Berkeley Tires Service Center

WORSE CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! Came in last weekend to get oil change and tire alignment with coupon. Upon leaving my car they gave an estimation time of 30−1hr and it turned in to 4 hours! No phone call given to update the work on my car until 3 hours later. The sales associate called to tell me that they were changing the oil and the technician Israel BROKE my oil gasket! The sales associate called back hours later and said that they were LIABLE for what happened and would replace it free of charge. However they didn’t have the part at the time and would have to order it which would take a couple of days. Monday comes no call given about part when I called in the sales associate seemed so not know what happened at was stumbling over her words and I spoke to the owner Jack who was completely unprofessional and said they weren’t going to replace my oil gasket which THEY BROKE and that the sales associate misquoted what they said. WHAT POOR SERVICE! I come in for a service and leave with having to pay out of pocket for the sloppy unprofessional twisted job they did. NEVER AGAIN! STAY AWAY FROM THESE CROOKS!

Let me start by saying the receptionist was okay and helpful. That’s where they get their half a star that i wish i could give them. Just purchased a used car 3 weeks ago and drove it up from LA with no issue. got a 30 point check as I want to drive for Über, and the only issue i had was a bad o2 sensor and a wiper blade that was slightly worn… to the point: I usually do oil changes myself, but i had a trip coming the next day to Tahoe. So I took my car in for an oil change, alignment, and to inspect and possibly fox the o2 issue. I was told it would take about 30min– 1hr then when i said i would leave and come back it turned into about 2−3hrs (guess others get bumped ahead of you if you don’t stay to watch them; i highly recommend you stay and watch! for many reasons…) about 2 ½hrs i got a call that they didn’t have the filter for my car so it would take another 2hrs. Next, I got a call after another 1 ½hrs that there was good and bad news… good was the alignment was a «success» (my car still pulls), and the bad was that they cracked open my oil pan gasket and would have to order the part and do the oil change all over again; but they’d do it at no charge. (Really?! You’re going to replace the part you broke nland redo the service i paid for already at no additional charge to me!!! Wow, I can’t tell you how appreciative i was to hear that amazing news) But wait, it gets better… I received yet another call about 30 mins later saying they’d have to order the part from their warehouse and that it was too late now to get it that day and i should leave my car there over the weekend until Monday. So, i promptly went down and collected my car that supposedly had the oil pan sealed and got my paperwork to take it back the next week. And here was the kick to the now ball-​less sack. I received a call about another hr later from Jack (The owner) stating that he would not pay for anything, i could take my car in to get fixed at my own expense, and he also spoke with my friend while i was out of town in a mamner that was beyond rude stating that my car had a «mickey mouse» job done to it and the mechanic was working in «bad light» so he couldn’t tell and they are not liable for any of it. this came to an end with him stating that he didn’t want to speak to me anymore and that i should seek legal counsel to get any further with thw situation… Needless to say, he is an unprofessional crook and I going to, as should any other person that has been screwed by this place, contact consumer affairs, BBB, my attorney and make effort to have them shut down. Wooooosahhhhhhh

I had a really unpleasant experience at Berkeley Tire Service. I was quoted $ 950 for four tires on my Subaru, I was told that because it was all wheel drive I needed to replace all of my tires, even though only one had a nail in it.
When I said that I was going to look elsewhere, the price then dropped to $ 750 (Managers Special)! Really, $ 200 just disappears? I don’t know man, seems really fishy.
I told the guy, the manager, that I was shocked that the price could just drop by 20%, it made me feel like the first price was an inflated price, to see if I would bite? He then became quite aggressive, leaning across the counter and pointing at me, I found myself backing away from him.
I got in my car and drove a few blocks to Orozos tires and they said that my tire could be repaired, it cost me $ 45 and even came with a guarantee. No finger pointing involved.
Berkeley Tires? Hell no!

This place sucks! I went in for a consultation about getting new tires. The person working told me they were not busy and so they could do it about an hour and a half. She quoted me a price that seemed reasonable given the tire. I had an appointment later in the day to attend that was dependent on them getting the tires done. Low and behold she calls me two hours later and blames the delivery people for bringing in the wrong tire. She says it will take another three hours but that they’ll give me a ‘better tire.’ «Those are your options» she says. What options?!? I got my car back a total of six hours later having missed my appointment. When I complained to the person she was incredibly rude. I will never come here again.

came here to get a nail pulled out of my tire. it was only $ 20 for the flat repair. obviously i didn’t get any parts replaced, so the warnings of the other negative reviews don’t apply to me in this situation. i live on a street with a lot of people who like to build things and toss their debris in the road when they’re done. i will likely come back here in the future to have more nails removed from my tires. $ 20 is reasonable and it is close to my workplace. i doubt i would get any other kind of work on my car done here though, based on the other reviews.

