Larry’s Automotive Service

I’ve been going to see Larry for over 25 years!!! He’s the most honest, smart, skilled, kind mechanics you’re ever going to find around this area. He’s got a highly focused, disciplined crew, that repair anything that you throw at them. (They are like these amazing Ninjas of car repair!) I never do anything to my trusty Toyota Camry, I abuse the hell out of it, and it’s because of Larry that it’s still running after so many years of neglect. Larry goes out of his way to tell you exactly what needs to be done, period. He has kept me safety on the road for over 25 years!!!
I would trust this man with my life. He has the highest integrity, values and intelligence, that is so hard to find in ANY business. He also has a great sense of humor as well, and so, all of my visits are always a great pleasure to be sure. If you need a fair, honest, highly skilled place… look no further than… LARRY’S AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE!!! 100+ STARS!!!

We have lived in Castro Valley for 5 years. We are moving to Las Vegas. We brought both our Toyota pickup and van to Larry for all 5 years, and we know we were lucky to find him. Larry and his team are one of the top 5 reasons I’m sad to leave the Bay Area. It’s hard to find a good, honest, reasonably priced, non-​chauvinistic mechanic! The guys have always been upfront with us about estimates, prompt in their service turn-​around times, called before performing work to make sure we were okay with it, clear about future work needed down the road (so we had time to save money for those repairs!), and NEVER charged us hidden fees or «found issues» with our vehicles so we were surprised. Larry’s Automotive Service deserves every 5-​star rating it gets! Thank you, Larry. We will miss you guys.

They are reliable and honest. I always feel confident bringing all of my family cars to them.

Best place in town to get your car fixed. Honest, skilled mechanics. Prices fair. Nice folks. We have been going here for several years. Never disappointed.

1. Low price + high quality work.
2. Honesty and genuine
You don’t find honest and skilled mechanics nowadays. Just go here.

I have been going to Larry’s Auto Shop for a long time now, and every time I go there, they always look out for my vehicle. I haven’t gone anywhere else since, they’re fair, they’re honest, they’re fast when it comes to repairing your car. I recently had car trouble, I needed a new clutch. Larry and Liem got it done, and in 2 days. When it was time to pick up my car, they even showed me all the work that they had done, all the old parts, I saw them and couldn’t believe it. I don’t go anywhere else, I even go to Larry’s for oil change. Trustworthy, they’ll let you know when something is wearing out and needs repair or replacement. I’ll continue to go there, and being close to home doesn’t hurt either. Thanks, Larry and Liem, for honest, friendly and fair service and costs. I’ll see you again…

I really like these guys! Very friendly, knowledgable and prompt. Good prices. I’ve been taking my recently acquired 2002 Tundra here for oil changes over the last 8 months since I bought her and the service has always been pleasant.
Today, Larry and his team completed my timing belt replacement service along with a good deal of other work due to my recent ownership (I’m the second owner) and mileage of my pick up. I am very happy with their work so far and won’t be looking elsewhere for vehicle maintenance.

Ok, so Larry and his team are Pro’s. I’ve been taking our car here for regular service for a couple of years. Always prompt, on point, reasonably priced and quality service.
There was this one annoying problem with my Montero, however, it would vibrate at 75+ MPH, not a big deal for everyday driving, but annoying when the traffic is moving faster and I have to put up with the shaking and noisy car, at speed.
For the last 3 years, I’ve been slowly chasing after the problem by getting hub-​centric rings first, checking wheels for radius integrity, then replacing tires and finally I took the Montero to Larry to take apart the front suspension and see whats doing. Larry didn’t really want to take on the job without diagnosing the problem completely. I told him I’ll pay labor hourly rates for him to inspect the suspension, because I’ve eliminated most else.
Long story short, we’ve located the source of the problem and my Montero rides on a brand new set of front control arms and shocks. Wheels are partially at fault as well, so I’ll need to Craigslist a new set at some point.
Larry is a great friend to have, for those of us who care about our cars and wallets.

5 stars all the way!!! I’ve been going to Larry for about 5 years now and he does not disappoint. He’s very friendly, He always gives me the best price and finishes my car when he says he’ll be done. He recently fixed my 4runner so I can pass smog and told me what to do before I go back for a retest. He was also generous enough to plug in my car to a monitor a couple days later to make sure I would pass. And I passed! I’ve referred a couple of people to him and they now take their cars there!

Had transmission fluid drain and refill and am very satisfied with the service. Excellent workmanship and price. Highly recommended…

I parked my 2005 Volvo, walked in, and asked if he has time next week to look at my transmission. He said, «No German car…» I said Volvo is not German. He repeated, «No German car.»
As I walked out, two mechanics were arms deep inside the engine of a BMW 315 …

I trusted the good Unilocal reviews and they did not fail. My Ford Crown Victoria former Police Interceptor was not starting, so I towed it here to try to get it fixed. I was mildly concerned at first since when Larry saw the car he said he didn’t work on old police cars (since their internal electrical systems are weird) and he recommended I take it somewhere else. But I had already had it towed there so I felt like I didn’t have much choice (and everywhere else was closed since it was after 6pm), so he said he could try looking at it and would let me know if he could do any work on it. But he said to give him a couple days.
The next day I get a call from him, saying he found the solution, which was really simple (ignition coil relay), and it was a lot cheaper than I expected. When I went to pick it up, he even showed and gave me the old part and explained what it did.
The only reason I took away 1 star is because he kinda just went ahead and fixed the car without my permission, and charged me more money than the diagnostic fee… Maybe I signed something at the beginning that let him do that. I didn’t bother to check or bring it up, since my car was fixed and I paid a lot less money than I expected I would. But that was the only weird thing…

I found my new mechanic. Larry is super friendly. Told him I am fairly new to the area and he gave me some recommendations on businesses to try out.

