Motor City Automotive

Alan is da bomb! Pure and simple.
being a super smart guy, and a smart-​ass, I ‘ve been told to go elsewhere by more than one mechanic. I don’t suffer fools gladly, so I say that my 25 yrs of car repair have been dominated by less than honest and knowledgeable mechanics. Quite simply, most of them don’t understand the physics involved in boiling an egg. This renders them useless to understand complex causality factors that may converge to produce a very difficult to diagnose and resolve automotive issue.
Enter Alan. Alan has kept my difficult to work on 1987 Ford van running in tip top shape and taught me more about cars then I need to know, and then some. He is more knowledgeable and experienced in repair, service and best use practices for cars then anyone I have ever met in my life. He knows something about every car you can possibly imagine.
His only shortcoming is that he is a one man shop so he often runs off his own stated deliverables for when a job is ready. However, the extra patience has been worth it for me for 4.25 yrs.
THANKS ALAN!

I can’t say much about Alan than what has been posted already. Brought my car in to get my brakes looked at. The inspection and tire rotation was $ 37. It was money well spent considering the insight he gave about my Honda Accord and what to look out for. He was very honest in his assessment and told me the kind of symptoms I should look for with parts that are still functional but just starting to get worn. I honestly believe these were parts that other outlets would have pressured me into fixing prematurely. Alan looks out for your wallet. It’s refreshing.

Let me preface this by saying that Alan seems like a nice man and I’ve been here a few times with okay experiences.
However: I had my car battery replaced by Alan about 10 months ago. ~2 months later I was having problems again with the battery, so I took it back to Alan, who told me that the battery was a dud, that this hardly ever happens and that he would replace it with a new one, which he did in a timely manner. However, he charged me a $ 60 labor fee to do so. At the time I didn’t complain about it, but looking back on it I’m a bit upset because it should not be my fault that the battery was a dud, and it was an inconvenience for me to bring it back after only 2 months, so why should I have to pay a 2^nd labor fee (on top of the $ 200-​some that I already paid the first time for the battery)?
During that same visit, Alan recommended that I get a new alternator, which would have been another couple hundred dollars to replace. I opted not to do so. This was 8 months ago, I have not had a problem with the alternator since, AND I have been to 1 other repair shop who did not seem to think there was a problem. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but looking back on it, it seems like he was just trying to squeeze more money out of me.
Anyway, from other reviews it seems as though everyone has a great experience here — so hopefully I was just the 1/​1M that didn’t.

We were in need of a headlight bulb replacement on short notice. Found Motorcity Automotive via Unilocal.It was nearby where we were staying and had high ratings. Alan did not disappoint. He was true to his word every step along the way –price and timing. He really helped us out on a last minute need. Thank you, Alan!

We awoke a day ago to discover that someone had stripped all four tires (rims and all) from our 1991 car, leaving it precariously supported on 4 bricks and a rock — what a shock! We called Alan at Motor City — he has been our mechanic for 30 years — and within an hour he had located replacement rims, tires, and hubcaps at a salvage yard (not an easy thing for a 23 year-​old car). The yard delivered the wheels to Motor City the next day, and again within an hour Alan drove to our house, put the new tires on, and added locking lug nuts. While he worked he noticed that our squealing brakes were wearing out. We drove the car to Motor City the same day and by 4pm he had fixed them.
Alan’s quick response, quality service, and attentiveness to our needs was simply wonderful. He has always been our first call for car repairs and will continue to be so. I recommend him and Motor City highly.

My experience with Allan shows me that he is very honest, trustworthy and really understands about cars. He knows how to explain what’s going and is communicates well. However, the reason for giving 4 and not 5 stars is simply because I believe he is understaffed, which resulted in delays with my car.

I’ve taken my car to Alan for a number of repairs over the last year. Every time he has done a great job, fixing the problem quickly and competently. I haven’t had any problems. He always talks with me about what needs to be done and is helpful with any questions I have. I feel completely confident that he will take care of my problems without overcharging me, which is exactly what I want in an auto mechanic. I will take my care to Alan every time.

Alan is amazing! He is trustworthy and honest, which are not normally words you use to describe a mechanic. He is good at providing estimates and based on his location it is easy to walk to Ashby BART and get to work (if that is a way for you to travel to work). I noticed someone mention he was not there in the morning — that is true if it is early, but you can drop your keys in the door and he figures it out — I have never had any issues with that when he knows I am dropping the car off for the day. Alan never treats me like I do not know what is happening with the car and I appreciate that!

Alan is the best! He is honest and I totally trust his opinion when working on my car. He gives good life advice too!

I had called to make an appointment to drop off my car at 9am the next day, when his shop opens first thing in the morning. However, when I get to the shop that morning, no one was there. I waited for nearly 20 minutes past 9 until he finally came around.
I would have been fine if he were 5 – 10 minutes late, if he had given notice that he was running late, or had planned ahead to meet a bit later in the morning if he tends to come in late, but 20 minutes late without any notice was a stretch. I told him this, and he became defensive and threw out excuses for being late (traffic, etc.). He knew that he made an appointment with a new customer at 9am, and he’s probably familiar with the traffic in Berkeley having had his shop open in the neighborhood for awhile, so he did not have an excuse for being late without notice and then be defensive and rude about it.
I’m sure Alan does a fine job as a mechanic, but I won’t trust someone with my car who isn’t dependable as a shop owner. I’m not going to be recommending my friends and classmates to this place.