I originally brought my Toyota Corolla here for new tires. The shop was great with the tires, and provided a decent discount. That is where my good experience ended. My brakes started having issues, and long story short, Berkeley Tires has done work on the brakes several times, and they are still not repaired. I even replaced both my back and front brakes and rotors per their suggestion, and later replaced the drums. Different mechanics gave me different information about what the problem might be, but they told me that everything was fine with the car in general. The person at the front desk was rude to me when I told her there was still an issue. It turns out they forgot to adjust the back brakes, which were way off. This resulted in the emergency brake coming loose a couple times. In addition, they told me the alignment was fine on two occasions. When I looked at the results myself, the alignment was off in the back. They then told me that they didn’t tell me the alignment was off because they couldn’t fix it at that shop. Meanwhile, one of my tires was wearing unevenly, and I had only replaced it 20,000 miles previously.
When I asked to speak with the owner, the person at the front desk seemed afraid of him, and instead, did a bunch of tests and services for free. I again requested to speak with the owner, who is also an expert mechanic. He looked at the history of my car, and then took a look at the car himself. He then said that the shocks needed to be replaced a while ago, which I had never heard before. He also said that the back alignment could be fixed with an after market device. He was perplexed as to why this wasn’t brought to his attention earlier, and why I had received such inaccurate information. He then told me that a lot of the people at the shop were new, and hadn’t been trained properly. This to me is unacceptable. Due to their negligence and lack of information, my car developed additional problems that needed to be fixed.
The owner promised free and discounted services in the future, and that he would handle my car himself. After these services are provided, I will never go back to this shop again.

Best tire shop in the east bay. Very good prices. Great service, had a flat they fixed, glad I bought tires here.

Honestly, I don’t know if it’s the fact that I came in with a voucher for a discount, or if that was just everyday service, but I will NEVER patronize Berkeley Tire service again! Again, not sure if they didn’t like the fact of the voucher,(because with the voucher it is first come first serve, appt. take precedence) or just felt they had another SUCKER born 59 seconds ago!
The first thing he say when approaching the car is «you need a front end alignment and new tires.» I told him I know, I will be getting Vogue Tyres for it (‘01CADILLAC SEVILLE) in two weeks. So he wanted to give me an estimate.
FIRST RED FLAG: He told me Vogue doesn’t make my size (factory rims)! Now, this is VOGUE TYRES! Synonymous with CADILLAC!!! If he couldn’t/unable to order them just say so, but don’t lie!
SECOND RED FLAG: After three hours, no phone call, decided to go back to the garage, their response was, «oh, we forgot to call you!»
THIRD MOST IMPORTANT RED FLAG: No information about my vehicle! I asked what was the condition of the engine? «I don’t know.» How did the old oil look, very dirty? Again, «I don’t know.» If they didn’t want my business, discounted or not, they should just say so at the beginning that way they wouldn’t have to worry about producing dissatisfied customers!

DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR HERE: ALL SCAMS Found out from taking our car to another shop that they had lied to us about the need for an alignment and never did the multiple oil changes we had paid for.

BEWARE.
I have never written a negative review like this on Unilocal before. It is the last thing I want to do.
I feel compelled to warn people about this business. I bought 4 new tires from them. Shortly thereafter I found myself broken down on the side of the road. One of the wheels had fallen off the car. I had to be towed to a repair shop, where the mechanic asked me where I had bought the tires and informed me that one of them had been improperly installed.
When I brought this information to Berkeley Tires, they refused responsibility and ignored my follow up communications.
Making mistakes is human. Refusing responsibility for a potentially lethal error is unconscionable. Please do yourself a favor and take your business elsewhere.

