This review is for a few months back. My 4WD truck needed 4 new ball joints, new pitman arm and an alignment. I had started doing this project at home and ran into a lot of problems simply because my lack of air tools. Nicks Auto Service was the closest and I didn't want to have to tow my now failed project far. I called and spoke to Nick who gave me a fair estimate and time quote. After dropping it off they got to work on my truck. They had originally quoted 2 days but it ended up taking 3. This was no problem as I understood it was a lot of work. I appreciate their honesty in telling me what was happening rather than slapping it together just to meet a time quote. After picking it up with the new parts and alignment completed, I inspected the work myself. It was completed correctly and cleanly. I find a lot of these complaints about Nicks auto or any auto service places are because people do not understand that cars are complicated expensive machines. Parts and labor cost money from certified people. Overall, Nicks auto was fair and honest every step of the way and I trust the work they did. read more

I've been to Nick's three times with both of my vehicles so far and they have never disappointed me. Today there was a slight misunderstanding on the total cost of all work to be completed. Chavez the manager came and spoke with me regarding the miscommunication and even though I was mistaken on the cost he met me halfway and provided all sorts of assistance. Ultimately I left a happy customer with great service provided. They have been honest and forthcoming with work I've needed and admittedly told me about work I don't need. Great honest shop that has my service for life. Thanks Chavez and the rest of the Nick's team! read more

I took in my 2003 BMW to fix my passenger side window which was not operating; I told the service manager Chavez that it needed a new regulator as I had researched this problem. He "graciously" told me that he would not charge me the standard $105 for diagnosing the problem and would only charge me $660 . Since I needed this fixed in a hurry, I told him to go ahead. After I researched the fee for this repair and inquired at other repair shops I determined that the fair price for this repair is $375 in parts and labor tops! I know that I got gypped, by this auto shop - ripped is more like it! Never going back there again! I should have done my home work and noted other poor reviews before going there. read more

First time here upon recommendation and they did not disappoint. Eddie is so friendly, honest and their offices are sparkly clean! I brought my car in for a service and after some discussion and fact finding by Nicks it was discovered that I actually needed something else. Their pricing is spot on, friendly environment and like I said - clean. I just found my new auto repair place - thank you Nicks! read more

Alright where do i start. the front desk guy was super nice and just doing his job. the people behind all that suck and will scam you if your a women especially !!! my car was having engine issues and the closest place to me since i moved to tustin was nicks auto service. i go there and they tell me itll be about $900 to fix. which i think is reasonable for a engine problem. but then when i left with my car after they "fixed it" my engine light went off again about 3 days after and i call them to see if they can check it out and when they do they say its a different engine problem and it would be $700 on TOP of the $900 i just paid ... im literally so irritated and stressed at this point. so i go to pick up my car to take it elsewhere and when i do, one of the mechanics with the receding hairline and buzz cut just comes to throw my keys on the desk w a cranky ass look as if he didnt just scam $900 out of me to begin with. so i risked my life n drove it to where i used to live KO automotive. and they fixed it no problem $400. its been 3 months since the incident and no engine problem. when they see this please dont contact me or reply back "im sorry u had this experience" bs. im just warning other people about your lil shop. they wanna say we all have daughters and wifes yet still charged nearly 1,000 for a engine repair that still made my engine light go off after. and tried charging me $700 still after when i told them the light was still on. read more

I've been going to Nick's for the past 15 years and I've always had a great experience! Just recently had the guys mount and balance new tires and as always, they did a great job and did it quickly too. Brandon and the gang there are super helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. It's tough to find an honest shop so I wanted to hopefully help someone find their go-to mechanic. Give them a try! read more

THIS PLACE IS A FRAUD!!! I had a guy who has worked for different companies fixing and working on cars. He installed new brakes and rotors on my truck. A few months later I had some vibration. He checked it and said I needed to have my rotors turned. He warned me that wherever I took the my truck to have those turned would try to up sale me. I took my truck to Nicks and they called to tell me my race was bad in the rotors and that they can't turn them and that I need a complete brake replacement at the cost of $768. I asked them if they could at least turn the rotors and they said no they had to replace everything. I paid about $150 for their 'time'. Yesterday, I took my truck to the guy who installed them and we pulled off the rotors and the race was fine- no damage whatsoever. All they had to do was turn my rotors and my problem would have been solved. I don't know a thing about working on cars and it is imperative that I have a shop I can trust. I am at their mercy. It is clear- this shop is a fraud. If I didn't have a person who knew what they were doing I would have spent over $700 and thought the place was great for finding and fixing my problem. BEWARE OF THIS PLACE!! read more

