This is the only shop on the Westside I go to and tell my friends and family to go to. This is a family ran shop. father (Mario) mother (Virginia) and son (Freddie). They are extremely honest and great at what they do. I've been a 15 year customer. I've never been disappointed. If anything very stoked. This is the best shop I've ever dealt with in my 59 years. It has a great family vibe. Even the mechanics they hired are nice and the best. That's why there is always classic older cars there like old 60's-70's Broncos, 60's-70's Camaro's along side my sons 2022 Honda accord and my 2017 4x4 F-150. I trust this shop with my life. read more

D.T Automotive - F2017 Ford F-150 4x4 - Auto Repair Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Noisy exhaust on a 1988 Mercedes Benz E 300 was fixed by Mario in a time span of little more than a hour, Mario had to replace the resonator, the double exhaust pipes from the catalytic converter to the resonator and the single exhaust pipe from the resonator to the muffler, it's no wonder these guys are so busy doing an excellent job, it was hard to get in there, but the wait was worth it, JOB WELL DONE, Thank you Freddy and Mario. Keep up the good work. Hans read more

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Honest and very informative about my repair. I recommend this auto shop to the community

Freddy and Mario's team is fantastic! Great service and value for the labor they do to fix repairs. I have been taking my car their for years and don't trust anyone else! I highly recommend! read more

Freddy and his team did a fantastic job in replacing my stolen catalytic converter. The are honest, communicative, friendly and finished the work on time. I highly recommend them, and will be back if I need any work done. Thanks! read more

I'll start off saying. All my cars are my children. With that said I don't let just anyone touch them or work on them. Mostly I do everything myself. But if you want some really good exhaust work you go here. They've done the exhaust on my supercharged E46 3-series, Maserati coupe and E60 BMW M5. All times they did perfect work. I always had the owner of the business do the work for me. He's a really good person and very into cars. The atmosphere is great and his knowledge and work he does for exhaust is top notch. I'd highly recommend this place if you want some good exhaust work for any car. read more

Have always been treated fairly and bring all my cars to DT Automotive for exhaust, CAT and miscellaneous repair. Always fun to see the latest Bronco or Classic Mustang that is being worked on at the shop. I recommend them to anyone as they are a local and trusted place to take their cars. read more

Well! 1st off, allow me to disclose that I created my YELP account TODAY, solely for the purpose to express my gratitude & appreciation for DTA, Dependable Trusted Automotive in Santa Monica! The usual gentlemen who help me there are Freddy (the younger-looking gentleman w/ some serious wrenching skills!), Javi (he's a buff dude). This guy will rip you in half-just kiddin'! He's a cool dude-very knowledgeable mechanic, straight to the point & best of all, his main professional licensing is specializing in HONDA/ACURA, which was perfect for me & my car. Both, Freddy & Javi work on ALL vehicle makes/models. But, you can tell that Javi has a certain passion towards HONDA/ACURA. There's another gentleman I've seen there on multiple occasions-dunno his name, but, he has the SICKEST, THICKEST 'stache I've ever seen that would make MAGNUM P.I.'s mustache physically shed a tear of shame. NO JOKE! I've been taking my car & my father's car to DTA for quite some time now. I can easily admit that 90% of my overall visits have been on the fly, where I'd drop in, randomly & unannounced. No matter how busy their shop appeared, they would ALWAYS manage to take me in immediately without hesitation or a flinch. Usually, it would be Freddy there to promptly come out to greet me, hear me out on what I'm there for, & then reply with, "Alright. Drive it in & I'll take a look." Freddy's up-front, honest, informative & real easy to talk to. Today, they were REAL busy. All the working bays were occupied w/ cars getting worked on, as well as, 2 other newly arrived customers (from what I was able to see) who were getting their cars checked out, right off-side the working bays. Despite it all, Freddy STILL took my car in, "Alright, no problem. Let me move some of these cars out & you can drive yours in. I'll check it out, what ever that I find that needs attn on your car, I'll get back to you within the hour w/ the details..." These guys are bloody awesome! There were several major things that needed to be done to my car, including, valve cover gasket replacement & cleaning off of all this excess oil build-up, serpentine belt replacement, among other things. They got my car ALL finished up within the day. With all the work my car needed, I expected that I'd be leaving the car with them, overnight-NOPE! I posted a pic on here of the inside of my engine bay (red valve cover) after they finished-look @ that thing-it looks BRAND new!! The price was (more than) right & they explained thoroughly of what work was done to my car today. The shop is conveniently located right by main streets: Lincoln Blvd & Ocean Park. Across the way, there's a shopping plaza w/ a few restaurants & an Albertson's market. Also within walking distance, there's a McDonald's, Starbucks & other miscellaneous stores. Plenty of places to pass your time, while your car's gettin' worked on. If you're on the WEST SIDE, Santa Monica, or just looking for guaranteed PRO status, honest, dependable auto svc w/ reasonable pricing, DTA... FTW! :D read more

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Loved it here. This place knows what they're doing. I highly recommend them, they're a good family business. read more

Was recommended to come here by my mechanic who doesn't really do muffler work. I was driving by and stopped in and even though the guys were eating lunch, they fit me right in and fixed my leaky exhaust in about an hour. Had lunch at Whole Foods down the street while they worked. Wasn't too expensive and the car runs great. read more

Dai is the nicest auto mechanic that helped me changed the engine of my car for such a good price. I would definitely recommend him amongst other mechanics. He has many years of experience and he is always willing to work with you. read more