My brake sensors were squealing and I commute from southeast Oakland to San Francisco for work, so I was getting nervous about finding a good mechanic as I don’t have one yet. So I asked a good buddy who is pennywise and well, just wise and she referred me to Motor City. Then I saw all the excellent reviews, which is rare particularly foe mechanics and restaurants, and called to book an appointment.
Just as others have said, I too found Alan to be knowledgeable and honest… clearly a hard working guy too. He explained what needed to be sone and why, and what I need done soon, and what I really don’t need to do yet even though I asked him to. (he explained why mazda 3’s don’t need 30k service so my worries about being at 36k were put to rest).
i will definitely be back!

I came here to get my left tail light fixed since it was out. Alan was super fast and friendly and it was done in approximately 30 minutes :). Prices are extremely reasonable

Alan has been taking care of my aging Toyota for a few years now. Mostly regular service — his regular care has kept me from having bigger problems (knock on wood!) He always tells me what needs to be done now, what needs to be done soon, and what can just plain wait. He has the work finished when he says he will and takes the time to let me know if he noted anything out of the ordinary. His prices are reasonable and he doesn’t try to sell me on work I don’t need. He knows how I drive, how I use my car, and recognizes that I want to keep it going for another 80,000 or so! If you need a good, neighborhood, reliable, trustworthy and friendly owner-​mechanic, you can’t go wrong with Alan and Motor City Automotive. And he’s walking distance from Jumpin’ Java, BART and Berkeley Bowl. You can’t beat that!

Big shocker — local mechanic saves me over a thousand dollars versus what my dealership would charge to fix a sunroof leak and a brake issue I had. Alan (the owner) also explains to me in extreme detail just exactly what is happening with my car, so that I can make an informed decision. For things that are easy for me to do myself, he spends a half hour talking and showing me and researching with me how to fix it… then gives me the extremely inexpensive resources for free instead of marking them up and tacking it on to my bill.
Suffice to say, I’ll be going back for check ups and whenever I have a problem. Alan is my first mechanic on my first car, and if I have my way I’ll never go to a dealership again.

Thank you Alan! I can’t believe I used to go back all the way to San Jose to get my car repaired. My rain-​shield wipers got stolen and I called in earlier to ask him whether he could help me or not. He said I needed to bring my car in to check the length of the wipers, so I did, a few minutes before closing time. Alan was super friendly and helpful towards a hopeless dummy at cars like myself. Not only did he quickly replace my windshield wipers, he also taught me a ton about my car and fixed other small broken parts. In the end, he stayed more than an hour past his closing time. I not only fixed my car’s problems and learned more about maintenance for my car, I also had a great talk with him about Berkeley’s past and his interesting life.
Thank you Alan! I’ll definitely be coming back here if I need to (hopefully not though.)

I never even realized this place was here, even though I lived right up the street from it for a whole year. My rear tire had a screw in it, and since I am totally automotive-​stupid, I was looking for someone to tell me if it was reparable.
Alan was totally cool, it took just a couple minutes to get my car up on the rack, and it turned out that the tire was beyond repair. He checked out my other tires, put on the spare for me, and gave me recommendations on where to get a new tire at a reasonable price. He was extremely knowledgable and friendly, and answered all my dumb questions without batting an eye. Thanks Alan!

I can’t say enough good things about this place. I literally walked in off the street and asked him if he could take a look at a vehicle for me. He was done in two hours, charged me a reasonable rate, and spent time explaining everything I needed to know. Because of this one fantastic experience, I now have every intention of being a hardcore loyal customer. Thank you, Alan!

Alan is great!
He has worked on my car twice now, and I have been happy both times. I first brought my car in after I bought it, because I heard a rattling noise coming from the engine. The first mechanic I brought it to tried to make me pay for a lot of things I didn’t actually need, was rude, and actually misdiagnosed the problem. But Alan thoroughly explained the problem to me (I needed a new water pump), and didn’t try to get me to pay for anything else, which didn’t actually need to be fixed anyway. He replaced my water pump quickly, did a good job and didn’t charge an outrageous amount.
I recently brought in my car again to fix my turn signal. It turned out to be a wiring problem, which he fixed, as well as mounting the lens, which had fallen out. He did this very quickly (just a couple of hours) and again, very reasonably priced.
Alan is a super nice guy, does great work, and won’t try to make you pay for anything you don’t need. I’d definitely recommend taking your car here for any kind of work that you need.

Best Automotive place that i have been to. I actually didn’t go there, but i sent my worker to drop off my truck and the guy called and set everything up and fixed everything in a day and he was very friendly and informative and the price was reasonable and i don’t feel ripped off. I guess i am extra happy because i hate going to new auto places because you really never know what you are going to get. Anyway, i think the guys name is Alan. He’s the man.

I just moved to the area and was nervous to go to a new mechanic but my belt had been SQUEAKY and I needed to get my car checked out. I braced myself to pay more than I cold afford to replace my belt. But nooo!
Alan (owner) explained I didn’t need a new belt. Actually he explained a lot more than that — way more than I could understand about my car but his point was: for now nothing needed to be fixed.
I have never had a mechanic save me money — ever!
Also, I think it is charming he wears a navy blue mechanic’s uniform with an «Alan» name patch sewed on the front. I mean he owns the place, it is not like anyone is requiring to wear a uniform.