Car Connection

I have called these people twice, with no response. Great Customer Service? I think not.

These guys are sooo awesome. Truck broke down 150 miles from home on the way to work. Had it towed to Car Connection after Unilocaling car repair.
What a godsend. Absolutely the fairest, most honest shop I’ve ever encountered.
First thing they did was give me a ride to my job site and gave me constant updates during the day. They scoured San Diego looking for hard to find parts and completed the repairs in one day at a price that was more than fair.
Can’t say enough about Louie Ontiveros and his awesome crew at Car Connection.
Thanks guys for turning a bad situation into an almost pleasurable experience.
My truck was restored as well as my faith in mechanics and humanity in general.
Make Car Connection you «go to» repair shop. You will not regret it.
Thanks again guys.

The guys over here at car connection are the real deal!
It is hard to find a good shop that knows classic cars the way that these folks do. Driving up, I wasn’t sure what to expect, the garage is in an alley off of Cesar Chavez and commercial. Once I stepped in and saw the other cars being worked on in the garage, I knew I was in the right place. I have tried several places that didn’t have much experience with old cars but now I’ve found the spot that I am bringing my 69 Dodge Dart when it needs anything.
I blew my head gasket and brought it to the shop on Tuesday, and by Friday they told me it would be ready that evening. I told them I wouldn’t be able to make it till Monday, and they offered to drop it off for me!!! Once they fired it up, they noticed an exhaust leak (very common with old cast iron manifolds) they worked on it till it was fixed correctly and delivered it to me later that night. These guys went way above and beyond, staying hours late (on a Friday!) to make sure the job was done right and I got my car back for the weekend!
I’ve never had an experience like that!
They were quick, knowledgable, fairly priced, and friendly! I will definitely be back!
Cheers!

Worst shop in San Diego. They screwed up my air bags and I had to spend $ 3500 to fix then at a REAL shop. The car was wired wrong by them. That was a $ 1500 fix at a REAL shop. My hood was burnt when a stray spark flew off during welding. Was taken to a paint shop recommend by them and that shop mismatched the paint. So that had to be fixed by a real paint shop. Not to mention my fender skirts were taken for paint by car connection and I never saw them again. And till this day there has been no sufficient explanation as to there where abouts. I have spent more money getting fixed what they screwed up. Oh and tools that they left in my engine bay, I found when I got home. This shop is a joke. If you want poor work and to flush your money away. Then this place is for you. If not go some where else. Your wallet will thank you

Car Connection deserves 10 stars!
I brought my car here a couple of days ago because the AC in my 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee was not functioning as well as it used to… AC was cold however, when I put the fan up high the air pressure was very low!
I am always guarded when I have to go to a mechanic for an issue about my vehicle… (I’m sure many females can relate!) However, when I was greeted by Louie (dad) I had a sense of ease and immediately knew I wasn’t going to be taken advantage !
I waited while they inspected my car and approximately 25 minutes later, Louie (son) greeted me in the waiting area and told me my AC had been fixed. He mentioned a piece of rubber had fallen from the unit and when they put it back on, my fan was fully functioning!
I asked him how much I owed and he said I didn’t owe them anything!
So if you are looking for a good mechanic, look no further… I wish I had found out about this place a long time ago!
Car Connection: I am extremely grateful for your help with my AC!!! I am also grateful that I have finally found an auto repair shop I can use for any future repairs!
Thank you!

BRING YOUR CAR HERE. I’m shocked there aren’t more reviews for this place.
It’s extremely difficult to feel like you can trust a mechanic to be honest. Louie has been a man of integrity the whole time I’ve been coming to him. I have never been so impressed with a mechanic. I trust both the expertise and that the work being done is actually needed.
They are very timely and professional and most importantly care about the customers. You walk away knowing you’ve been taken care of. That’s what everyone should feel confident in when leaving a mechanic.
Please come here — you have finally found the mechanic you’ve been looking for.

They are really good! I met the father. he was frank, to the point, honest, and direct. and with me being from the East Coast i found this very welcoming! i had problems with my HID lights i had install at a cheap shop. This place took about 4 hours to find the right parts and fix them. I have a new car so their quality of work was excellent and appreciated…. They are expensive, but the quality of work is very well worth it!

OUTSTANDING! It is run by a father & son team who are both top mechanics. I had several problems with my Toyota solara and they fixed them to perfection. This is the place to go to get ur car fixed RIGHT!

Car connection did a REALLY good job on my car. My BMW had an annoying rattling sound coming out of the exhaust and they fixed it for a great price and the customer service was excellent. I would highly recommend car connection for anyone who needs work on their car. Little Louie is the owner and is a gem. He was so friendly and made me feel like I was being taken care of. Take your car here if you have any car problems at all.

Summary: Solid, Honest Mechanics
The Bad: A little bit confusing to find (their address is on commericial but you have to enter via the alley behind and walk through the working area to get to the office).
The Good:
Had a great experience
Did the repair for less than the ballpark figure they quoted me
Explained another issue they encountered with no pressure to get it fixed through them
All friendly.
The lunch they were cooking smelled amazing.