Took the car in around 11am on a Saturday thinking he wouldn’t be able to look at the vehicle but low and behold it was done that same day. He offered several ways the exhaust could be fixed which I highly appreciated. He showed me pictures of where the next problem in the vehicle could be. I will go back!

My AAA tow truck driver recommended Larry’s and towed my car there.
While they were replacing my alternator, they noticed my brake lights were out (!) and fixed that.
Larry answered the phone personally every time I called, called me promptly with another quote I requested, and took the time to explain what repairs were necessary, and what repairs I might need down the road if I didn’t fix them now. He wasn’t pushy at all and didn’t try to sell me any extra service. He was very upfront and straightforward about my car and the service needed.
Even though I’m female and blonde, he still took the time to explain the repairs they did, showed me the thingamajig he replaced to fix my brake lights, and showed me the broken alternator he’d replaced and the oil from the leak that caused the problem in the first place.
I told him I was thinking about trading in the car, and he said, «yes, Hyundais are not good. Get a Toyota.» Honest and straightforward.

How many auto shops try to talk you out of service?
A while back I took my Odyssey to Larry’s for service. They noted a slow oil leak and told me to come back after a tank of gas to see how bad it was leaking. I forget and went back several months later to replace a lower control arm. Larry reminds me about the oil leak and this time I follow up and return a week later. Larry shows me the leak and quotes $$$$ to replace the rear engine gasket. My attitude is if anything’s wrong fix it, but Larry says the oil leak is slow enough (it doesn’t drop onto the ground) and the Oddy old enough that I shouldn’t bother. Just check the oil level periodically and replace the gasket only if the leak gets worse. Wow.
This, plus the very reasonable rates they charge for all their services, has made them another regular customer. I will be using this shop for all my service checks and repairs from now on.

Unilocal didn’t let me down again.
Larry’s deserves his 5 star rating.
I dropped off my 2008 Honda Accord at 3:45pm on a Saturday. He inspected it, changed the oil, and smogged it. They were done in about an hour.
Most places when they inspect, really don’t go the extra effort. Not at Larry’s; they found the following:
1. One Rear Brake Light was out (they replaced it)
2. Front Brakes are at 70%
3. Rear Brake are at 10% to 50% wear because the calipers are not evenly pressing
4. ATF is slightly dirty
5. Front Tire pressure was slightly off (they matched it with the rears)
6. I was 1.5 quarts low on oil
7. Rear tires are badly cupped
8. Coolant was low (they topped that off)
9. Tested the battery
10. Air filter was at 50%
11. Tire Rotation could not be done or else my steering could have been affected
12. Power Steering fluid was checked
13. Brake fluid was checked
Many many many places would have tried to up-​charge me on a new cabin and engine filter. Not Larry’s, he knew that there was still 50% life in the filters. Also the brakes, he could have tried to up-​charge me on both the fronts and rears. He just said that I should have the rears done soon. No setting an appointment, no nothing, he lets the customer decide.
Many places also say that they do the inspections and they don’t do it. Larry’s goes above and beyond for his customers.
I agree with many of the other reviews, I feel Larry’s is a real honest place, he gives you no BS about needing things done to your car. His prices are maybe 10% more than cheap «lubes» but you get what you pay for here and more.
I will definitely be back to service my vehicles.
What’s next up:
1. ATF flush and fill
2. Rear Brake job (estimate was very fair as well)
3. Tune Up
4. Coolant flush and fill
I cannot say it enough that Larry earned my business from now on.
Thank you Larry!

I’m visiting from out of town and had a broken window and broken AC system.
I found Larry through Unilocal and stopped by to get an estimate of cost repairs. Even though I didn’t schedule an appt and it was an obviously busy day, he took the time to listen and very thoroughly examine my car before quoting me on a price. He’s a very honest guy and walked me through the process of what he was going to do and what the results would most likely be. You could tell he really knew his stuff. I didn’t feel pressure by him at all to choose his business even after all the time he spent examining and explaining things to me. PLUS, he fixed the broken rubber on my window for free! Outstanding guy and outstanding service. Highly recommend over some of the other car services around the area that just opened my hood and threw out numbers after looking at it for only 10 seconds.

Went in for a 15K Service as well as a full inspection as I’m selling the car. Service was fast, prompt and fair.
I made an appointment on Thursday for a Saturday slot. I dropped it off at 9am with Lim who took down all of the things that I wanted done and by 3pm, it was done.
I met with Larry who walked me through everything that was did. The bill was fair and I felt, honest.
If you are looking for a no-​hassle, honest mechanic, go to Larry’s. You will not be disappointed.

Went in to have a headlight bulb replaced on my 2007 Toyota Prius and was pleasantly surprised at both the speed of the work and the price!
I have now found my new favorite Castro Valley auto shop!