Great service at this shop. I expected the worst and was ready for bad news but the skilled team here diagnosed my worn bearing and bad alignment and quickly got me back on the road. Straight talk and reasonably priced - that's what you want with car problems. Recommended. read more

I can't speak highly enough about the great service at the family owned Ramona Motor Works. We have been customers for over 25 years and the service has always been outstanding and their prices are very reasonable. Living in Ramona means you put a lot of miles on your car and I have never had a breakdown under their care. read more

Sal, Jason, and Aaron have worked on a bunch of my cars over the years and have been fantastic! They're reliable, courteous knowledgeable, and fairly priced. They do the job right the first time! read more

Love this shop! They always take the time to explain things to me. Everyone here is so nice! I never have to worry about any repairs they do, they are truly auto experts! Thanks Ramona Motor works, I really appreciate you all. read more

I have a very old F150 in here for smogs and repairs. They fixed my fuel pump this last repair, did a great job in a timely manner. Very honest and friendly. Will always recommend them. Thanks read more

RMW has been servicing my 2011 Mercedes S50 for several years. In addition to the convenience of having a certified Mercedes mechanic in town and not 30 miles away; the service, staff and competence of this business is a cut above. Highly recommend for Mercedes owners. RMW has an excellent reputation in our small community. read more

These folks are as honest as you will ever find for any auto repair. They have done electrical work on one of our cars (rodents eating wires), oil changes many times and all of our Smog Certs. They don't pad the bill or try to unnecessarily up-sell you on things you don't need. Once they advised me to take my Mini Cooper to the dealer because the repair needed was something that they didn't deal with often (intermittent external temperature sensor issues). They are always friendly, and you know they do their best to make customers happy. If you're reading this, you know that auto repair shops (especially some in Ramona) don't have all of those qualities. Fast, friendly, reasonable and honest, you can't ask for more than that for auto repair. read more

Do not got to Dave's for smog or any other repair. These guys are honest.

I needed a new starter and solenoid. They were able to fix it in a day and kept in touch about what was going on. The solenoid turned out to be defective and I needed to repair it at another location. But I called Sal and even though I should have taken it back there to replace the part, Sal was willing to take the bad part back and refund me for it. I appreciate places that insure the quality of their work and do what they can to insure customer satisfaction. read more

In desperate need of a mechanic that could diagnose my mechanical difficulties, I was referred by friends to Sal and his team. The front office staff is friendly and helpful. Being in a bind to pick my car up when it was finished, they came to get me. Sal explained in simple details what issues there were and what needed to be done to prevent it from happening again. I couldn't be more please with the workmanship and warranty he stands by. Thank you so much. read more

I made a yelp account just for this review. Story time: A year ago I went to a previous mechanic in Escondido who charged $300 for a fuel pump. Few months later, went to RMW for a transmission sensor, they charged $600. Was handled quickly, didn't second-guess it. 1 week ago, my ride overheats and shuts down. Ramona Motor Works tells me I have leaks in my coolant and my radiator, quotes me at $1100. Still clueless at this time, I say ok. They call back next day to tell me they "ran a second test, and it did not pass that test" (no specifics). But I was told my head gasket was blown and it would cost up to an additional $4k. Thought this was sketchy and researched my previous repairs. A fuel pump with parts and labor runs between $250 and $1000, meaning the first mechanic in Escondido was honest. Can't say the same about RMW. A transmission sensor goes for $10 to $100, with $80 to $100 for labor... $200 tops. Even with an additional $100 added, they still charged double what they should have. Drove my overheated van to Escondido to the previous mechanic, he plugged leaks in the in the coolant hose/tank, no more overheating. Radiator was fine, no issues found with head gasket. Took him 3 hours (including letting the van run for 2 hours for tests). These people at Ramona Motor Works overcharge and price gouge during a pandemic and prey on those not savvy on vehicles. Another red flag is all of their 5 star reviews (49 of them) are from over a year ago, and there's only 1 other review at 1 star to give them a convenient 4.9, like cheating on a math test and getting 1 answer wrong on purpose to fool the professor. I see them as a chop shop now and will never be returning. I do not trust anything about this business down to the reviews on their Google page. If your vehicle breaks down and you want to save money, pay to tow it to an honest mechanic in Escondido (I recommend On Schedule). If you have deep pockets and don't care about money, they'll be happy to help in a timely fashion... 1 star. read more

Have had several of our vehicles smogged and repaired at Ramona Motor Works. Sal is one of the nicest guys to deal with and I have never been disappointed with any work done by his shop. Friendly staff and crew too! My 2005 Chevy Avalanche needed new brakes so I took it in to Sal and he put a whole new set of brakes on it, surfaced the rotors and discovered a rear axle outer seal that was leaking in the process and repaired that too! Love the new brakes Sal, that squealing alone was driving me nuts! I highly recommend Ramona Motor Works, you won't be disappointed! Keep up the great work Sal! Dave S. read more

