Rino Fairfax Gas Station

It says in «Life’s Little Instruction Book» to maintain a good relationship to a neighborhood service station. Pick this one .They have always been consistently helpful over the years
Do good work and are friendly, honest and really help you. I just had a flat tire last night and am singing in a Concert so really needed my car working and they took care of it right away. Plus nice to spend the time in Fairfax rather than San Rafael.

I’ve been going here for years for a lot of different things from oil changes, to more complex mechanical work. They do a decent job for a shop in fairfax.
One time I did come here for an oil change and they put the oil pan screw back in incorrectly. All of the oil dumped out of the car while it was sitting there in their lot waiting for me to pick it up. It was just a really generic oil change on a Toyota, nothing complex. I took it back to them and the resolved the issue.
I kind of just use this place as a last resort.

I took my truck to get smogged last year at Rino. The truck needed some typical work done on the emissions system, the work was done and the truck passed the smog test, all is good, the truck ran perfectly. The next day the truck ran poorly. After taking it back the mechanic said it needed an exhaust manifold gasket. I was not convinced as it would or should have been noticed the day before. After taking it to two other places, two hundred dollars later, no one could find the problem.
Finally took it to a shop in Santa Rosa. They found a piece of felt or something like that inside the carb blocking the butterfly valve slightly which made the truck run poorly. Ok, someone left a piece of material that was used to clean the carb inside of it. Like when a surgeon leaves a sponge inside a patient, things happen. However, it was sloppy work in my opinion.
Now it gets weird:
I left a new Kindle reader in the glove compartment. After picking up the truck I noticed the Kindle was missing (I am not blaming Rino for the missing Kindle)
Leaving something worth stealing in the middle of Fairfax was an obvious mistake, i admit that and let it go. But, it kept nagging at me for months, so I went back just in case they put it aside for safekeeping.
After asking if they had put it aside for safekeeping (no they hadn’t) the mechanic said, and I quote «are you sure the work was done here, do you have the receipt for the work to prove we worked on the truck?» «Maybe you’re mistaken and the work was done down the street?» «When exactly did you bring the truck in for repair?» He tried to convince me I didn’t remember where I had the work done! I had never experienced anyone try to weasel out of responsibility like that before. I sort of smiled and thought how creative he was, rather than use some other lame excuse. This sort of behavior is not acceptable and makes it so I do not trust Rino auto repair.
Let the buyer beware.

These guys are always really kind and helpful. They don’t upsell. They provide great service. I’m planning on getting my 80k service done there soon. Watch this space.

Fast, thorough, 20-​ish minute oil change that was waay better than driving another 20 mins to San Rafael. Got to take care of some errands in Fairfax instead of being bored in the waiting room with the 5 yr old. Newer management keeps the good service vibe from the previous owners. Glad I stopped. Saved time, a little cash and gives to local biz.

I am not sure what I should think of the place… My car broke down in town on a Sunday 100 miles away from home, they are the only place open… I knew it was the alternator, so I asked in the local car part store if they have one, they told me they have to order it, so I just towed it to Rino and told them to fix it. The alternator in the store and in the internet is about 180 $, Rino charged me 400 $ and 200 labor… That was very disappointing because the people seemed to be very nice and helpful, but I can not shake the feeling that I clearly overpaid. Of course it was my decision to go there, they gave me a 600 $ estimate (but I was already back home and could not move the car etc). And it is a business, and they can charge what they want, and I guess I was a business opportunity, one day you win, one day you loose. It is like buying popcorn in the movies for 10 $, which costs you at home 20 cents. The repair was quick and the price matched their estimate.

Rino Automotive is a friendly, honest auto repair shop. All the employees are friendly and care about their work.
They have always diagnosed and fixed my car issues in a day or two. Work is good, never an issue with what they do. The mechanics, especially Tom will talk you through the work, show you the parts. Oil changes and smog testing are reasonable too.
The only time they turned down working on my car was when I had blown the head gasket and they wouldn’t repair the motor because they wouldn’t warranty it. At least they were honest.
I live in Fairfax and it’s nice to have such a great service in walking distance.

