Great customer service, clear communication about your car and what the recommended repairs are, and very fair prices for the work performed. Would definitely recommend giving them your business. read more

Husband took my car in asked them to do a once over on my car for a road trip. Asked to add freon to my AC. So i thought there going to tell us we need everthing ! But no! Honest ! I picked my car up they were so nice explained all the found in need was front break pads turned rotors etc. only $ 325 total checked all my belts all my fluids everything on the car like I said they could've had it, but they didn't very nice... read more

Haven't found anything they can't help me with. Started going to them when a water pump went out but since then, smog checks, over heating that tuned out to have a weird cause. Have not found anything they either can't fix themselves or know a good place to refer me to. read more

Used them for years, they stand behind their work. Family owned for decades, and they support the Lakeside community.

They are very fair when it comes to prices, good work aswell. Fixed my car w/ them a little over a year now no issues since

Marty is the man thanks buddy for getting me in and out and taking care of a NEW and now returning customer

I've been looking for a local automotive repair shop and I lucked out right away with Lakeside Radiator. I didn't have an appointment but Travis accepted my truck when I said I could wait a couple of days. I listed the concerns I had and Travis walked me through it. The next day I got a call detailing what was needed and the next day it was completed. The truck is a 2000 and I wasn't feeling comfortable driving it with its myriad of small inconvenient issues. Now I have no qualms about taking it out on the road again. I also got a discount for paying cash. I'll bring my suv once the factory warranty is up. read more

Marty and his crew are top notch. Always honest and extremely knowledgeable. They work on all my cars and always will, it's nice to know he has my best interest in mind with my vehicles. read more

Where do I even begin? I could go on for an hour about this shop. Long story short, they have fixed 2 of my vehicles in 1 week and one of them 4 mechanics told me good luck fixing the problem. Well Marty and jack were able to diagnose and fix the problem on both vehicles and never gave us the run around. Was very informative and timely in his repairs. I can't say enough about how well they treat you here and actually care about the costs. I have found a new and reliable mechanic that I will go to from now on. If you need automotive services, this is the place to go. Thank you Marty and team!!! read more

Ok so if you judge the place by the outside you'd be sadly mistaken. This place stands out as its near the corner of the street, and is painted light blue. The paint may be faded, but it reminds me of a neighboorhood mechanic shop. Marty (the owner) was amazing, very friendly and easy to talk with. I will be bringing my vehicles to him in the future as I've just moved to the neighborhood. read more

They are knowledgeable, honest, we have taken multiple vehicles in, and I've referred them to friends and family

Great bunch of guys, had my RV in for radiator service several years ago, holy cow I could pull a 22' trailer up the grade flat on the floor without ever climbing above the gray temp level, they rock! Pulling loads over all these years and my 1994 RV is still running strong. Then I need some brake work, Evan tires did the back brakes, I did the front brakes rotors calipers pads, RV still pulled to the right, called my buddy's I called other brake shops. Then Lakeside Radiator said they could fix it, I mentioned I was just laid off by Dell computers, RV already committed in the shop I was in panic mode, not only did they fixed it, they kept it affordable, during these hard economic times this is the kind of customer service you can expect from Lakeside radiator! read more

Lakeside Radiator & Auto Repair - Lakeside Radiator keeps my RV pulling strong! Last month in the Redwoods! - Auto Repair Near Me - Lakeside, California

A+ I came in today to get a smog done on an older vehicle I had bought out of state. I was helped by Daryl, and also the technician, Jack, who took a look at the vehicle. They let me know what it needed needed repair wise to be compliant. By afternoon it was finished, with the total bill even being a little less than the estimate. Daryl went over the test in detail and showed the resources they used to determine if my vehicle would pass. Thank you! read more

I really didn't want to get the news about my car needing a lot of work done (especially a complete cooling system repair) but I was happy after everything was explained to me. The owner is very nice and upfront about prices. I went to get a few other quotes and they were far higher that at Lakeside radiator and auto repair. I'm so pleased with the work they did on my car. I am riding not sweating like crazy anymore and I'm not worried that my car is going to break down on the freeway. read more

yes, this repair shop rates 5 stars. I have used them twice for my motorhome....this last time was for a complete cooling system replacement. I had a leak, and did not want to drive cross the countryu with a less than intact cooling system. They replaced my radiator, water pump, and hoses, thermostat, fan clutch. However, when Daryl did the road test, he noted that the engine ran hot, even here in the "cold of winter". He called me and told me that something was just not right, and that they needed to keep it a bit longer. I am so glad they did, they discovered that the replacement radiator did not have the capacity of the one they took out.........so the ordered a different one and tore it all back apart..........not an easy task due to it being a motorhome. I picked it up today, and the cooling system appears to be perfect. I am thankful that I have a repair shop that just wants to get it right......instead of "today". The price, while not cheap, was very fair. I'll be taking any and all of my vehicles there should any of them need cooling system repairs. Thank You Daryl and the team at Lakeside Radiator! read more

