Bob’s Almaden Transmission

I have a 1999 Ford F250 that needed new front ball joints. Upper and lower. I was quoted $ 1,500 by one shop in Hayward, $ 1300 by a Diesel shop in Concord and $ 1,200 (that turned in $ 1,700!!! during which they couldn’t tell me why it went up almost 50%…before I told them NO) by a truck repair shop in San Mateo, that has a typical Irish name.
After a friend recommended Bob’s they did the whole job, plus front end alignment AND new sway bar links for less than HALF what Murr…, I mean, the truck shop in San Mateo wanted to charge. AND they did a great job, on time, at the estimated cost. I’m a fan. Definitely using them as my got-​to shop from now on.
They clearly know what they’re doing from estimate to completion.

Bob and rebuilt two transmissions for me
1 for a Ford f350 40,000 miles so far two years.
1 for Ford Thunderbird 20,000 miles so far one year.
working good I’m very happy with the service in the price
Thanks Bob

I brought my 2006 Dodge Ram into Bobs to get warranty work. I was going to bring it to Normandin Dodge but they said it would be 2 weeks at least, so I saw all the positive reviews here on Unilocal and was promised 4 day turn around. Well he got it moving again in 4 days, and then I took it back 4 times for overheating, leaking. It never worked right, it would over heat and just felt weird. On the fifth call to Bobs Bob himself told me its old and that’s just how it is… Well at this point I took it to another shop that I was referred to by Cummins West and they put a code reader on it and in seconds said the hydraulic presser was too low, so the torque converter was not grabbing causing it to overheat. Long story short the other shop put in a new valve body, other parts and adjusted the bands that where not adjusted correctly for $ 2119.80.
I took this bill from the other shop to Bob and here wrote me a check for the $ 2119.80 and told this voids my warrantee. Nice no warrantee, thanks Bob!
I wish I had never walked into Bob’s Almaden Transmission, I should have gone to Normandin Dodge my deductible would have been the same $ 200, and I would have gotten a Chrysler rebuilt transmission with a 3 year warrantee.
I have no Idea how Bob got this great Unilocal rating but if I where you I would think twice before letting bob touch your car or truck.

I know a lot about computers but NOTHING about cars.
Thank you Bob, Steve and the rest of the staff for your honesty, knowledge and hard work getting my Tundra back on the road. Even with the flu hitting your staff, your service was great!

Reasons for the high rating: Called and received same day appointment. Price was fair and staff was knowledgeable, courteous, and friendly.

This place was recommended by a co-​worker when I was in a pinch. I called and they told me to come on in that same day. I was helped (although the news was not good) by two nice gentlemen (so nice that I feel bad to not remember their names!) and would return if I needed to.

Bob’s Almaden Transmission is the place to go for any auto repair… the crew is VERY knowledgeable and extremely helpful… I have always worked in my stuff, built many cars and bikes and when I could no longer do it anymore I’m extremely happy I discovered Bob’s…Take it from a long time motor head… this is a go to place for any auto repair… kudos to crew at Bob’s.

I first came to this shop after Morrow’s automotive in Los Gatos closed. Steve Morrow recommended Bob’s and he was correct. Bob, Steve, and all the rest of the guys have been very helpful, courteous, and honest. You ask them to check something and they don’t try to sell you something you do not need. The pricing seems to be very fair and you only pay for what you need.
They have serviced my diesel Excursion as well as my Lexus RX 450h and although the diesel has been cranky lately they have been right on it.
I highly recommend them for all types of service not just transmissions

Bob’s Almaden Transmission was highly recommended! I called first thing in the morning to see his availability and to discuss the issues that was occurring.
Yesterday, I was out shopping with the family and my truck wouldn’t shift properly and wouldn’t drive in Drive. I called a few of the guys and they all said go see Bob.
Once I arrived with AAA, I got it towed, I was greeted out on the street by Steve. I gave him the run down and he scanned my truck for codes once it was in the shop.
First thing I noticed as I walked into the shop, was how clean and organized it was!
I met Bob, another Marine! We chopped it up… Like Marines do!
I ended up getting a solenoid replaced. The mechanic checked all of the fluids, tire pressure once he was done with the tranny.
Bob stated it’s a state law to check the tires whenever a vehicle leaves a shop.
Everybody here is respectful and polite.
Give them a call!

