Auto Headquarter

I’m so lucky I live so close to this place. Kevin is the only person I trust with my BRZ.

Had a headlight out on my 2007 WRX. They got me in immediately and changed the bulb for free. Seems like these guys just love cars!

I live in the East Bay and I am willingly driving to Mountain View (an hour long drive) to service my WRX STI. I have recently returned for oil change and flushing of the brake fluids. From my recent track day at Thunderhill, I boiled the brake fluids (Motul RBF600). Not fun to do. The brake pedal was to the floor with very minimal, to no braking pressure, that it is barely slowing down the car. Lesson learned to better my braking skills to avoid such on-​track problems in the future.
Kevin, as always, performed a job well done. My brakes are performing better with fresh fluid; this time around with the Torque RT700. And with the fresh engine oil (Rotella T6), car is running smooth.
I’m a fan of Auto HQ!

This shop came highly recommended by other car enthusiasts so I decided to stop by. The owner Kevin was very welcoming and was open to diagnosing my vehicle and making recommendations. I have been back to this shop 3 times now and each time they were very thorough, explained each situation, and did quality work. Kevin has went out of his way to explain anything I had questions about. I feel that this shop is very honest, has reasonable rates, and has very knowledgeable mechanics. I highly recommend this shop, great work Auto HQ!

I haven’t taken my car to a shop in five years because I can’t find one that’s run by decent people. THIS IS THE BEST SHOP I’VE EVER BEEN TO. The owner stayed late to check out my car, gave me an in-​depth response of what had happened to the car the next day and also was the only shop around that actually understands Subarus. I took it to another shop before this and they couldn’t even find the turbo, and then AH tracked down my low performance issue with my 05 OBXT in less than 30 minutes.
Great people, awesome shop, honest work, Subaru Guru’s. What more could you ask for?

This shop hits all the right chords:
* Excellent, attentive customer service
* Knowledgeable staff
* Honest estimates
* Extremely competitive rates
* Excellent follow up care
I’ve taken my Fiat 500 Abarth to these guys twice.
Even though Kevin’s team specializes in Suburu and other Japanese vehicles, they worked on my Fiat and did the research necessary to make sure the job was done right.
Trip 1:
I wanted to get a blowoff valve installed because I like the cool noise they make. I wasn’t aware it could affect engine performance. Kevin explained that the change in air pressure could cause the engine to run lean or rich, and that it wasn’t a good idea to have it installed. He made a special trip to meet me at the shop to talk to me and explain the role the BOV plays in a turbo engine’s performance, and said he would install the aftermarket BOV if I really wanted it, but he wouldn’t recommend it.
How many mechanics will advise against something you want done that they know is bad for the engine?
I was really impressed.
Trip 2:
I wanted to upgrade the suspension in my car, so I talked to the staff at Euro Compulsion, the guys who provide the tuning maps for my ECU to find out what suspension components they recommend, bought the components, and asked Kevin’s team to install them.
Kevin talked with me over email. He verified I had all the right parts and scheduled a time to bring the car in. He let me drop the car off before the shop opened and drop the key for them in the mail slot. As he was working on the car throughout the day, he kept me updated via email and asked me about options for setting the coil-​overs.
At the end of the day, my partner, who is a CEO, didn’t have time to take me to pick up the car. Kevin again made a special, late trip after the shop had closed to give me the key and follow up with useful information after the install.
Kevin advised me that an alignment needed to be done right away to prevent tire wear, and recommended a shop in Milpitas. He explained how each of the suspension components work together and why it was important to get the alignment.
The next day Kevin emailed to ask about the ride quality of my car.
The level of service and quality of work Kevin and his team do is unusually good.

One of the few shops I will trust with my STI. I’ve only been here a handful of times, but have been really happy with the service I’ve received. The owners have been working on Subarus for a very long time, so you know your car is in good hands here. I’ve only had minor work done here, but for any service or performance installations I do in the future I’ll be taking my car here. A fine establishment, I’m super impressed.
UPDATE 5÷1÷15: I’ve been coming to Auto HQ for over a year now and am really impressed at the attention to detail and quality of work. Kevin is an incredible mechanic and I’ve referred friends to AutoHQ because I’ve been so impressed with his work. In my eyes, certainly the best Subaru shop in town.

I’ve been coming to Kevin and team continuously for 6 years now and every time i get the quality services i’ve been looking for. It may be time to retire my 04 wrx due to upcoming repair costs but knowing the team is capable of maintaining my baby i might just go ahead and fix it. Its hard to find trustworthy repair shops and more importantly trustworthy people.