I made an appointment a week prior for a water pump and timing belt replacement to take place the next Thursday. The day I drop the car off is the day they just now order the parts and the parts didn't arrive until the next day, that being Friday. So there was a whole day wasted and my car wasn't finished the day they said it would be and they're closed on the weekend. So my car is sitting there in the garage all weekend when I have two jobs to get to. What are appointments for? Would have been nice to have continued doing business with them because they are friendly but I don't have time for this. read more

They have been the go to shop for my family for a great many years. Lakeside Radiators crew has performed quality service for a quality price on vehicles in my immediate family and for friends. They have always been quick and professional. Even the more off the wall requests they have accommodated for a very reasonable expense. For example: my 88 ford had a lot of lag in the wheel. They were able to resolve this by replacing the steering box, and when someone attempted to break into my sun roof on my 05 cobalt, they replaced the motor. My ford's key core gave a good number of issues, but that was the parts failings not the mechanics. Even in instances of customer (my) error, they have called back to educate us on the mistake and quickly corrected the issue. If you want a mechanic you can trust look no further. read more

Wow, what a joke. I gave an honest review last month and it was deleted. Let's see if they delete it again. I went in for a "diagnostic" smog and made the appointment a week prior. I was very honest with the guy to make sure NOTHING gets sent to the DMV or BAR. Darrel completely and straight up told me nothing would be sent. We'll I failed the visual and got my emission results which did pass. Ok, now I know what to fix before the real smog test. Well, I went to the BAR website to see if anything was sent. Not only was it sent, Lakeside Radiator flagged me a "T" for TAMPER. I have told multiple people of this and 100% NOT recommending this place as this was very dishonest, and 1-1/2 years have been wasted! Thanks Lakeside Radiator! read more

I have known Marty for many years and done business with him many times. He is an amazing person and does an incredible job every time. To me trust is every thing to and I do trust him and he has never steered me wrong. He is my go to go guy every single time. Thank you Marty for always taking care of me and being such an honest business man. read more

Found this place from a recommendation from Autozone. Glad I found this gem. The owner is completely honest and genuine. These guys are cooling system experts and they fixed my problem for less then I would've paid elsewhere. If I had gone elsewhere I would've just wasted my money on parts and service that wasn't needed. These guys are pretty fast and they know what they're doing. I'd highly recommend them to anyone and it's a great chance that they will always get my business. read more

Excellent service with fair pricing, when you take your car to get repaired it's not a good time but important to get it done right which they do. read more

Satisfied with the service I received. I will return. I am a San Diego native always looking for a good honest mechanic.

They get a 5 star over and over again from us! We have taken 3 of our vehicles to them over the years and have always received 5-star service every time we take them in! We have never had any issues after our repairs. Once repairs are done....we never have to visit the issue again! Giving us more time to get to the important things in life. If you are looking for an honest mechanic....look no further!! They are a quality auto repair shop and very professional at what they do! Before I end this review we need to give Darrell 5 stars for his quality customer service!! He has always been very helpful and honest about what needs or does not need repair. Feel lucky to have an honest auto repair shop....because we all know how many thieves there are out there....we have all encountered one or maybe several in our autos lifetime! read more

I believe they have been taking advantage of my mom for years. She went in to have a RV smogged and they couldn't test it because of a new battery I put in. They told us to drive it for a few weeks to reset the computer. We did. We took it back and they charged her a second $91 to smog it. So it cost her $182 to get it smogged and there was nothing wrong with it. We'll be finding another repair shop. read more

