Larry’s Automotive mobile Repair & Service

I selected Larry’s Automotive based on the Unilocal reviews. Next time I will sort by date. the last two reviews are right in line. Even so, I really wanted to think about this before I wrote this review. my first experience with Larry was a positive one. He completed the simple job as expected. so I decided to get some extensive work done. and then he had my car for over 10 days when I expected the job only to take a few days. And then he didn’t fix everything I requested.
communication was poor. I had to call and call and call. and when we did talk, I kept hearing about parts in on back order in the east coast or they sen the wrong parts. the excused never ended. when I finally did get the car back, one item was broken and I had to take it back. he tried to fix it and he did make it better, but the same excuses to fix it properly crept up again. it is funny how he kept saying that he was trying to hire more mechanics and he was swamped. really since 2013? (See Pete Z’s review)
after 3 months, he wore me down and I gave up. I will look for a new mechanic.
I can believe everything Jane D. and Pete Z. says. it is right in line with many of my experience with his communication and work. all the good reviews are prior to 2013.
I am sorry, Larry, you are a super nice guy, but I cannot recommend your shop.

By a recommendation of a friend, We sent my son’s car to have some Smog issues resolved. He was leaving for U.S.M.C. SOI Training so the shop had 13 weeks to take care of the issues. After calling repeatedly, with no response or ridiculous claims of
” Oh we can have it done tomorrow” FOUR MONTHS went by until my son had a 96 hour leave for Easter, with the intensions of driving the car back tot the Base. At the very last minute it was finished, although my son found 2 large scratches/​nicks in the paint and the Battery was dead also. Apparently they don’t pull a cable when a car sits for months without starting? and their landscape people with the Backpack blower put the scratches in the car. So now, my son has to purchase a plane ticket to fly back because the body work needs to be taken care of … With all of these positive reviews I’d think Larry has got a pretty good thing going on here. NOT I made many trips to the shop and he’s never there, claims to have fired all his mechanics, so that’s why he’s backed up. Unilocal should be the kind of resource where you can build a strong reputation… OR… burn people and have the truth reflect your business practice. I don’t like leaving a negative review to anyone, but this guy told my son he treats military good and gives them a break. What he has done is taken advantage of a U.S. Marine. and not apologized for his Horrible service. Almost $ 600 in repair work plus $ 96 for a new Battery and has to drive the car back to Pleasanton from San Diego to have the body work done… and the car is not running correctly.
Not Happy… !

Larry is amazing — -he’s repaired some simple stuff like brakes, but enjoys a challenge. This week my 2005 Escape started skipping like crazy — with 165K miles on it, with no prior issues, I was sure it was a costly job… Larry spent three days on it, calling Dearborn, Michigan to talk to Ford, and in the end it was old, fried wires that shorted out his computer, my computer, and the engine… less than $ 150 later it was fixed. Can’t say enuf about his business, and the integrity that he and staff have. will not try to do unnecessary repairs… AND, the family is kind to animals… couldn’t ask for more… if you’re looking to buy a used car, take it to him for a thorough check first — -only $ 100…does not try to gouge you if you’re a lone female…

Overall great experience.
So, I am driving to work one day, minding my own business when as I go to park I hear that my power steering is making a horrible noise. I soon discover that my engine is covered in fluid. Fearing the worst, I assume that my 1993 power steering pump has failed.
I call several places and get quotes for a replacement. Not only was Larry’s pricing extremely competitive, but he talked to me about very specific things about my truck and even shared a couple of stories that related. Larry is quite the personable guy and he seems to know his stuff. He made me feel comfortable enough that I also decided to have him look at a battery drain I was having.
It was late in the day on Thursday when I called, but he was able to get me in the next morning. He estimated a couple hours to do the power steering and an some additional time to look at the power drain. I was going to be at work all day, so I just dropped it off Friday morning.
The only negative came when I was getting ready to get off work. After not hearing anything by 4:30pm, I decided to give Larry a call. At that point I was told that it wouldn’t be ready until Saturday. He said they were still waiting on a part and the delivery truck was running late. This was definitely not convenient because I was planning to drive my truck home that night. I understand that things happen, but if the original estimate was for a couple hours and because of circumstances it isn’t even going to be done that day then I really could have used a call so I could arrange a ride home.
The good news is that when I went to pick it up, Larry informed me that it wasn’t the power steering pump and it was just a hose. They had also tracked down the battery drain, which was great. The whole service came in below the already competitive estimate. And he even cleaned off my engine.
So, all in all I was happy with the service and the price. The communcation could use some improvement. But I would definitely use Larry’s again.

