This was my first visit to Honest 1 Auto Repair. I found them on the Repair Pal referral site since I recently moved to the LA Mesa area. I had several issues going on with my vehicle and booked an appointment online for 8:00 in the morning. I arrived early and the guy in the office asked me some questions. Once I dropped off my car and my paperwork was taken care of, the courtesy shuttle was waiting for me at the front door to take me home. I received a phone call after about an hour with the diagnosis of what was going on with my car. I authorized the work be completed and my car was finished by 2:00 pm. The service was quick, quality and I received great customer service. I will definitely be back!!!! Thanks!! read more

Tried to pull a fast one on me while car was apart already. Paid 1100 to have my spark plugs replaced. 190.00 of that was to diagnose the problem. I felt it was a little high but i have been here years ago when under different management or ownership and was pleased. While car was apart they called and said i needed 2 new coils and boots due to water damage. I fully understand this. John said that there would be no extra labor just parts which he tried to charge me 964.00 . WHAT THE HECK!!!! 2 coils and boots parts only ( i would hate to see the price if he was going to charge labor) - plugs were over 1100.00 -so just over 2k for all. My goodness i dont like to be scammed so I just paid for the plugs and told him to put it back together knowing that I will have to get the work completed at another shop. The estimate i got from another shop is 600.00. This includes 2 coils and new boots. This includes all the labor as well as the same brand "motorcraft" used. Being a long time resident in the area and running a business here for 15 years "The Fish Merchant" i know how tight this community is and I like to support small businesses whenever I can. I would highly recommend to do your business elsewhere. I will update on repairs from new repair shop when completed. read more

Used to love this place. Until they charged me $75 to replace the gas cap. Yes. The cap. The one you take off to put gas in the car. The one that costs twelve dollars. No, I didn't go there just for that. I asked, "While you guys have it, can you replace the cap? I was fine with paying to parts markup, because it saved me time. Seventy. Five. Dollars. for part and labor. read more

I've been living in this neighborhood for 7 years. I've owned multiple cars and have taken them here for everything. In the last year, honest 1 has sunk tremendously quality wise. DO NOT TRUST THEM. Strike 1: brought in my Honda pilot family mobile for a wheel alignment and oil change. When they called me to pick it up I was in and out. Then an alert came through that the oil was low. I went back the day after, they checked it out and they said "oh fuck, we forgot to do the oil change!" Forgot. Strike 2: brought in my car (bmw 340i) for an oil change and swapping out the spark plugs. Took care of this but several days later I got a notification, "your oil level is low." I brought the car back, they checked it out and said, "oh fuck, we were 1 quart short oil wise." That's enough. It's oil changes. Jiffy lube does this basic shit without error. On top of that the wonderful gentleman who handled the front desk seemed to have left a few months ago. All of this is indication that the manager and owner sucks. Poor quality, loss of excellent staff. Do not come here. read more

Lifetime customer! John has great customer service and is always available to answer any questions. I purchased an older car for my daughter and every time I can call and get her car in quickly, with every detail communicated to me. As a woman customer, I feel welcomed and valued. I highly recommend Honest, it's not only their name it is in their work. read more

Thanks for sharing severin at 289 Vernon way el Cajon. Hector is an honest man. I saved $500 with him.

In the past I have used Honest A-1 repair shop on Jackson Drive and was pleased. However, this last visit didn't go well. I was told they would call me the same day and give me a quote on replacing a part on my car after they checked with the Toyota dealer. Two days passed no return call. I dropped in today and the person at the front desk told me the parts department left him on the phone too long. I then asked if they could check the car battery for me and he said the mechanics were going to lunch that I'd need to leave the car and maybe I should check with Triple A if I had a membership. Too bad because this is a neighborhood mechanic who is very close to my home. . read more