This place years ago 2003 told me my car was not passing smog. They knew i had just recently bought the car from another person. They said my catalytic converter was shot and all of the 02 sensors. I knew and still know a lot about cars however i dont have a smog shop so i need to take my cars out to get them smogged. They showed me the test results. The HC (raw gas, hydro carbons) were around 3000 parts per million. A car that is running can not produce these numbers really. Even a poor running car gets much less that that. I knew what they did they were cold cranking my car without starting it. I told them that. They gave me this mumbo jumbo about how the mechanic is certified and that is impossible and "did you know it is the previous owners responsibility to smog the vehicle". I quickly told them that the sale was AS IS (relinquishing previous owner responsibilities) and that i got this 6 thousand dollar truck for one thousand because the transmission was shot and a friend needed to just get rid of it. I paid about $230 in their diagnostic and smog fees. Went directly to the smog check place on East Main.... DIRECTLY THERE. and the vehicle passed with 4 ppm HC....... 4!! Not 3000 but 4. Be very wary about this place. As i was leaving there was an old couple being told that their catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Crooks. I never called the BAR because im lazy. Do yourself a favor with your vehicle. Read up on it. Learn about it some. And especially learn about the place you take it to get it worked on. Good luck! read more

You don't remain in business (since 1971) in a small town area like Lakeside California without being solid and dependable. These guys simply rock and they are as honest as the day is long. I will use these guys and I reccomend them to anyone in the area... read more

I have taken two different vehicles to this establishment for various issues, and have had excellent service and fair prices across the board. I have had my Dodge Ram Diesel there for replacement of a bad water pump. I shopped around first for prices, and these guys were right in there for an East County place, and lower than Carmel Valley where I live. They did a great job and followed up with a phone call a week later. I recently took the same truck in for air conditioner compressor replacement, after getting their help to try to resolve the issue over the phone, and again, while not cheap, still the best service at a fair price with a quick turnaround. Finally, I took our Honda Pilot in for a transmission failure indicator light, and they effectively diagnosed it as the sensor, not the tranny. Cost a paltry $70 for the part and fair labor prices for diagnostics. Hey, I don't expect them to work for free, and they have always been honest and up front with me about the repairs when I walk in the door. Darryl and Jack are good trustworthy guys and I will continue to trade there. read more

Always excellent service. They are very quick and super friendly. I have taken my car here for a smog check twice and each time it has been an easy and painless experience. read more

Not sure why all of the great reviews for this place are all filtered... hopefully mine will not. I had my car taken to a shop in Lakeside for some brake repair. The repair ended up not being done properly and very cheaply, so I was forced to take it someone else to be looked at again. Upon inspection, this shop found so much that was wrong with my car and had it fixed in 3 days. My car now rides and sounds so much better than it has in years. Darrell was very informative! He took me for a drive to point things out to me and then drafted some drawings to help me understand a few things better. I would definitely take my car back there again for all of my automotive needs! read more

Known Darrel since 1999. Brought my 1995 Ford Mustang GT there to get tune up, oil change, and fluids replaced. He gave me a resonable quote and when I picked up my car later that day, it ran better than it EVER had before! I was sold! I have brought in every car I have owned since then and refer him to friends! I had a freind whose truck needed brakes. She went to the dealership and they quoted her $2500.Saying she needed this and that and needed to replace tie rods etc. I told her to take it to Darrel and he looked it over and gave her a quote of $600. New brakes, pads, calipers, bearings and rotors. Her truck is running great and she's not in debt! Believe you me, I would not recommend anyone who I thought was ripping people off. Darrel and his crew know what they are doing, do it well and are resonably priced! From an oil change to replacing your engine........Lakeside Radiator is the place!! read more

These guys are the best..blew a tire across the street. Asked to borrow some tools. Hey had me pull my truck in, took off the tire, had an extra one in the back, tossed it on and got me back on the road. They wouldn't take a payment saying that it was an extra tire and it was no problem. If they treat strangers like this, I wish I was their customer!!! read more

ok i used this place because i moved to lakeside far from my machanic that i ususally use....first off i had my truck towed there...and that went well...they called me and gave me the biggest estimate i ever heard for the price ..i was in shock but the truck was already there so..what could i do...my mistake..but,,,to my suprise when i picked up the truck it was only half the price i was quoted...now i am not sure what happen but for five hours i was upset over the price until i picked the truck up...how this happened i dont know but i had mixed feelings about them now and not sure i would go back to have anything done because of the emotional strees it caused me over the money factor. i guess i would say be sure you have everything in order befor you have work done by them, and dont do it over the phone. read more