Immediately Fernando greeted me whe I pulled into the front of their shop. He was working on another car and stopped what he was doing to introduce himself, I Immediately felt at ease. I told him I needed brakes, he quickly pulled out a flash light and showed me that the front still had some life to the pads, I was like, wow. I recently moved from Irvine, CA, and well, I am not used to that quick of a response and honesty. He did change the back brakes and replaced the sensors as well. They did this at a fraction of the price my old mechanic would of charged us. A client for life, thank you. read more

SCAM ALERT! This place will scam you for every penny they can. Do not trust this place with your vehicle. They are dishonest and clearly break laws when it comes to the tow service. If your car is towed by this company they will not report it to the police department (vehicle code section 22658) therefore resulting in extra storage fees. My car was towed on 3/21 and I called every police department to try and find my car and this tow company did not report the tow. It wasn't until 2 weeks later on April 4th that I received a letter from the tow company. The law states the tow company must notify law enforcement it has your vehicle and is in transit to a storage facility. AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALISTS LLC DOES NOT CONPLY WITH THIS LAW AND IS SCAMMING PEOPLE OUT OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN STORAGE FEES. Do not support this business! http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=22658. read more

These guys are under new management and you will not find a better place to get your car needs taken care of. Conscientious, courteous, and super knowledgeable. They took a car that had set for three years and got it ready to take a 2000 mile drive cross country! They found other chewed wires, besides the ones I knew of. The new owner Hector told his guys, "Make sure you look over it thoroughly, as if you had to drive it." That is when they found the other issues, and took care of everything. It is nice to know that customer service still reigns in the business world. All the mechanics are nice, clean cut, great people! If you you read, the comments that are older than four months... IGNORE THEM because these guys have got it going on! -Tom Shepard, Baton Rouge, LA. read more

I'd love to give this business a -100 star rating but I can't. I bought a car from them September 2018 for $2000 and as of June 6, 2019 I have spent $2,296.71 in repairs not including the ones I was able to complete myself and just got word that I need piston ring replacement at a high end cost of $1800!!!!The owner has had no remorse towards the shit sandwich they sold me. Not one bit. Randy is a true gentleman but the owner is money hungry jerk. STAY AWAY FROM THIS BUSINESS! read more

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Needed a special-order car battery same-day. They had it in for me within hours, and then had me in and out of there within 20 minutes on a Friday. Great experience and will be going there again. read more

I went to this business for an oil change and got talked into getting new brakes. Fernando worked on my car and ended up stripping the main bolt which lead to a ruined axel....... I had to go to another business to have this fixed because he couldn't even figure out how to do brakes. Turned out to be a very expensive poor choice on my behalf. Please do not use Automotive specialists they don't know what they are doing!!!! read more

Just had my 1975 Ranchero made "road worthy" by Robert (and Fernando) at Automotive Specialists prior to starting a cosmetic restoration. Can't say enough good about how professional, accommodating and pleasant they are. The prices were great (thanks guys) but, more important to me was that the work was top notch. I have 2 other vehicles (soon to be three - I know, can't resist a good old restore project) and Robert and the guys will be getting all my business. Dave read more

On 6-15-20 I took my 1996 Honda Civic to Automotive Specialists because my windshield wipers would not turn off. They claimed that because my car was so old, they could not find the part to fix it, so they put in and external wiper control. In the process they broke the motor that operates the windshield washer and returned the car to me without telling me about it. I rarely drive the car and didn't have a reason to use the windshield washer until recently when I realised it wasn't working. I took my car back to Automotive Specialists on 8-17-20 to have the windshield washer repaired. Also, in the meantime the wire they left dangling on the external wiper control disconnected making the wiper useless, that needed repair again also. They kept my car for 7 days complaining they couldn't find the part to repair the windshield wiper motor, then after they found it, on Monday 8-24-20 the new owner Hector called me and began rambling that it would cost too much to put it and to come and pick up my car. He also tried to charge me for reconnecting the external wiper wire that disconnected because of previous poor workmanship. He then began rambling incoherently about my car and said to come and get it. I have been a customer there for 10 years and have spent almost $2,000 there in repairs in the past year alone with never making a complaint. I will never use this business again. They lost a good loyal paying customer. read more