THIS PLACE IS SHADY! I don't write many yelp reviews but after how bad my experience was here I felt compelled... I went here with a potential buyer of my vehicle to get it checked out for any unknown issues. After the mechanic spent ~10 minutes driving and looking at my car, he had the potential buyer (who paid for inspection) go back and told him there we're multiple things wrong with it (oil leak, compressor leak, etc.) and would cost ~$3.5k to fix it. I was very surprised since there has never been any signs of leaking on my garage floor. After this, they reported these issues on my CARFAX. I brought it into a dealer service center to have them check on these issues - turns out NONE of these were real and they completely lied about the issues. My car was still under warranty and could have been repaired free to me had there been issues. I would never return to this place and would strongly recommend no one do business with someone this unethical. read more

FRAUD!!!! Bad vibes at this place. None of the people I interacted with here really made me feel like I was welcomed and definitely gave me a feeling that they shouldn't be trusted. I took my car into there just to get a quick evaluation of a transmission problem with my car and they ended up telling me it would be $900 and maybe even more to fix the problem. Of course I wanted the problem fixed although I wasn't really ready to spend that kind of money. Bummed out, I was expecting maybe a $40 evaluation fee for their time but turns out they wanted around $108. The cashier told me not to worry cause I would be getting a 10% discount for being a AAA member. :/ It was a joke. I ended up taking my car to a place in south county that fixed the problem for $500. What the H, Won't make this mistake again. read more

Found out I had a metal shard in my tire. Promptly called Nick's Auto Service and was welcomed with great communication and a great price. Being new to the area, I'm glad I found a reliable shop to go to for good! Very thankful. read more

Seriously the nicest auto shop I've ever been in! The staff is personable and their rates are very competitive. Would recommend them to anyone! read more

Before you make a payment, you'd better check your vehicle at first and make sure that no parts of your vehicle are missing. Before you leave your vehicle to them, you'd better check your vehicle at first and which parts are already there and which parts are already missing. Or when you find some parts of your vehicle are missing, you cannot explain it, and they will not admit that its their responsibility. read more

I am not from Irvine and found myself needing auto repair very early in the morning, Mark answered on the first ring and welcomed me to come by and see if they could help. He met me outside and promptly diagnosed my problem and gave me a fair appraisal and realistic time frame. I was on my way in no time and felt very good about my entire experience there. Thank you very much Nicks! read more

The end of May I had a problem with my Truck on the way to Work. It was drivable to get home. I was recomended to use Nicks by a co'worket that has used him for several years. I phoned the shop, was able to have my car towed there by AAA. The mechanic took time with my vehicle to diagnose the correct problem. He repaired several issues at a very reasonable price. The car went into the shop around 8:30am and was completely repaired and ready for me to drive away by 3:30pm same day. On leaving I was told if I needed my fluids and air pressure checked to bring in and they would handle it for FREE. I will certainly use Nicks again and would reccomend it to anyone looking for mechanic work in irvine. Carrie read more

Nick's was clean, friendly, honest and fair with their pricing. They promised my car would be done at a certain time and it was unlike other shops where mechanics seem to be delayed or find other issues. I would recommend Nick's for their service and quality among the other things I mentioned! read more

I was referred to Nick about 5 years ago by the local body shop. The service expert there had several local auto shops he could refer me to, but felt Nick was the most capable and trustworthy. My family has had Nick taking care of our cars ever since. I trust him to take great care of me and my 2 daughter's autos and also my Mother's car. I can't afford to take chances with any of their cars breaking down and it's obvious Nick knows his stuff! Heidi, his wife, runs the office and she's the greatest, too! Each of us always finds it a pleasure to visit Nick's when we have to get our cars serviced. read more

I was having issues with my BMW... drivers door, would not open. Called Nick's Auto Service yesterday and was told to drop it off this morning & they would take a look. I honestly did not expect to even get an appointment so quickly, let alone get my repair completed today. I just moved to Irvine and was already hesitant about finding a mechanic out here, but seeing how professional, efficient, reasonable, and quick these guys were, it is safe to say they will be my new go-to for any car needs! I dropped my car off this morning and it was done and ready to go by the afternoon! Thank you Brandon for your professionalism & efficiencg we appreciate it & will be going to you guys in the future ! read more

