University Imports Automotive

SCAM ARTISTS
My 2000 Passat overheated and I took it in for a diagnostic on a Thursday. Despite the fact that a cooling system diagnostic is listed as $ 70 on the front board, Karin quoted me $ 250 saying that the extra would go into repairs.
I didn’t hear from the shop until the following Tuesday, when Karin told me my car required $ 2500-​$ 3800 in repairs. He said he could get it patched up well enough for me to get it home, but never suggested that this «service» would cost me anything extra (i drove it to the shop just fine, I live around the corner).
When I picked up my car, Karin gave me NO update on cost whatsoever. He simply asked for payment. It wasn’t until I saw him running the card that I realized HE CHARGED ME $ 365.
I am a single woman living on the other side of the country from my family. Karin took advantage of my disempowerment and charged as much as he could once he realized I wasn’t paying for the $ 2500 repair. Disgusting.

We have taken my college daughter’s car to this shop twice — once for brakes, and another for sensors. We have verified prices and service against our normal mechanic in So California as a precaution, especially since I am flipping the bill from far away. Both times the shop has performed well and the prices have been the same or less. They seem trustworthy, and appear to stand behind their work. We will continue to use this shop. I appreciate they have not taken advantage of my daughter, but then again she can handle herself pretty well.

A really reliable place to take your car! We’ve had two older Subarus and have had to have work, smog, and the used car check here. They are very intelligent, experienced people (who don’t like to have their time wasted so be on time). They give very honest advice and charge a fair price. i go out of my way to bring my car here, the skill level and honest assessments cannot be beat.

Very sad to see a company in Davis that does not care about customer service. I went down in person to rent a car from them. The reason I went in person is because they’re auto message said that «they’re busy.» If you leave a message you basically won’t hear back from them. WHAT THEY DON“T SAY ON THEIR MESSAGE IS THAT THEY’RE CLOSED from 12 — 1 for lunch.
So, the gentleman eventually comes out and says he works 12 hours a day and to come back at 1pm. I told him I came all the way from West Davis because they’re message says to come in person.
Won’t be renting from them.

I am very happy with the service I received at University Imports Automotive. I normally take my car to the dealership for service, but my son in law recommended UIA. I think my car runs better than ever. The owner of UIA communicated with me through each step of the process, and his prices are much better than the dealership would have charged.

I’ll leave a more detailed review in time. but for now, I say this: I’ve been bringing my car to University Imports since 2005 and they’ve always serviced my car with care, treated me with respect, and complete, unadulterated honesty. They will prescribe the best options for the price– and will do their best to save you money at every chance. They want just the best and what’s safe for you.
More on this later.

NIghtmare!
They will rent you a super old car that will break down and you will have to pay for towing at your own expenses. It happened to me 2 times.
They will try to sell you a $ 800 car for $ 4500! A rip off and an abuse of someone in need!
Bad business, lack of trust, without contacting you they will come «repo» the car at your home, then when you go drive the car to go work. It’s gone! Then they will try to collect $ 2000 from you for «pick up costs», «fees».
They are crooks!
Employee Shannon is a very sour person and her customer service skills are poor, very poor.
Stay away!

I had my BMW318i repaired again last week 04Feb2015. This time it didn’t start even though the fuel pump had been replaced a year ago and the vehicle had fuel. Karan and team diagnosed that it was a crankshaft position sensor that needed replacement. He also changed the oil to remove some fuel that had mixed with the oil and the vehicle starts instantly and runs super smoothly now. They also recommended replacing the accelerator cable and badly-​worn wipers, He even reset the oil service light (without being asked to do so) which requires a special electronic tool and most shops completely forget to do this! I am now back on the road. Totals service cost with the extras was ~ $ 500. If you want fast, honest service from an experienced BMW repair shop, contact Karan at University Imports Automotive. Thanks again UIA!

University Imports Automotive (UIA) is an outstanding business. For about three years, we’ve been taking a VW and a Volvo to UIA. Both are well out of warranty. Karan has always been careful to distinguish between repairs that are necessary and ones that are not. He seems very knowledgeable about these cars and has been very helpful in answering questions.
UIA’s fleet of loaner cars is another compelling reason to take your car here. First, it’s very convenient. Second, the cars kind of showcase UIA’s effectiveness at keeping these cars in quite good shape. The loaner cars all seem to have over 150K miles on them. I recently borrowed one that had 250K on it and ran just fine. I want my car worked on by the shop that can do that.

I took my VW and my BMW to Karan for several years and thought that he was overall honest and a nice guy, though a little fuzzy on estimates and details of costs at times. As his business has grown, the quality of the repair, and his attitude to his customers, has gone way down to the point that I would *happily* drive to Sacramento.
After giving him thousands of dollars of business (perhaps 15k), the final straw came, when it took three visits to simply get the right light fixture installed. On the third attempt, and hours away from work, I finally asked that he simply return my original payment. When no other customers were around, he lit into me in a way that was extremely disrespectful and defensive. He literally blamed the «color-​blindness» of his mechanic. This is consistent with what others on this site have said. Don’t be fooled by his soft-​spoken demeanor – this is not a place that truly values your service – look around at the non-​existent waiting area. My guess is that his operation has gotten too big for his management skills and for his mechanics.
It saddens me to write this as I recommended him to several people over the years. No longer. I can completely understand the positive and negative reviews. Think Jekyll and Hyde. However, if you need an emergency item or oil change, etc., he’s fine. If you need serious work I’d recommend another place.