$95 fee for a non specific diagnosis of my truck heater. I had taken my truck to San Carlos Auto for years. When they changed hands I took it to Honest Auto care for an oil change (thus the 2 star rating, otherwise it would be 0 stars). No problems. I just took it in because the heater would not work when it was cold out. They remommended a new thermostat, vacuum lines replacement and possibly heater core and control box. Minimum $300 and up, but they really didn't say what the problem was. I declined the services and when I went to pick up my truck, they charged me $95 for telling me they were not sure what was wrong. read more

Since Julio has left, this place has really gone downhill fast! If you do NOT have a warning message code, do not allow them to attempt ANY repairs! If you expect a job done right the first time, go somewhere else! Do not authorize any extra work until you are satisfied with the initial work order being completed to your satisfaction. Honest One isn't honest anymore, a glorified 'oil changers' is all this shop is good for. read more

Finding a good mechanic is always difficult. I was so happy to finally find a Poway based shop that we could bring both our cars to be serviced. Alan has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Easy to set up an appointment and fast turnarounds. Highly recommend! read more

I went in 2 weeks ago to get print out of work for vehicle. 3x went back because never received response back. Gentlemen at desk said he gave information to John the owner.. 2 weeks later still ZERO response from John regarding my request. Shop definitely has gone down hill in the last year. Total joke Taking cars elsewhere... read more

Don't get fooled by their flashy name like I did! They are definitely not honest! It was my first and last experience at this shop. Honest-1 gave me a quote of $1200 for a job that my out of town mechanic can do for less than $400. When I mentioned that the replacement parts that I needed were only $30 at O'Reilly's, Honest-1 said they would never buy O'Reilly's low quality parts. Honest-1 was actually recommended to me by local O'Reilly's on the same street as Honest-1. One lie after another and $170 for diagnostics later, I am going back to my old mechanic. 1 hour drive is nothing compared to a waste of time, money and lots of aggravation at Dis-Honest-1. read more

Fuel Pump Repair, Good Job, Good Service, Very Satisfied, Work done in a fair amount of time, and kept informed of status. Fair price for work done. read more

Terrible service. Quoted one price charge almost double. The guy was intimidating, grabbed my keys and refused to give them back unless I paid inflated price. Had to start dialing the sheriffs office before he'd back down. I had used this shop for several years and loved it. The person running it now was never there before and I was never treated so horribly. I hope you save yourself from having to deal with this shop. Go anywhere else. read more

I only brought my car here for convenience and now I know better! Find a place that is truly honest and does the right thing. This place is a scam. I found a great place just a short drive away that I highly recommend. Reach out if you'd like the info. read more

Whelp,, I certainly should have considered Yelp before chosing this collision center for my insurance claim repairs. To begin-- they advertised (and still do this very minute) that they have a loaner car program. This I liked very much. I am in a financial crisis after becoming ill with lung disease, liver disease, liver failure and did 2 back to back treatments only to gain another failure, this time my heart. I could not handle the treatments and they took their toll. Although I did successfully treat my disease, after heart surgery and medical implant to save my life, my body is rejecting it. I remain in failure and recently placed on permanent disability. I was told beginning of this year, there is nothing left they can do, I will live on in failure. I am 52, single home owner, and losing everything. I expressed my hardship with Elite, and asked for help renting a vehicle considering their 2 week job is going in their 4th week and that loaner car program DOES NOT EXSIST. Yet they still advertise for it. I was certain they would take care of me considering my circumstances-- the laugh is on me. I was told they will not help with any rental fees despite no loaner like advertised, and even told me they are not releasing my vehicle until paid in full.. This is for my locals here in El Cajon-- I have nothing to lose, and ever since the beginning of the year, I have been determined to leave this world in a better place if I am any way possible of making it. Check back here in 3 weeks for my conclusion .. Born and raised here, your not about to move your company here do this to my friends , my family, my people ,, NOR MYSELF. I would look into getting that loaner vehicle exaggeration taken down, the last thing you want is another victim like myself. Good looking out for the disabled Take your work elsewhere,, there's people that care about their own in these parts. Buckle up- read more

