Unique Automotive

I have been taking my car here for an oil change for years now and more recently thought to get my brake pads, rotors, and wheel bearings replaced (front) and my usually oil change. When I received the car back I thought it drove great.
Fast forward ONE MONTH later… My brakes feel spongy and I start hearing a sound coming from my wheels (the same wheel bearing sound I heard a month ago that made me decide to get them fixed).
On Wednesday, July 26^th, boyfriend and I took the car in and made sure that they were going to fix the problem without charging and the guy there said I would NOT be charged.
It’s now Saturday, day four of continuous calling and checking up on my car and they say it’s finished. They NEVER called me about what was going on or that it was even ready to be picked up! I had to call everyday!
Mind you. Everyday I called they said yes we’re still working on it and the part wasn’t packed with grease right and blah blah blah! Main thing is IT WAS NOT MY FAULT that they installed a bad part.
The guy over the phone said if anyone talked to me about how much everything was going to be and I told him no?! I was told I was not going to have to pay for something that was their fault. He then said well we spent three hours working on it! So they have to charge me at least two hours of labor. First off, I am not paying for their mistake and I wanna know why they kept my car for FOUR DAYS for three hours of work?
So now I’m being asked to pick my car up on Monday instead of today, Saturday because the manager will be in.
I’ll update this after I pick it up. If they give me any problems I’m taking this to small claims court. And trust, I did save my receipts and I am a witness to my boyfriend’s conversation about not having to pay.

My mom, sister, and I took the family bucket to get a smog check done. We went in 100+ degree heat.
We waited for probably an hour for them to do a smog check. It shouldn’t even take that long! But I think the guy doing the smog check was enjoying our AC the way the seat was positioned. We were suffering in their little hut of a front office while they took their sweet little time enjoying the AC. :(
My dad swears by this place and says that they offer competitive pricing. But they were more expensive than this other place I went to near Yo Sushi for a different car. And the other place took less than 20 minutes!
But at least they got the smog check done and there were no problems.

I would have given them 5-​stars if not for a pretty significant issue I had when bringing my car here.
I called in advance to make sure they could replace the wiring adapters for new headlights I purchased. They told me they could. I then reiterated that they’d need to change the adapters that the light bulbs plug into. Again, they told me they could do it. I said ok and they explained if I bring my car in I can pick it up the next day if that works for me.
I bring my car in for a tune-​up and replacement of headlights (that I brought in). I receive a call the next day in the morning and I’m told «we don’t mess with anything electrical.» I obviously tell them I explicitly informed them over the phone that I needed this done, otherwise there was no point in me bringing my car to their shop and that I would have scheduled this work elsewhere if they had been honest about whether or not they do this type of service.
I have to bring my car in elsewhere for the headlights. The tune-​up was completed and it was a very reasonable cost. My suggestion to anyone is if you need simple or common services or repairs go here for a low cost solution. If you need anything beyond changing a belt and some spark plugs, I would suggest looking elsewhere for a more complete shop because even if they tell you they can do it it doesn’t mean they will.

They’re easy to deal with and will give you fair prices, negotiable too. Pretty affordable for me, and they get the job done!

My car had a check engine light on and was due for a registration SMOG check so after reading great reviews here I took it in late one afternoon. I wanted a SMOG shop that did repairs so that I could kill two birds with one stone.
They diagnosed that the O2 sensor was bad then unsuccessfully attempted, for at least an hour, to remove it. It was froze up and the manifold would have to be heated up to break it loose. They asked me to come back early on another day so that they could spend more time with it.
A couple of days later I rolled in, at about 8:30am, to a full parking lot and the immediate feeling that they wouldn’t be able to get to it «today». Since I don’t live in Fairfield, they gave me the name of the muffler shop, they work with, so that I could have the sensor replaced there and didn’t charge me a dime for the hour they spent a day earlier!
The muffler shop was successful in replacing the sensor and I discovered that quality businesses work with other quality businesses. Even though Unique Automotive was not able to fix my car at that time they made sure it would be taken care of.
Be advised! This is a very busy shop due to the excellent services they provide so getting in there before they open the door at 8am might be necessary.