THESE PEOPLE MESSED MY CAR UP! I went in for new front brakes, they gave me a really good price in comparison to others in the area. I got my car back and there was a rattling noise in the front right area of my car. After I called them and told them they had me bring the car in again and told me it would be 90 dollars to diagnose … Excuse me, my car wasn’t making this noise before you guys worked on it. I refused to pay. So they took it in anyways (and asked me if I wanted to do the back brakes while I was there… Why would I want to get my back brakes done when the front ones are making a weird noise after you guys worked on them???) and an hour later I got a call back saying I need suspension work on all 4 all the way around the car and it would be another 600. Are you kidding me? If it was a
Problem then why in life wouldn’t you offer it to me during my first service? A week or so later as I’m driving around now I just noticed my front brakes are making a horrible scraping noise every time I slow down. ugh I DONT EVEN TRUST THESE PEOPLE TO TAKE MY CAR BACK IN. I THINK THEY LOOSEN AND SWAP OUT PARTS DURING SERVICES IN ORDER TO GET YOU TO COME BACK. DO NOT GO HERE THEY WILL WASTE YOUR TIME.

WARNING DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR HERE!!! THEIR PRICES ARE SO LOW BECAUSE THEY USE CHEAP PARTS !!!
I brought my Lexus here to get front breaks done… as soon as I picked up my car I noticed a rattling noise in the front where I got my breaks replaced… That never happened before. After bringing my car back to the shop they priced quoted me 90 dollars for a diagnostic ! Why would anyone pay that when they messed up!!! Picking my car back up for the second time they told me nothing was wrong with it EXCEPT that I needed new suspension. Price quote of 600 dollars. Please, if that was the case they should have told me that the first time I dropped it off. A week or so later my breaks that I just changed 2 weeks prior for 216 dollars are making a rubbing noise … So I decided to take it into a neighboring business that has great reviews (unlike Berkeley tires) and the owner basically broke it down to me that they put CHEAP ASS BREAK PADS ON MY LEXUS… Not even factory make and model. HE EVEN SHOWED ME THE WHOLE SALE WEBSITE AND MAKE OF THE PADS THEY PUT ON MY CAR. This is how they save on the service and can charge so little. So in order to fix this the new guys have to redo the whole service which obviously is going to cost the price of labor and parts. In the end I’m paying 216 from Berkeley tires and an additional 180 from the new guys to FIX WHAT BERKELEY TIRES MESSED UP ON.
UNFAIR, CHEAP, and DISHONEST IS WHAT BERKELEY TIRES IS.
the front desk person even had the nerve to ask my why didn’t I just bring my car into them for the breaks to be fixed? WHY WOULD I BRING MY CAR INTO A PLACE FOR THE THIRD TIME? THEY WOULDNT OF TOLD ME THEY PUT CHEAP PARTS ON MY CAR… AND ONLY TO BE UPSOLD AGAIN? NO THANK YOU.
I think I deserve a refund for this bullshit of a service and a waste of my time.

About 3 weeks ago I went in to get my oil changed and tires rotated, took them about 2 hours even though I had made an appointment and was the only one there. Seemed like they were understaffed and working on other cars. At least the staff working that day were friendly and apologetic about the wait.
Fast forward to yesterday ⁷⁄₆. I went in because my «Maintenance Required» light came on during the weekend. I was confused because I had just gotten my oil changed so I figured the mechanic must of forgotten to reset the oil indicator light. I went in and the owner Jack started taking the mileage, etc from my car and I said I was there just to have the oil light reset since the mechanic had forgotten to do so 3 weeks ago. He looked at me and said there was a wait because of the holiday weekend. I told him it shouldn’t take that long. Since I wasn’t budging he became very rude, looked at me with a death stare and said there was gonna be a long wait. At that point I was frustrated and said that since this was not my fault the mechanic didn’t do his job and since I waited 2 hours last time for a simple oil change and tire rotation that the mechanic should take a few minutes to reset the light… simple.
Once again he argued with me and asked me if the light was on when I came in for an oil change. I said no, I go based on the mileage, he said well that’s the problem, the light wasn’t on last time and since it just came on that it wasn’t their fault. WOW! I though, this man is an idiot! Really?!? You own a car shop and don’t know about the oil light?! You don’t have to wait until the light comes on, if you get an oil change then the mechanic is suppose to reset the light, even I know that!
I was shocked and in awe that this man had just made a very dumb statement. He must of seen my face expression because after he said, ok it’ll be 10 – 15 min to get the light reset.
So…35 minutes later I got my car. I spoke to the mechanic about resetting the light to confirm what I already knew and he confirmed that Jack’s statement was incorrect and very off. The mechanic laughed and shook his head in disappointment.
Bottom line: Avoid going when the owner Jack is there. Maybe call ahead to make sure he’s not there. The rest of the staff is friendly. Expect a long wait even if you are first in line. Appointments don’t matter. Good luck.