RIPOFF ARTIST
I had taken my car to UI and clearly told him I needed to replace headlight and parking light covers. Imagine when I show up 2 hours later to find that he had merely polished the existing covers. I had never mentioned polishing. For $ 150 I could have cleaned the lights myself. STAY AWAY!

Refused to correct faulty workmanship.
Poorly trained service people. Professional qualifications questionable.
Car is usually not ready when promised. Impossible to reach by telephone.
Delivered vehicle and it broke down within one mile. They recovered the car and it for several days yet again for the same original problem.
Nearly as expensive as the dealer, who actually have trained mechanics.
Primary electric fuse was soldered instead of replacing the less than $ 5 part caused total engine failure on a bridge late in the evening. Offered no explanation.
Refusal to correct faulty workmanship now makes us refer to legal for options.

Now I don’t usually write reviews on Unilocal,but I made an account just for the sake of discussing this auto repair shop. I went in there to fix a coolant leak and it was easy to tell which hose was leaking. They gave me an estimate of 79 when i went there in person however later on the day they called me and told me it would cost 350 to fix a hose because they had to pressurize the hoses to find the leak and they did a coolant flush and all that. Still don’t believe this was a 350 dollar fix but I had no choice as break started already and I had plan to be back home but was stuck in Davis 3 days after break started so I had to pay the outrageous price. I also asked them what type of coolant they put in my Volkswagen as my car only takes G12 coolant or anyone of its variations (G12++, G13). His response to me was it was it was «a Gold series coolant for European cars, ya know BMW, Audi, VW, etc. In which i responded «G12++?» With a smirk on his face he said «No, it’s actually better». Now I don’t understand what coolant could be better than G12++ for my VW, when it is designed to run ONLY on G12++ (or G13). Now I know it wasn’t a coolant my car was designed to operate with as G12++ is pink in color and whatever he decided was okay to throw in my car was yellow. When you put a coolant your car wasn’t designed to run with, you’ll end up doing serious damage to your engine and cooling system so needless to say when I finally got home I flushed that crud out asap, and put in G12++.
P. S. only reason why this place gets two stars is because they worked fast to get my car «fixed»

Expert diagnostician. He can fix anything, but will advise against
repairs that are not cost effective.
Stood behind work. Replaced transmission on my car, when it
failed, not his fault, the transmission’s fault replaced it without even
a shipping charge.
Creative solution finder. When my Prius side window mirror broke,
all Toyota could offer was a $ 400 replacement, for about $ 50
he simply replaced the mirror glass.

I really wanted to believe that this was a great place and a good local resource. Karan, the owner, knows cars and knows what he is talking about. He will even help you over the phone if you break down. Hence, I am including a second star.
However, there seems to be a disconnect between Karan and the auto mechanics in the back. I had University imports automotive fix a problem with my vehicle. I was able to drive it around for about a month when the same problem cropped up again. When I took it back, they blamed it on the cheap parts that they used and re-​did the work but forgot to bolt on some critical supporting plates. This was a complete blunder and needless to say, I broke down again. After taking it back for a third try with the same result, I decided I would take it to a different mechanic. He fixed the problem and my vehicle has been running fine ever since.

I have been going to Karan (owner) for nearly 9 years since I was a student at UCD with a really old Volvo. I now have a newer car and still choose to use him for everything. I was even living in Sacramento for a while and STILL chose to bring my car to him in Davis.
Karan and his team work to evaluate and fix your car in a timely manner. They don’t bullsh*t or beat around the bush when it comes to your car. If you’re on a budget, Karan works with you to do what is absolutely necessary and gives you suggestions for everything else. If you need a car while yours is in the shop, he has extras for you to borrow! For free!
And one of the greatest qualities of this place that speaks to the character of Karan, is that despite how busy a business owner can get, he’s always the one to call, answer emails, and do paperwork with you. No matter how long it’s been since I brought my car in last, HE REMEMBERS. He remembers my car, what he did to it last, and he remembers what still needs to be done! No car problem is too small or too big for this place and I highly recommend brining your car here!
University Imports Automotive understands that people don’t have loads of money to spend willy nilly on their car. They work with you on any budget and they genuinely care about the lifetime and longevity of your car. This is a place you can trust.

Please BEWARE of this so called repair shop. I took my mercedes in for motor mounts and bushings. They managed to destroy the front sub frame of the car. It had to be replaced. Ended up calling BAR, Bureau of Automotive repair. could have gone to court but lawyers are way too much for this, thus I got ripped off. I got less than 2000.00 back from them but it still cost 10 000.00 to repair at mercedes. Please go elsewhere. These people do not know what to do? Very flaky and not very honest.
Please BEWARE!!!

I love this place. Very honest. great work. I couldnt ask for a better shop to take my finiky car.

Karan is a honest and competent mechanic. He’s also an excellent business person. Karan sets expectation upfront. He does not overpromise, but he does overdeliver. Best of all, he really cares about this employees, who are terrific at their job and have been with Karan for more than a decade. Chris is the cool guy who diagnosed and test drove my car.
Highly highly recommended!

My sister has been taking her VW here for a couple of years now, since I’ve been too far away to help her (I’m a VW nut).
According to another review, Bob (the owner) is competent, honest, and reliable — well, that’s exactly how I would describe him. Fair prices too.