I used to frequent this place when I lived in SJ. They were able to fix some big problems for me on very short notice. The staff was always courteous, and did not talk down to me because I am a ladyperson. However, I did have some major issues that they failed to diagnose with my old car. It seemed like they were always overly-busy, but maybe that's the double edged sword in terms of taking any and all business that walks in the door. read more

I truly love this place. They are super honest and get the job done when they say it will be done. Only shop I use! read more

There's so much stigma about women who know nothing about the cars they drive going to auto repair shops. It could be shows like Primetime or 20/20 where they take hidden cameras to reveal mechanics fixing things that don't need fixing and charging for it. I needed to get my first smog check for my car and I was a bit apprehensive about where to go. I was scared to go to a place where the price was "too good to be true" in fear that they'd drop a wrench in there somewhere to cause me to come back. I made the appointment at John's, they gave me an estimate of how long it'd take and they delivered (less than half an hour). They reviewed my smog check with me (explained the percentages and what every number meant) so that put my mind at ease. They even gave me tips on what I should continue to do to keep my car in good condition for the next smog check. read more

Great guys. Respectful. Fair. I used to be married to a mechanic so trust is a big issue for me when it comes to my car. Ever had your car worked on only to find out pieces were missing when you got it back? 3 of five lug nuts for example? For ten years one person touched my car but as life happens I've had to move on. Mike and John have been great. I've had my car therem twice and each time they have listened to my concerns, diagnosed the issue, and explained everything. No surprises. No trying to sell more than I ask for. They checked my brakes and tire pressure on the first visit free of charge (had a power steering leak). Second visit was a fuel injector problem. Fixed that, checked my oil that time and topped me off. Car is running great one week later. Do I know how their prices compare to others? No. I don't care though because they've earned my business. Mom and friend have also recently used them and are happy as well. read more

I am always happy when I bring and pick up my car from this fantatic place. I feel as if the goal is to keep my car in good running condition. As a single woman I need to bring my car to a place where I can trust them with my money, this place has my trust. Which reminds me I have to schedule a day to bring my car here to fix my whatever it is called! Fantastic car doctors! read more

first time to visit this center, felt good from all people. check was detailed and not expensive price!

Three weeks ago, I bought a 2000 VW Jetta TDI with the intention of running biodiesel in it. My mistake was buying it off of eBay, although I did get what I thought was a good price. Since I don't know much about cars and this was my first diesel, I dropped it off to get an oil change and get it checked out. The check engine light turned on just as I got there. I left the key in the after-hours drop box and caught a ride home. Shane called me the next morning and told me what was wrong with the car. He gave detailed and clear explanations of everything, telling me what I needed to fix right away and what could wait. He called around to get me the best prices on parts. As he worked on the car, he found other things wrong with it, and he communicated with me every step of the way. Every time there was a delay, he would explain why. The car ended up being in the shop for 3 weeks, since the previous owner abused the poor vehicle. (Seriously, who splices a radiator hose with a spark plug?! Even I know that's a bad idea.) But I got great service at a reasonable price. If you need a diesel mechanic, come to John's Bascom Automotive and ask for Shane. You won't regret it. read more

I am wary of auto repair places, but the owner was extremely helpful, efficient, and flexible with my car needs, highly recommend!

I have been taking my vehicles to John for about 15 years or so now. Great family run business too. Their work has always been great for my friends and family. I see come complaints on here and i think people need to realize that the actions of one person or persons dont reflect the overall business. I see some people took the time to write down names and others just say Johns sucked....not true I.M.H.O but hey to each their own. read more

Talk to Mike.Get the straight scoop and they will get your car fixed quickly.The cost is reasonable, competitive and they are pretty busy so the neighborhood likes them! read more