i’ve been meaning to shoot these guys a review for a while now. i’ve been coming here for a little over 2 years now.
at first the review was gonna be «i had a really good experience here, they were super friendly and got the job done, they even rigged my loose bumper with some wire! i’d definitely come back…»
but then i came back and it was gonna be all «been here twice now they’ve knocked it out of the park AGAIN. super personable staff. great prices, minimal waits… i think i’ve found an automotive place to call home.»
but now, very near a dozen visits under my belt, here is the official review: these guys get it done. i’ve dealt with salvadore a bunch of times and that guy has always taken care of me… to the point where he gets concerned that i’m not checking my fluids! (hey, i’m busy, i just don’t always have time to be keeping up with that stuff… dont’ judge) i’ve dealt with a couple other gentlemen who’s names i’m not familiar with, but i assure you everyone who’s working that front desk is cut from the same ultra-​personable cloth. if ever i have an automotive problem that needs attention in either of my cars, i know exactly where i’m going.
thanks dudes.

My sister took her car there before going to Tahoe to have it checked. They told her it was in perfect shape except for the reservoir for the radiator. When replacing it they broke the valve and the radiator (only a year old) was ruined. We know this because she had it checked with the person who installed the radiator. When she contacted them they not only refused to acknowledge they did anything wrong but were very rude about it. Thinking she would be able to resolve the issue with the owner she went back and he too gave her the run-​around. Hard to believe that they did not make a mistake when the radiator was fine when they took the car in and broken the next day. She ended up taking the car somewhere else and buying a new radiator. I am disappointed because I thought I had found a good shop but will not return there.

I tried this business due to the great reviews here on Unilocal,glad I did. I got a reasonable quote for a front brake job on Honda Accord, but being that I wanted to do the job myself… I just requested the rotors to be machined. price = Good, Quality of work = Good
Recommended = Yes

The first time I took my beater here I had the usual maintenance deal done, tuneup and basic oil change. I also had them take a look at why my coolant levels drained like every other day. They’ve discovered that there was a big crack in the radiator portion where the hose attachment was seated.
So they gave me a quote (broken down to parts and labor) and I had them replace the radiator. After the work was done Alberto, the tech that worked on the replacement install, showed me the old radiator and said that it was one of them cheap radiators where the attachment was made of hard plastic and not metal so therefore it eventually cracked and crumbled under heat and pressure. I really appreciated his honesty, after all he was absolutely right on the money as I opted for an el cheapo solution the last time it was replaced at a different shop.
On my second visit here I had to bring the beater in as it failed on a couple of test-​only emissions reading, which meant it had to be fixed or I couldn’t register it with DMV unless it completely passed the overall SMOG test. Again Alberto saved the day! They made the necessary adjustments to fix the one reading that was off and he had me pick up this bottle of guaranteed smog pass formula to add to the fuel tank and that worked to pass the other remaining emissions test dilemma! Otherwise, the next suggested option would have been to replace a catalytic converter and fuel filter and that would have cost me an arm and a leg.
I strongly believe that it’s mandatory to have a go-​to auto repair shop close to home that you can trust and count on.
These guys were awesome, honest, efficient and no BS…

i never give 5 stars… never!!! but i am really satisfied with this shop!!! I’ve gone couple of times for different things that my car needed. the first time i went i needed my breaks changed and i made a simple comment to the service writer that i had an appointment and was hoping i got there on time and he was so nice to make sure the job was done good and fast so my car was out of there in a jiffy!!!
second time i went my car was a making a noise, i have an old car OK! :/​and they did a diagnostic, told me what the problem was and asked me if i wanted to do it without charging me for the diagnostic which i know many places that do charge for that!
i recommend this shop to anyone! they are quick and family owned! definitely a must go! thank you guys!!! number one fan!

these guys have taken over a former quality shop and so far i am impressed. a few months ago i dropped my truck off for an oil change and misread their hours sign (they close at 4 pm!!!) i arrived a bit late, but someone stayed and let me get my truck. then today i brought my truck over after i failed a smog test and asked for help. the mechanic took a look at the results and right off the bat told me what needed to be fixed and guided me in the direction of a shop to get it done. the testing facility was gonna charge me $ 120 bucks to «discover» what was wrong and send me somewhere else. but these guys did it for free! i absolutely will bringing my cars back there and helping this locally owned business.

The guys that work here are super fast and friendly. I don’t worry about waiting because they dont waste my time.
Even though I’ve only been here for oil changes, it’s always reassuring to go to people who are honest.
I really recommend the survice of this place