My mom's car was running fine when we took it in for an oil change and safety inspection on March 22. The oil change was a bit pricey but I figured if they do quality work it's worth it to pay a little more. The car checked out fine and I was a satisfied customer. On March 31st the check engine came on. The car was still running fine but I took it back into Nick's to have it diagnosed. My brother, who was using the car to drive around while on vacation thought it might be an emissions issue. The car wasn't overheating or leaking any fluid. After my brother left, the car stayed parked in my mom's garage until I was able to take it back to Nick's on April 25th. 1st red flag came when they told me they needed to keep the car overnight to let the engine completely cool because they thought it might be the intake manifold. I've never had a garage need to keep a car overnight for an engine light diagnostic, but again I figured they are the experts. 2nd red flag. I called the next day, April 26th, to check on the status of the diagnostic and was told by Chavez that they were still looking for the problem because it was NOT the intake manifold, which was a relief. They said they would call me back. 3rd red flag. Two days later on Saturday the 28th Chavez calls back telling us that the intake manifold broke while they were running the diagnostics! The car was NO LONGER DRIVABLE and would cost about $1200 to fix. The intake manifold was not broken before Nick's mechanic, Chavez preformed the diagnostics. Now it gets really good- My wife went to Nick's on Monday April 30th, to discuss the situation. Nick completely denied that the mechanic told me on Thursday it wasn't the intake manifold and called my wife ridiculous while yelling at her. Nick would take no responsibility to even consider that his mechanic damaged my mom's car. He was insulting to my wife as she tried to calmly explain that the car was running fine and the intake manifold actually broke while in Nick's shop's custody. He wanted us to pay for the diagnostic tests which my wife said no to, then he blew up at her again and told her he didn't want her money and to take my mom's car and "get off my property"! My wife had the car towed by AAA. My wife felt fearful for her personal safety and felt Nick was a loose cannon. He accused her of "pointing fingers" and blaming everyone else for her problems. We had a lot fewer problems before we took the car to Nick's. Nick was extremely aggressive in his denials and unprofessional in his customer service. It seems to me that Nick obviously has something to hide. Judging from other Yelp reviews, we're not the only ones to have this experience. Our experience was one of aggression, fear, and incompetence. PLEASE, DON'T TAKE YOUR CAR TO NICK'S! read more

Dropped off my car for inspection and they quickly figured out what was wrong and better than what I was expecting. Very competitive pricing and they even offered aaa discount I didnt have to ask! Best of all was that they did the worn immediately and I had the car back in just a couple hours! Very accommodating. Thanks guys read more

Nicks is an alright place, but I dont go there any more. It's sad to say but the service is just not the same as it was before. and after years of loyal support I really found out that his prices where just to damn high. read more

***I am editing this review after the owner reached out to us and spoke with my husband. He has owned Nick's Auto for 8 months and wanted to make everything right after reading this review. He and my husband had a good conversation and felt he was sincere in his apology. They worked out a solution that we thought was fair and made us happy so we've decided to continue to go to Nick's for our auto service. We've been going to Nick's for at least 15 years and like most people we are skeptical of mechanics. We've always felt Nick's was expensive but told ourselves they were good and worth the price. Along the way, we've had a few things we weren't happy about (like when we had to change the fuel pump on our car and it needed the whole gas tank dropped, they didn't take the opportunity to change the fuel filter---you don't do that kind of work at that expense and not change the filter). This most recent incident, and the reason we will not go back, was when we took our Sequoia in to have the car aligned. The steering wheel was shaking really bad when driving over 50mph, and the car would very obviously pull to the right at any speed. We were taking a trip out to Arizona, where our daughter goes to college, for Spring Break and planned on that visit to haul back some of her stuff from the dorm so we wouldn't have to go back when she finishes her year and has to move out. Well, apparently they felt the alignment was just fine but did find a nice $851 brake job that was needed. So, when my husband picked up the Sequoia, it was right at closing on Saturday and we were leaving Sunday morning. He noticed right away that the steering wheel again shook a lot when going over 50mph and the car pulled to the right. There was no way we were going to drive that long distance with those issues, first for a matter of safety and second because what it would do to the car and the tires. The thing that just fries us is that because of this poor call on the car not needing alignment, it set off a whole chain of events that will cost us a lot of money! We now need to go back out to help our daughter move back home, which means not only the drive, but taking off work, paying for accommodations, pet sitter, etc. AND, even though this is not a direct result of the Sequoia not being drivable for this trip, we had to take our Ford Sedan which, while driving, had a rock hit the windshield and we now need a $660 windshield. This would not have happened in the Sequoia because it sits up much higher--one of the reasons we don't typically drive the Ford on those long distance highway trips. We are just fried. My husband took the Sequoia back and they did the alignment at no charge (too little too late) and my husband was telling them what an inconvenience this has caused for us. They asked, "What do you want from us?" He said "You can talk to the owner and whatever he thinks is fair, but this will determine if we come back and what kind of review we write." So, in the end we receive an email saying that they felt they had "properly discounted the brakes and given free service in the amount of $270+ to cover the issues." We also got an offer of 10% discount on parts and labor on one future service. So, we didn't have an exact amount in mind for compensation for what a pain in the butt and extra expense this has caused us, but we didn't feel this was enough. That's just our opinion and it's enough to keep us from using that 10% off in the future. The search for a new mechanic is on. read more

