Centerville Radiator & Auto Service

I took my 1994 Toyota in for usual air conditioning service. It took the owner three hours to inspect my car and concluded I should switch over my vehicle from R12 fluid system to 134A fluid system. They would do the conversion job for $ 360; I told him I would think about that? He charged me $ 75 for inspection and my car was the same as it was before I took it into this shop.
Still wanting air-​conditioner serviced, I took my car to another shop in Fremont in the afternoon on the same day. They said the charge for inspection was $ 75 and if there are no problems, they charge $ 250 total (inspection included). I left my car at the shop at 12:30PM. I received a call from the shop that my car was ready at 2:30PM! The air conditioner was blowing «COLD» air costing only near-​half the estimate than Centerville Radiator and the air-​conditioner is still working after two summers!
Obviously, I do not recommed Centerville Radiator & Auto: 37 515 Glenmoor Dr, Fremont, CA 94 536. I got charged for inspection and nothing done!!! Really a rip-​off. I called my credit card company to stop payment, notified the shop of my disatisfaction with their service and informed them of car was fixed!!! The loss of my time wasted at this shop was more valuable than the money but they would have «robbed me blind» had I did the work there!!!

I took my 97 Dodge Neon coupe to this shop for a routine timing belt replacement. It took about a day-​and-​a-​half to complete this relatively larger repair job. I picked the car up on a recent day that was reputed to be the heaviest local rainstorm in five years and with the heavy rain on the metal roof of the garage and the roof of my car, neither I or the mechanic could really hear the engine.
When I started the car the next morning, the engine was making a lot of relatively loud and unusual noises. So, I took it back to the shop. Ken the mechanic listened to the noises and agreed that they were unusual and that one repair part or another had probably been defective at the time it was installed. Having worked for several different manufacturing companies in my own work life, I know that defective parts do get shipped and sold on occasion.
I left the car there and the multiple-​hour repair job essentially had to be completely redone, due to a brand new part that was defective at the time it was installed. I only got charged for the original work and the shop absorbed the cost for the additional labor that was required to make things right.
The bottom line is that many shops can effectively handle simple routine repairs. What separates the best shops from the also-​rans is how they handle things when things DON’T ‘t go the way they’re supposed to go!
Centerville Radiator and Auto Center gets my five stars for performing the way a reputable shop should, without my ever once having to argue or dispute with anyone about anything that needed to be done to set things straight.
I highly recommend this shop for handling things in a way that kept my own expenses and stress level to a minimum. Ken is one of the finest mechanics that I’ve ever dealt with, for any of the many different makes and models of cars that I’ve owned and driven over the years.

I have used Jim at Centerville Radiator & Auto Service for years and have had fantastic results. I like what they do and how they get my vehicles out the door quickly and at a very good price. I couldn’t ask for more out of a repair service.

So Unilocal sort of let me down on this one. A five star business rating so I was expecting pretty good service and a very good product, which I did not receive.
I took my car here a while back to get a simple radiator flush & fill as it was about time for the service and my coolant was starting to get a little dirty (thanks DexCool). I dealt with the woman in the office (owner’s wife) who was nice enough and told her what I would like performed and asked her if they could please make sure to clean out the overflow bottle as it was gunked up. So I dropped off my car right when they opened and they let me know it would be a little bit since one of their guys was off. No problem.
Took all day but finally picked up my car, drove her home and no problems. I let it cool down over dinner and then went to check the radiator to see the fresh coolant only to find NO COOLANT. I check the overflow bottle… STILL DIRTY and low on coolant. So I grab my own jug off ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ coolant and add it to the radiator and overflow bottle and it takes a little more than half the jug. Drive it around, recheck, add a little, drive around, recheck, good. Basically, they didn’t «burp» the system which is a pretty important part of the process. There was an air bubble in the system which made the system look full when in fact it still needs more coolant, it just needs to be «burped» to get the air bubble out.
I call the next business day and talk to the owner who says he’s sorry and that they were one guy short yesterday. I understand that but that doesn’t mean the quality of the work should suffer. As my first time there, they didn’t leave a very good impression.

