Ray-A-Motive

The service was excellent. I went in with a particularly difficult smog check issue on my Suburban: it wouldn’t complete its pre test and, after about two years, I wasn’t getting anywhere. Other shops, and even a dealership, couldn’t figure out why the tests wouldn’t complete. Ray took a look at it and traced the issue back to the truck’s computer interacting with the supercharger. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is having the issue finally figured out.

We’ve been coming here for years, when it was just a little shop tucked away in a hidden area! This business has saved us thousands of $$$$ over the years. First time was when we brought in a recently purchased ’79 Suburban with a lot of deferred maintenance issues. Ray’s staff took the time to make us a list of items that needed attention. Over the ensuing months we ticked off the issues, one by one, as we could afford to attend to them. Never had to add to the list, it was a reliable vehicle for us for the time we had it serviced by Ray-​A-​Motive.
Later, we decided to purchase a classic Bronco from a local Cerritos Auto Square dealership. Upon purchase, we drove it directly to Ray’s to have it checked-​out. Again, Ray’s team came through for us! They took it for a test drive, and felt something was amiss. The put the Bronco up on the lift and checked it out. They discovered the frame was cracked! We returned the Bronco to the dealership for a FULL REFUND! We would not hesitate to recommend Ray’s to anyone, we’ve always had good experiences and professional service.

I recently started having some trouble with my 2009 Toyota Prius where it wouldn’t start and I was getting a master warning light. I remember reading good reviews about Ray’s so I called and asked if I could bring it in. Without having or requiring an appointment they said I could bring it in but being that it was almost closing time they couldn’t get to it until tomorrow, which was fine by me. I certainly didn’t want to take it to the dealership.
After doing some diagnostic work they called to tell me the bad news. My batteries were going out. I knew from online Prius forums that this could run upwards of $ 4,000 to replace. The folks at Rays told me they could recondition the old batteries for about half the cost and keep about 95% of the performance versus a new battery. Within a few days my car was ready for pick up. I picked it up and drove to work. Unfortunately, while driving to work all four warning lights came on on my dash and the gas engine stopped working. I could only drive using the battery which I knew wouldn’t last long. I called Ray-​A-​Motive and spoke with Ray. Ray suggested I pull over and turn of the car and turn it back on. I did that and that seemed to fix half the problem as now only two warning lights stayed on but the gas engine was working again. Ray told me I should be fine but to bring the car back tomorrow since he knew I was going to work. He also said to call back if it did it again.
I dropped off the car again and waited to hear the latest diagnosis. I get a call saying the throttle body was dirty and that was likely causing the problem with the gas engine. Ray-​A-​Motive ended up cleaning the throttle body at no charge and made everything right. I didn’t expect them to do this at no charge as this was a separate problem than what I took the car in for. For this reason I believe they went above and beyond and they earned a new customer. Also, Ray seems to care about his customers. This is how business should be done when it comes to automotive repair.
In all they did great work at a reasonable and fair price. This work cost about half of what it could have cost at a dealership. I would much rather take my car here than to a dealership. I like the fact that they have extensive knowledge and experience dealing with hybrids. I will be recommending friends and family to this shop.

2003 PSD quit running on me the other day. I had the truck towed to Ray-​A-​Motive in Bellflower. I spoke with Kevin who listened to my concerns and relayed the information to the mechanic. After the mechanic had the opportunity to complete a diagnosis the work was done competently within the time estimated and within the established cost.

Whoohoo! Ray-​A-​Motive is as good as it gets! I am a customer at Ray-​A-​Motive and just had my car in there for an issue I was having. Great service, courteous and knowledgeable staff and mechanics. My car was ready in just a few hours too.

Went in due to my vehicle a 2003 Honda Accord not passing a Smog Check at another shop. My car passed emissions at the other shop, however two codes were not clearing. Took it here. I left it on a Friday and received my car back a week later. They told me that a valve needed to be replaced. I was charged $ 175 for the initial diagnoses after I submitted a copy of the smog test at the last shop with the codes that weren’t clearing.
The week my car was there I initiated most of the follow up calls. About four days after I dropped off my car Ray tells me we were at over $ 700 in repairs and labor combined. Yes, I authorized the repairs. I wanted my smog certificate to update my tags. I also had a rental for four days. I will never take my vehicle or any other vehicle to this shop for anything. This shop is a perfect example of why people in general no longer trust Auto Shops.