Service was great, price was a few bucks less then estimated. I just bought my first 'real car' and need a 40k service they checked the books, gave me a time estimate, and even a nice gentlemen named Dennis (I hope I have this right.. He is from Houston) took me to Pruneyard and picked me up when my car was finished! Gave me all the paperwork, did a great job! I had a Dr. Apmt and he even offered to take me down there and pick me up incase my car wasn't ready in time!! I will be back! read more

Customer Service - Five Freakin' Stars, O-kay-kay-kay! I just left there, and KEITH was my attendant who rocked my world today! I know, I know, your like. . . back off the caffeine already but I am so very pleased and surprised at the "extra mile" that Keith went to - to insure my safety on the road this weekend, all I went in for was an oil change and I what I got for an INCREDIBLE PRICE was a tire repair, brake check, rotation of tires, spare tire was taken from trunk and filled with air, maintenance light was turned off. I just feel so taken care of. Thanks to Keith. read more

My family has been going here for over 30 years, and we continue to recommend it to everyone. They have established my trust, they explain things to me even if I don't ask. I have never felt I got over-charged. If all you need is an oil change, go to one of those oil-change-only places. That's all those places do so they're faster at it. For everything else, go to John's! John and his son Mike are always super pleasant to deal with, especially considering they're both big Raiders fans! :) read more

I was impressed by the service I got from John's Bascom Automotive from the get-go! I called ahead on a Friday and scheduled a drop off time for the following Monday. The guy I spoke to was super friendly over the phone, which is always a plus in my eyes! Driving by John's you might not be so sure that you'll get quality care, it doesn't have the best curb-appeal! But in this case, don't judge a book by its cover. To me, the worn-down appearance is just an indicator of lots of traffic and loyal customers coming back year after year. I have a feeling I will become one of those customers! Anyway, I dropped my car off at the shop at 8AM on Monday because the brakes had been making an intermittent grinding sound (probably not good!). They called me about an hour later to catch me up on the diagnoses of the car. At that time they informed me that I needed new front brakes and quoted me a price that I thought was very reasonable (under $250). And they told me that my back brakes probably have another year of life in them. Three hours later they call me again to let me know that my car was ready to pick up. I couldn't believe it. I understand that it's likely brake changes don't take as long as other, more extensive repairs, but I was expecting it to take all day. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't. I picked up my car and the man at the counter explained the basic steps that were taken to repair it. I rated this shop 5-stars because all the guys I spoke with were very friendly, they were obviously experienced, the price was not astronomical like it might be at a dealership, and my car was in and out of there in 4 hours. BOTTOM LINE: VERY impressed and I will DEFINITELY go back for any repairs in the future. read more

Quick, cheap, clean and efficient. Considering this station is on the edge of Los Gatos, I was expecting it to be a lot more expensive. One of the best rates in the area for smog read more

I've been taking my cars to John's for several years now, and I cannot recommend him highly enough. He always provides good estimates and gets the work done as quickly as possible. I read some of the negative reviews here and I simply cannot believe these people. They are either talking about some other repair place or have some personal axe to grind. Take your car here... you'll be treated fairly. read more

Very happy with this place. We have been bringing our cars here for years! I always feel like they are being honest with me and straight forward. I never feel like they are trying to make more money. This past weekend we took our Jetta because the passenger side window would not roll up. They took a look at at it and told us we need to order a part for something in the door that had broken and it was going to cost close to $600. My husband told them not to fix it as we can not afford that right now. They called a couple hours later to let us know that they had installed a small wooden block to keep the window up! A temporary fix until we can afford the real replacement piece. AWESOME. We definitely feel comfortable bringing and leaving our car here and will continue to do so. read more

