Family Auto Service — Attraction in La Mesa

As a business owner myself it pains me to leave a bad review on any business. But my experience with this repair center has pained me for well over 5 years. Yes, that's how long it has been since my bad experience at this place. I never bother to leave a review back then, but I've been meaning to do it since.

I used to owned a 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan, bought it brand new from the dealership, and took it to the dealership for service until it was paid off in 2015. The dealership was a bit too far from my house so I decided to take it to an independent shop for regular maintenance. I felt good taking it somewhere independent and family owned. I felt like I was actually helping a family and their employees by taking my business to them and not some company dealership network.

The vehicle was in very good condition, no issues what so ever, after all it was a Toyota. I baby my cars and I knew the vehicle didn't have any major issues. My first visit to Bob was for a regular oil change. They inspected my car and immediately came out with a laundry list of things I needed to get replace because they were aging. The guy helping me out was very firm on the issues and made it sound like things were just about to fall apart. He went on to rant about preventive maintenance (which I do agreed with) and all about that. But I just couldn't believe my vehicle needed over $4,000 in maintenance. The car had never had any issues and I kept up with my maintenance at the dealership for the 5 years I had the car.

I decided to just go with my gut feeling and not replace something that wasn't broken. The only item I decided to replaced was the serpentine belt. A week later I started hearing a loud screeching noise every time I turn on the vehicle (only when the engine was cold). I knew it was the belt, it was loose or something. I took the vehicle back to them and told them about the noise, told them they have to make it tighter for the noise to stop. But they refuse to do any work because they couldn't reproduce the noise (of course, the engine was already warm up when I drove up to their shop). I had this issue for almost two years. I made numerous request for them to fix it under their warranty and I never got a resolution. The guy that was always trying to up sell me parts and services increasingly became noticeably upset with me. I could just tell, every time I go in the office for an oil change and to tell them about the noise he would just react to me like if I was trying to get a free service. I can't remember his name, I have the original invoice with a "Gary" name on it but I just don't know if he was the person officially signed off on the invoice. I knew he drove a yellow Jeep Wrangler, two door, always parked right outside the front door.

Two years after this I had enough of trying to deal with them and simply returned my business to the dealership where I was always treated as a family. At the dealership they not only talk to you nicer, but if I'm wrong on something then the mechanic doing the work will come out with the manager and show me how or why something is right or wrong. At Bob's is the other way around, "you are the customer and you don't know anything about mechanic work so you should just take our word for it."

After going back to the dealership they told me the serpentine belt was loose and they would adjust it free of charge. How about that!

Also, not sure how a simple serpentine belt, $14 at Auto Zone, is up-priced to $54 at Bob's.

I understand they now have a new name, and hopefully under new ownership and new customer service people. Just be aware, do your research before you make a decision on repairs, search for prices on parts, and offer to buy your own parts at Auto Zone and take it to them. Then, they should just charge you for the time of actual work.

A report about the Yaris, it is now 2020, the car never had any issues. All I ever did was my oil changes and normal maintenance, tires etc. I did put in new struts in the back in 2018. Everything else is still in...

