Emerald Auto Repair

I can’t say good enough things about this place. I took my car in for 90k mileage maintenance and was pretty worried it would be very costly. They were honest about what needed to be done and did it quickly. Dropped my car off before work, got an estimate, and the work was done when my workday was over. It doesn’t get easier than this! The staff was polite and kind, and I didn’t feel like I needed to worry about being cheated here. I’m always really worried about that at any repair shop, and this place basically eased all my worries. The car is also running like a charm (no more squeaky breaks)! I thought their prices were fair, especially considering other places aren’t so accommodating. I called on Monday morning and they were very laid back and just told me to bring it in Wednesday.

I’ve been a customer of Jim’s for years now. However, no longer. I had an absolutely horrible experience recently with them that I am still dealing with resolving. I highly recommend never going here.
I took my BMW 330 in because the air conditioning stopped working. Turned out the entire blower motor needed to be replaced. Four days and close to $ 500 later, I went to pick up my car — and YIKES! The entire passenger side of the car was hit. Jim acted like it was that way when I dropped it off. He called the mechanic who worked on my car, and they confirmed that the car was hit during the time it was in the shop. What really pissed me off at this time was, «why didn’t the mechanic tell Jim, the owner?» At least then, Jim and I could have discussed my options. Jim took full responsibility of fixing my car and the body damage, so I left it with him.
Now, almost 3 months later, I still don’t have a car. His insurance told me that my car is totaled. I am dealing with them to pay me back for my car, the repair payment, and any and all inconveniences I have experienced over the past 3 months due to not having a car.
What’s the worst part is that Emerald Auto has not returned any of my calls for close to a month. And, they didn’t report the accident to his insurance until close to 2 months after the incident. What was a simple repair as led to my car being totaled and an insurance nightmare.

If you’re looking for a genuine, honest mechanic this is the place. I come here for anything I need done with my car and although you won’t get a warm front desk welcome they take care of what needs to be done without ever over charging or pushing unnecessary services. Nice to have a trustworthy place to go for a girl who knows nothing about cars!

Brought my car here for the first time and Jim was great! He didn’t suggest or push any unnecessary service to me and was entirely transparent on cost and what needed done. I will recommend this shop to everyone.

This is indeed my first ever Unilocal review but every time I leave Emerald Auto I have a huge urge to review so finally I have gotten around to it (only about 20 minutes after leaving their shop)… They deserve 5 stars any day. I have been taking my little old 2004 Toyota Corolla (122,000 miles) to them for a few years now and am seriously impressed every time.
I am the epitome of a stereotypical gal who knows literally nothing about cars… seriously, its pathetic… When I first moved here I tried a few different auto shops in the city who all charged me WAY too much, had me «fix» things that didn’t need fixing and were inconvenient, sloppy and rushed. I got to a point where I would make my friend take my car in for me so they wouldn’t scam me. Until I happened upon Emerald/​Jim and Crew and all its glory!
Their prices are reasonable (I mean hey, its SF, nothing is going to be super cheap), the attention to detail is excellent, and the clear knowledge and genuinely nice and honest group that works there deserve praise. As I am such a noob for car related issues, I run everything by my friend who is a car guru before getting any work done (he even has the same car as me so I trust him more), he too is incredibly impressed with what he has heard about Emerald and is always shocked by their prices and their HONEST way of business.
Seriously… Emerald Auto never ceases to impress me, in particular the owner Jim is beyond fantastic. He is patient, friendly, kind, does not take advantage of a lady who seriously knows nothing and the most importantly, he is totally honest. Any time I have brought my car in for weird sounds, oil changes or just to give it a quick scan/​check up, I am beyond satisfied with the work ethic, in-​depth inspections and the minor adjustments (brake pads, things I didn’t ask for) Jim and his crew will throw in for free. Jim has never even slightly seemed like a guy in it only for the money and he has been so straight forward and upfront every time I go in.
Few examples? Example 1: «I think I need my tires rotated?», answer, Jim looked and told me they were totally fine and it save the money until next oil change, he also made minor adjustments on my brakes to keep them in tact for free, told me it was a simple tightening and clearly he wasn’t going to charge me. Example 2: Jim warned me my clutch was on its way out, again as I know nothing I asked him repeatedly if I should just get it fixed then or wait, he told me how expensive clutches were and to save up until it gets really bad and fails. Example 3: I am heading on a road trip and was concerned on my clutch which has become progressively worse (as expected) than months ago (thanks SF.), Jim was completely upfront with me, gave me all the options and knocked 2 hours of labor off my final price. Example 4: They are not greedy dudes who will charge you $ 100+ to look at your car, you pay for what needs to be done and if its nothing then its nothing.
I seriously could go on an on. Needless to say, I really adore these guys and I would recommend them to anyone. I have and will continue to suggest their service to any and all people. Those I have converted to these guys (after many a stories and «I seriously think I have the best mechanic in SF») have only spoke their praises as well.
Finding a good, honest, fair and truly genuine mechanic (esp in SF) is incredibly difficult and always a crapshoot. I am thrilled to have come across these guys a few years ago and will continue to claim continuously about how I probably have one of the best mechanics in the city.
Thanks a million to Jim and the crew. You guys rock.