I used to be a loyal customer, but I would encourage any potential new customer to take a look at the ratings in the last few months. It’s gone under new ownership and has COMPLETELY tanked in terms of customer service and honesty.
I used to be able to get a fair assessment at a good price, and trust that I was getting what I needed and all the information without trying to screw me over.
I’ve now had 2 experiences in the last month that made me realize it’s time for a new mechanic. The first, I brought the car in because I couldn’t unlock the door on the driver side, and before even checking that, they called me wanting to replace the tires because they were worn, and another problem that they first quoted me $ 500 on, then when I balked at that, changed the quote to $ 150.
This time, my car was dying even after jump starting it, I was thinking it probably was the alternator, but they wanted $ 200 just to diagnose it! A new alternator on a honda civic should cost $ 400 max (~2hrs labor + ~$ 200 parts). Just ridiculous. We walked away and will be finding a new mechanic.
Really too bad, used to love this place.

The oil change that nearly killed my car…
May 26 2015: Took the car for oil change in the evening (VW Jetta). After getting my car back right before closing and driving it a few block (to Trader Joe’s on University and MLK) I noticed the coolant light come on and therefor had to pull over to see what’s wrong. What was wrong was that a piece of coolant reservoir was broken causing the coolant hose to come off and splash coolant all over the engine. I knew they only way this damage could have been done was if someone leaned on or put something heaving on it. Since the shop was already closed I had to make due with ducts tape and off-​the-​shelf coolant I had to buy from a gas station nearby. The flimsy repair was enough to take me home that night. I drove the car back to Berkeley Tires the next morning and they agreed to fix it for free admitting that they had caused the damage. I made it clear that the only way to repair this was to replace the coolant reservoir (original costs no more than $ 28)… a fairly simple task. I left the car there and had a coworker pick me up and take me to work. At around noon, they called me back and told me they had repaired it. I asked them if they had repaired or replaced it and they said they had repaired it using «a kit that would make it like new», so around 4pm and go back to Berkeley to pick it up but decided to take a look at what they had done and called a «repair». Sure enough, there was no kit involved. They had left the broken piece inside the hose, and all they had done was to move the clap holding the hose onto the reservoir close to the actual reservoir. I could tell this would not work because they hose could still easily come off again. After explaining the idiots there the issue (which they hardly understood but did at the end) I asked to talk to the manager. The manager, after spending an hour on the phone, agreed to to «talk» and «take a look» at which point he said he did not see any need for further repairs and actually said that since I had driven an extra 11 miles since picking my car up after the oil, he was not liable for the damage to begin with (although the 11 miles were there because I had to drive home the night before and come back after the fiasco). I knew this was going no were, so I decided to take the car to a dealer near my work, check the car in and spend another day without the car. The dealer replaced the reservoir. As soon as I had checked my car in at the dealer, which was about half an hour of leaving Berkeley Tires, the mechanic called me from Berkeley Tires and said that the manager agreed there was a misunderstanding and he was willing to change the part for free. That was after all that attitude and the unnerving drive from there to the dealership hoping nothing would go wrong. So I refused their offer and asked them to refund the lousy oil change which they refused. I am taking this to the ABC’s local program, «7-​on your side».
My advice to all of you, just stay away from these incompetent crooks.

This used to be a fine place to have work done on your car, but I think it’s changed hands or something. The work is poor, so that you end up having to go back – my wife had tires rotated and alignment done there early this week, then the next day the car is pulling to the right, so she goes back, sits for three hours, they never get around to looking at her car, she goes back AGAIN the NEXT day, they work on it, and now it’s pulling to the LEFT. On the plus side, they did give us a whole lot of greasy stains on the door handle and floor mats for free, see my photos. Avoid this place – they do bad work and then bitch when you ask them to make it right, and they lack the most basic courtesy that an auto shop should have, that is, not getting the interior dirty. I wish them ill.

Berkeley Tire is an independent shop that is worse than Jiffy Lube.
I’d give Zero stars if possible.
Avoid.
At.
All.
Cost.