Thanks to Living Social, I went to Larry’s today to get my oil changed, tires rotated and thanks to his son John, it was a great experience. Also being a small business owner, I know how tough it is to find new clients and keep price points at a level where you don’t go broke yet your provide a great service for a fair price. Most people buying Daily Deals, Living Social Deals and Groupons are getting a great deal but the small business owner is losing a lot of money in hoped of gaining a new customer. Well, it worked for me. I need some minor work (they showed it to me) and they are charging me a very fair price for what they are doing. Plus they recommended another car repair service for some of my other needs and walked me over there. I’ll be using then as well.

I traveled from Mt. View to Larry’s and I am very glad I did. I was explained everything that my car needed and was even asked by Larry «If you have a good mechanic in Mt. View, here’s a list to show him» which means he wasn’t interested in gauging me more then he showed interest in explaining everything about my cars needs. Even though it was my first time I’ve taken my car there, I will only trust my car to him from now on. Reason being, they are honest, open and very friendly. The amount I paid for a full inspection and oil change was so low, I had to ask «Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?» The oil and filter used were of the best quality and everything was explained in plain, simple to understand language. In these times it’s difficult to find a good and honest mechanic, but I believe, not if you try Larry’s at the very least once. Or you can continue spending 100s elsewhere and not fully understand why?

We went to Larry after he was recommended to us. The experience was awesome. We had a poor experience with our car at at local chain who wanted to do high cost repairs but after taking it to Larry we found out that some care and hard work on their part got the car in great shape and for so little that even included and oil change and a full inspection. Our friend has been going for 20 years and now so will we. Funny I actually like taking the cars in now it’s a relief instead of a stress.

Haven’t been here in a while, but since I was on here looking up the phone number thought I’d review as well. Brought my last car here (84 Volvo) when no one else could figure out what was wrong with it. He drove it around for over a week. Turned out he couldn’t get it to stall either, but he narrowed it down for me to what it ‘probably’ was and DIDN’T CHARGE ME for the week of testing since it wasn’t definite. His guess was that it was the fuel pump inside the gas tank, and said it’d help if I kept my gas level up. I started filling my tank every time it got to ¾ (since I couldn’t afford the repair) and never had another problem (until it failed smog a month later and I donated it lol). I now have a Subaru, and the check engine light just came on. My first thought was to bring it here. Larry, expect a call on Monday :)

I learned about this shop because my in-law’s company’s (PeopleSoft) intranet reviews recommended it. She and her bro’s family had used the service for a while before I sent my car there five years ago. Our experience is the same — Larry, the owner, is honest and he will not tell you to do unnecessary repairs like those crooks in other repair shops. I agree that the oil change is not cheap. But that includes tire rotation and checkup. I never need to do the milestone tune-​up for my 10-​year-​old Nissan Sentra. He tells you what needs to be fixed if necessary. When it happens, he takes the time to explain to you in detail. One time my ‘Check Engine’ light came on. He could not find the problem and did not charge me. The next time it came on again. He asked around and fixed the wiring. All these for the charge of zero! There is a reason for a business to keep long-​term customers. Larry earns it with his reputation.