Car Connection is a tight knit family of seasoned mechanics. Consider yourself lucky to do business with them. They have worked on all of my vehicles for almost 10 years now, and I have nothing but praise. In fact, this is the ONLY place that I will allow to work on any of my family cars.
Many years ago, I was a poor student, and my car was constantly breaking down, leaving me stranded everywhere. Since I loved my ride, a 1981 Chevy El Camino, I stubbornly tried to tough it out instead of getting rid of it. This was very hard to do, as my car was barely running, and I had no money for repairs. But, my homeboy Tony knew of a place right near my house that did good work, especially on older cars…
So I drive over, and introduce myself to Big Louie, the owner and shot caller of the whole garage. He inspected the car and we had a little heart to heart talk. Essentially, I told him that I was broke, but that I needed this car to make it up to Northern California so I could pick up my daughter that weekend. Without flinching, he asked me for the keys and said that he would take care of it. And he did.
Without knowing me, Car Connection fixed my car on good faith. He took my word as a down payment that I would come back and settle my balance at a later time. Wow.
Since then, I have brought and referred almost a dozen vehicles to Car Connection. A sample of the vehicles are… a Chevy El Camino, a Toyota Corolla, a Toyota Tundra, a BMW 5 series, an Acura Integra, a Nissan Hardbody, and a Honda Civic. All the repairs and work done have been beyond the owners expectations. They work on almost any make or model. I have seen Range Rovers, Corvettes, Hondas, and countless low riders up on their racks.
Oh yeah, if you use the $ 1.99 oil changes at Walmart, and you end up with a leaky oil pan, I remind you that you get what you pay for. Car Connection charges fair market prices, while delivering high quality repairs. I cannot say enough about the professionalism here. You will not be sorry by bringing your car to them.
Roll Call…
Big Louie, grease under fingernails, holding a pneumatic air wrench, tattooed. Nicest guy you’ve ever met. Knows cars better than anyone I’ve ever come across.
Little Louie, grease under fingernails, rewiring a 1950’s Chevy, piercings, tattooed. He once gave my mother a ride to work in a pimped out candy green 1965 Chevy Impala lowrider on switches. I literally trust him with my life (he does my brakes).
Alex, grease under fingernails, tearing down a transmission, wearing a beanie, and bobbing to some Ralfi Pagan song in the background. Often, he is the first to open the shop and the last to close it. Alex is a Mexican workhorse.
Teresa, clean fingernails, balancing the books upstairs, on three phone calls at the same time. Always makes your kids smile. Feeds everyone, nicest woman ever.
On another note, Car Connection also regularly provides clothing, food, and spiritual guidance to needy community members in Logan Heights/​Sherman Heights. This type of commitment proudly displays the fact that this shop truly cares about the community that they serve. I’m proud to call this my shop.

I have know Luis and Louie for a few years now. They have taken very good care of both my late model cars and my old cars.
I brought them my 1952 Chevrolet project. The motor was one that I picked up from a different shop. POS anchor. The guys at Car Connection went WAY over and above the call of duty to help me with the project.
They love what they do and it shows in the quality that they show.
They have rebuilt 2 Chevy inline 6s for me. Excellent work both times.
I’d recommend these guys to anyone. Go there. No BS, Quality work and they care about you.
— Joe

LE-​GIT!!! i have a 2003 Land Rover Freelander «work horse» that has always been a HUGE strain on my pockets. i would only go to the dealer to get it worked on since it’s such a difficult car to work on and i couldn’t afford to have inexperienced hands on my engine. The dealerships and Land Rover Specialist shops would charge MAD expensive to get some of the simplest things fixed, not including maintenance. The 12,000 mile maintenance range from $ 600-​$ 1600. Just to get a diagnostic done would cost me $ 100 bills.
my last straw was when my engine had a major failure that was gonna cost me a good $ 5 grand to fix. Imagine my relief when a friend referred me to Car Connection and they knocked that cost down to $ 300. That was a year ago and i’ve been going ever since. i estimate that i’ve saved a good $ 10,000 in going to louie’s for all my major problems and minor issues, as well as maintenance.
they are the best mechanic’s i’ve ever known HANDS DOWN!!! they are highly professional, promote the best part for the best price, insanely knowledge, honest, giving, and they absolutely LOVE what they do. they got CONSCIENCE. they tell it like it is, even if they know it might loose them some much needed business. When it comes down to it, their more out for the well being of the customer then the prospect of profit. All those things are very hard to find these days, especially in this trade…
HIT EM’ UP!!! The only thing you WILL regret is not heading their sound guidance in maintaining the utmost condition of your vehicle which, in my case, is my life line…
p. s. my sister used to say, «if no one’s hating on you, you must be doing something wrong…» i vouch 100% for them that they are DEFINITELY doing something right!!!

High quality service these guys really know what they are doing.

First, the address is incorrect: the true address is 1904 Pueblo Street. (which is where the Unilocal arrow is pointing.)
This shop was recommended to me by some friends (several, in fact) and since it is only a couple of miles from where I live, it is very conveniently located.
It looks like a greasy car shop (as it should, IMO). The guys who work there look like they are all about cars too, lots of tattoos, greasy finger nails, and lots of cars in/​around the building. Something that I noticed was that there are LOTS of old (circa 1960) cars. It turns out the the boss man is really into restoring older cars. (Sweet.)
Anywhoo, on to the service. My check engine light came on my hybrid, I called and Louie (boss man) was very friendly and said «bring it down, let me scan the code.» he was also honest and said I can do some* things on hybrids, some thing MUST be done my the dealership, I will let you know after I run the computer scan. I really appreciated his honesty. They scanned and did the 3 minute fix free of charge. All the while very very very nice to me and explained exactly what they were doing.
I took my Toyota Corolla down because it was making a «funny noise.» Again, I got greeted with amazing nice (dirty) guys. They were really great about letting me drop the car off Monday so they could work on it Tuesday. Because of my work schedule, they let it stay an extra day before I picked it up. Again, boss man called to tell me what they found and what had to be done. He explained what all the things did, how important they are, what will happen if I don’t get it fixed, etc.
Knowing NOTHING about cars, I did not feel like I was getting ripped off, taken advantage of, or that they were over charging me.