It's been over fifteen years ago that this man stoled 25,000 from me by restoring my mother's very first car, which was a 1955 osmobil 98 two door hard top. My mother passed away a few months before and I ended up inheriting her car. It was very sentimental and had a lot of memories. I was in my mid-twenties single female. I brought this car into him because I was referred by greg's automotive in el cajon. He had my car for almost a year. Would call me every few months asking for more money. I made the mistake of telling him I was mov 600 miles away once I picked up the car, it was running okay, but once I got it up to her, I was going to be living, it wouldn't even start. It was just a nightmare after that. Every part that he put in that was NOS was garbage from probably a junkyard, ended up costing 25,000. And I tell everyone made this man rot in hell? I told him the story of the car and how sentimental it was to me. He took all the money I had in my savings. I ended up having to sell it because I needed money. I lost 15,000. From what I had put into the car I have since moved back to san diego and i'm so sorry to see that this con artist is still in business.I hope he rots. read more

Harold's Automotive - 1955 oldsmobile 98 two door hardtop. - Auto Repair Near Me - La Mesa, California

From 2010 to 2021 my friend and I owned a replica of the Ecto-1. We would never have made it without Harold's. Our plan was just to do general maintenance but as time ( and problems ) went on, we ended up needing the engine and transmission replaced. The Ecto was taken to other, well meaning repair shops but no one knows classic cars like Harold's. Every single job they did was not just "done right" but done perfectly. I don't think I've ever trusted an automotive shop as much as Harold's. If you have an older car, this is the only place in San Diego county I would recommend. read more

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Harold has been my go to automotive service for 25 yrs. He kept my '96' Ford Escort running top notch for 19yrs. Sold it in 2016 and am told it's still running to this day. He just did work on my daughters 2013 Prius...new spark plugs. Will always go to Harold first. read more

Harold has always given me excellent and professional service. I do not not take my 56 Chevy anywhere else.

I had Harold and crew work on my '96' Escort for 18yrs.... 2000 to 2018. He kept my "hot rod" in tip top shape with no judgement. I know his specialty is vintage cars but he always gave me honest and excellent service. When I decided to get a newer car, I sold my 22yr. old Escort, running great and, BTW... still running to this day. read more

1954 Bel Air service - they resolved the fuel issues and got us back on the road fast. Harold is a friendly, professional that knows his stuff and can help you to tackle your classic car repair. read more

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I'd rather have a job done right than a job done fast. Harold had my engine and transmission rebuilt for my '59 Cadillac. He basically started over and built a new car out of it. That was in 2012 and it still runs great. No leaking, nothing coming apart, no failures of any sort. For an old car this is kind of amazing. Even a rebuilt car will have problems because they didn't engineer things that well back then. My car doesn't and I basically credit Harold's Automotive with that outcome. read more

Harold worked on my husband's 56 Chevy 210. He went through the brakes, radiator engine - everything. The car went from a loud, misfiring mess to a car that's fun to ride in and reliable. Harold is where we'll always taake the Chevy! read more

Excellent service! Harold's a straight shooter,no B.S. kinda guy! Timely and reasonably priced!! Kept me in the loop the whole time about my Galaxy! read more

Not a trustworthy establishment. I haven't been there in a year or so now since I sold the car Harold had been working on, but I will never bring a vehicle back to him. If you expect him to work on your car, customer beware. I brought in a vehicle that was experiencing a random, but persistent misfire. The misfire was load based and happened any time the car went up a hill, or received throttle to pass, any time at all the engine was under load. I took the car to Harold, and asked that the spark plugs and wires be replaced. That is what I was charged for, and that is what I was told was done to the car. I got the car back with a clean bill of health, and the first hill I went up I experienced the same problem. Took the car right back to Harold, his fix this time was to throw a new catalytic convertor on it. The OEM Toyota part was almost $1800, he said he had an aftermarket one that will work on it for $700. Bear in mind that we live in California, and smog is everything. Got the car back on the road with the new catalytic convertor, guess what? It STILL misfires in the exact same way, in the exact same conditions. By this point I was not willing to trust Harold or his technicians to work on my car properly, so I paid big money to have a mobile mechanic come and diagnose the problem at my house. Guess what? The spark plugs on the car ar at least 10 years olf and have never been replaced, same goes for the wires. Throw $40 worth of plugs and wires at it and the misfire is completely gone. So by this point I have spent $1200 with Harold for absolutely no reason. Part of that was the cost of the catalytic converter, part of it was the diagnostic time, and part of it was the spark plugs and wires he charged me for and never replaced. After all the problems with the car, and wondering what else Harold opted not to fix, I decided I was better off selling the car and letting it be someone else's problem. Guess what? The catalytic converter he installed on the vehicle wasn't California legal. On top of that, it was sized and spec'd for a small 4 cyl engine, and Harold went ahead and installed it on a 3.0l V6. The smog shop that I took it to wouldn't even take my money and fail the car, they felt so bad. The smog tech told me before he even finished hooking the car up that I was wasting my time because that catalytic converter would not have been California legal even if it had been installed on the right size/type of engine. Very long story short: Harold relies on the blind trust of his patrons to stay in business, all the while screwing them over. I spent $1200 in less than 2 months on work that was not needed, and did not fix the problem the car had in the first place. Harold is a crook, and I hope that more people catch on to what he's doing. I had family friends who had been taking their vehicles to Harold for over 10 years, and after seeing what had happened they will never go back. I wouldn't take my worst enemy's car here. read more