Couldn’t be happier
Jim and Carol run a first rate shop.
I could ramble on with details but the only thing that counts, I TRUST them with my vehicles.

I have my regular mechanic that I trust completely, and am always hesitant to try someone new. Im glad that I did!
My vehicle had a major problem where it pumped all of the coolant out of the motor.
Jim (the owner) was very helpful making sure that I was in and out in a day. he even offered to loan me a tool so I could limp my vehicle to his shop.
Carol (who works in the office) even gave me and my son a ride home while the truck was being repaired.
I was surprised when the bill came, it was way cheaper than what the chevy dealer quoted. by a HUGE amount.
Everyone is very friendly and reputable and I would not hesitate to bring my vehicle in to them again! Thanks Centerville Radiator!

I took my Jeep to Centerville Radiator to have my AC recharged and to find out why my Air bag light was coming on intermittently. Jim and his mechanic Ken were very helpful and upfront with the cost of the repair. My AC hasn’t been this cold for some time. It is a small shop but well run. I will definitely be taking my daughter’s Mustang there soon.

I found that my Windstar had a bad oil leak. I told my wife that this was going to be a few thousand dollars for sure, the intake manifold would be leaking or something and we need to look for another van being this one was up in mileage. I dropped it off at Centerville and they called to tell me it was a leaking oil filter! The last mechanic (who will remain nameless) had tightened the oil filter up with a pair of pliers or something and bent the filter! I was ready to pay some big bucks and all it cost me was an oil change!
A few days later I was heading off on a trip to Sacramento with my family and I found that there was a burning oil smell. They told me that this would likely happen being there was oil trapped in the heat shields and it would take a while to burn off. I took it back to them anyway because I was so fearful of driving it to Sac if there was still an oil leak. They took care of it with a smile and looked it over again up on the rack to be sure there was no leaks. These people (Jim and Carol) are top notch and I highly recommend Centerville Radiator and repair!!!

I have taken my lifted truck to Jim (the owner) a couple times, he is very honest, does great work, and get’s your vehicle done in a timely manner. My ABS light kept flashing and beeping at me, I have taken my truck to numerous mechanic shops for this issue and they could not figure it out, they just cleared the code and sent me on my way saying it was just a gliche. Now thanks to Jim, he has found the problem and I don’t have to hear the annoying beep and the seeing the ABS light flashing at me anymore! I would definately recommend them to anyone, can’t top their customer service and their prices!

I had punctured a hole in my radiator as I was swapping out my engine. I took it to jim and he fixed it fast and cheap. Very knowledgeable and honest people.

Run by a guy named Jim, these guys do everything, and do it well. I don’t usually like working with mechanics, usually try something shady, but Jim was upfront about options and pricing, gave me a good deal, and most importantly, did an amazing job with my cheap trashy radiator. He even helped after most places were closed, and called me when the repairs were done… will definitely be taking any more issues I have back to him. Alot of places are run by kids that don’t know what they are doing and are rushed for time, Jim and his fellow mechanic have been doing this for more than 2 decades together and know their stuff.

Jim has worked on my car a few times and always is professional, friendly, and fair. He comes highly recommended from many people in the community. He is the only person I let touch my car anymore. I strongly reccomend Centerville Radiator to all of my friends… you just can’t beat their prices, service and quality.

I have had a lot of work done here on my truck. Including an entire engine installation. They know what they are doing, they do it in a short amount of time and above all are honest. I would not take my car anywhere else. They are called Centerville Radiator, but they do it all, not just radiators. Just about anything you need they can do. If they cant handle it (i.e. a specialty part like a transmission swap) they will reccomend someone who can handle it. Take your car here, old or new, foriegn or domestic. They are a family run business and they speak plain understandable English. Five star work and customer service all the way!