Bob has been working on my vehicles since he was a little puppy right out of high school and I have experienced nothing but honesty and integrity in his work and in the style of which he runs his business. Nothing but FIVE STARS, you will not be disappointed! I have also dealt with Steve Morrow in the past and I have nothing but good experiences with him as well, from the time he owned his own shop to now at Bob’s where he runs the Office and Service areas.
The shop is clean and orderly and the office/​waiting area is immaculate. This shows that the owner Bob actually CARES about what he is doing, also makes it a thousand times easier to get the work done when you know where your tools are!

Just picked up my sons Ford Ranger from Bobs. The engine blew up and I had Bobs place rebuild the engine. Bob sent it out to a machine shop to get rebuilt. Bought it in to get the oil changed and Bobs noticed a leak from main seal. Sent back to Vendor who rebuilt the engine. They said it was the oil pan and fixed it. Back to us and its still leaking. Bob ordered a new oil pan and put it on and noticed the main seal leaking. Bob replaced the seal and pan at no charge. The machine shop passed the buck and messed us both around. Bob took care of it and made it right in the end. One reason I take stuff to Bobs. I can trust the work is properly done and if there are issues I know Bob and his staff will make it right.

All we can say is if you need your transmission repaired or rebuilt take it to Bob! We took our truck to our regular mechanic who we won’t be going back to and got a referral to come see Bob. He is honest, straight forward and does a great job. I can see why he has been in business as long as he has and why we will be life long customers!

I started going to Bob’s a few years back and was there again this week. I trust the integrity of Bob and his team!

I took my car here for a 30k service. The staff was friendly and the service was fast. What I did not like was that the final price was 70% more than the quote.

I requested an appointment through Bob’s website and received a response within 2 business days. Was able to get my first choice appointment date for the following week, when I had a day off of work.
My car’s automatic transmission wasn’t kicking into 3^rd gear so I took it to Bob’s for a troubleshoot. Based on a road test (not sure if he checked anything else), he said my tranny would need to be rebuilt. He wasn’t clear as to what exactly was wrong with my transmission, so –1 star for that.
Price quote he gave me was reasonable for a rebuild (based on my prior research). If he didn’t have to send out the tranny to be fixed, I’m assuming it probably would have been less.
My options were to: have him send out tranny to be rebuilt OR get a used transmission. I was looking for a shop to be able to do the actual work on my transmission (cut out the middle man). So I left to find one that could.
Side note: After dropping off my car at the shop for diagnosis at 8am (broad daylight), I used another car to get home. While walking to my other car, which I parked on the street near the tranny shop, two guys and one girl started following me to the car. So I walked faster, hopped into my car, and locked it. They stopped right next to my car and I sped off before they could grab the door handle and try to hop in. –1 star for shop being in a shady neighborhood.
I ended up taking my car to Mike’s Transmissions across town. But if for some reason Mike can’t fix something on my car, I’d probably check in with Bob again to see what he could do.

