll have no idea which one(s) is/are dead. So because of a stupid car design, I spent $280 that I didn't need to spend, because I should have known that my car wouldn't pass the inspection, and come to think of it, the moment the technician turned on the ignition, he should have told me that and saved me some money. Anyway, I had to get the front brakes done and a pressure-sensor battery replaced (with two of the three remaining having low batteries as well) at another shop, mainly because Advance Auto Care didn't have time to do my brakes within a week. I eventually had to do the whole rigamarole over again, right down to the AAC guy calling me and telling me my car was ready again without telling me whether it had passed. Thankfully, it did this time, but I paid a total of $560 to this place for what amounted to a single inspection, because the second time, the light clearly wasn't on, and I could prove that another garage had fixed my brakes. I'm not claiming that Advance Auto Care did anything illegal or wrong, and I knew that I would have to pay for the test even if the car didn't pass, but a little warning about any of the dashboard lights would have been helpful. The two men I dealt with were efficient, and both inspections were completed quickly. Strangely, I paid when I picked up my car the first time, but the second time, I had to pay before the inspection. I'm not sure why. And if you're wondering why I took it back to the place that annoyed me, I felt that I needed to, because a different shop might have found an additional problem, whereas if AAC had still failed the car, then I could make a colorable argument for why it should have passed--or if it had failed because of either of the original problems, I could get the mechanic that did the repairs to pay for the additional inspections.

I walked in and out for a smog check in about 20 min after calling the day before to confirm…read morethey'll be able to take me. Great, friendly service.

We go to them to get our oil changes and I never get over how friendly and on top of it they are!…read moreThey clean the car well and it's my favorite thing is to get a clean car back. It's a bit pricey and we think it's worth it for the services they provide.

Such thorough work and the best customer service on the planet! A true joy of a service provider…read more Highly recommend.

Great Service and very Friendly and kind! Will recommend to…read moreFamily and Friends. Besides and nearby, less than a mile from my place.

Great service, friendly staff, fair prices, and fast work. Highly recommend. Definitely coming bac.read more

Professional Integrity!--Chris is that amazing honest and trustworthy mechanic who you have always…read morehoped for. Truly a good guy who can explain things at whatever level you can understand.* He stands behind his work and you can see and feel the mutual respect between himself and his employees, as well. *he can probably even explain things using Legos.

I've been here a few times, and have always gotten honest, reasonably priced work, never any BS or…read moreunnecessary extras, and they always do a good job. They also don't shy away from recommending when somewhere else might be able to do better work for the specific problem. They explain everything clearly and don't take me being female as a reason to be condescending or dishonest. When I need repairs I generally call around but I like this place enough that I'm basically going through the motions when I do. Their down to earth, respectful business approach and quality work is the reason I return.

Robert is the best. Straight shooter and transparent. I have been using him for the last 20 years…read more Action auto care is the best option in Potrero Hill for your car needs.

When I needed new front brakes in a hurry--and replacement batteries for my tire-pressure…read moresensors--Action Auto Care came to the rescue. I was very wary of this place at first, I'm not sure why. The owner is a very nice, to-the-point gentleman who says what he means and means what he says. Rather than over-promise, he was honest with me about when they would have enough time to work on my car. The work they did was very professional, and he charged me exactly what he had quoted me upfront, so there wasn't that usual confusion when you look at your bill and try to figure out whether it's worth arguing about any of the little charges. They have very little physical space, so you should be prepared to pick up your car as soon as it's done. Because of work, I couldn't come right when my car was ready, so I was a little bit surprised when I arrived to pay and the owner told me that my car was parked around the corner on Vermont Street. I get it; they don't have much space, but I had just had my catalytic converter stolen for the fourth time, and there are just some places, like that desolate stretch of Vermont Street, that I wouldn't park my car even temporarily under normal circumstances, let alone have it sitting there unattended for a few hours.

Don't bring your car here for service…read more They don't do shit right. Brought my car for oil change to find oil all over the ground, if I didn't look I woulda been fucked my engine would have been toast. These people are terrible at their job. How do you not do the basic and tighten an oil pan nut the right way! At that point wtf are you doing? My dumbass went again and brought a different car for a tire rotation they didn't torque my tires down I lost 3 lugnuts on the freeway I could have died. I did both my cars back to back prior to me loosing the lugnuts on the freeway I lost another lugnut this morning on my second car now I have to pay $200 for a new set of lugs these people are so terrible at there job stay the hell away. Seriously stay the hell away! They will kill you. I could have lost a tire and had a crash on the freeway.

Shady place for an oil change. I came here in 2021 with my 2004 Audi and forgot to write a review…read moreat the time. The mechanics insisted I go out and purchase oil for them to use in the car. This struck me as odd, but then again, the price was forty or so dollars, very low. I bought the oil which brought the total up to about seventy. When I returned to pickup my car and the remainder of the oil, there was no container and the oil was practically dry. In the months following my car began malfunctioning in a lot of ways that it had not before. It became so bad that my engine was failing to climb hills. I would not trust this service station again.

I love Don's Auto and have recommended them to my boss and my partner, who also love them. Carol,…read moreat the front desk, is really kind and communicative, which I really appreciate. I've been taking my Honda Fit into them for 10 years, and they've always treated it and me right. They always have whatever work my car needs done the same day. Carol suggested that I buy a part online at a much lower price since they were forced to order that part from Honda and they installed it for me. One time when I had a weird sound in my wheel. I pulled right in, and they put it up onto lift, found a loose part rolling around in my hub cap, checked the brakes, and had me out of there in 10 minutes and charged me $30. They are just down to Earth, honest, knowledge mechanics, and I am grateful that Don's is near my house.

Straightforward, honest, so friendly--the Don's team will always give you the all-up: what needs to…read morebe done, what should/could be done, and what can/might wait. All with safety first and your concerns & budget in hand.

This shop is timely, courteous, great prices. And timely. They knew exactly what the problem…read morewas.And was able to deliver my car back in three hours.

This is one of those places where you want to give 10 stars. John is the best!!! A true…read moreprofessional. He usually has a dozen cars lined up in front. He says he likes to figure out schedules like a puzzle, so you have to call in advance. His services are WELL worth it. I came in to diagnose a check engine light on a Honda Fit. He immediately took out the scanner to figure out what was wrong (transmission switch) and gave me an estimate. I brought it in the next day and it was done in less than two hours. And then the total cost came out LESS because of the actual work he put in. NO ONE does this. He is such an honest, hardworking guy. I'm not taking my car anywhere else!