Deceptive and dishonest. I went in for a smog check. They told me my vehicle failed the smog check because the ignition timing was wrong and that the NO measurement numbers were too high. So I authorized the repairs. When I looked at the smog check report later the NO measurement was very high but the numbers were within the allowable limit. My vehicle would have passed the smog check with a simple timing adjustment. Instead they charged me $ 376 for an unnecessary diagnosis, part, and labor. If you value honesty and integrity, enter at your own risk.

Great place. They are a little pricey compared to other shops but I know things are getting done right. I have them do the alignments on all my cars.

Thank you, Kevin. You were courteous, knowledgeable and sympathetic. And with the trouble I had with my car, I needed sympathy.
It was nice to be told what the problem was, and when more difficulty was ran into you called immediately and informed me of my options. I appreciate that.
If my car needs service again, especially emergency service, I will be returning here.

I am having car trouble and the guys at this place were ready and willing to help right away. They were very thorough in explaining what happened, what needed to be repaired and how long it would take! Great customer service. Kevin was very nice and polite.
I hope that I won’t HAVE to return but if in the future I need something fixed I wouldn’t hesitate to call here

I recently moved into the Lakewood/​Bellflower area and needed an oil change for my girlfriends car and my car. I’ve always believed in supporting local businesses over chains so i decided to go here instead of a large chain like Jiffy Lube. After scavenging Unilocal for decent places to get it, I decided on this place because of the solid reviews and people saying they generally got their cars done faster than originally estimated.
When i first walked into the office it was pretty quiet. It was around 10 am, but i had to wait around 5 mins to get someone to help me. I didn’t really think much of it, because I know they have other stuff to do. I spoke to Ray, the owner, and he seemed like he didn’t really care to talk to me too much. Not sure if he was having a bad day, but like before, it didn’t really bother me. After he took the keys and a quick look at both cars, he walked us back into the office (without saying a word in between) to take our info down. After that he showed me some paperwork and left me under the impression that the oil changes would cost around $ 50 bucks, which is very reasonable and made sense to me. Little did i know however, this was for EACH car. After i left the shop I was under the impression that BOTH cars would be a total of $ 50.
A couple hours later i got a call saying my cars were ready so I headed over there to pick them up. Up until he told me the total out loud and took my debit card, i had no idea that he was charging me FIFTY, 5 – 0, for an oil change on EACH car. (before the 10% Unilocal discount) Now i don’t know if this is a special «college kid» price he was running on me, but $ 50 for an oil change is simply ridiculous. I paid $ 90 bucks after the Unilocal discount for an oil change for two cars, which I have never heard of in my life. Not sure if Ray thought he would try to pull a quick one on someone he thought didn’t know anything about cars, or if this was his standard price for a regular oil change. Also, i believe my «college kid» appearance affected the service i received, because my experience was nothing like some of the positive reviews describing friendly customer service. Either way, i would never come here again for an oil change, and i recommend fellow Unilocalers to also avoid this place for oil changes.

I went to Ray-​A-​Motive today to get a smog check. We called ahead of time and was told about the Unilocal check in deal– however, I don’t have a smart phone (yes I’m behind the times) and I couldn’t check in for the 10% discount. I spoke with Dawn and she said it was not a problem, they would still give me the discount. I went in about an hour later and there were two cars ahead of me, so I had to wait about 40 minutes by the time it was done, which I was fine with. The waiting area is nice and has complimentary water, coffee and snacks– I didn’t take advantage of it, but I really liked having the option! They have a TV with short programming and the waiting area is well kept. I was the only person there for most of the time and took over a couch to study for a test while waiting. Once my car was done, Jorge processed my payment, which was reasonable especially after my discount. I had an enjoyable experience at Ray’s and would recommend it!