JBA Customers For Life! We've used JBA for service on our '06 Maxima for about 3 years now. Reason for our first visit was that I was convinced that we needed a brake job due to a squealing sound. I figured the wear sensors were touching the discs and it was time for a brake job. Again, rather than charging us for the more expensive repair, the assured me by pads were fine and all that needed to be done was to clean the brakes. I got another 10k miles on my pads. On another visit the car was making an obnoxious rattling sound coming from below the motor during acceleration. I expected the worst when Mike called to tell me his findings. All it was was a cracked piece of sheet metal heat-shield around the exhaust. They patched it up and sent me on my way for just a few bucks. They could have told me it was a much more major issue and I would have believed it, but these guys were honest and only charged me for the minor repair that was required. At our most recent visit (Nov. 2012), I had the car in to inspect for pulsation when braking on steep downhill slopes. Turns out the front rotors were warped from heat and required re-surfacing. When we got the car back with all new pads I still wasn't happy with the feel of the brakes - they just didn't seem to have the stopping power as before. We learned that the brand of pads they used wasn't compatible with my vehicle so Mike swapped them all out for factory pads at no additional cost! No complaints, no arguing, no problem. Also during this visit, they noticed that my water pump belt was showing cracks and signs of wear. Mike suggested that I change it to avoid more costly engine repair if it were to fail. I had him replace the belt and he showed me the old one afterwards. He could have sent me down the road knowing I'd be back when the belt broke or worse, but he was thorough in his assessment of my vehicle and honest enough to warn me up front. These guys are the real deal, the kind of shop you will want to recommend to others and write your own Yelp reviews to promote. Honesty, integrity and fairness are such rare traits in the auto repair community these days. The crew at JBA are all of that and I will be using them as long as I drive a car in the Bay Area. read more

Great family-owned business. Quick service. Explained everything well. Courteous, honest, and down-to-earth. Very good customer service. Very satisfied. read more

Best mechanic in the area! I started going here because my boss takes all his work vehicles here. His father was a mechanic for years and he is a knowledgeable mechanic himself. When I come here, I always talk to Mike, Johns son, and I can ask the stupidest questions and he gives me understandable, straight answers. Every oil change they do a thorough inspection of my vehicle and gives me peace of mind. I went here for about 2 years and when I moved, he found me a mechanic in my area! Can't beat that kind of customer loyalty!!!! read more

These guys do honest, fast, and great work. I was in a time crunch and out of town immediately after having some unexpected car troubles. They were very accommodating- one guy gave me a ride home when I didn't have anyone to pick me up, and they let me leave my finished car in their lot till I got back from my weekend away. The only thing keeping me from giving them 5 stars is how high their prices are. I had an oil pan replacement and an oil change that cost me over $800. I went to another place in San Jose for the same exact service about a year ago and it only cost $450. I found the biggest difference is the labor- these guys make about $126/hr. Being a strong supporter of skilled labor unions, I went ahead and paid the high ass rates in hopes that their employees have great benefits and fair take home wages. I also liked that they all actually speak english. So, be warned, they will take care of you but you will definitely pay for it. read more

Thank you John's Bascom Automotive! I have taken my car here for regular servicing for a long time. They are always super friendly and quick with repairs. If I ever have any questions, Mike and John are both extremely forthcoming and honest with their recommendations. My 2nd vehicle needed a smog check and had a defective vacuum hose. I figured I was skilled enough to find and replace the hose myself. After ordering the hose from Stevens Creek Honda 4 times and receiving the wrong hose, I gave Mike a call. He found the right hose the fist time (somehow) and had it available for me quicker than Honda could find another wrong hose. Dealerships would be happy to charge me an arm and a leg at $175/hr + parts + franchise fee + courtesy fee + parking fee. John's Bascom Automotive is a deal and a half as far as I'm concerned. I'll probably never take my car anywhere else. Easy 5 Stars! read more

My wife brought our 2006 Murano in for a "120k service" ended having to pay $650! What did i get for $650 worth of "work"? An Air Filter, Cabin Air Filter, 1 Gallon of Coolant, 6 Quarts Transmission Fluid, Oil Change and a couple lug nuts. Want to take a guess on cost of parts for all that? $220! Labor looks to be around $126/hr for these guys, so a little over 3 hours to do the job. I didn't know unscrewing a few bolts and pouring new fluid in took so much time. Complete Ripoff. Look elsewhere to take your car to. Full Disclosure - They did recommend new drive belts, new brakes, new spark plugs, and to replace the CV axle. However I get that same diagnosis from a place like Jiffy Lube with a $30 oil change. BTW they wanted $2000 for the recommended work. read more

