Portola Valley Garage — Local services in Portola Valley

I debated posting this because they have such great reviews but feel I should. Note I think these guys really know their stuff, and I'm sure they do great work, but I would be very wary of their price/sales tactics - especially if you're not a confrontational person. I have a car that had some really hard to diagnose problems that my usual mechanic told me might be worth getting a second opinion on from a specialty spot (car is European). A friend recommended this place so I called in advance explaining exactly what was already done to the car by my current mechanic and the man responded with confidence that he could figure it out/diagnose it. I asked how much an inspection/diagnosis was and he said it would be $250. Tl;dr if you don't want to read below, they tried to charge $450 after the diagnostic with no details then immediately bumped it back to $250 with no fight when I mentioned the initial estimate he gave (I'm of course happy to pay $450 if they did additional or extra work beyond the first promise but they admit they didn't).

$250 is a bit steep for a specific inspection, but judging by the cars outside, this place doesn't mess around so I felt okay paying a premium based on their confidence and specialty (I did this knowing there's a chance it wouldn't work). I dropped the car off and gave the info of what my mechanic tested and the results (e.g. compression/valve leak tests etc.), they seemed confident but the man at the desk kind of threw my mechanic under the bus saying "never trust someone else's tests/diagnostic" - okay fine maybe he's right. Next day I get a call saying they cannot figure out the issue and to dig further it would cost about $1,000 worth of labor and might not be worthwhile. Bummer, but that's exactly what happened to my first mechanic so totally fair. I said don't bother I'll pick it up and then he quoted me $450. I asked why $450 - and he said "what were you told it would cost?" and I said, $250. He then dropped the price to $250 with no questions asked.

I'm sorry - what?! I then respectfully asked why he initially quoted it so high, what was done, etc. and he changed the subject avoiding the question. I would have been less upset if he defended the $450 price with some reasoning but to drop it so fast and not address it felt extremely shady. The guy (Tim or Tom) told me I should let the car go and I really appreciated his honesty/candor there but that's what I expect of a good premium mechanic. If I never brought up the price he could have had me for an extra $200. If it were a friend or my significant other that got taken in such a way I'd be furious.

Probably a good shop, albeit expensive, but if you're a new customer be really careful about the pricing and work up front. I rarely leave a bad review, and I tried to resolve the price difference on the phone but when they changed the price and subject so fast I knew and he knew exactly what he tried to do and it just did not feel good. I think that fairly justifies a 2 star review.

Again, probably does good work but a "trustworthy" shop at this price range shouldn't be doing what they did. Just as an example of how another shop handles this - I called another specialty shop after this with the same numbers/story my mechanic gave me and they were much less confident + honest saying "we're happy to rerun diagnostics and try to figure it out - we usually do, it will cost $xx to start, but it seems like we'd probably come to the same conclusion or need to spend more time taking apart the car". Now that's...

Based on the recommendations of several friends, I took my car to Tom and his team for a required maintenance after my technician of several years retired. I couldn't be happier with the fast and friendly service I received. Communication was excellent, the price was very reasonable and my tire warning light problem is finally fixed after persisting for 2+ years. I have crossed 'find a new auto repair shop' off my to do list.

10/14/21 Another great experience with Tom & his crew. My car was ready a day ahead of schedule and their thorough maintenance inspection turned up a wheel bearing problem. Now that it is fixed the car is running much better. So grateful that I always know where to go when my car needs servicing or has a problem.

4/7/22 As usual, another fast (extremely!!), friendly and reasonably priced service from Portola Valley Garage. I just needed a smog certificate for DMV renewal. It wasn’t a rush job so Tom could easily have taken several days to complete the check but he just happened to have a break in the schedule and had my car ready less than 2 hours after I dropped it off. 5+ stars!

9//10/23 Always a huge plus to have a stress free experience with Portola Valley Garage. This visit was for a regular maintenance and new tires on one car and a smog check for the DMV on another. As usual the service was friendly and the pricing was very reasonable. More importantly, however, is knowing that Tom doesn't take advantage of us - his customers. He is honest in his assessments - if a problem is discovered you can be confident that it really is something that needs...

This is an update based on the last 4 or 5 visit during late 2023 and to-date 2024. In spite of deluge cars waiting to be serviced/repaired, Tom ( owner) and Victor the manager remain customer focused and empathetic to their customers. They seem to get that people with car problems are largely under stress. The quality of work is as high as ever. I am a customer as long as I own ICE cars, which is probably forever.

5 visit for a Porsche and a BMW and F250 truck over 2 years of fully satisfisfactory experience. I intend to be PVG's permanent customer for all automotive repair needs. Tom is a very personable, customer oriented yet very business like individual. But that is not why I have chosen PVG. I have seen shear competence in all matters automotive here. His staff Tim and others are automotive task master with deep knowledge and experience. I prefer not leave anything to chance and that is how I see these folks I live two miles from PVG, so, access is not an issue for me. I am retired, so taking a little longer to get the car fixed is also not an issue.

I wrote and posted the early version of this review about a year ago. Today, I am simply updating it. Tim is now the customer face and the office manager, but he still does the first technical problem assessment. He is "world class in skills, and his no BS dealing with customers. I honestly believe the new arrangement is a noticeable improvement. I have firmed up my resolve to use Portola Garrage for all things automotive. It works very well, and...