I was driving by recently and thought about taking my car here for an oil change. However, this place is such a dump, it hardly resembles a legitimate business, truly cringe worthy... Apparently they do automotive repairs. I had mistaken this for a junk yard. I don't even think I would let these folks change my wiper blades. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone, unless this is your absolute last option. read more

took my 2006 F-150 in to have the spark plugs & wires checked out. I had read about some issues with spark plugs in F-150's online and asked Larna, Fernando and Robert about it. they were already prepared and had the Ford recommendations on removing the plugs. I appreciate that they were aware of possible problems and prepared just in case. Automotive Specialist is the only place we take our vehicles now. Very knowledgeable, very friendly, very reasonably priced for the work, and very timely in the repairs. I'm glad they're in my neighborhood and I don't have to travel to Vista anymore!! read more

Wow! Not honest people. Rude and heartless! Dont give them your money. They Set up a towing situation last night at graduation. Then charged $300 per car. Not a coincidence that owner lives acrossed the street from high school. Heard he does this every year. read more

This shop was lifesaver my car broke down on the side of the road on my way to my mini vacation at the casino near by . This company towed my car and even fixed my broken radiator. Had it not been for the owners amazing service and incredible kindness this trip would have been a disaster. Oh and they were kind enough to take us to our hotel while I waited for the car to be fixed over all great service . For an honest job done, go to this diamond in the ruff you won't b disappointed!!!! read more

Danny came to help me with a flat tire. He showed me how to use my current jack as the sticker was unclear. Then he got everything finished in just a few minutes. He was funny, polite, and helpful! Highly recommended! read more

Automotive Specialists were recommended to us by our renter. He LOVES them--feels they've treated him fairly and have done a good job keeping his aging car drivable. So we started using them a couple of years ago and have been very satisfied with their quality of work and the prices they charge. We have a couple of older cars with a lot of miles on them, and Automotive Specialists have done a good job of helping to keep them running for us. (We have not always taken the time to compare quotes and estimates with other repair shops; if I had, I would have felt more confident about giving them 5 stars.) Finally, we appreciate the convenience of their location, literally down the road from us in Valley Center. We like to support local businesses, and are pleased when the quality of their work and their service warrants our support of them. read more

My car got stolen. It sucks, but it happens. The police recovered it out in Valley Center but the crooks had trashed it enough that we needed to tow it. The tow truck driver was a really nice guy, knew his stuff, and if I'd been his buddy I would probably recommend him to no end because he seemed more than competent with anything related to his cars. Unfortunately for me, I am not his buddy. He got my car hooked up, we took it a few miles away to a friend's property so I didn't have to pay out the butt for a 40 mile tow. I ask him how much it'll be, he says $185 (Convenient number, I'll elaborate in a moment.) He clarifies that if I had called and not the cops it would have only been $90. Super great, I'm not sure if that's true but I believe it, the city needs to get their cut, so now the car thief and the cops have swindled me. So, I ask about a card reader. Apparently he has one that "Almost never works," the thing wasn't even charged. We go to an ATM, I withdraw $200 because you can't withdraw $185. I ask him if he has $15 in change, he answers no. Of course not, why would a business that accepts cash (Apparently exclusively) carry any amount of money to make change. Now, it's midnight and we're in the middle of nowhere, I can't make change either. So my "$90" tow quickly became a $200 tow. I get that tow drivers can't carry large amounts of cash, but none? I have a hard time believing that. I guess I got to buy the guy dinner for his troubles. While my driver seemed like he knew a great deal about cars, how to get em where you need em, and even how to fix them, I strongly believe that if you use this company they will do whatever they can to rob you of every dollar they can get away with. In my case, the conveniently priced $185 tow (Just $5 above an even 20) **Edit** In the interest of complete fairness, it's entirely possible that this review is fueled by being screwed by both the criminals and cops and not having any trust left to extend. I'm not removing it because the pricing and lack of any change or electronic payment seems entirely suspicious to me, but do take it with a grain of salt. read more

