San Marcos Transmission

I have been taking my vehicles to David for 10 years. He always took care of me including a 2001 Honda Accord and a 1960 Ford starliner. Unfortunately, I moved to the Bay Area years ago. Prices are ridiculous up here.
I was quoted $ 2500 for a Ford AOD transmission repair in the Bay Area. David set me up with a rebuilt one for about a third the price. I’m doing install myself but he has always been honest with me on pricing and sourcing out parts.

Super friendly! I called after hours seeing if they could help get the check engine light off my car because I forgot to put the gas cap back on and it had came on he said to come on in and on top of that he fixed my gas door cost at nothing! Glad I found this place! Thank you!

I sold them a 2005 Honda Civic Transmission on 12/​11/​2014. They paid me with a check, but it bounced. Never have been able to collect for this. BEWARE

Almost everywhere I go these days I find myself underwhelmed by product quality and customer service and overwhelmed by the prices being charged, especially when it comes to auto repair. However, not so at San Marcos Auto and Trans! David and his crew are top notch guys delivering top notch service and customer care! Thanks David! You got my business!

Buckle up for a long one, folks, this is San Marcos Transmission’s equivalent to the Edward Snowden leaks. It’s time some of the truth spills out about this place.
You may wonder why there are so many perfect reviews on here and no realistic ones. If you look at the bottom you can see the «not currently recommended «reviews – I think Unilocal should swap all those reviews for the ones currently recommended. David won’t be able to rebut this review, though, because I have proof that I’m another unfortunate customer of SMT and of the dates I have stated below. Keep your receipts people.
After having been told by another mechanic that my misfire symptoms seemed transmission sourced, I took my car to David on July 8^th. I got it back on July 21^st *still* just as broken as it had ever been. 13 days later – *thirteen* days, ladies and gentlemen, and all they had completed was some simple diagnostic work that should have taken a couple hours (and was practically promised as such).
Once they had spent multiple days just to find what they *thought* was the problem (a malfunctioning computer) they took over a week to get it replaced! And that was after I had to call them almost every day to try and get keep things moving – always being given the same nonsensical excuse that they were really busy, they’d get to it, etc. Who knows how long my car would have been sitting there untouched had I not be so proactive…
Then, once the newly replaced computer was *also* fried (and they were going to get yet another one, at that) I finally pulled the car because I realized these guys had no clue what they were doing. I had to get it towed out of there by AAA and taken to the dealer, who charged me an arm and a leg but freaking diagnosed and fixed the car in one day. A day! A day. From 13 days at incompetent-​ville to 1 day at the dealer. Crazy. It was entirely worth the price to have someone actually pointedly solve my problem for once, to be honest.
What’s more, when I showed up unannounced one random day during the 13-​day saga, my car was just sitting in the parking lot (of course, not being worked on), with the doors unlocked, as if they were located in The Hamptons or something. You can’t make this stuff up, folks, I could go on tour with his material.
You may be wondering, what kind of car do I have? Well, it’s not a Bugatti Veyron, no, it’s a 2001 Honda Civic. One of the simplest cars in existence and these guys had no clue what to do to get it working again. One time I called and Steve picked up and told me he was busy «Googling what to do» based on my car’s symptoms. The guy was online reading forums posted upon by *amateur enthusiasts* to try and figure out how to fix my car. Insane.
David would give me information (on having the computer replaced) that seemed promising and then when I’d go to follow up on that info it would suddenly be erroneous or simply nonexistent, as if he’d never said such things. Such as suppliers for my computer: Suddenly there were no more units in the area after I had already been told by him that there were. Things were incredibly disorganized, to say the least.
Despite their utter failure to provide any acceptable service, they ended up *still* charging me for the work they had done (a useless «tune-​up» that was in no way needed to fix the problem I came in for) after having put me out hundreds of dollars, leaving me for weeks without a car, and stressing the heck out of me.
What’s worse is that near the end of this whole fiasco I discovered that David had been on vacation for an entire week – something he conveniently neglected to mention while he was busy feeding me misinformation just so he could make another sale. So that just left Steve and two protégés who were probably not even 20 years old to work on what seemed to me to be dozens and dozens of vehicles. Absurd. They’ve simply taken on too much work. *Way* more work than they could ever efficiently handle – especially considering that they don’t have a clue about how to fix cars.
Considering how long David touts he has been in business, I would have thought he would have the knowledge and professionalism to realize when he is overbooked and out of his depth. David is definitely a swindler and a classic car «repair» guy (bs’ing you up and down on things you need to get fixed or maintained and not even being able to fix the problem you came in for, shifting around upon being asked pointed questions, and using the wrong esoteric terms for the topic under discussion). I got a middling vibe from him from the start but it all just wend downhill from there.
So what turned out to be the problem? A 6 dollar grounding bolt had fallen out of my alternator, in turn frying my 650 dollar ECU. One of the first things David said he’d checked and yet he had blatantly missed the issue – rookie mistake. I really have no words at this point.
Bottom line? Don’t ever come here, you’re better off just waiting for your car to fix itself.