I paid over $ 120 to have their idea of an automatic transmission «service» done. They dropped the pan, changed the filter and added a little over 4 quarts of fluid. This in a transmission that holds over 13 quarts, has over 75 000 miles on it and it’s unknown if it EVER had the fluid replaced before.
$ 120 later I’ve got a transmission that has mostly used fluid in it but I got a new filter — oh boy!!! This isn’t transmission service, it’s transmission dis-​service.
The guy doing the writeup even had the nerve to tell me I should come back in about 6 months so they could «service» the transmission again so more fluid could be exchanged.. Why would I come back in 6 months to have a small portion of the fluid changed when I can pay someobody about the same to properly change ALL the fluid in my car and then it won’t need servicing for a time period measured in years?
As complex and expensive as a modern automatic transmission is, adding a little new fluid every 6 months is not the way to go. Do you and your car a favor and find somebody who uses current technology — power flushing — to PROPERLY service your automatic transmission.
Doing anything less than a complete flush is an absolute waste of money and time for everyone but the people who make money off repairing improperly serviced and maintained transmissions.

customer service: awesome
Bob: awesome
service: awesome
I was refered from hartzhiem dodge to do some trany maint. Priceless
I have been taking my truck for a couple years to Bob’s. I have had no issues with the service. In fact, I am going to buy some after-​market parts for my ²⁰⁰⁵⁄₂₅₀₀ diesel dodge and have him installI (labor). There prices are fair, and Bob is a X jarhead, so he can’t be all that bad… (coming from a sailor.).
Thanks Bob and crew, you guys rock.

Bob is awesome! My husband has a Chevy truck that has had some big issues come up. We have taken it to other shops in the past and were completely taken advantage of. When we came to Bob last year to get a new transmision put in we were both plesantly surprised with how reasonable the cost was and were thrilled with the warrenty that came with it.
It so happens that something broke on the transmision a week ago as things sometimes do especially on an older commuter vehicle. Bob didn’t bat an eye when we came in, he honored the warrenty without a problem and got it back to us good as new quickly. We will be going to him for any and all car/​truck issues from now on.

First-​time customer to Bob’s. Had a few aftermarket parts I want installed by a professional tranny shop and got recommended to come here by a friend who said his dad’s truck was serviced at Bobs a few years ago. Their rebuilt tranny is still running hard n strong after 3 – 5 years. Found good comments on Unilocal so that also help make my decisions.
Decided to call and see what their quotes were. He gave a rough estimate and so I decided to shop around a bit more. His price was slightly higher that others, but reputation won me over: You get what you pay for…
Decided to drop by to introduce myself to Bob and show him my parts. We had a quick chat. Although my original parts discussed with him over the phone had changed (due to some misinformation provided to me), he was honest and told me that the installation would be far more intense, which didnt surprise me. He’s the expert! Anyway, I made my appointment and dropped off my car as scheduled.
The gentlemen who helped take care of the paperwork (Vince?) was very curteous and didnt treat me worse just cuz Im a younger guy. He answered all of my questions and didnt hesitate to meet any of my requests of taking care of my car. He always answered «Yes sir, we’ll take care of it for you.» Thats great service!
A few hours later, got a call from Vince who said «Sir, your vehicle is done and is ready for pickup… we’ll see you in a bit» — awesome guy! Stopped by and Bob immediately spotted me and said everything had gone well. Of course, I didnt want him to go through anymore trouble than he has to. I asked him for any advice on the parts I installed, as far as maintenance or anything to watch out for, and he gave me the truth — both factual and experience. I like that from a shop!
After I had paid for the services, the guys seemed more laid back and joked around for a bit… good laughs!
Took my car home and all has been well since… If anything changes, I will update my post
If any of you need a tranny shop, Bob’s Almaden Transmission is definitely a recommendation from me!

What a great experience! You surely know how hard it is to find a mechanic that is nice, smart and honest. Bob is that guy.
I had been having transmission slippage and engine knocking for a long time. Other mechanics were really unable to find an answer that didn’t involve a new transmission and a valve job; both expensive propositions. Bob test drove my car and told me I need a new gas filter. He looked under the hood and saw some leaking hoses. Bottom line, $ 212 later, my car runs like new.
The shop is clean and the waiting area is comfortable. The bathroom is cleaner than most restaurants I have been to.
Even though it is called Bob’s Transmissions, they do every kind of car repair.