So, I have a POS Truck. Really bad. 250,000 miles. Been beat up. So bad I am a bit embarrassed to actually take it on for work. When it absolutely has to go in due to some important hauling mission I bring it to Sal at RMW. He is about as honest as it comes. Talks you through the options and estimates costs and potential for trouble. Always figures out the issue. Except this time. This time he actually fixed the issue before he even verified the issue. That's right, in the process of just doing the once over and lube and oil and the normal stuff, he put things right just by futzing. Now, I think he's the owner, so he doesn't even need to be doing this "extra mile" thing, but he always does. Always. The service charge is always fair. Low enough that I don't feel like I'm being bamboozled. High enough that he probably even makes a couple bucks so he can stay in business. It's hard to find honest auto mechanics that care just the right amount. This shop seems to have them all. read more

I have been there 3 times. Each time they have exceeded my expectations. The work is excellent, the prices are fair, and they are very pleasant and accommodating. I am really happy to find such a good car mechanic close to my new home. read more

These folks are the real deal. No nonsense, honest and VERY customer oriented. Over the past 10 years I have used them maybe 4 times and every time has been great. Nobody wants to deal with car problems so finding an establishment that makes it easier is wonderful. They just helped me yesterday with windshield wiper replacement at a moments notice. I can only say their treatment of me was amazing. It was a super small job for them so they could have just blown it off and they didn't. A very rare commodity these days. (P.S. the front office associate was incredibly friendly and helpful. I believe she is the owner's daughter) read more

I have been taking my cars here for over ten years. I wouldn't go anywhere else. Sal is honest and the customer service is exceptional. Ladies- don't know anything about cars? Afraid of getting hosed at a mechanic shop? GO HERE!! read more

Seriously the ONLY honest repair shop up in Ramona! They fix ONLY what is needed and don't try to up-sell you on things you don't need! Sal is such an awesome owner and he oversees everything his shop does and stands by his work. Come up the hill to get work done! You won't find another shop like his in San Diego! read more

I live in Los Angeles, but I was looking to buy a car that was in the Ramona area. I called the shop on a Monday morning, and Tori was very courteous and able to fit me in for a safety inspection that afternoon. The staff was very professional when I arrived and looked at the car thoroughly. Sal came out and spoke with me about the work needed on the car and had a clear line listing of items that the car required in the near future. He answered all my questions comprehensively and provided me with all the information I needed to make the purchase. I would definitely recommend this shop to anyone who is looking for an honest mechanic and a knowledgeable staff! read more

Good prices, won't throw in extra fees for things for things that aren't necessary. Told them I didn't have a lot of money and they were willing to even do a couple things for free like diagnosing my check engine light and checking out the rest of my car while they had it up for an oil change. Also didn't have an appointment, and they still allowed me to drop off my car and said they'd check if when they had some extra time, which was only about an hour after I dropped it off. Great shop read more

Outstanding service everything is done correctly the first time. family-run business old-school attitude and 100% outstanding work

I took my Nissan in because the computer needed to be reset so it would idle correctly. They said they could do it. They called later that day and said they could not reset the computer. He said we can usually reset them about 50 percent of the time. They charged me $100.00 for trying. Why didn't they tell me that in the first place. I had to take it down to Nissan in Poway and they did the work for less that what Ramona Motor Works charged. They have been great for smog checks but not for other service. Frank read more

I've been a Ramona Motor Works customer since they opened under Sal's dad, Frank, in 1994. At first it was a few things here and there that I didn't have time to do myself. Their knowledge and work ethic have never faltered. When I deployed with the military I was confident that my wife would be taken care of. Now that I'm unable to work on cars myself we go there for everything and we're always satisfied. There is no better shop and no better group of people to work with in town. read more

Ramona Motor Works is a very reputable shop. Sal and his staff are always very up front with everything that needs to be done on our cars. They have always been able to handle whatever we have needed no matter the age of the car and the charges are always fair. We are speaking from 24 years of experience with this shop. You cannot go wrong with this shop. Even got our 1990 Volkswagon Westfalia back on the road for cruise nites with new fuel lines and cooling system. Thanks Sal, Jason, and staff! Your hard work is much appreciated. :) read more

I needed my wheel fixed on my Class A motorhome and on very short notice, (heading out of town on vacation very early the next day). Sal took me in during lunch time and took care of it. I am so impressed with Sal and his business and he went way above what I would expect from a shop especially on such short notice. He was very professional and understanding. I highly recommend this business read more

I took my 89 k5 blazer in to get a smog and it took over 2 hours to find out it didn't pass. Not only did it take this long but the only reason it didn't pass was because the CA smog legal sticker for the modified intake manifold was pressure washed off the core support under the hood and placed in the center console which he was not able to accept because it has to be stuck near the modification, even though it has three other stickers under the hood and there is clearly a sticky spot under the hood where the intake manifold sticker used to be. Needless to say I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone to go here for a smog unless you would like to wait all day to get your vehicle picked apart and pay someone who refuses to work with you. read more