Nick's Auto service was able to help my son when he came in from out of town to look for an apartment . The car was overheating. After a quick diagnosis it was determined I wanted to scrap the car. Mason Ford the owner gave me a good price was very professional and helped me with the transfer of the title even though I was in Illinois and he was in California. I felt very at ease through the whole process! read more

I was referred to Nick a couple times by different auto repair shops when I called around to get my suspension fixed. I talked to Heidi, Nick's wife, on the phone. She was very friendly and enthusiastic. After dropping of my car, I got a phone call 2-3 hours later for the estimate and Nick himself called me. He discussed what was wrong with the suspension, what parts he needed to get and how much they were, and pretty much went through the steps of what he needed to do. My car was fixed the next day! The service is very fast and the staff are friendly. I would definitely recommend this place! read more

This is the place for wonderful service, well worth the travel time! Super nice people also...very good experience all around.

I was a little thrown off by the price, but then again I was sick and tired of going to mechanics only to find myself returning again and again and again. Nick, on the other hand, was very thorough with the issue at hand. He gave me a fairly nice discount on the work, but keep in mind, you don't just receive a discount automatically. I was towed by AAA due to an overheating issue with the car. The points, there was not any additional unnecessary stuff thrown into the car to make it work, just the bare essentials. So again, for my particular issue with the car, it has been resolved successfully, and it has been several months since I visited the mechanic and the car is running well. Thank you Nick. read more

Nick's Auto is great, and I'm definitely not surprised by all the rave reviews. I've been here a few times in the past couple of years, and I've never been disappointed. One of the best things about Nick is that he doesn't talk down to me even though I'm a woman. I've had a lot of problems with my car, and he always takes the time to explain what's wrong with my car and what he's going to do to repair it. read more

A neighbor auto service refer me to this location, highly knowledgeable staff greets and diagnoses right away. No wait time. They let me purchase my own tires and put them on for $50. (mind you: Crevier BMW charge $200.) Great communication between the hours working on the car. Brandon is attentive, has solid work ethic. Ask for him! read more

First time customer: My daughter had her car towed to Nick's for a broken muffler. The car is older and needed a new exhaust. The cost was much higher than she wanted to invest. She decided against repair so they graciously wired the muffler so she could atleast drive it home. They did that free of charge and they waived the diagnostic fee of $150. Given she is a student and works part time and now needs a new vehicle it was a big deal to her and we are very appreciative!! read more

I would not recommend this shop to anyone. We had our truck towed here because it was grinding when it turned over. They had the truck for the entire day, indicated that they could not replicate the problem even though they had driven it quite a bit. They indicated that it did overheat, then tried to charge $100 for the trouble. They took their fee down to $50 but no diagnosis. We immediately took it another shop, there was a bad seal and the radiator was leaking into the engine. Not only did they not help but I am sure that they actually did additional damage during their "diagnosis" process. Thanks, for the help. read more

When I showed up ten minutes before closing with a severe leak in my tire, they stayed late to fix it for me. Both times I've taken my car to them, they've been efficient, professional, and kind. Prices seem reasonable to me, a notorious cheapskate (although admittedly I don't spend much time bargain hunting when my car needs work). read more

I have a Mercedes C300. It needed some maintenance work. I am pleased with Nick's Job. Knowledgeable and good customer service. read more