WOW! Thanks to Unilocal,found San Marcos Transmissions, was able to get my commercial van in same day And repaired without a suprise invoice! Steve and David the owner are fabulous and most likely saved my life as my U Joints had cracked and bad to the point of failing. To make sure he wasnt Just telling me this he actually let me see the parts! I know he was exausted from working all day already and the shop was full with cars, but he was able to get me back on the road same day, without the heavy price tag! As a business owner and being used to the grind of other repair shops this truly made my day! Needless to say, they will get all my business from this point forward! What a pleasant experience!

Very pleased with my experience!
I found San Marcos Transmission using Unilocal so I wanted to pay it forward. As older cars often have parts that fail, I had a transmission problem. David was very polite when I spoke to him over the phone and assured me that having the car towed to him would be no problem at all.
He had the issue diagnosed and gave me several options in just one afternoon. The car was not drive-​able at this point so as you can imagine, I was in a perfect place to be taken advantage of.
David explained my several options and did not force me to choose. We ended up agreeing that selling the car was the best option and he charged me for just one hour of labor (although he probably put several hours into my job). He could’ve easily said that he needed to take every thing apart and billed me $ 300-​$ 400 just to do so and we would’ve probably come to the same conclusion.
Thanks David for the help and honesty!

Highly recommend David an his crew of mechanic. Highly educated in the automotive industry, an gets the job done!
Just about all the parts in my transmission needed to be replaced, Dave got it done an showed me everything he did. A++++ great price friendly and professional!

Once again, just updating my review of SMT San Marcos Transmission. David is a lifesaver. If it was not for his honesty, integrity, and ingenuity. My car would of had to of been scrapped. He explains everything up front, then gives you several different options based upon your budget, or lack of one.
I recommend David and his staff for all your repairs. You have tried the Rest, Now try the BEST.

I took my car to get checked just now when my car was overheating and accidentally walked into the wrong shop and met David. After talking for a little while I showed him the referral sheet I had gotten for a place next door (Lu’s) and right away he told me I had the wrong place but recommended I look at their reviews. Already impressed by his integrity I asked him to look at my car and he stopped what he was doing and explained exactly what the problem could be. He walked me over to a smog check place nearby and had them give me a free check for my catalytic converter. Realising this was the problem he told me to not waste my time on doing anything else. He recommended that I simply sell the car and get a new one, which would obviously make him no money. He spent literally an hour with me at no charge. What a great guy. I highly recommend this shop. :)

San Marcos transmission is amazing. Dave is a very knowledgeable guy, who can get you fixed properly the first time.
I recently restored a classic truck, and did a 700R4 swap. The shop I bought the transmission from didn’t know what they were doing, and the valve body was not shifting properly. Dave knows these transmissions so well, he was able to identify the problem quickly, source a proper valve body and get it replaced for me. Addiitionally, he knows the tricks to making the carb linkage mimic the valve body throw of the throttly body injected vehicles these transmissions usually came on.
Long story short, my trans shifts perfectly and thanks to Dave, my classic is a pleasure to drive.
Highly highly highly recommend San Marcos Transmission.

I would never take my car to any other transmission shop in town. The Owner David is a real straight shooter. After chatting for a bit (this guy’s an engaging talker) I felt comfortable enough to take him my classic 68 Mustang.
It was slipping out of gear sometimes and I feared the worst. After a quick inspection he diagnosed the problem. Turns out I had a small leak from my transmission pan and was just low on fluid!!! He replaced the transmission filter, resealed the pan and sent me on my way same day having saved what I assumed should be thousands.
I think other shops would have convinced me of a falsely needed rebuild because of the age of the car.
Go check these guys out… you’ll see right away it’s a solid and safe place for your car to go for maintenance.

I have been taking both of my cars to Dave since he moved to his new location. He investigates first, tells you his opinion, and allows you time to research and make your own decision as to if you want the service or not. He is super friendly and makes it a point to find the best price on parts for your car. I can’t say enough good things about San Marcos Transmission.

I’ve been coming to this place for years now, and I will continue to as long as I live in the San Diego area.
The owner Dave, is by far the nicest guy you will ever meet, and he definitely tries to make sure that you are 100% happy with the work done here. I have taken a few different cars to him over the years to have the transmission serviced, and/​or repaired, and each time, i’m so glad that i did.
Dave is an absolute miracle worker with transmissions! He won’t charge you for services you don’t need, and he won’t beat around the bush if he sees something wrong with your tranny.
You will never be unhappy if you go here for transmission work NEVER.
I have a transmission service due here in a few weeks, and San Marcos Trans is definitely the place i’m going!