We called to have our truck towed when it was broken down and instead of towing it they impounded it and failed to notify us. They broke several laws in the process of towing and selling our vehicle and then without any notification sent an additional bill to a collection agency trying to collect hundreds of dollars in addition to the money they made from stealing and selling our vehicle. They have pulled similar stunts on other locals. Please don't give these jerks you money. read more

This company is awesome! And I don't often throw out that word. Our son was in a crash. Their tow truck driver, Danny, was excellent. Very concerned and offering advice. When I got to their yard the next day, expecting a typical "Tough s___, we've got your car and if you want it back, pay up!" towing company attitude, I instead was thoroughly impressed by the night dispatcher Annie, who was very flexible and accommodating, including agreeing to tow our car to the repair shop at a discount. Then when it arrived at the repair shop, I discovered that the towing had been discounted again. Congratulations Automotive Specialists, you've turned around my attitude towards towing companies, which I didn't think was possible! read more

I would give them a negative star rating if possible. I took my Mini Cooper in because the check engine light was on and I needed breaks. I had done some research and found out that the engine light was most likely an issue with the thermostat casing which was a common problem for mini's at 80,000 miles. It cost $650 to replace the thermostat and put new breaks on the car. When I picked it up I was not given any of the parts that had been replaced. Within a week the car was driving worse than ever, it literally felt like the car was going to shake apart each time I stepped on the breaks. The engine light also came back on. I took the car in two times always to be told that the owner was out and I would have to come back when he was in. I took the car to a certified Mini Cooper mechanic who ran diagnostic test on the computer. I was informed that the very things that Auto Specialities had fixed were coming up as errors. I made an appointment to see the owner and went in with my boyfriend. I showed the owner the results of the tests and he said he didn't know anything about fixing Mini Coopers and that I should have it repaired at the certified mechanic. Twice my boyfriend asked him if he would reimburse me for the repair and twice he said that he would if I brought both receipts in once the repairs were completed. The day I went in with my receipts, the original from auto specialities and the receipt for the receipt for the new repairs he first said that He wouldn't accept the receipt because I could have just "made it up" on my computer. He was sitting with some people he knew in the office looking at pictures on their cell phone. When I asked him that he call the certified repair shop he said no, that he didn't have time for me. I said it will only take a minute to call the verify the receipt and he got up and said "I told you I don't have time for this and do you even have the parts" then walked out on me. I later went back with my boyfriend, with the parts and he again refused to honor his agreement denying that he ever entered into it in the first place. I later learned from two other people in Valley Center that he had done the exact same thing to them. I moved from the area and I really regret that I did not take him to small claims court, I have the other two former customers willing to testify that our experiences with him and Auto Specialities was exactly the same. Do not take your car to Auto Specialities for repairs, do not use them to tow your car, and if you experience the same as we did, take him to court and report him to AAA. read more

We had a difficult tow. We had stored our car trailer at our friend's remote ranch. To get there we had traveled on very rough "composition" gravel roads and up and down steep inclines. Our 3/4 ton van did not have sufficient braking and engine power to "safely" return tow our heavy car trailer. We called Lorna at Automotive Specialists for assistance. Lorna sent a driver out to find our trailer on Hell Creek Road and assess the tow. She said they could do the tow. On the day of the tow, driver Danny met us at the ranch. He knew exactly what to do. On the way out to the "road", the tailgate fell open from the road vibration. Danny help me closed up and secure the tailgate. Danny carefully and safely towed the trailer to a flat, paved area several miles away, where we hitched up our van to continue our trip. Danny took extra time to make certain we were safely hooked up, including some very innovative thinking, because we were not properly prepared and equipped for the tow. Danny suggested safe ways to tow and voluntarily followed us out to the main road. The rest of our journey was successful because of Danny's extra help. This is more than a towing company. These special people really care about their customers. We highly recommend their services. read more