Honest 1 took my RAM the same day and replaced brakes all around, replaced front rotors, and changed the brake fluid. Roman was professional and ensured the parts he recommended were the best choice for the truck. Competitive prices, clean shop, good communication, and importantly, I was able to pick my truck up on time. Thanks for everything read more

Owner told me that I needed a catalytic converter so I took my vehicle somewhere else. I needed oxygen sensors! The job cost me $435 at Severin Auto instead of a lot, lot more. Since Julio left this place is awful read more

Love this place ! Super honest & reliable. Took my Cadillac Escalade. Everything was perfect still running great ! Dropped off my Jeep and they found / fixed the problem. Jeep couldn't find the issue. I will continue to use them and tell everyone about them. You guys are the best ! read more

Honest-1 Auto Care - Auto Repair Near Me - San Diego, California

DO.NOT.TAKE.YOUR.VEHICLE.HERE. Pay close attention to the previous 1 star reviews. I took my 2011 Volkswagen CC this week because my check engine light came on. This is a local auto repair shop & I wanted to support a local business. They called me to tell me several codes came up & sent me over their recommendations on fixing it. I use my car for work so did not have a lot of time to make a decision. I dropped it off the same day & went with their recommendations. I received a call at 5:30 to pick it up. I came back to pick it up, was hastily created by Julio, their "Service Supervisor/Receptionist". I asked how everything went & he said "Good." I asked if there were notes in regards to how it went, he said I would get the paperwork after I paid. I thought, okay, weird, but I just want my car back. Less than 24 hours later, my check engine light came back on. I drove right back to the shop. I was again, "greeted" by Julio and he said there was one code they didn't do anything for and it could be it. I asked why no one mentioned this to me yesterday, and he gave a condescending response. I gave him my keys & had to rush back to work. I sent an email to the General Manager/Owner, John, letting him know of my frustration & that I would like to speak with him directly when picking up my vehicle later that day. I get a call a few hours later & he tells me it is my intake manifold & will be over $700. I spoke with the General Manager/Owner, John, told them they clearly misdiagnosed the issue & I will absolutely not be leaving my car in their hands. John couldn't have been more unprofessional & offered zero resolution. He H told me "Well then you can come pick up your car." Unbelieveable. After all of this, I went back to re-read the original paperwork & realize that they charged me FOR A DIFFERENT PART than was actually replaced. The service says they replaced the crankshaft positioning SENSOR (a part that is $50-$70) and they charged me for a crankshaft vent valve separator (a $221 part). I am irate. I've disputed the charges with my credit card company & now have to have my car completely checked to ensure any of the other work they did was HONEST. This company is neither HONEST or qualified for what they advertise. I will do my part to ensure none of my neighbors & friends use this business. read more

Honest-1 Auto Care - Charged for the wrong part. Description says replacing the sensor, a $50-$70 part, the part that was actually charged is $221. - Auto Repair Near Me - San Diego, California

Initially Honest-1 did a lot of things right when I took my cars to them but good luck getting an appointment. I called recently and no one called me back. So I went online and filled out their appointment request. Receiving no further communication from them I took my car in at the requested time and was given a BS excuse by Julio that if they didn't contact me, my appointment wasn't confirmed in the system and they wouldn't be able to get to my car for a while. Clearly they don't pay attention to their online system. I told Julio that this is not how it's supposed to work and said I was taking my business elsewhere. He didn't seem too upset and wished me good luck. It's a bummer because I really wanted this to work out. read more

Yesterday when pulling out of my garage I had to shut my car off to run back inside for something in the house. When I came out to restart it, my car did not start. Called AAA Roadside Service, and they said I not only had a dead battery, but it also looked like my alternator needed to be replaced. My car would not even hold a charge to drive it up the street to Honest 1 Autocare. Long story short, AAA Roadside Service towed my car up the street and low and behold I needed a new alternator. This was Friday, before the long 4th of July weekend where they would be closed for 4 days starting on Saturday. I prayed that they would be able to fix my car that day. From start to finish, I had a wonderful experience at Honest 1 Autocare starting with Roman at the front desk. He was courteous, professional and followed up with me throughout the day and by 4:00 pm that day, the repair to my 1996 Toyota 4 Runner had been completed. I couldn't have been more pleased with such wonderful service and what might have been a nightmare kind of day, turned out to be ok afterall. Thank you to Roman and Honest 1 Auto Care! read more