Mike and his team did a great job on my 4 Runner. He is straightforward and diagnosed the issue quickly. Ignore the 1 start reviews, bunch of cheap people out there. You get what you pay for, will return. read more

weak. i know how to do a good amount of work on my car to get by. The bigger stuff, i'll leave to the "professionals". i took my car in to get brake work done, mainly to get the rotors turned. so i figured to let them do the whole job - turn rotors, replace pads, etc. it was fine service. nothing short of a good experience. 9 months later: i hear and feel a scraping coming from the left side. I feel it in the brake pedal. I'm like, " yeah right". i take off the wheel and find that the pad had worn down to almost nothing. I check the right side, and it was more than half gone. I recalled the mechanic saying "we use genuine manufacturers parts". B.S! the pads i pulled out and replaced were some 3rd party booty P.O.S. Rather than go back and take a 9 month old work order and argue over it, I replaced them with real pads that i got from the dealership. Never again. And, at the time, i was driving 15 miles each way to work, with a trip to Santa Cruz here and there. Normal wear-n-tear. read more

We found this shop through references from other families at our school when our former mechanic did a "wall job" on our Sienna. John was able to identify the problem, get it all fixed on time and at a reasonable cost. When my car needed what I thought was going to be a big amount of work (brakes, power steering,...) the shop found that my previous mechanic had totally missed problems with the v-belt and John's made it all right for very fair price. Thanks! read more

Was recommended to get a cheap but quality SMOG check here. Took my baby in and left feeling very comfortable, it's hard when my husband can't go with me you can easily get taken advantage of. Nothing else was "suggested or recommended or pushed" to buy. Mike was extremely friendly and had tons of pictures up of his kids, also told me to give him a call for any car work even if they don't do it, such as glass, because he can recommend the good places over the bad which is very kind. I'll use them again for anything I need. Thanks Mike! read more

I got my smog test here only because it is close to home. Service is great, I will take my car there for an oil change. If this trend continues I may change to 5 stars. Yeh for a neighborhood business. read more

I've never been here before. I stopped in this morning, frantic because my tire pressure light was on for 10 miles on the freeway. The fellow who helped me - I think his name was Kevin - put air in my tires and helped me calm down. Then, without me asking, he checked my oil and filled up my windshield washer fluid. They wouldn't accept any payment. Talk about angels in mechanics' clothing! If I could give more than 5 stars, I would. 08/29/15 Joanie Stein read more

So Far, so good! I went here because A: The great reviews on Yelp B: It's really close to my work. I always drive by this place and it seems so full of cars that they would never be able to get your repairs done quickly, but that would be a bad assumption. These guys are great. I had a nail in my tire so I drove in to see how long and how much. They said about five minutes and $8. Nice and they actually did it. I remember a couple years ago I had to nails within a week and other places charged $15 and $20 and took 20 mins! I was so pleased I had them balance my 2 front tires cause they were a wobblin like a mofro at 65 mph. They did it quick and charged less than they estimated. Amazing! They seem like friendly competent pros and I recommend them to all. Honesty..what a refreshing breath of gassy air... read more

John's Bascom is generally consistent and good for car repair, but I later learned they're not always spot-on diagnosing problems. They have done great work diagnosing MOST engine problems, and tell me when repairs are worth the cost, when to replace the brakes, etc. And they are great at explaining things and are straightforward and trustworthy. I unfortunately recently found that they misdiagnosed a power steering problem about six months back, which caused my power steering pump to fail and required an emergency (costly) repair at a place off of 101 in Redwood City. read more