Best Auto Service I've had in a WHILE! Trustworthy, fast working, & reasonable pricing. It's hard to find places like this, especially in the auto service industry. This is exactly what and who are the kind of people to do business with & trust with your daily means of transportation. read more

Excellent service and professional service. Fast handling and a very fair pric Highly recommend. read more

Anything but honest! I'm one of those people that always go out of my way to support locally owned businesses over the corporate giants, but this time that bit me in the ass. I just bought a new (used) car and took it into Nick's after seeing the good reviews to get a fresh oil change and mechanical inspection done on it ($90 for the inspection). When I arrived to pick it up, the inspection "results" were provided in a short comma-separated list. When I asked questions about the results (as there was literally no information about them other than the 2 words per issue in the list), the mechanic was using scare tactics to try to motivate me to take care of the issues (e.g. List item - "power steering leak", that's literally all it said, and then the mechanic tells me that if I don't get that taken care of asap my car will catch on fire. I realize this fluid is flammable and there is a chance, the odds are so small and I never smell anything baking off the exhaust, this is a gross exaggeration). Anyway, I ask about what it'll cost to get a few of the issues resolved and get the response that he'll have to go type it up (I swore that was part of an inspection). I deal with it and say "okay". I call back a few days later to ask if they'd gotten me the quote I asked for and was told it wasn't ready because they'd been busy. I call back the following week to ask again and they still didn't have it. That was a little over 2 months ago and I still haven't heard anything. This sheer laziness also turns me off to ever trusting them with my car even if they finally did get me a quote. TLDR; They lazily put together the inspection results with no detail, try to scare you into getting stuff done, then never actually give you a price after multiple follow-up attempts. Would never recommend anyone trusting this place with their car. read more

Nick worked on my car for a major repair and it turned out fine. I wanted to continue for regular maintenance. But on last regular basic service, Nick decided to add items without my authorization then CHARGED me for it. I let it go and paid it but still, that's not cool. This place is also AAA certified but won't accept any AAA coupons nor discounts. And shuttles offered to/from nearby location is only when they feel like it. Overall, not bad mechanical knowledge, little overpriced, but the other stuff is not good service. read more

Our son works in Irvine. Like most young people he lives paycheck to paycheck. His car had been overheating. On his way to work it reached the boiling point literally. His dad and I live 2 hours from Irvine. We hopped in the car to go and deal with this HOT mess. My husband looked up mechanics. We found Nicks Auto. We limped the car to them sure it would be incredibly pricey and lengthy. The interior of the shop and office was appealing and very clean. We were astounded and pleasantly surprised at the professionalism, speed, and honesty they provided to us. Our sons car was a minor repair and was done quite quickly. Thank you Nicks Auto for making a stressful situation very manageable. read more

He can work on anything, and I have spent a lot of money on a Volvo of ours at other shops, and the problem still continued. That's how we met, I told him what was wrong, and what I did (with the receipts) to get it fixed. He said that all I needed was to flush out my radiator... I told him if that is all it is, then I have thrown out about $4-5,000 in repair costs and he would have a customer for life. And that was about 12 years ago, and he has yet to deliver when he said that he would, or diagnosed a problem wrong. I have sent many customers to him, and they all say the same thing. read more

Fail! Steer clear of here! I was quoted a price of $39 for an oil change and they said it would be done in an hour... 2 hours later my bill was $98...they unilaterally changed my air filter and added labor and never got permission to do the added work... read more

I have a small car (built early 90's only 3 cylinders) and took it in for minor tune-up (spark plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, air filter, and spark plug wires). (1) they replaced wires and cap-n-rotor & wires when they probably didn't need to be (I had another mechanic look at the old parts which were only a couple years old and he said they were fine, esp since my car was running fine when I took it in) (2) they charged me $350, which is over $100 higher than I've paid for same tune up (3) they mark their parts up way high. I don't mind some mark up to cover their cost of picking up parts, but there's no need to double the price, esp since I now have to pay 2x sales tax (pay tax on parts, not on service). (4) tried to scare me into buying tires from him that day. I won't go back. I do however think they have competent mechanics. read more

I've come here several times for my car check engine light on and they always have good customer service. I usually can call the day before to book an appointment with them for the following day. I would highly recommend requesting Chavez! He has always done a great job with my car, they are reliable and make sure to tell me what is actually wrong with my car. I've had places add things that I didn't need and try to take my money! This place is efficient and honest :) read more