Yes, you do have to smog check Prius’s now. This did not used to be a requirement. Emerald can handle it and they took care of it in a few hours. No appointment.

Worst experience ever! This guy is a thief. Installed the wrong part not once, but twice.
You’re lucky if someone answers the phone.
Never got an answer about getting reimbursed for having the wrong part installed.
Do NOT trust this guy! He doesn’t know what he’s doing and neither do his so called mechanics.

Jim has taken care of my cars for over 10 years —
Fair — straight shooter– best mechanic in town —

This place is a great find. They provide fantastic service at a reasonable price and they are laid back, smart and friendly. I strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a good place to have their car serviced!

I recently had them do a major servicing of my car there. They did good work, with a few caveats:
* Their front desk customer service is slow to nonexistent. Don’t be surprised if there’s no one at the desk and you have to wait around for someone to show up.
* They’re not meticulous about getting approvals before doing work. They changed a $ 2 light bulb for me to the tune of $ 35. I would have done that one myself had I known.
* Their prices are quite reasonable, though you can save some money by paying attention to the light bulb issue or similar.
* In their efforts to save me money they overlooked my car’s standard service intervals. My car clearly calls for a coolant flush and replacement at 120,000 miles. They seemed unaware of this (claimed it was lifetime coolant, when it was not) and were reluctant to do the work. Perhaps they were trying to save me money since the coolant didn’t appear worn out. Your call whether this a bug or a feature.
Overall a good, though not perfect review.

I had a lot of work that was needed on my car, including a new belt, front breaks, new cabin filter, oil change, and other small things like new wiper blades, etc. I found Jim professional, honest, nice. Clearly a hard worker and just a genuine guy. I thought the price breakdown for the oil change was higher than I would have liked, but the price for service and parts for everything else was quite fair and got a discount for paying in cash. It was also difficult to get a hold of the store (I’m guessing because they are busy and they don’t have someone doing full-​time reception; seems like Jim himself does it). This is a minor grievance, as the most important part of an auto repair shop is the quality of their auto repairs of course. Car is running smoother than it has been in quite some time.
I’d come back to Emerald.

I took my Camry into Emerald after I hit one of those concrete road dividers with the left front tire. It sounded very very bad, lots of scraping noise, and the tire was leaning slightly backwards. As if it was about to fall off… I didn’t know what to expect for cost of this repair. but I was prepared for close to $ 2k in repairs…
I was a first time customer, and referred from a body shop. They took the car on a Tuesday (i had it towed in) and it was ready on Thursday evening.
The total cost of repair was $ 770, but they said 10% discount for cash… Which I took advantage of…
Thanks Guys for repairing my car so quickly and efficiently. I’m very satisfied with the work performed and the price is fair.

Been here multiple times — for multiple problems, not the same one :)
I like these guys. They know their cars and are good people. I’ve been in SF for more than 10 years, but they make me feel like I grew up here.
Reasonable costs, and they don’t try and gouge you like the dealerships.

