Santa Monica Auto Service

The reviews are true. Don and his team are skilled and accommodating. I've been there a few times now and every time I'm there it reminds me why I go back.Once I went in to have the brakes checked-I knew the rotors needed to be replaced. The estimate was pleasantly surprising because I had already had the brakes looked at by the dealer and they told me pretty much the same thing except they wanted to charge me 4x the amount.After I had the work done on the brakes they started making a funny noise so I took the car back without an appointment and Don and Ray got me in right away. They re-inspected he car and made a few adjustments and the noise was gone.I was skeptical and didn't believe them at first that everything was okay. So one of the mechanics went out with me on a test drive and explained what he personally did to the rotors and how it was fixed now. I told him I was about to leave for a mountain trip with my two kids (totally true by the way) and how I really needed to feel like my brakes were done correctly and that we would be safe. He assured me the work was done well and that he had kids and understood where I was coming from and said he was sure everything was good to go.Fast forward a few months: mountain trip complete, brakes no longer making noise, home safe and sound, no issues since.On said mountain trip, a squirrel got into my car (for 3 plus days) and did lots of electrical wiring damage. Too long of a story for a Yelp review, but in the end, my car ended up back at Santa Monica Motors. Don remained unfazed as I explained the situation and warned him that the squirrel may still be in the car somewhere. He said he would take care of it.Fast forward: squirrel gone, electrical wiring fixed, now overly anxious about rodents getting trapped in car.Don and his team of mechanics are the real deal. I trust them with my car. Trust and car are two words that rarely go together when describing car mechanics. But for this business, it works.

It is a pleasure to take my car to Santa Monica Motors because I am always provided with excellent customer service.

Raymond was terrific - cheerful and grasped what the car needed right away. The service techs are the same people for years and I trust them and like all of them. Every 3 months, I take my Honda to SM Motors.

Great service. The text kept me up to date and the report is very detailed. I will definitely come back.

Best garage in L.A!

You guys are great-thanks

good work so far

Santa Monica motors is really awesome! I wouldn't take my Subaru anywhere else now that I am used to the service here. Its clean, they are honest and caring and Don always does the very best for me in service and saving me money where ever possible. This is the best auto shop I have ever had.

Don is a magical car wizard. I have a 2000 Celica. My check engine light had been on for a year and my mechanic in Berkeley (where I am from) was totally stumped. A smog check guy in Berkeley was stumped. I couldn't smog the car with the light on, so it had been in and out of repair shops for months and months. I happened to be in LA and I brought it to the "Toyota of Santa Monica" dealership on Santa Monica and Lincoln. They suck, by the way. They wanted to charge me $3000 for the "repair" they suggested. Miraculously I found Don. He correctly diagnosed and fixed the problem, made some other improvements and my car passed the smog test. "Yeah" you say, " but what was the bill?" Oh, the bill was a quarter of what the dealership wanted. Yeah that's right, a quarter. The car is running fantastically right now.Side note to other small women: The car repair world is full of men that think we are all confused un-mechanical idiots. Some mechanics are patronizing jerks. Don is not a jerk. DON IS TOTALLY AWESOME. He will not talk to you like a little girl. He is honest, he is a solid dude who does a great job and is pleasant and honest and professional. The two guys from Car Talk on NPR would approve of him. LA has horrible traffic, but on the plus side, it has Don.

So Far So Good