Thao Auto Repair

Affordable, honest, reliable service in the ‘hood. Sometimes the wait is lengthy, but never more than 2 hours. I come here for everything! Cheapest smog in town!

I’ve gone to Thao on multiple occasions for big and small issues. They always inform you of all of their recommendations, the associated prices, and a «triage» of what should be done to help you make a more informed decision. Very reasonably priced, great work, and the repairs are always complete when they say they will be.

Been coming here for awhile and Lee is great and realize it’s about time to write a review.
Lee is very knowledgeable and able to fix my fiancé’s car by just listening to the engine. It was amazing. I’m usually here for an oil change. Lee is very honest.
One day (about a year ago) my car would start but then once I start to drive it, it dies. I waited about 15 minutes or so and tried it again and the same thing happened. Well after the third try I just left the car running for 30 minutes. I made it home safely. I took my car to Thao and Lee inspect it. There was a few minor things with the car and he changed the belt and did a few small things. After that my car is never better. It has been a year since then and well no problems yet and I’m comfortable if anything happens again I can count on Lee.
Oil changes are pretty quick here even if they are busy.

I swung by this morning, without an appointment, just to see how much it would cost to fix/​replace some lights that were out on my car, before I got a ticket. Lee greeted me, & was very accomodating even though I was just a walk in. He also was very patient with me (I am absolutely clueless about cars, & was very discombobulated from lack of sleep the past few days) & he was thorough in checking out my concerns, & even teaching me stuff about my car. In the end, it took only about 20 minutes for them to fix my lights, & even though he originally quoted me one price when I first got there, he lowered it for me as he was checking me out. Will definitely be back in the future for maintenance & repairs =)

Worst customer service I’ve ever had to deal with. Owner/​Mechanic quoted me one price, the woman who runs the desk tried to charge me 30% more once the work was complete. Became EXTREMELY argumentative even though I had a written quote, and the work actually done did not deviate from the quote. The mechanic came in and confirmed the quote, and she began berating him. Extremely rude to me while I was just trying to pay and get out of there. Have spoken with a few other customers, this is apparently the normal experience. GET A WRITTEN QUOTE IF YOU MUST USE THIS MECHANIC!

I would avoid this company like the plague. Lee the owner has very poor customer service skills. I had to bring my car back several times, only to be told that the issue could not be fixed and tough luck. I went to Wins auto repair 5 miles east on El Cajon and problem was fixed in 1 hour for less money.

I’ve been coming here for years with my vehicles I own for smog. I would definitely recommend coming here. If you don’t mind the location or your waiting area. They are quick and super affordable. I laugh when I hear people say they paid $$$ for a smog. I’m truely greatful for this place. In and out no problem.

Great customer service. The guys are really nice and helpful. I just moved to SD and needed a smog test. It cost $ 35 and took 20 min. I called a few places nearby and this was the cheapest.

I searched high and low on Unilocal to find a good repair shop. I called several shops to see what they charge for front brake pads. When I called Thao’s they were willing to match another shops price. My car was immediately looked at and diagnosed. I needed new wheel bearings, which are very expensive to replace with factory parts. The lady who works there called around for after market parts, and was able to reduce my cost significantly. I had my front brake pads replaced, wheel bearings, oil change, and a tire rotation done for under $ 500. I will definitely be returning for any future work.

Fast service. Nice people. Affordable. Fixed my brake problem, and found the cause of another steering problem I’d experienced for years but other shops couldn’t figure out. I know others who’ve been here and never had trouble with cheap parts or re-​repair. Per negative reviews posted, I’d agree that if you need a major repair like transmission to do your homework and have multiple options for shops and parts before you decide, but Thao seems fine at least for routine service and repair.

Great shop and very honest! Just saved me $ 1,500 by doing some legwork the Lexus dealership did not do. Glad I found this shop.

I have been going to Thao for years. He is a very honest mechanic. I never feel like he tries to get me to do more than what needs to be done. His prices are very fair and honest. I would pay extra just for his honesty. Recently I had 15% oil life in my car. It was the weekend but I refused to take it to anyone and waited for Monday. He had me in and out quickly.

