I have been coming to Aloha for many years to have my family cars repaired. I have always thought they were honest and always had there customers best interest at heart. I am telling you they have changed. I had them install a rebuilt engine in my F 150 truck the engine lasted 2 yrs and froze at 35,000 miles replacement cost me $ 2,700.00 plus the original cost paid to Aloha of $ 5,400.00 the Escondido ford dealer did the replacement.. I had the right side catalitic convertor go out and Gary kept telling me he was getting the part 6 months later I went to Escondido Ford and bought the part and had it installed. The best gotcha tho was the following My Transmission went out, I was quoted $ 1800.00 after the truck is torn a apart originally. John called to tell me the transmission had a computer chip in it and the transmission was now $ 2,800.00. I said can you not help me on that he told me no sorry that was the price. When I picked up the truck he charged me $800.00 for installation for a total of $ 3,400.00 plus. the transmission with 33,000.miles on it burned up less than 30 months later. Refused to replace gave me 24 months warranty just flat lied and screwed me a senior citizen. Since I had the truck towed to a new shop that has explained the new parts that were never installed they installed old parts that should have been replaced. If you go to the internet and look up a FORD 4R75W transmission you will see you can buy a heavy duty one for $ 1,495.00 with a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty. plus shipping $ 65.00 plus installation that you would have to locate....The point is I was a very good customer and they lied to me , over charged me from what the industry would charge. I had the transmission completely rebuilt for heavy duty use with a extra large cooler added for $ 2600.00 I pick my truck up Monday...............Aloha has changed and integrity is gone gone gone. read more

My check engine light came on so I took my car to what I thought was Aloha repair with Gary. The new folks gave me an estimate of $200 for a simple air valve which seemed like to much money the repair. They took 2 days for this simple installation and charged me $330 and the check engine light came on the next day. The mechanic forgot to attach the wire to the valve. I noticed an outward dent in the hood which could only have been from letting the hood drop on some kind of tool. They said nothing about it. Gary is gone from this place and so am I. Avoid. read more

We've been taking our car to Encinitas Aloha Motors for a few years and have always had great and honest service from Gary. Recently we dropped off our son's used car for work and had to return it several times because the problem we dropped it off for hadn't been fixed. Then the car wasn't ready for pick up when they said it would be. We didn't hear back in a timely fashion, and when we finally spoke to someone there, we were told that Gary had left. When we finally picked up our car, it had 200 EXTRA MILES logged on it from the odometer reading when we turned it in. When we inquired about this, they didn't deny it but tried to explain it off by saying they had to test drive the car a lot! WITHOUT GARY, THIS PLACE IS JUST A DISHONEST SCAM! read more

Wish I had read recent reviews before taking my car back. Just not the same without Gary, who was always honest, polite, and had the best price in town. I do not trust them and won't return. read more

The entire shop is always great, but Gary is exceptional. He's extremely authentic and knows what he's doing, but what means the most to me is his honesty. Being a young girl, I've had plenty of experiences at other shops where they attempted to rip me off and make me pay way more money than I needed to. Gary has always been very truthful to me about the complexity of the task at hand and has never tried to deceive me about the price of anything. Over the year or so I've been going to Aloha, he has fixed my trunk that wouldn't close properly; fastened my bumper down after a minor accident until I'm able to buy a new one; and checked my car for potential issues before every road trip I take (at least once a month)--free of charge. Anything they do have to charge for is actually affordable while still being high quality work, too. Gary is one of the nicest people I've met and I can't explain how much I appreciate his generosity. I'm very thankful to have finally found a trustworthy shop. Thanks guys! read more

I took my car in for some routine maintenance and my car had also just started making a noise. After completing the most affordable oil change, Gary recommended I take my car to the dealership for the sound it was making, thinking there may be a recall or service bulletin on it because my mileage was too low for what he thought the issue might be. I took it to the dealership to find that it was a wheel bearing issue covered by warranty! Gary easily could have just told me what was wrong, done the work and charged me for it, but instead I saved $700 by taking it to get it for free. Thank you Gary!! read more

Gary is such a reliable mechanic to go to. I used to work in Encinitas & took my car there whenever i needed something done. Now I live in Point Loma and I still take my car up there. They have competitive prices along with great customer service which is why I recommend this place. read more

I've brought my old Honda twice to Gary. He's been clear about what needs to be done, his estimates are accurate and he's a genuinely nice person. Very reasonable prices for expert work. Highly recommended. read more

Please save your time and money and stay away from Aloha Auto Repair. After reading 5 star reviews I took my daughters 2002 Volkswagen Jetta in to have the transmission repaired. Gary took two weeks to repair the vehicle and it ran for 3 days before the transmission died again. We towed it back to the shop and there it sat for another 2 weeks.....nothing happened! He kept saying that a transmission was on the way from Texas (never arrived) then he was going to rebuild the current transmission(didn't happen). Finally I had to physically go to the shop and demand our money back. So now after 4 weeks of paying rental car fees and towing expenses we have the Jetta in the same condition it was when we brought it in. This has been a nightmare experience and this guy should not be in business. Do yourself a favor a find another place! read more