I love John's Bascom Automotive. Maybe it's because my family has been coming here for three generations and it's the only automotive shop I really know. They are thorough with their work and seem to always get my car done before their predicted finish time. I admit I'm a girl that doesn't know too much about my car so when my car headlight went out they were the first people I called. Not only did they tell me what light to buy but told me to drop when I HAD TIME so they could put it. I drove by their shop after work and John stopped what he was doing and came out to my car. He not only put the light in but he also taught me how to so next time I could do it on my own. I trust John's Automotive with my car and all my future cars. I respect their work and all automotive decisions. Before I purchase my next car I will definitely be consulting them. read more

I wanted to give a review since last summer in 2014. I pulled up to John's Bascom Automotive with a worn out Saturn SL 1 from 1994. The dashboard light just died. The car is so old, things breaking down. I think his name was Mike...guy with dark hair and moustache, assisted me. Called me to pick it up. I came over the next day and got it. As I drove home, I turned on my headlights. My dashboard looked like it was not lighting up. I drove back to John's Bascom Automotive about ready to have a nervous breakdown. Some pushy older lady drove immediately up and parked illegally in front of my illegal pushy parking out front. She walked in front of me demanding attention right now. This is how it is for automotive repair companies that do good work and are honest. You get desperate pushy people. I fear I was one of them. At the time, I was pretty close to broke and my car dashboard light I felt was not fixed. Mike still calmly talked to the lady, helped her. Then got in my car, explained to me that the dashboard light is faint, will not show up in the daytime, to test it out at night. He let me know there would be a rattling sound as there was a lot of broken pieces from other mechanics in the dashboard, they had to take it out and put it back in. He was pleasant and my angst did not rattle him. When night time came, I tested the dashboard. Yes, just as he said, it was lit. I felt so stupid. I wished I could thank the guy for being so patient with a girl that has a migraine and a lack of cash. But instead, I'll just give him a stellar review. PS: The heavens parted, a unicorn came down with a rainbow. I was able to get a new car now. THANK GOD. read more

John, thank you for the call to follow up. I didn't expect to get a call from you personally. John called and offer for the refund of the air filter. I think I should acknowledge that as a 4 stars. read more

Simple review. Highly recommended! We dropped off my 2006 Toyota Sequoia for a 100k service. Prices were good and par with other service places. But these guys came highly recommended. They called all the time when there were updates or issues. No sales pressure here. My Sequoia came back in perfect shape. And clean! read more

While the folks here were friendly, there were other indicators prior to my signing up for repairs following a failed smog test with the same shop that led me to get a second opinion. Consistent and recent car maintenance factored in. I'm grateful I followed my instinct and knew a thing or two about my car - and that I found (thanks to Yelp) a simply terrific alternate. As it turns out, my car was fine - it just needed to be tested by someone with good car knowledge and perhaps the right motivation. It might be worth a second opinion if you have doubts of your own. read more

I've always had a great experience here. Honest mechanics and honest prices. My car has always been fixed properly and on time. Highly recommended!!! It's not easy to find a good mechanic these days, these guys are the real deal. read more

I have a 2000 Volvo S40 - with 144,000+ miles. The mechanics at John's have been taking care of my car for years and have always provided honest feedback and great service. They have taken care of this car from regular oil changes to leaks in the oil lines. After 17 of ownership my Volvo had one too many issues. Time to donate to a good cause. Honest work is all anyone can ask for and this is where I have gotten great attitude and solid service. THANK YOU! read more

eevery time I get a nail in my tire I come here. This place is the only place that doesn't give you a story about how they can't repair your tires and that you need a new tire just to sell you one or two. Staff are friendly and the owner john is a very nice guy. I highly recommend this place to everyone. read more

Very disappointed. First of all, the labor is too high. The diagnosis alone took 2hrs and $192 which turned out to be totally wrong. Mike asked my $2700 to fix the car since he thought the gasket failed and the engine needed rebuild. But actually, the error code read from OBD was caused by failed sensors, which cost only $600 from another mechanics. read more