«Excellent customer service. Went in for the first time ( Unilocal recommendation), and did not disappoint!!! Had my car oil changed for estimated 1hr… Was done in half including paperwork…»

Whew! So my car failed the Smog Check. I’m new the area and didn’t want to drive all the way back to Cerritos for repairs, so I checked out Unilocal and found Ray-​A-​Motive. I applied for CAP afterwards, and was pleased to find that this place was also Gold Shield certified. I did consider Harold T.‘s post, because I didn’t want to exceed the $ 500, and the fact that it’s really easy to rip me off (considering I’m a tiny Asian girl with no concrete knowledge about cars), but I decided to give it a shot. And thank goodness that I did!
The lot is usually pretty full with cars, but there’s always been a space or two for my car. Shows how busy this place can get, so you should come fairly early. When I came in the afternoon for my last smog check, there were 6 people in the waiting area, but when I first came at 9AM, it was empty.
I was surprised by how clean this place is. I’m more used to grungy auto repair places, but this place was squeaky shiny. The waiting area is spacious and cool, with awesome racing decoration. (Look at the photo of the place!) If you get bored, you can look at magazines or look at the mini car models all around. There are also complementary coffee, cookies, and muffins, just as the other reviewers said.
On the first visit, I was greeted by Jorge. He told me that I would have to leave my car for up to two days, because there were a lot of cars to be worked on. He explained to me what would happen (diagnosis, repair, then smogging the car again). I okayed it, so we went through the paperwork (for the CAP program, license verification, etc.) then I left.
Two days later, I got a call from Jorge saying that my car was repaired, but that I would have to drive it around to reset the system. He explained to me what was wrong with my car and showed me the purge valve that he replaced. (At the time I didn’t know it, but apparently it’s good practice to ask your mechanics to show you the old parts to verify that it was actually replaced!)
I drove it around for two days and brought it back in on Friday. I was greeted by Larry, because apparently Jorge was out for lunch, so Dan checked on my car. The system wasn’t ready yet, so he told me to come back on Tuesday (Monday was Labor Day).
So I come back Tuesday, and pull into the lot. Before I’m out of the car, Dan is already over with his machine thing ready to check if my car is ready! It’s ready this time, so I go inside to the waiting area again while he smogs the car.
And guess what? It failed again, but this time it was for emissions. (The old problem was fixed, though, and the Check Engine light stayed off.) Turns out it BARELY passed emissions last time, so I left my car, expecting it to take at least a day. A couple hours later I get a call from Dan, and it’s already fixed and smoked! This time, it was the catalytic converter. So I pick up my car, and Dan told me he noticed my motor oil was low, so he filled it up for me. And it passed! Yay! :D So I paid up for the motor oil and my CAP co-​pay, and was out.
My main concern when I visited Ray-​A-​Motive was the cost. They did the repairs without really updating me on the total cost, but the reason was that because I was under the CAP program and well under the limit, they just didn’t want me to worry about the cost. Which was really appreciated, but because I wanted to know how close I was to the limit, I would often ask them, and they would tell me.
The invoice was very clear. Parts on the left side, labor on the right side. I think the descriptions are pretty self-​explanatory for the auto-​literate, but they would give me explanations so that I would understand what exactly they did. On the bottom are the original estimate and any revised estimates (with the time and the reasons clearly written), so you know exactly how much you are charged for each thing, as well as who verified. When my car failed the emissions test, they told me that there is another state program that kicked in, so passing the $ 500 limit was okay. I would not have known if they hadn’t told me.
Wow this review is long, but I really wanted to share my entire experience with Ray-​A-​Motive, because it was a very pleasant one. I would definitely recommend, especially to people who are under the CAP program. Everyone that I’ve talked to (Jorge, Dan, Ray, Larry) were very friendly, and all the mechanics are ASCE-​certified! You could check out everyone’s certificates in the waiting room, too. :)
(Oh, and a tip, the front sign is a bit small coming down Artesia from the direction of Lakewood Blvd., so keep your eyes peeled after you pass Bellflower Blvd. on your right side.)

I have been using RayAMotive for years. Prompt quick service. Have my trucks smoged there too. I would recommend them to anyone needing auto repair.

Fail Fail Fail
they quoted me the same price as others to repair my Heater coil. They did it all wrong and used cheap parts. Wrong hoses flooded the spark plug so now I had to replace the cable and plugs. you still hear air in the system. this causes the flushing sound in the heater coil. they told me they could not fix it. thanks but not thanks. never go there again. ended up spending and additional $ 200 plus and no truck for days.