I love Harolds. They have helped with my problem truck on several occasions. Always good work, in a timely fashion and at an affordable price. Harold's is definitely my go to. read more

They're doing an awesome job on my 1965 Riviera. Mike has put so much attention to detail into the restoration of this car that's been in my family since it was initially bought. read more

Harolds Automotive has been in business of car/truck repair since before I could drive a car .That was the 70's folks---Very fair and honest repair,only fixing the problem no funny business.you can get your old parts back if you want.Harold mike and tim are great guys and they stand behind all their work!!one visit to Harold's automotive and you will be a customer for the life of your car/truck-----openm-f8am--5pm. read more

Did very solid suspension work on by 1965 T-bird. Price was more than fair.

I was recommended to Harold's from my lawyer and the family who had a long time association and very good luck with him. Finding a great mechanic is worth its weight in gold. My car has 200K miles and he fixed it and made it run like a top after changing the timing belt and water pump. I have been so well taken care of. read more

I used this place once and was fine. A second time, the mechanic left my axle nut loose. A major problem. Major safety problem. I went back furious and he said he had fired the mechanic already, and he would refund me. I just tried to exchange rects. for my refund and was told "we did what u asked" I never asked for finger tight hardware,( axle nut tie rod ends) That would put me in danger. I am glad that mechanic is fired. I don't like to be told something, promised even , and then have to re-argue the situation. The other problem is, the orig bid was $1,000. for both sides. I couldn't afford it. Instead of doing 1 side correct at 500. They did 1 side bearing only, no hub, for 300. When I tried to discus how we should re build the one side, I was told it was already together, 300 its fine. There was no proper estimate. I couldn't afford bearings and hubs on both sides. But I needed the one side that was worse put back together right. read more

I've brought my 67 Olds Cutlass 4 4 2 into their shop. They took on the job of finishing a 1/2 done / completed job done by me. I had done the easy job of pulling the motor out alone...but the hard job of replacing it after rebuilt on the SD asphalt street was to rocky for me to attempt alone . So I brought it into to their shop for dropping in the 400 V8 motor. The owner Harold, and his techs Mike & Tim are extremely knowledgeable about fixing all of the strange quirks of my orphan division of GM - Oldsmobile issues... of and related to things only people with "old school" and past hands on work would be aware of on how to properly fix. First off, prior to starting the job they identified a simple issue on correcting the exhaust manifolds. They were sent to be machined or planed prior to the install. This was in order to start assembly of the block to the manifolds with a good surface rather have to deal with an exhaust leak problem later and to save us the cost of R & R labor time if that occurred. The Olds division has some issues on correct part numbers in the current computer / parts books. Things like motor mounts / pilot bushings, pulleys, discontinued oem quad disc brake hoses could / would perhaps discourage most techs. These guys have a handle on the unique Olds issues. One quick example of this was when they corrected the pilot bushing of a "parts book" error by a reputable shop that I installed prior to them installing the motor back into the car. That would have been a real time waster. They also caught errors made by a reputable engine builder that would have caused problems after start up and later internal problems done the road. They continue to show us they can get the job done correctly. Needless to say, I have a lot of faith in them. read more

Harold's is a TRUSTWORTHY and HONEST shop and they are EXPERTS when it comes to fixing all kinds of cars or trucks.These guys have been taking care of my family's cars for more than 30 years---from the "old" car to our new ones.....There is a good reason they have been in business for so long--- They are the BEST! read more

I was being quoted $800.00 to $900.00 on a full clutch replacement (given no other reason why my clutch would not be working) from multiple mechanics. I was referred to Harold's from a friend. I called and Harold himself explained to me over the phone that it might not be the clutch. So I had my truck towed to Harold's and one day later all that was wrong was I had air in my clutch fluid tube. TOTAL COST WITH TOW $183.33!!!!!! THEY ARE HONEST AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYONE. read more