Amazing! The owner John was the most kind, honest and friendly person in Encinitas. Our vehicle broke down on a Saturday and we got it towed into his shop knowing we were lucky to find a mechanic open on weekends. He got to work as soon as we arrived and even came in on his day off (Sunday) to finish! His price was below online estimates and he did the "little extras" like adding a bolt I was missing and lending us a battery charger. John is very knowledgeable and extremely professional. I definitely recommend Aloha Auto Repair! read more

This place is the best! If you're smart you will bring your car here, the technicians will fix it quickly and you'll be back on the road in no time. read more

First time at Aloha. Gary and his crew are right on. Got the serpentine belt changed, and everything went smoother than ANYWHERE I've been before. Nice, reasonable price, done ahead of schedule, and no 'up selling'. This is where I'm going from now on. read more

I brought a new serpentine belt for my car to Gary and asked him to put it in for me. My car was done in 30 mins and he said it was too easy and refused to let me pay! I will be back for other work on my car and I made him promise to let me pay for the labor next time! Awesome to know there are mechanics that can be trusted! read more

We had Aloha (Gary) do some work on our 2007 Dodge Caliber. The customer service was fantastic and Gary did everything possible to make sure we were happy with the repair. I'd definitely recommend! read more

Gary is great.I recently had work done to my car for half the price other shops quoted me. Customer service was excellent. I would highly recommend Aloha Motors to anyone. read more

The guys over here are awesome! I take both my 83' VW Rabbit and my girlfriends new Prius and wouldn't think of taking them any other place. They are very professional, trustworthy, and the prices are right. I highly recommend them and want to say thank you to the Encinitas Aloha Auto Repair crew! read more

Very fast. John gives a fair price, more than half what the dealer would charge me. What else is there to say? These guys only want you to get what you need, no selling BS. This is my second time using Aloha and I've been very satisfied both times read more

I have lived in a lot of cities over the years and due to that fact have spent a lot of time looking for, but rarely finding, skilled and honest mechanics. Gary is both of those, and professional as well. First time in a long time I haven't been charged for a diagnostic, and heard back from him before I was expecting to. I am officially a loyal customer. Thank you Gary. read more

If I could give extra stars I would! Just to begin, I was referred to Aloha auto repair by the local smog check station. Crystal at the smog check station had nothing but positive things to say about John and Gary at Aloha. I used their services for my 2012 VW Jetta TDI. They did a standard oil change on it. I immediately left town for 4 days after they complete the job. I noticed some noises under the hood of my car while I was driving. It sounded like something bouncing or "clinging" around on a metal surface. I brought it back to Gary as soon as I got back in town with the assumption that something might have been bouncing around in my engine apartment from when they did the service. As it turns out the noises were coming from many gravel rocks that were inside certain areas of my engine compartment. I immediately remembered that I had driven down a road that was being repaved and re gravelled. I distinctly remember a lot of rocks bouncing off the ground and into the undercarriage of my car. As soon as I realized that I was so grateful and thankful of Gary and I wanted to make sure to pay him for his services because that was nothing that him or any of his employees had caused. But, he took the time anyways to figure it out. He refused to let me pay and demanded on a handshake. I just moved to the area 6 months ago and I know for a fact that I will be using Aloha auto from now on and trusting them with my references as well. In my opinion this company is full of integrity, honesty, and not to mention great prices. Thank you Gary and the whole team from Aloha auto repair! I will see you guys soon for the transmission service again. read more

First off, I am pretty mechanically inclined and over the years have done a lot of work on my cars. However, sometimes, it's just more efficient and more convenient to bring it to a shop. I've been to many shops over the years. I can tell you there is something special about this shop. Gary is a great guy and is genuinely interested in helping me out with my car repairs. A lot of car shop people are only interested in helping themselves out. He quickly helped me diagnose and electrical problem on one of my vehicles when I dropped in with no appointment--and at no charge!!! Also on the oil change that he did today they did it quick and based on what he charged me I know he couldn't have made any money. When he was running my credit card through the machine, I felt kinda bad so I said, "Go ahead and add an extra $10." But he wouldn't do it and insisted that he only charge the (token) cost for the oil change. He just confirmed what I thought of him and his shop. In addition, it is noteworthy that he didn't try to sell me on a bunch of needless repairs, services, and fluid flushing, like a lot of shops do. He continues to make a believer out of me. I also like that they are open on Saturdays. I'm super busy during the week so weekends are the only time I have to deal with car repairs. I highly recommend this shop and you won't be disappointed with how you will be treated. You will be treated fairly, with respect, and with honesty. I am happy to support a business like this. read more