I absolutely do not recommend this place. I took it here to get my air conditioning fixed. It wasn't working the next day. It took a week to get my car back in here for them to look at it again. All they did was charge it to get it to work long enough for it to be driven around shortly. The pressure checks were wrong. Just overall nonchalant. Basically I paid a $160 for the car to work the same as when I brought it in read more

I had a horrible experience with this place! They are definitely not honest! I got an estimate from the owner for the repairs on my car. Then three weeks later I got another estimate from the service manager that was $200 more. That estimate was supposed to be with taxes included which he said it was but 2 days later when I came in for the service all of a sudden the taxes were not included. This place will try to squeeze extra money out of you anyway they can! They do not honor their word and I really don't like that. I even had to insist that the woman at the front desk right on my paperwork that there is a three-year warranty on the parts. I shouldn't be the one having to tell her to include that in my paperwork. This place is shady! read more

I too had great service and gave a 5 star rating to Honest-1. I am glad I went back for service because I know I will not trust them anymore. I set up appointments to have the car picked up three times until they did. The warning dash lites would stay on. They said it would cost over 12 hundred to-replace an ABS pump to correct the problem. But not knowing, they ended up solving the dash lite problem by just changing the air filter. Checking on line, it said that was an area to check. It could have cost me $12 hundred more! Also I was changing lift struts on tailgate. I had one side almost finished and I was hospitalized. Their labor rates are $128.00/hr. It should not have taken any more than 30 min to finish installing the lifts, but they charged $102.52. read more

Ive actually taken my car here before in 2018 and was basically satisfied with the work and the price. What a difference 3 years makes! bringing in a 1997 ford ranger to have the alternator replaced. $64 diagnostic and then be informed that to replace it would be.......wait for it.....OVER $600!!!!!! are these people out of their minds? I do alot of work on my own cars but at the end of the day didnt feel like doing it myself. I thought i would support local business as i live next door to the shop. $600 is a flat out gouge and basically DOUBLE what it should cost. This is a relatively simple job. TAKE MY ADVICE AND TAKE YOUR VEHICLES SOMEWHERE ELSE. I am quite confident i could have taken it to the ford dealer and gotten a better price. What a joke this place is. What a missed opportunity for this shop. i have several vehicles and was looking to have a long business relationship with this garage. needless to say, I declined to have any work done at all. I would never consider taking any vehicle here and I would never, ever recommend this place based on outrageous markup and prices. Honest-1 should be ashamed of themselves. read more

I recieved a recall notice in the mail stating several safety features needed to be checked free of charge on my 2018 Honda Accord at a Honda dealership. The next day my car had several safety warning lights I had never seen before. They not only charged me to diagnose the warning lights which they couldn't replicate, which were the same ones from the mail notice! I wouldn't bring your vehicle to this dealership. They are not reputable.! read more

Took my car in for extended warranty work. They knew I needed a rental which is covered by my warranty as long as the shop reports the issue with my vehicle and it is covered. The issue is that my car sat here for 5 days and no one ever contacted me or the warranty company to get anything done. When I called and asked about it he claimed they were waiting on the warranty company to call them back. I then called the warranty company to only find out that they had never been contacted by the ship at all. When I told him this he seemed like he didn't care after getting caught lying to me and told me I could come get my car if I didn't like their non existent service. This place is an absolute joke and their employees don't give a crap about customers. Stay far away from this place. read more