I guess they are busy but they had car for around 10 days doing small repairs. I don't think I'd go back: 1) New muffler they installed had a rattle they had to fix 2) on my List was spark plug wires replace, they didn't but another shop did and noticed insulation was worn out from rubbing. 3) new gas pedal they installed failed after 6 months due to no insulation on wire and it rubbed metal on metal. read more

Just stopped by to get a little advice on an exhaust situation. It's been about 2 months of me going from shop to shop asking about an exhaust I'm trying to put together on my '68 Porsche. EVERY shop that I've been to says that it's not "their" thing and that I should look for a shop online. Well, I live near DTA in Santa Monica and decided to give them a call. Naturally, they told me to come in and show them my situation. When i arrived, Mario was busy changing brakes but still took the time to greet me, as well as listen to my situation, never missing a beat on the job he was doing. He was courteous and upfront. At the end of our conversation, he offered to help by trimming a piece for me (other shops wanted $$$) for free!!! I offered him a tip but he insisted that it was ok. As a business owner myself, I understand the value in how he handled my visit. I plan on using this shop for the projects that are too much for my novice hands. I'm glad I took the time to stop by, and Mario said if I wanted, they'd work on my car, but didn't pressure me into bringing it in. 5 stars. read more

My mechanic suggested this place because he takes his cars there. They are really great,they've been in service 18 years. You'll definitely recognize the place because it has all of the most incredible classic cars inside. They are very conscientious, fast and nice. I brought my old BMW there to get a muffler hanger and when I realized how good they are I told them to add another couple things to the bill. read more

Great place to handle all maintenance on my car and good for performance upgrades too. Highly recommend coming here time after time read more

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This place is the best! Mario & Freddy are probably the only mechanics I've ever worked with that I don't make me feel like an idiot. They always come in on time and at cost... Can't get any better. read more

Freddy and Mario are an awesome father and son team. I've been going to them since they opened their shop...approximately 13 years ago. I believe that their rates are fair and their work is superb. Many auto repair shops operate with dishonesty and shady conduct. They especially take advantage of female customers...which can be bad on the pocketbook and self esteem. However, this family makes it their policy to guarantee their work and satisfy their customer. I've gladly referred them to many of my friends. Thanks Freddy and Mario! read more

Great, reliable, trust worthy, team they have there. I only go to them for outstanding service. P.S. Mario is the man.

I want to thank Mario and Freddy at DT AUTOMOTIVE. I have known Mario for 7 years he is the owner and exhaust fabricator. specializes in stock replacement systems and hi performance set ups. I like how much attention to detail he has in custom exhaust. He has built a full 3 inch set up on my 5.0 mustang, very pleased on the sound and the best thing it was design to tuck under the car without scraping. Only shop that I will go to and recommend, also does regular mechanic services and racing parts and installation. Good prices and quality parts. read more

These are stand out, stand up dudes. They will take great care of your baby... totally honest and very effective.

Love Mario and Freddie. This is a family owned business and most of our neighbors have taken their cars to them for years- including me. They have always been honest and super reliable. They also always have a great collection of amazing classic cars that they are working on which is always fun to check out. read more

Was referred to here and excellent job when my car broke down. Great honest service with quality people. Was afraid to take the car to a shop because of horror stories but take it to this place if you don't want any of that drama. read more

The best automotive shop on west side and the best service. Mario the owner,and Freddy his A+mechanic rock . I had taken my car to Kondo motors and just felt rippedoff. I decided to go back to DT Auto repair and I am very happy. They are honest,show you your old parts,explain things to you and have the best and fairest price in all of la. If you need your car fixed with class and extremely honest guys go to DT auto. These guys are awesome. Hope this helps all you single ladies working to have respect,and no bs. read more

I love these guys. They are the best mechanics I've ever dealt with! They treat me like family, always have my best interest at heart rather than just making a quick buck like most places now a days. I refer everyone to them and they've all all been very pleased as well. I wouldn't take my car anywhere else. They've helped me so much and always made car trouble a pleasant visit. read more

I was trying to find a mechanic close to home and I'm so glad I was referred here by a friend. No need to look any further. Great service! Honest, sincere and fair. Highly recommend. read more

Mario and Freddy are #1 professionals. When it comes to exhaust or welding, they can't be beat. Good pricing and great service.

furthermore, the tensioner and pulley that DT Automotive installed was also Chinese, a GMB part which used to be made in the USA, now made in CHINA. And they used the cheapest possible gasket material, the paper crap gasket to which they added a little silicon their own. read more

Best mechanic I've found - anywhere. Honest, reasonable, nice, prompt...highly recommended. And any mechanic you get seems to be equally competent. read more

Freddy and Mario are super guys, very friendly and absolutely reliable. AND THEY DO A SUPERBE JOB! A few weeks before, someone rear-ended me on the freeway. The back door of my 2003 Toyota RAV4 had to be replaced. It took us a few weeks to find the right door and quite a few other things had to be fixed as well. But despite the difficulties we encountered, Freddy and Mario were always patiently assisting me with all my questions. I am in Marina Del Rey and someone from there recommend D.T. Automotive, in Santa Monica, which is not really the next door, but to travel there was worth it. And after this very good experience I know: This is my workshop! Thank you Freddy and Mario. read more

Called saturday for a quote to replace a flex pipe on a 1999 Camry. The price was very reasonable, so I asked to bring it in Monday. Mario met me at opening time, and immediately put my car up on the lift. I asked how long it would take, expecting that I'd have to leave it there for the day, but he said it would take 30 minutes. I was back on my way to work in 30-40m. Mario was nice, helpful and very efficient. The total charge was about half what he quoted me over the phone. Great experience. I'll be back if I have any more trouble with my exhaust. I would recommend to anyone who has a similar issue. read more