This is a big shop with ~10 lifts, an alignment rack, and a big clean waiting area with wifi and massage chairs! Felt pretty fortunate to find a groupon for a $ 65 alignment, tire rotation and oil change combo. I just needed the alignment so Bernard offered another discount that would forego the oil change, making it $ 49 for an alignmentJust moving to the area and looking for a good local shop. They have about 40+ Unilocal averaging 4 stars. So no brainer right?
I called earlier asking if they were busy and Bernhard said theyre wide open. got there at around 330pm and i was the only car there. A shame that such a big shop is empty, but happy to avoid await. They were able to print an invoice and start with my car right away.
Even though there was nobody in the shop the shop manager Bernhard looked rushed and overwhelmed. Hes a big guy about 6’2″ 225lbs and looks like he could be a mechanic or possibly a cage fighter.
He printed an invoice, but it showed the wrong year/​engine AND model vehicle. I pointed out that I dont have a 2008 jeep wrangler. But a 1998 Cherokee. He looked at me like I was wrong, and said that he got the info from the license plate number. It was not enough for him to see the car right in front of him was not a 2008 Jeep Wrangler.
The reason i came in for alignment was because i had replaced worn parts in the steering and suspension. I looked under the car, made sure everything was tight and then handed the car over to Bernhard.
To my surprise upon seeing me check underneath, Bernhard decided to tell me that he cannot work on my car!
He said that its «ASE rules that he cannot work on a car that someone else has worked on the same day». He said its a matter of the Bureau of Automotive repair and his ASE license.
He then accused me of tampering with the vehicle to try to sue the shop, and he had to refuse service to protect himself.
I was in disbelief, and asked for it in writing. He refused to provide it in writing. Upon my insistance he shuffled some green papers on his table and said he has it right here, but then didnt show me saying theyre regarding another customer.
He said that he would have to charge me an extra $ 200 for diagnosis to make sure that the alignment is needed.
I told him im not stupid and that according to all literature you are SUPPOSED to come to a specialist for an alignment whenever suspension parts are replaced.
He agreed to continue.
During the alignment Bernhard showed complete ignorance of basic alignment terminology. He claimed that my camber is off, and that his mechanics are adjusting it for free. I told him that there is no camber adjustment on the car. He insisted there is, and that he usually charges extra for it, but hes doing it for free. He welcomed me to take a look as his two mechanics were working.
When i saw that there was one brain between the three of them i asked if they checked the ball joints for looseness before doing the alignment. (First step of alignment). The lead mechanic acknowledged that this is necessary, and said he would check it.
Meanwhile the mechanics helper walked away, bringing back with him Bernhard. He was again accusingly interrogating me about loose parts he didnt know the meaning of. Such flagrant ignorance is frustrating coming from a specialist shop.
I laughed him off and hoped the mechanic could get it done. Went back to the massage chairs to relax and wait for this to be over with.
The mechanic came back saying he could not turm the toe adjustment bar. He was using a pair of vicegrips with 6inch handles, and it was spinning around the bar. I recommended that he use a larger wrench. He agreed to go look for one but sales rep and mechanic supervisor Bernhard said again theyre not going to do it.
He said just do the rear and get it off the lift. I told him the rear is not adjustable on this vehicle (he should know this). He said get it off the lift. Somehow angry at me for their failure to do the alignment.
Perhaps his refusal to do the job for a paying customer is explainable by the fact that it was a coupon deal meant to upsell to people with even less car knowledge than the shop manager — and that wasnt going to be possible with me. Or maybe hes just nuts.
Even though they loosened bolts Bernhard refused to provide any paperwork from the visit and release of the vehicle. He also refused to provide contact info for the owner. Upon arrival of a lady coleague he seemed to perk up and be more professional. I took a picture of the business license and will be following up.
I departed to a full-​on wide eyed staredown from Bernard.
So much for bringing my business to this ghost town of a shop.
Judging by the other negative reviews confirmed by my own experience i would steer clear of this

This place is amazing. They have friendly service, a nice lounging area, wi-​fi, and coffee shops you can stop by while getting your car fixed.
I came in for an oil change, and I left with an oil change. Most oil change places will bring you in, then as soon as they’re in the middle of your oil change, they try to sell you a ton of other things for your car. Here, I wasn’t bothered at all until my car was ready to be picked up. I do appreciate that, and I know if I asked they would probably recommend some maintenance for me.
I’ll be coming back to take advantage of the 6 oil changes for $ 99 next time too!

I do not recommend coming here. Do not come here.
I came in early on a Saturday morning because my brakes were squeaky. They checked out my brakes and told me it was the front brake rotors. I told them that I thought the sound was coming from both front and back brakes but they said they checked it out and it was only the front. Okay, great. They gave me an estimate of about 3 hours.
I did not get my car back until after they closed. Not only did they take all day, but they put the new rotors in wrong. And the back brakes continued to squeak until I went to another mechanic who fixed both my front and back brakes. Oh, and they also charged me an arm and a leg for it. Not only careless but dangerous. Fool me once.