My car needed an oil change, and the day before I was to take it in it started making a clicking sound, of course like so many others I googled it. What I though was going to be a simple $ 65 job ended up being my transmission.
My transmission broke from the outside, from what I hear that is rare, anyway, Lee made this entire experience less dreadful by explaining everything in detail to my husband and I, he even had my husband go in so he can physically show him what happened, which instantly made me feel Lee was a honest mechanic.
I had read some great reviews before taking my car in, but it is always more comforting and rewarding when you experience it yourself. I had my car back within a week and will absolutely be taking in both of our cars for any future service.
Huge plus that is within walking distance from our house!
Thank you Lee for showing us there are trust worthy mechanics out there and for the awesome job on my Highlander :-)

I needed new brakes and called around a while back. Thao’s ended up giving me the best quote and when it was done, I really felt those new brakes be put into use. Since then I have been coming to get my oil change, tune up, and repairs from them. Everytime the price is right and my car runs beautifully. Now if only there were more food joints close by to eat at while I wait.

I know it doesn’t really rain in San Diego, but I did a few months ago and I found out that my sun roof was leaking. I took it to Thao’s and they got the situation handled relatively quickly. As I was without a car, Le even offered to lend me one of his car in exchange for helping him set up a fish tank!
Got my car back, tested it with a water hose on my sun roof and no leaks! I’m ready for when we get rain again! We definitely go back there when I have more car problems.

I can’t believe I have never wrote a review for Thao Auto Repair. They are the BEST. Lee is a very honest mechanic (there is such a thing).
I’ve been taking my car there for years and yesterday I was unable to roll the window up all of the way. He could have very easily told me that it was the regulator that needed replaced for $ 300-​$ 500 and I never would have known the difference, but he was honest and told me it just fell off of the track and it was only $ 65 for them to take the door apart, fix it, and have me on my happy way with windows that actually roll up.
I feel guilty for waiting this long to write a review, considering Unilocal is how I found them in the first place.

First experience, was girlfriends tranny went out, and we took it to Thao’s.
They confirmed it was history, and said it would be $ 1300 to replace.
We decided to junk the car, as it was a 97 Corolla, with 230k miles.
Thao’s said they would forgive the $ 45 diagnostic charge if they handled
the disposal of the car. Instead, we opted to call Ecology Auto, and they
paid us $ 400. Minus the $ 45 we owed Thao’s, we came out with $ 355
instead of $ 0. Didn’t leave us with a warm fuzzy feeling.

I have a 97 Jeep Wrangler and needed a new clutch. After reading all the 5 Star reviews regarding Thao — I dropped my Jeep off. My first reaction was how genuie everyone appeared. I immediately felt comfortable. My estimate was just under $ 1k which was very good.
Very shortly my view of Thao turned BAD. They kept calling me finding more and more wrong with my Jeep. My $ 1,000 bill swelled to $ 1,700! Each item made sense and they saved all my parts. It would have been nice for them to let me know many of these costs are often required when replacing a clutch. I dislike surprises and would not have said NO — I would have been prepared. On a positive, they did several things for free as the bill increased. Included in the cost was installing a Catalytic converter which I supplied and checked my exhaust.
The next day I picked up my Jeep and noticed a tremendous ‘chatter or shudder’ in my clutch. My whole Jeep would actually shake when it was cold. Hoping this was due to being new, I drove it for two weeks. It got a little better but was not right. I called and they said they’d fix it.
Now I was and shocked they received such a high ratings! I soon found out. Sometimes ‘things happen’. What makes a company stand out is how they handle the situtation when ‘things happen’. Thao entirely replaced my clutch and installed a heavy duty clutch at no extra charge. They lost money due to this. The shifting is crisp, confident and chatter free! Furthermore, they would not have said anything had I not asked. They simply wanted to make sure I was happy. That is the reason for their high rating!
I would have given them 5 stars, but few a few things. First, they should have told me about vairous items that typically need to get replaced when doing a clutch. I hate surprises. Second, they should have test driven my Jeep before giving it to me. However, these are minor considered to the end result. I have another clutch in my RAV4 to replace. I’ll be at Thao’s again soon.

Their prices are cheap because they use cheap parts. They replaced a master cylinder for me three years — this is something that, new, should last a very, very long time. Turns out, three years later, I have to have it replaced again because, I don’t know, I guess the Chinese haven’t mastered the safe manufacture of Master Cylinders.
Not coincidentally, a mobile mechanic I hired to diagnose why my brake lights weren’t working ($ 45 vs. Thao who wanted $ 95) told me he worked for Thao for a short time and left when he saw that they were using cheaper parts.
Oh, and you gotta love those ridiculously high labor prices. (Normally 3x the cost of the parts.)
It’s hard to be a lone wolf but you people need to do your homework. There are PLENTY of trained, licensed mobile mechanics who will work on your car and put it only the parts you select for far less.
Forget Thao. They’re cheap because they’re cheap.

You guys rock!
$ 19.99 oil change and $ 8 tire rotation? Yes please!
Thank you for making auto service very affordable.
Customer service is awesome.