It’s always a good sign when you walk into a mechanic’s shop and you see valuable collector cars on the rack. It’s like going to the Blackhawk Auto Museum without the admission fee! But if you drive a Honda Civic, this shop is for you, too.
Larry has been my mechanic for most years since… uhm…1988. The only time I haven’t used him is when I’ve lived too far away to make a trip to Pleasanton convenient.
As a single woman I think many mechanics assume I know nothing about cars (I may not be an expert, but I did rebuild my ’68 Mustang myself!) and I’ve had my share of mechanics attempt to take advantage of me. I take my car to Larry, and I just know my car will receive the best expertise and the most value for my money. And you can’t beat the service and friendliness of Larry and his staff.
I currently drive a BMW Z3, and I bypass the dealership for service. I should mention I brought my vehicle to BMW to repair the brakes after being rear-​ended at 40 mph. BMW MISSED a near split in the neck of my transmission that was caused by this accident. Larry discovered this months later after my BMW visit, explaining the extreme danger that the transmission could have split during a high rate of speed. And Larry certainly knows how I drive after all these years. I won’t mention how fast I had just driven on the I-​5 to LA thinking my car was fine, opening it up for the first time (the guy rear-​ended me two weeks after I bought the car). Knowing my car was «inspected» after the accident by Hendrick’s BMW, I was floored by such negligence. I brought photos of the accident, the car was on the rack, they fixed the ABS brake problem but apparently no safety inspection. I expect more from a dealership with the rates they charge.
Larry genuinely cares for his customers AND their cars.
Larry is also a past President of the Automotive Bureau and takes his ethics seriously. You’ll never be oversold on repairs here and can always expect to receive quality parts and service.

I find Larry and his gang to be honest, friendly, and knowledgeable! The pricing is more than fair! In fact, I took my Ford in once, and Larry found a small part had come undone. He fixed it, and didn’t charge me anything. He could have told me it was a very expensive repair, and I wouldn’t have known any better.
Because of his honesty in that situation, he’s my official «mechanic for life»!!

Top rated here.
Me and Julie have taken all of our cars here for, oh 10 years. My son Nick’s 3 cars, my daughter Katie’s car. Our ICV work Van…
Honest, fun place with fair prices and reasonably fast service for a repair shop. Larry is a real gas. Friendly guy!
First heard of Lar from a guy that worked for me about 10 years ago… We had a good experience and and now he is the unofficial mechanic of ICV. Working on 5 – 6 ICV’ers cars for years now.
He doesn’t use crappy parts, and he will tell you when you should go to some other shop for specialized or custom work that is not his cup of joe. He knows everyone.
He and Frank (his main guy), can work on anything. I have had him repair my 67 GTO all the way to my 98 740il.
And Larry definitely tries to save you money without sacrificing a quality repair. He TAKES A LOT OF TIME ;-) explaining what he is going to do, how and why. That’s a good thing…
He knows where to find discounts on parts and he stresses safety. He will check everything out while he has the car then tell you what he has found out. He wont pressure you. Rates are not discount but he will only do what is needed. no up-​selling crap.

I’ve been taking my car to Larry’s Automotive Repair for the past 8+ years and have nothing but great things to say about Larry and his staff. They are friendly, knowledgeable and always make you feel like family.
Larry, the owner, in particular will take the time to explain the problem (s) and suggests what to do. He is definitely not out to gouge you like 99% of those other mechanic shops. He is quite just the opposite and has actually saved me hundreds of dollars by recommending things like to postpone my tune-​up or do a minor tune-​up rather than a major tune-​up even though the schedule says I should. Why does he do this? Well, unlike most mechanics, Larry and his staff diagnoses your vehicle and gives you an honest opinion of what they think should be done. Of course the decision is up to you and there is no pressure. I’ve always gone with his suggestions and felt very comfortable with it.
Having said that, his rates are not cheap. The price to pay for great and honest service is well worth it.