This is the first time ever reviewing any establishment. However after reading several reviews, trying to decide if I would take my car to be serviced at bob bowans. I have decided not no but hell no !!!! Most the time I can get really screwed cause of my forgiving heart. Like 2 years ago I took my 2000 Nissan Frontier in because it had overheated. I drove it in it was just a lil louder and running warmer than usual. I was told they were the best. AAA credited most fair and knowledgeable in there field. I let them inspect my truck Later on that night near closing I called to ask what was going on with my truck. I was told the mechanic that was working on my vehicle had not got to my car that day and would give me a call tomorrow. Next day I was finally informed of a cracked head gasket and that I was very lucky I didn't hurt the block engine etc. I told him ya I thought it wise to pull over as soon as I saw my temp gauge shooting up. So he chuckled and said well that's the good news. The bad is its going to cost you $ 1800 to fix. Well long story short I guess that wasn't the case he had a much higher amount a week later when my car was done $2500. And afterward my exhaust still smoked like a chimney engine louder than it had ever been ran far worse then it had before it overheated and as weird as it sounds to explain. But I could sware i felt a difference in my clutch and not quite exactly right when changing gears anyway I took it back they apologized for my disappointment and dissatisfaction with their establishment totally turning and deflecting a true customer complaint into my fault by using week arguments such as they would never be accountable for such a thing being AAA crediteded voted best wherever and have raving views from such n such and been there since the 50's with jaw dropped I asked so there is nothing you can do They said it perhaps best to sell the car if I was worried about it breaking down then a week later I received a whole $ 10 off coupon in the mail off my next oil change for being such a great customer LOL I thought to myself. So glad I read SO MANY similar stories. Anyone who is giving this place a good review must either be paid to do so Knows nothing or has nothing wrong with their car Or somehow related to these people I just don't see how so many similar stories can be a coincidence you know what is even more remarkable and shall I say UNBELIEVABLE with upmost emphasis on unbelievable is that the votes seem to be scaled from one extreme to the other. No in between as if people were just righting some quote to counter balance the well deserved this chop shop deserves and I would think if I had such five star service I would be more inclined to write specifics on what that was not just a generalized " oh yeah everyone there is wonderful. They do the best work. Cheapest place around Come on people this place doesn't poop rainbows for crying out loud they are auto mechanics!! Which tend to have bad reps But Bob Bowans Y'all really take the cake on this one. I honestly do not see how they stay...

Summary: Charged me $232 an hour for labor Marked up a $70 dollar part to $497 Marked up a $66 part to $286 Sold me 6 spark plugs for $167 Misquoted me $1,100 dollars on the phone, charged me for $1,970

The check engine light came on in my 1996 Tacoma a few days ago and I went to Family Auto Service to fix it. To get straight to the point, there is no value to be had here. In fact, the prices they charge can only be described as predatory.

When I brought my truck in, I knew there was a problem with the EGR system after going to AutoZone and using their free diagnostic tool. The mechanic at Family Auto Service told me that the EGR vacuum had failed and that there had been misfires so he recommended changing out the spark plugs as well. There hadn't been any misfires registered on the engine computer when I checked it at AutoZone, but I assumed that maybe they had happened in the few miles I had driven my truck since then. On the phone, he quoted me for $1,100 dollars. This was a steep price since I had assumed the EGR system would only cost about $500 to fix on the high end if nothing had gone too wrong. I'm not a mechanic though, so I decided to trust them and go through with the work. Big mistake.

When I came to pick up my truck, I found my bill was actually $1,970. Immediately I was shocked about the discrepancy. I asked the clerk, but they just kept repeating that the difference was "tax". I relented and paid the bill because I figured they had already done the work and that it must have really been that much.

After looking at the recipient I can see I was thoroughly ripped off. The "EGR VACUUM SOLENOID", part number VST007, is a non-OEM part that retails for $70 dollars on Amazon, which they sold to me for $496.99. The "EGR MODULATOR", part number VS111, is also non-OEM that retails about $66 dollars on Amazon, which they sold to me for $285.99. They sold me 6 spark plugs for $167.94, which they claim are OEM. The most expensive set of 6 OEM spark plugs from Toyota retails for $66 (about $11 per plug). They charged me $929.00 for labor. I dropped by car off at 9AM and called me to pick it up at 1PM. Assuming they worked on it for all of those 4 hours, that comes out to a labor rate of about $232.25 an hour.

I called them back the next day to confront them about their pricing and the fact that my windshield washer reservoir was still leaking (I had asked them to fix it along with everything else), and the person on the phone got very defensive, insisting they had correctly quoted me and that they don't decide the price of the parts, "the computer" does. They offered me a free synthetic oil change a ($50 dollar value!) and to fix the tank if I brought my car back, but I don't feel comfortable leaving my single most valuable possession in the hands of people I can't trust. I will never be...