Only one experience with them so far, but 25 minutes for a smog certificate, from start to driving out of the lot? With the basics (oil level, coolant, etc.) checked out? Awesome.
Nice family business. They seem honest, direct, friendly and warm. They carry a line of locally-​manufactured automotive oils (Amtecol) that are a little-​known but cost-​effective and very high quality product. Who would have thought?
I’m happy to have folks like this in our community. I’ll be back. Soon.

I don’t know about price but they are a privately owned friendly local business.

i really hate writing bad reviews, especially for family-​owned businesses.
however, i am so disappointed by my experience at rino that i feel compelled. kind of a f*ck me gently with a chainsaw type experience.
first off, the positive: service was great. everyone was very friendly and simply lovely.
i have an old 95 bmw 325is that i was changing the oil on and getting ready to give to my mom since we converted to a one car, one truck family (yay, fixers). i decided sort of last minute that i needed to change the oil before i gave the car to her, so today i called and took my car in.
and the negative:
when i got there, i asked them how much an oil change was. they couldn’t answer me right away, which i found strange. i mean… an oil change is an oil change, right? i understand there are variances in price for synthetic vs normal oil but beyond that, isn’t it usually a pretty set range?
anywho, she came back to me with a quote of 60 bucks! what?! i usually pay $ 30, i told her. she tells me that the oil filter itself is $ 20 dollars. now, i have to tell you that i’m impatient so i just waved it off and said, «fine, just do it.» while i’m waiting, i google the oil filter for my car and find out they’re more like 5 bucks. um, ok. mark-​up, i guess?
so, after about 20 minutes, i come back and they’re finishing up with the car. the nice lady at the counter says, «your car took 7 quarts of oil! so, it’s going to be $ 72 dollars.» WHAT?! since when does a flippin’ oil change cost $ 72? absolutely insane. whatever. i just got a great new job, a house and a car so why the heck not flush some money down the commerce rapist that is the fairfax toilet? don’t get me wrong, i love fairfax but everything in my adorable new town is overpriced beyond belief. including oil changes. so, if you don’t car about your money go ahead and go here. they’re super nice but they are incredibly overpriced.

Gianni Ferraro’s Rino service station is as good as it gets. The owners are honest and friendly, their prices are fair and they really stand behind the work they do. I take my precious 15 year old Toyota there for small jobs or large ones. They rebuilt my transmission and my car is running better than ever. Satisfaction guaranteed!

I’m so sold on this place.
The owners are super friendly, the service is prompt and professional, and, as Stacey said, they are family run and very honest. I generally come here for tire service and smaller repairs (larger repairs can get rather expensive), and I’ve never had to wait a long time, even when there are many other customers. There’s a reason nearly everyone in Fairfax loves Rino.

This is a small, family run garage. They always give the best service and are so honest. They often show me what they are doing so I know they aren’t replacing parts that work or billing for things they didn’t do. If you want a mechanic you can trust, a bill you can afford and to be treated well, then this is your garage. There’s also no attitude when you drive in with a modest car.

I was dissappointed. I read the reviews and called them to have a simple 50,000 mile service on my car. The lady who answered sounded friendly and made an appointment for me to drop off the car.
When I got there, she wasn’t around and the guy at the counter seemed really confused. I had to go through a lot of detail with him to explain what I wanted and then when I asked him for a price he estimated $ 200-​$ 250, way more than what I expected.
I went down the street to another place and they only charged me $ 130 and were much more professional.
They probably do good work and maybe it would not have cost as much as the guy estimated, he really didn’t seem to know what he was talking about, but they seemed really disorganized and unprofessional.

Great Service! But most important is that they are honest and know how to fix your car. They are much better than the dealers. Very, very good!
Highly Reccomend!

the service was fast, they did not try to sell me anything or take advantage of the fact that i’m a «little girl that doesn’t know anything about cars». And the oil change was cheap! $ 30 after tax…

I think this is the first oil change I have ever had without trying to be sold extra crap that I don’t really need (think jiffy lube).
With tax the total was $ 30.79 which is pretty impressive for this area. Service was impeccible and fast (less than 20 minutes) I felt comfortable and non intimidated by the auto know it all types. A very nice woman was running the show, they were going to close in half an hour but went ahead and did ours without any hassle.
I will be going back Monday for this infamous California Smog Check, I will keep you posted.
update: I had a smog check today and in less than half an hour and $ 78 later I was finished! The employees were super nice, again! Thanks for the great service.