Never again. Location is a 5, but that is where it ends. The check engine light had been on in my truck and it was overdue for a tune-up. Since "Honest 1" is within walking distance, I gave them a second chance (used them before and wasn't thrilled). Never again, as I said. The diagnostic alone was charged as an hour "labor," at $168.00 an hour! (This just one of three hourly charges of $168). This to plug a diagnostic tester into the dashboard and wait for a response. Replaced the spark plugs as requested, no issue there. However, the plug wires were said to be bad, so I figured what the heck. Was charged $151 for a set of plug wires! I scoured the Internet and the most expensive set of plug wires I could find for a 2001 Tacoma was $34.00. Was also told the power steering belt was cracking, so I figured go ahead. They charged me $90.91 for a serpentine belt. Again, scouring the Internet, the most expensive power steering belt I could find for a 2001 Tacoma was under $20.00. Thankfully I didn't authorize them to do the actual work to fix the issue with the "check engine light." Had I done so, I probably would have needed to sell a kidney to pay for it. I don't mind paying more for great work. What I don't like is being ripped off and clearly, I was. As I said, great location, but the name definitely needs to be changed, as it simply does not apply to this place. San Carlos neighbors,... beware. read more

This Auto Care is Honest as its name proclaims it. They have a wonderful staff, great lobby area and they don't push you to do any recommended service. After my horrible experiences and being lied to for awhile at Evan's Tires, I decided to give Honest-1 Auto Care a try, I will be going here from now on. I would recommend this place to anyone, you won't regret your visit here!! read more

Waited 2 weeks just to get an Air Conditioner fixed for them to tell me that it worked after I already told them that it works only in High not Low/medium. I went in and had to show the mechanic what was actually wrong with it. Then they had my car for 2 days and never called me. I called them a few times and the lady up front did not know how to do her job. Telling me that my window was broken and I was so confused. I told her I was just having my AC fixed and she hung up. I decided that was the last straw and went to go pick it up. They told me I had to pay a diagnostic fee when I went there in the first place because they take my GWC warranty. They kept trying to make me pay for it when my warranty covers labor diagnostics. Would NEVER have wasted my time for them to not even FIX IT! Would never recommend to anyone! read more

I brought in my 2006 BMW w/ safety restraint sensor light 4 weeks ago and they fixed it no problem. I called today w/ a safety restraint light on my 2015 BMW and they told me they do not perform this service, and that I'd be better off going to BMW. I was a long time fan of this place, but I will not go back. read more

Not good...went here a lil while ago and had a pretty sucky experience. Customer service is blah and they didn't even fix the problem I brought it in for. They had no problem charging me an exorbitant diagnostic fee and then guessing on a potential problem, charging me to 'fix' what may be wrong and still having the same problem after giving them my dollas. Avoid this place and find a place that cares about quality of service and treats you like they appreciate your business, not like your inquiries are a bother and invalid. read more

For the second, and last time, I took my car in for a repair . Only because of the convenient location. They called me with a quote and I said yes. Called later and told me they had under estimated the hours of labor. They've now done this twice. Called another shop and they beat the original quote. Dishonest 1. Don't waste your time and money. read more

Update 12sept2018: The owner (john) was able to call me back re my concerns. He will address the mishaps w his mechs on there monday mtgs. John offered to service the 2007 prius oil change nxt time, free of charge. read more

