Customer ReviewsforJT's Auto Repair

As out of state tourists, we rented an SUV in San Diego to drive to Santa Barbara. As we passed through LA on I-5, we heard an inconsistent "strange noise" and felt a vibration. As we continued on and then talked with our rental car roadside assistance, we were directed to JT's Automotive for a mechanical diagnostic. JT drove the vehicle and immediately identified a faulty wheel bearing. He would have been able to replace the part before closing shop at 5p; however, our rental car company mandated that the vehicle be towed and the delivery of another vehicle for our journey. This necessitated a 5 hour wait (beginning at 4:30p) as the wrecker and replacement vehicle had to be summoned from LA airport. ***We were impressed with JT's professionalism, concern and willingness to stay into the evening/ night with us until the wrecker arrived. Instead, we took his recommendation to have dinner across the street at an authentic Mexican restaurant, Cabo's (excellent), and then wait in the parking lot for our replacement vehicle. Although we were not able to actually have the vehicle repaired at JT's due to the rental car policies, we appreciated JT's willingness to stay after hours to diagnose the issue and his concern for our welfare and safety. This display of concern is not something that we typically experience in our home state. Thank you, JT!

I took my car to JTs mechanic after I set up an apt for a pre-paid oil change & to do brakes. My vdhicle was dropped off at 10a Mon. The mechanic called to tell me the oil & brakes are done but the check engine light was still on. My auto insurance allows me to see codes, miles driven, & location of car at all times etc. I've been trying to smog the car so the mechanic said he had to change 4 sensors b4 he could get it smogged. After 5 days and $1635.00. I picked up the car & he had never changed the oil (prepaid), so now I've paid another place to oil change and he said "don't ever drive your auto with such low amount. The owner says he changed all four sensors yet, I still have codes and have verified that #1 item would be the oil done. My car has 82k miles, and if he had done the work I would not have to pay another shop $70 on oil. Its still in my driveway with the same codes read-out. As I had the worst experience I can document that the car taken on Mon morning and mon night I was told about sensors, however there IS no way that he checked as I have the code/mileage/location and he did not disconnect it until Wednesday eve. By Thursday I was attempting to get this dealt with meaning I had placed numerous call and it would go straight to voice-mail. Its now Friday and JTs is closed on weekends. As I called 15 times no answer all day, I called 17mins after closing & finally reached Joe. He says he is on his way home 1-2 hrs I guess since he said where he lived. He was put out because I'm a senior raising grandchildren & I could not have my vehicle just sitting for 2 days. He was not thrilled and I did say unless he wants to rent me a car that I wanted my car back with the insurance reader be plugged in, all the parts he replaced and my keys. So after alot of chatter from him, we made it home bout 730pm, with the change oil light lit up, the vehicle unlocked, the ins reader sitting in a cup holder and all the codes still reading, as though nothing was done.

Incompetent mechanics, overpriced labor rate, and unprofessional service! I took my car in to get the steering fixed. My car veers to the right when driving. So I asked for a wheel alignment and check out the steering system to see what's wrong. I booked an appointment for Monday, then the job got "done " on a Wednesday despite the owner Joe saying that it's gonna be done the same day. Joe is an outright liar. I asked him on the phone if they do wheel alignments, he said yes but he doesn't actually have a wheel alignment machine in his shop. He just takes it to another shop to get it done, and he marks up the price. He is absolutely unprofessional, takes an average 10 times for me to call before they even answer the phone. They don't check their voicemail and don't even give you a courtesy call back to let you know the estimate and situation of your car. Joe upsells a lot for BS unnecessary service. He said he tested my battery and found it to be a bad battery because the cells wouldn't hold a charge. I took my 1 year old AGM (best type of car battery) to autozone where I bought it from and got it tested for free. The autozone guy showed me the result of the test, it was a good battery! Joe was also trying to upsell me some unnecessary tune up that cost almost $500! What a scam! I had to return my car because the steering didn't get fixed. Then he said the rims and tires where wobbling and needed to get replaced, that's why the steering veered to the right. They never even test drive my car after it was "done", what a scam! Why the heck didn't the mechanic see that the first time around? Because the mechanics are incompetent, I bet they're not even ASE certified mechanics! Just a bunch of amateurs. They charged me $110 for the wheel alignment (only costs $40 at Rudos Tires), their hourly rate for labor is $110/hour which is way overpriced! Never again! Learn from my mistake folks. I'm an honest, hard working, active duty military and they scammed me like this. Joe is like a used car salesman, he loves to talk and act nice but at the same time actually robbing you. A classic conman. I wasted $333 of my hard earned dollars and wasted so much time and hassle of getting a ride because my car was in their shop for 3 days. I took my car to Rudos tires and they fixed the steering problem way cheaper and way faster! Took only about 2 hours. People should not support an unethical car shop like JT's Automotive! I know I will never come back there! See the pictures of my receipt.