Carefree Auto Repair & Smog

I’ve taken two of our company trucks here for repairs. reasonable pricing and if they replace any parts for your vehicle they always show you what was replaced also if the part has warranty on it. They let you know in case something happens to bring it back and they would exchange it. very honest very straightforward I would recommend this auto repair to my family members and friends.

The best mechanic in San Diego, CA. He really knows his way around a car and by far the most honest mechanic I have ever met! Will definitely miss coming here as I am moving to North Carolina!

Marvin is a really great guy. He is very respectable and gets each job done very fast and efficient. He works very hard and listens to your concerns and also gives you advice on what needs to be done in order to be driving safely. I think he is reasonable on his prices and tries to help you out when he can. Overall, I do not think I will be going anywhere else if I ever have a problem with my car. I trust Marvin and think he is great!

Marvin’s honesty and integrity are above reproach. From the wife’s minivan, to my SRT8, to the 73′ convertible, to all the other cars in my (extended) family, Marvin has consistently provided only top shelf service.
Every single job (at least 25), from brakes, to belts, to custom exhaust work, to electrical, has all come with an itemized quote, AND a final bill with all parts listed clearly. Marvin does great work, and furthermore takes pride in providing quality customer service. The recommendation for specialty shops that Marvin has referred me to have all been as solid as he is …
My entire family has been going to see Marvin for over a decade. While I appreciate many of the negative reviews on this page cite «cultural differences» or «verbal shortcomings», it is unfortunate that in this day and age ‘small minded’ people forget that Unilocal is a great tool, but also a fantastic megaphone enabling the grossly simple minded to make fools of themselves.
If you are looking for a «cut rate» mechanic, who uses cheap parts and cuts corners to «save you a buck» (albeit short term) LOOK ELSEWHERE.

Triple A has referred us to Carefree Auto. And we have 2 older cars that we are maintaining. We’ve seen various mechanics in the neighborhood. Marvin is very good. He is really methodical, personable, realistic and provides a line item list with a quote. He has worked on both cars and carefully tells us exactly what will keep them in great shape on the road. He always provides very good service and we are satisfied. I will return to Marvin at Carefree Auto as often as I can. I find it helpful to call him in the morning to see how his schedule is and we’ll drop the car off. He is very easy to work with and I appreciate all that he does. I highly recommend that he quotes on your work that needs to be done. He is very thorough.

Horrible place. Dishonest and terrible work. I took my truck there to get new breaks done. The front rotors need to be changed and pads all around. I don’t know if they didn’t put it on right or they put them on wrong but they started to make loud noises 2 weeks after. I took it back and he started grilling me telling me why I didn’t take it back earlier. I’m not a mechanic! How was I supposed to know something was wrong. He was angry cause they had to do the whole job all over with new parts. He demanded at least $ 40 to help with the cost! I was dumb enough to pay but I will never take my cars back to him. STAY AWAY!

Runnn the other way now!!! Went here to get a new estimate on my brakes, and let him know I went somewhere else down the street because they were a little cheaper… I Swear to the lord The owner Marvin verbatim said «I should slap you.» Whhaaatt! Are you out of your got damn mind, joke or not I am a customer not your friend of the street. Then he literally starts lecturing me why you get what you pay for, and why I should have came here in the first place! Solid asshole, and then I ask for another estimate for a proper job done and he says no he can’t and I that I proved I couldn’t afford it the first time anyway, Wowww! This is really happening! To add insult to injury dude has the heaviest grotesque accent. Save your self the anger and restraint from slapping the mess out of this dude.
Good luck on your search, I may be taking my business to advantech, heard they’re pretty good.

I’ve taken my car here 3 times. Marvin takes the time to explain his estimates, shows you how the car operates with diagrams and explains what parts are needed. After the repair he shows you the old parts and how they were defective so you know you are getting what you paid for. The last time I went in, Marvin diagnosed my catalytic convertor needed replaced. He spent his own time calling the VW dealer with my VIN number to find out that I could get it replaced under my warranty – it was just barely within the time frame. He could have repaired that for me to the tune of $ 1000, but gave the business away because he is honest. Yes, usually mechanics are the bearer of bad news that you need to drop some money into your car but they should not get a bad rap for that! My boyfriend has been going here for years and knows that a good mechanic is priceless. Love Carefree Auto!

I’ve been a Carefree customer quite literally for 15 years. Marvin is passionate about what he does, and he does it well. He does not do shoddy work, or use shoddy parts, like some other places. He is absolutely honest, and charges fairly for the quality of work he does. This is the only place I go for anything more involved than a simple oil change… the only reason I don’t do that here is because of the time involved vs. a «Drive Thru» oil change… but if the Drive thru finds it needs ANYTHING else… it goes to Marvin. If he can’t do the job, he refers out to a quality place that can. I’m sad to see some of the negative reviews — mostly of the owner Marvin, I’m guessing that his accent and cultural «shortness» probably rubbed folks the wrong way. Give him a chance — he does fantastic work!

There goes the neighborhood. Well I can only speak of a conversation that I just had minutes ago with the owner. Very unfriendly individual. Too bad, his communications skills are not impressive, and I am sure with this attitude, don’t believe you get customer service either. Stay away from this unfriendly person.

I just recently had an emergency repair done at Carefree. I chose to go here because it was convenient. I had to have a front window replaced in my car after it was shattered, not to mention some wiring was messed up and also had to be replaced. In my somewhat upset state of mind, it was nice to know that my window was going to be repaired that same day. The repairs were done in a couple hours’ time, the shattered glass was all cleaned up, and the mechanic even pulled out my fender (it had previously been dented by the last owner) without charging me any extra. Labor may have been a bit overpriced, but I’m not an expert on these things. Nonetheless, I had my car back within the same day and now my mind is at rest.
Well, this is like a week later and I had to go back because a wire had worked itself loose under my car. This might have just been a fluke sort of thing, but when I asked the mechanic to look at it, he was very short with me and almost seemed angry. I spent good money there last week.

Got to this place on a Saturday late afternoon, my car battery was down, and I had no choice at that time. At first the owner Marvin was way too much rude, then he argued about the price of a service and almost called me a liar when he hiked the price of a service by $ 10 which he told earlier and started giving me a bad eye for being a student when I opposed. He also tried to rip me off with another $ 50 service (a stupid test). a lot of auto mechanics would try to charge you more for the service and would try to sell you stuff which your car dosen’t actually need but this is the worst experience i ever had.

This place is horrible! We called them for an estimate for a brake job… gave them the year, make, and model of our car, and were told the job should cost no more than $ 200. We dropped the car off and were told that there was a «small fee» for the brake inspection that would be applied to our total bill. Figuring that we might as well get the oil changed as well, we agreed to the inspection and the oil change and asked them to call before the brake job.
They called us two days later and quoted us $ 800+ DOLLARS FOR THE BRAKES ALONE! That was supposed to be for pads, labor, and 1 caliper! So much for a $ 200 job! In the end, we had to pay a total of $ 140 just for the oil change and the estimate!
We ended up taking our car to Les at Snappy Auto Service on the other side of El Cajon Blvd (near Park) and paid only $ 250 for the exact same job!
DON’T GO TO CAREFREE AUTO, THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!