I hit a pothole in the city (I know, hard to believe) and thought I had a simple alignment issue. I took it to Firestone (on Geary) and they indicated that it was something more serious and recommended that I go to a repair shop. Emerald is literally right across the street and had great ratings, so I decided to drop by.
Here are some of my initial impressions:
— This place is super busy
— This is not a dealership, so don’t expect any of the fancy amenities
— Jim (the owner) is a man of few words
Frankly, I don’t know the first thing about cars outside of the bare basics. I have no idea what repairing/​replacing a spindle/​steering knuckle would involve, but I did know that BMW would have likely taken my first born child. Jim on the other hand, was quite the opposite. If you read some of the prior reviews (even the negative ones), people note that he’s an honest man that doesn’t try up-​sell you. This is absolutely true. When I came to pick up my car, amidst all of the chaos (there was a lady in line with a crying baby), he took out his phone and showed me pictures of damage and repair work that had been done. It’s easy to tell that he takes pride in his work and his ability to provide affordable solutions.
Next time I drive over a pothole like an ass clown, I’m bringing my car back to Emerald.

Been going to Emerald for over 10 years. Started in the Sunset, was excited when they moved around the corner from me when I was in SF… but, now living in Oakland, i have ZERO problem making my husband sit on the bridge and bring our Honda back to Emerald on his day off for a simple oil change.
Why? Because why in hell would I ever mess with something that isn’t broken?!
It’s bittersweet for me to get Evan or another one of the really nice, courteous, and hardworking guys that work there and not Jim. But I know Jim, I know he’s a super hard worker, cares about his customers and business, and folks… if that doesn’t earn you a vacation now and then I dont know what does?
Today, I called in and told them my husband was on his way and needed an oil change. Although we are really flexible (I feel like someone there just move cars all damn day!) I was quoted 30 minutes for an oil change. I’d like to think it’s because I’m special and a regular… but it’s likely because they are just THAT good at getting you in and out.
Keep up the good work guys and thank you for being an honest business in an industry that has many feeling like they’re being ripped off.

Thanks Evan for taking the time out to understand my practical servicing needs for «The» truck. Without any upsell BS we were to right to the main issues and layout a followup appointment.
And now for Jim. Jim has personally driven my vehicle to diagnose my subtle performance requests. Thank you.
So what the phone sometimes rings off the hook. That is a good sign! Keep up the honest work.

Had a simple headlight replacement on Herbie, but these days the way they make cars it isn’t a simple DIY task. They manufacture cars now so that they need special tools and adjustments.
Add to the fact that going to the dealer can be a ripoff and the mark-​up on the parts is ridiculous, there was no way that I was going to the dealership. They’d take my car all day and try to fit me in! Really. 20 years and they might fit me in in 3 days.
I used to always get my VW parts from the local garage that specialized in Euro cars, but they’ve all been closed in favor of million dollar condos, so I found Jim and his small garage in my neighborhood through a Unilocal neighborhood search. I’d passed by his place a million times but had never been there.
I called and he said come by early the next morning. I pulled my car up and he smiled. Seems like he had seen Herbie a million times too. He told me to come back in an hour so I went down the street to have breakfast at Mel’s and came back and he was done in 30 min! The price was insanely cheaper than my dealer would have charged which was good enough for me!
Thanks Jim!

On a trip through San Francisco my diesel VW Jetta suddenly lost power. I was able to get to my hotel, then had the car towed to the local VW dealer. After several days the dealer left me a long detailed recording that the entire exhaust system was restricted and would have to be replaced at a cost of over $ 9,000. I knew I was being robbed. I rented a car and returned home to Oregon.
Seeking an honest repair shop on line, I chose Emerald Auto Repair at 2941 Geary Blvd based on their excellent ratings.
I had the car towed from the dealer to Emerald Auto. The owner Jim Gavney informed me that only my Turbo was bad. Jim quoted me about $ 600 labor to replace the turbo. Which was a reasonable quote anywhere for the job. I sent Jim a new Turbo which he had installed in a few days. I had to wait three weeks to book a good flight. Jim put the car in storage while I waited for my flight. I was not charged for the storage fee.
My car ran perfect on the 600 mile return to Oregon, Cruising 70 –80 mph and averaged 40 mpg, with plenty of power on the mountain grades
Emerald Auto Repair gets my highest rating. I highly recommend this shop for an honest quality job. Don’t let the big city dealers take advantage of you, call Emerald Auto Repair at 415 −751−7860.