It’s hard to find a honest and trustworthy mechanic. I have been coming to Auto Headquarter for a few years now, It’s like having a friend who always look after your best interest when it comes to maintaining your cars. It might not be the biggest, closest, or fanciest but I always drive away with full confidence and know I was charge fairly. Beside the basic maintenances, they are also experts in modification and tuning.

I recently had a HKS coil over installed on my 94 RX7. I came to Kevin for suspension tuning. As usual, his attention to detail was beyond expectation. Kevin first re torqued all nuts and bolts to ensure safety and reliability. He then took his time to understand my driving habits so he could find the optimal setting for both the street and tracking setting not just a cookie approach like many on the market. After the tuning, the car handled just like the way I would imagine. The suspension feedback had well communicated. If you looking for quality and real professional work custom tailored to your needs, Kevin and his crews at AHQ is the place to be.

Everything about this shop is awesome. Kevin and his team are head and shoulders above any other shop in the Bay Area. Whenever I take my STi in for service I know I’m getting quality work at a fair price. Kevin is an über Subaru mechanic — super knowledgeable, trustworthy and fair. My STi is 6 years old and Kevin is great at inspecting my car and letting me know in advance the work that I will need down the line. With Kevin and Auto Headquarter, I feel that my STi will run for another 6 years! I can’t say enough good things about Kevin and Auto Headquarter.

Amazing service, honest, and reliable. Kevin and team are the best Subaru gurus up North in regards to inspection, repair and performance.
I scheduled ahead to bring in my car to diagnose a smog failure – the car was running too rich. Upon arriving, I was met by Tony and Kevin. Kevin went straight to diagnosing the car. I also asked him questions on performance upgrades, and he provided me sage advice on how to proceed.
With a quick look of the engine bay, Kevin explained in detail, the issues I faced and what I could do to fix them. I was humbled and enthused by Kevin’s passion for cars – the unique thing about Auto Headquarter is that Kevin is a knowledgeable mechanic but backs that knowledge with performance experience. 5-​stars

Kevin the owner is the most detailed and honest mechanic you can find. Not only he is very knowledgable keeping up with the industry update and technology, Kevin takes time to ensure things get done right not taking any shortcuts.

This review is for service done several months ago.
Here is what I know:
Took my 2012 Subaru Impreza in for its 30k service. Read the Unilocal reviews and felt that I would get quality service at a good price.
When I went to pick up my car, the first thing I was told was that the nothing was done to the transmission because it was not in spec’d for this service. I thought it was odd that I was being told specifically about this but did not give it too much thought.
Shortly after this service, while on my way to and from Lake Tahoe, the AT OIL TEMP light came on. This had never happened before. I had not taken my car on a longer trip prior so I thought maybe driving up the hills worked the CVT a bit harder than normal. I made it back fine and took the Subie in to the dealer as it was still under warranty to check it out. I was told by the dealer that the issue could not be duplicated and that there were no error codes being given.
I continued to drive my car and the AT OIL TEMP light would come on. It happened when I drove up certain grades or when I was driving 70+mph for 10 – 15 minutes or longer. If I stopped the car for a few minutes or got off the freeway and drove on city streets, the light would turn off.
This has gone on for 30k miles (my car has just under 60k) and I chalked it up to a quirk. The car was fine other than that.
I took my car to the dealer today for a different issue (still under warranty) and while there I talked to the service advisor about the ongoing AT OIL TEMP light problem. Its happened everyday for the past 4 days and I made it a point to get it documented (again) by Subaru incase more issues came up.
I was told today that after not being able to duplicate the problem (of course not, the car needs to be driven for at least 15 minutes at speed) they decided to check the fluid.
Apparently, the AT OIL in my car DOES NOT APPEAR to be the fluid that Subaru puts in its cars. It appears to be «gear oil» is what I was told.
WTF?!?
I am not saying this was done by Auto HQ.
I am just telling you what happened and when it started.
Prior to the 30K service my car never had a warning light go off.
After 30K service I got that one light all the time… the AT OIL TEMP light.
I will be picking up my car today and will monitor the AT OIL TEMP light.
I will edit this post as needed as time goes on.

Simply the best Subaru mechanic in the Bay Area, there’s really no competing with Kevin.
I used to go to his shop in Redwood City; however this new location is bigger, better located (I live in Sunnyvale) and looks as professional as can be.
And as a Subaru owner, how can you not like pulling up to 10 – 20 WRX/​STis at any given time? Highly recommended. Don’t settle for mediocre work on your prized possession. Give your Subaru the TLC it deserves.

Very experience, thorough and friendly shop. The crew really knows Subaru. On top on that, their price is way better than the dealership. You won’t regret bring your car here.