Very poor customer service. We came here for the $19.99 oil change special for 2 vehicles. We weren't greeted when we walked in the door because the owner John was on the phone. Stood at the counter 1 foot away from him for 5 minutes and he didn't even look up at us. John Got very angry when I asked about the oil change only including 5 quarts. Anyone who has got an oil change anywhere knows that every shop says that your vehicle needs extra and charges you for a full quart when they usually only put in less than half a quart. My wife was with me and was also shocked at how upset he seemed to get that I wanted to add the extra oil myself. I made a comment that I could do it for 2$ and he balked at that and sarcastically said if my vehicles needed extra oil then he would add it and comp it. He said it in a way that made us feel like he was calling us cheap. He made us feel like something was wrong with us for not wanting to pay extra. To me 4$ is a 20% increase on the total price. I came in for 2 19.99 oil changes. Now with the extra oil and tax I'm looking at 30$ each. I just don't like these bait and switch tactics. I agree to one price and they have to up the price after the fact. We were quoted an hour for each vehicle. We left them but wanted to come back in an hour for one of them. After an hour My wife called to see if one was ready. John answered the phone like oh it's you guys, yeah they re both on the rack now. He said 25 mins more and hung up before she could ask him if we could come get one of the cars. We came to pick the cars up after 25 mins and ended up sitting in the parking lot for another 30 mins before our cars were done. We did not want to go back inside and wait because of how uncomfortable John had made us. As a customer we should be able to ask questions about the service we are getting. I wasn't complaining or being rude I was just making a request. If he had "nicely" said the bit about their liability and that the price they charge for a quart of oil compared to what the store charges I would have been fine with it. It was his reaction and the way he made me feel like I was annoying him that bothered me. He said it like it was a given that they were going to add extra oil and charge me for it. If I wasn't ok with it then there was something wrong with me. When we paid he didn't tell us anything about the 21 point inspection they are supposed to do or really anything at all for that matter. It was like pay me and get out. The price is good but not worth the drama. Very poor experience and I would not recommend this place. read more

I really wanted to like Honest-1 Auto Care ever since they opened shop in my neighborhood. It would be nice to use an auto shop where I didn't have to rely on a complimentary shuttle. Honest-1 Auto Care is within easy walking distance of my home. Before contacting Honest-1 Auto Care I read through Yelp reviews and saw mixed signals. Some people loved their service. Other reviews pointed out serious deficiencies in service scheduling. The most revealing reviews were by Matt B. who initially posted a 5-star review and then later posted a 1-star review. Matt had initially received good service. When Matt showed up for another scheduled appointment the shop was on lunch break and not ready for his scheduled appointment. Another Yelp reviewer made an appointment online but upon arriving for scheduled appointment was told there was no record of the appointment. So that brings me to my dealing with Honest-1 Auto Care. I phoned 11:45am Wednesday morning and after maybe eight rings was connected to their voicemail which requested me to leave a detailed message. I stated I was a new customer desiring to schedule an appointment, stated what service was desired and I left my name and phone number. Honest-1 Auto Care never responded to my voicemail. It is now 10am Thursday morning and my car is at John's Automotive Care (separate review) for service. It's tough to understand how Honest-1 Auto Care stays in business when their systems cannot support customer appointments. read more

This past week my VW Beetle had some issues...was so glad to know that Honest l was in the neighborhood of San Carlos and was able to address the problem. Julio said it was the fuel pump and the negative was they had to order the part since it wasn't available in SD. I suggested if I paid extra for over night delivery could they than get the part and replace it the next day. He called back in half an hour and they were able to get the dealer to mail it out that afternoon. So next day came in the early afternoon and they replaced the part...So happy that is was taken care of pronto...shout out to Julio the manager and owner John...you truly made a believer out of me...all the VW dealers are no longer in our area...so they are a God send....thanks all.... read more

This is my second time here without an appt. and the owner John has been so great. I called to see if they were able to change the oil for my car, mind you it was 4:30pm and they close at 6pm. He checked with his mechanic and they were able to get me in. I highly discourage not making an appt., both times have just been a last minute thing for my mom's car and mine was at 0%. I HIGHLY recommend coming here for your services. Everything is reasonable priced and the customer service is great! Thank you Honest Auto Care for always taking care of my car needs!!! read more

My wifes car was leaking gas. I took it to this shop and they informed it would be a one hour diagnostic charge. They called me later in the day and said something on top of the tank was leaking, and it would be 4.5 hours or more to fix plus parts. I informed the shop manager that there were access panels under the seat, at which point he acted like he was just about to bring that up, and the hours then dropped to 1.2. I agreed to the work, under the circumstance I would get a copy of the part receipt and the old part. When I arrived to pick up the car, they refused to provide the "old" part, and any evidence of a new part purchase. Then owner then informed me that he always overcharges for parts, and that everyone does it. When I got home I discovered the tank was still leaking and what appears to be the old part still installed (I looked under the seat). They charged me 450 for a part btw that costs less than 55 dollars. read more