If you want an honest and trustworthy mechanic who will not try to scam, upcharge, or sell you stuff you don’t need, then Jim is your man! He is truly out to do a good job!
We were having a recurring problem with our car not starting and Jim took the time to really diagnose the problem and fix the specific part instead of trying to sell us more maintenance and parts.
The one warning is they are very busy and Jim is not always in a hurry to get you your car back.
He’ll do a great job, it just may take a few days.

I pondered for quite a while whether this should be a 2-​star review, but I could not agree with myself that Emerald Auto Repair deserves more than 1-​star. This review has been posted after my first, and last ever, visit.
Wife took it upon herself to get an oil change (2013 Mazda 3) based on location and Unilocal reviews, which led her to this place. Maybe that was my mistake for letting her do anything involving the maintenance of our automobile, but it’s only an oil change, what could possibly go wrong? So I let her be and sent her with a note with the only instructions that she would need, which was to get 0W-​20 oil, or 5W-​20 if 0W-​20 was too expensive. (Mazda owners manual kind of recommends either)
What the owners manual DOESN’T recommend is the oil that Emerald saw fit to offer and administer to the engine of our car. Apparently, wife was recommended a «blend», and not knowing what that is, she accepted that recommendation (because it was from someone who allegedly knows more about cars than we do). When she got home and gave me the invoice, I immediately knew that she didn’t get what she was supposed to. The invoice says that she received a «blend» of «5W-​30/​10W-​30/​10W-​40/​20W-​50.» WTF is that?!
Even the large text on the oil cap on my engine, which clearly says «SAE 0W-​20», should have been a fairly major red flag to not continue with their ‘recommendation.‘
This obviously seemed questionable, so I called as soon as I saw it, yet Jim, the guy who mans the phone and the front desk, insisted that we got 0W-​20 and it was a perhaps a computer mishap. Well, there are numerous other things that tell me that was not a computer error: (1) the price that she paid did not reflect what a 0W-​20 oil change would cost just about anywhere; (2) the decal placed inside the car window had a handwritten mileage for next oil change as +3,000 miles (Mazda recommended oil changes for these newer car engines is 5,000−7,500).
It was during this phone conversation that I learned that she had to bring the car back on Monday (it was Friday and they are not open on weekends) to get a part installed that they didn’t do because it was not in stock. I didn’t even think to ask what this was for, assuming it was connected with the oil change. I was already going to bring the car back on Monday and have them drain their garbage «blend» and put the proper oil in.
On Monday morning, when I pressed, Jim admitted that we didn’t get the oil that this car is supposed to receive, and so he got me in fairly quickly, and I left with my new (correct) oil and no additional charge. Before I left, though, I was asked to come back again for they still had the wrong part, which turned out to be an air filter. Not thinking about why am I getting a new air filter, I left. Unable to go back later in the day, the wife did… and came home with an additional $ 52 invoice. WHAT?!
While I don’t mind paying for the proper oil, this unnecessary air filter cost almost half of this new invoice. (I could have bought my own air filter online for half of what they charged me!)
I looked in the owners manual and I placed a call again. It recommends changing the air filter every 37,500 miles, of which my car has 15,000 miles less than that. Jim told me that the air filter was «dirty» and, probably seeing where I was going with my tone, said that they don’t «upsell for things that aren’t necessary». I am quite confident that my «dirty» air filter would have been good enough to last until its recommended time for change. I was offered my air filter back because «the trash wasn’t picked up yet» but I declined the offer, because it’s not like they are going refund this new one that we’ve already driven on (despite not many miles).
Quite simply, this was a lot of hassle over one oil change… one oil change that should have been done correctly in one visit with zero additional phone calls. I would rather pay more at the over-​priced dealership than go back to Emerald Auto Repair.