Alright when I first came here it was for smog repairs. Pretty good customer service, even came over to the lot when it was closed so I could pickup my car, very cool, mind you though, the words he used to justify this was because ‘Well your paying a lot of money’ now normally I would be like ‘Hey that’s pretty cool’ but in this case it kinda left me wondering if I was being over charged, which I kinda had a feeling of since the state was paying for a portion of the repairs, $ 500.00. I still had to pay $ 400.00 something out of pocket thou, about $ 900.00 total, whatever I needed to get it done.
Second time over, needed to repair my hood release cable. The guy told me it would cost a little over $ 300.00 dollars, so I decided to hold off and look elsewhere. BUT THEN, he told me ‘Well if you want we could just crimp the connection point where the cable pulls and you could just leave it like that for now’ so to this I was like ‘Oh ok, thanks a lot’ yea so I thought that was pretty nice, a quick, temporary fix. So they did it, nothing was replaced all they did was crimp the connection point (make the hole that the hood release cable goes through smaller so it doesn’t slip through when pulled). The guy hands me a bill, $ 100.00. WHAT?! Dude, all you did was take a pair of PLIERS, squeeze a wire hole SMALLER so a cable doesn’t slip through and shut the hood, THAT’S IT. I had already had pliers in my car and a couple minutes to spare to do that.
That just validated my first suspicions of being over charged. Should have asked about all charges up front before I let them do anything, even if it just sounds like something as simple as TAKING PLIERS and SQUEEZING A WIRE.
***Just to clarify, my hood wasn’t jammed, it just needed to be opened manually which I was able to do on my own, just a matter of pressing the hood latch. There was no diagnosis on my hood cable release because I came in and told them exactly what was wrong. There was ‘repair’ done to the hood latch that the release cable was connected to, which I describe above. Nothing validated that price though.***

This place is great. They definitely know what they are doing, are as professional as can be and support the local community on top of it all. Fair prices, fast service and free coffee are my experience. I basically blew up my car and they had no problem fixing it in two weeks, just in time for a trip to SF. They also have a drop off box so you can leave your car Sunday night and pick it up after work Monday. If you have a choice of the ghetto shop on the corner or a professional place like this, I would choose Ray-​A-​Motive.

Great place that gets the job done quick and right. I’m holding on to my ’88 honda prelude and Ray makes it possible. He knows his customers and as mentioned before does work alongside his employees. They always have a bunch of cars in their lot but always get the jobs done in reasonable time. Power steering line leak done in two days with parts ordering. clutch master and slave cylinder replaced timely. oil change on xmas eve morning in 30ish min. no crap excuses no bs dealership trying to sell you stuff you don’t need.
its hard to find a good mechanic. this one is good.

In moving across the country, there are many services that are just scary to go through the process of replacing. Hairdresser, for example. Doctor. Chiropractor. And one of the hardest… dun, dun, duuuuuuun… the mechanic.
This was especially scary for us since our mechanic back home was an honest and stand-​up guy, who eventually became really great friends with my father. Just image the anxiety of trusting a stranger who in essence could rip you off for hundreds of dollars and you would never even know the difference.
Well, I dropped of my car this morning on a recommendation from a co-​worker, and I was so impressed. It is worth mentioning (sadly) that this is the 4^th mechanic we have dealt with since moving here. Not only were they friendly and clean, but the owner was there working alongside the crew, and he seemed to know everyone’s name that came in the door. He knew exactly who my co-​worker is, and even knew the cars he owns.
I still felt a bit of apprehension leaving my vehicle in a stanger’s hands, but I felt a little better than I know I COULD have.
When we came to pick the car up later that day, I was very pleased. Ray knew who we were without even asking our names. The mechanic who checked us in came out and showed us this weird problem they had encountered and told us he recommended having the coolant flushed, but didn’t pressure us to do it right then. In fact I didn’t feel any pressure the whole time we were there. The prices were reasonable too, and clearly explained on the invoice.
I would highly recommend this place, even if you already have a regular mechanic. Come here instead.