Scotts Valley Transmissions & Auto Care

Dropped my 1985 Corvette off before Thanksgiving — picked it up just before Christmas. That is remarkable on a number of fronts. They diagnosed it, figured out what had to be done, recommended doing a clutch (even though the problem wasn’t clutch related and NOT an upsell! Just common sense.) — but worth doing while the tranny was out, ordered the special hard-​to-​find parts (1985 Corvette with the problematic Doug Nash 4+3 manual transmission), found out the parts were backordered from Ecklers (one of the prime Corvette aftermarket shops), ordered from another Corvette specialty shop and fixed it. (that they knew of Corvette specialty shops was worth an extra star!). Other places would have said to ‘take it elsewhere’. Mark and the gang kept me up to date, had great communication and a did a great, great job. I couldn’t be happier with the work. I may have finally found the auto shop I have been looking for…

After an excellent initial experience I’ve taken my all of my vehicles to Mark at SVT over the past year. They work for a fair price and provide excellent service. I’ve had transmission services done, and regular automotive maintenance, all which turned out great. They prepped my RV for a long trip and it ran flawlessly. My Oldsmobile Silhouette recently set the double transcontinental record by driving from CA to NYC and back to CA in 5 days, and who prepped it? Scotts Valley Transmission. Thanks guys!

I know one of the technicians who is a very dependable person, so I thought any shop Brad would work for would also be dependable, and it was great.
Met both Ken and Mark who seem to be owners of Scott’s valley transmission. They answered my questions. Scheduled to meet my needs. And finished sooner than promised.
In addition to the work I asked them to do, they also did a no charge inspection of 90k service with notes indicating brakes have 20% left.
That said they didn’t upsell me, or find unnecessary things, like jiffy lube always does
Price was less than I expected. Service exceeded my expectations. If God forbid, I ever need a transmission repair I would trust them to to do that right too at a fair price.
Blaine

Very surprised with all of these high stars. Had a insanely terrible experience here with our Vw Eurovan. Feel so ripped off by this place. Spent 4k times 2!!! 8k and still the transmission had to be done a third time by someone that knew what they were doing. So so mad, irritated and disappointed with this so called place of business — Expert rip off artists !

We recently brought our Honda van into the dealer in Santa Cruz for an oil change and realized that it was also due for its 60,000 mile tune up. We were shocked when we went in thinking it would be a $ 40 oil change trip and it ended up being over $ 800 once we added in the tune up. On top of that they told us our brakes needed to be replaced and that was going to be another $ 600+ which we declined to do since we were already sort of stunned with our $ 800 price tag.
We decided to get another quote and brought it to Scotts Valley Transmissions and Auto Care to see what it would cost there and we were pleased to hear their price was over $ 150 less than the dealer price. They got us in quickly and even picked me up and dropped me off at my house (which they told me they are sometimes able to do for local Scotts Valley residents). That was a HUGE help since I was toting my four small children with me and had just intended to walk home after dropping off my van. They got it finished that afternoon and my breaks feel great. We were so impressed with the great service that we asked the new owner, Mark, if it was possible for us to bring our van back to them for the regular scheduled maintenance as we were unsure if we could since its still under warrenty. We were very happy to find out that we can and will be doing so the next time we need anything done. Very very strongly recommend!

Professional, friendly customer service. Top quality workmanship on three cars in the family for the two years we have lived in the County. Absolutely fair prices. The world of auto repair is one in which trust is imperative. You can trust these guys, you won’t be disappointed,

my clutch gave out as i was driving on 17!!! that was so scary…
when i got to the shop, they were so nice. they could tell that i was distressed and their kindness really put me to ease.
my car was done the next day! they were so awesome and i will recommend them to anyone i meet.

I had a hard time deciding what to write, and the stars, as I am conflicted…
Work = 5 stars
Service = 3 stars
Price = 2 stars
The bottom line is the new transmission seems to be working good…
But the price went way over quote, do to too many extra bad pad parts. Had I not negotiated for a better price, based on the $ 2400 – 2900 of the quote (estimate) given (and should take 5 working days to complete), it would have been $ 4300. I paid $ 3200 and it was late by several days. The late issue, is a lesser of one because, I want it done right, not poorly/​quickly…
My Car: 2001 Honda Accord, 4cyc, 221K miles. Well known for transmission issues. First transmission was replaced by Honda at 101K. Even the OEM replacement, last not more than 100K miles, and I got 121K Miles, that got me to 221K miles on the car (with 15−30K Mile ATF oil changes, done by me (AmsOil ATF used))…
Repaired: Frictions (what normally wears out) were OK, but slightly worn (replaced any way), Case half (common failure), differential (gears, shaft), and some shifting solenoids (somewhat common failure) that pushed the $ 2900 to $ 3200.
I’m hopping with all the weak-​links fixed, that I’ll get more like 200−300K miles, do to the 15−30K miles ATF changes. One can hope…
Good luck…

I don’t think I have ever had such amazing customer service! Took our daughters Lexus in for a leak. Worked with Brandon. He discovered our previous repair was crap. He suggested calling them and making them fix it :) however the repair was done in L.A. So I said forget it go ahead and do the work. He then offered to take pictures and or talk to the previous shop to see if I could get some money back! The shop then rebuilt the tranny and gave us a warranty. Since my daughter had to return to college with this car, Brandon helped us find a shop close to her to keep up on the follow up work. When she returns in the summer I will run it into the shop to make sure all is cool. But I couldn’t be happier with the service !

2 different vehicles, both done right and on time. Recommend.

The short version: Outstanding service, great attitude, very efficient, demonstrates the standard to which all auto mechanics should be held.
The long version: The reverse sun shell blew out in my 2001 blazer after only 58k miles, a headache no one wants. I called up and spoke with Brandon to get the low down on the car, Brandon told me it could potentially be a serious issue, but no matter what they would be able to take care of me. I had my vehicle towed in after hours, their parking lot is very convenient, and their after hours drop very easy to understand and secure. When I spoke to Brandon the first time he said he would have the car looked at by the following Tuesday afternoon.
He beat his estimate and called me around 2pm on monday, said he had had an initial evaluation with the car, would have a diagnosis for me by wednesday on what needed to be done. Called me tuesday saying he was ready to remove the transmission and wanted me to approve 8 hours of labor to fully dismantle the transmission and diagnose it, and I said yes. no less than 24 hours later I got a call from Brandon saying the car was ready to roll, of course I was dumbfounded. Talk about service. Brandon relayed to me that in that time frame they managed to diagnose what was wrong and repair the problem with top of the line parts (without having to fully rebuild it, got lucky there) and it fit within the 8 hours I had approved and the initial estimate they had given me so they went ahead and did it, at some point in the conversation he mentioned to me that the mechanic was there after hours working on it, impeccable!
In the space of about two days they managed to evaluate and repair what most would view as a serious problem. Outstanding.
All in all, amazing service, outstanding communication. Top notch auto shop

The estimate was 45% less than what I paid to get my car back, fixed. The work seems to be done right. The problem is the estimate was way too far off. They broke bolts off to replace a part that was damaged. I know this happens but if you are trying to be fast and take short cuts, this is what happens. I think if you want that customer back you should eat any cost that was caused by «your own mistakes». and breaking bolts off is a mistake done by the mechanic. There are many ways to take off an exhaust mannifold carefully. This is a common problem when taking off bolts that get that hot. I’ll just be taking my other vehicles somewhere else and keep trying to find an establishment that believes in custormer service a little more.

Great service! brought my Honda Accord in for my transmission, they did not just rebuild it, they made it better. installing better parts and making it last longer. I love the fact they go above and beyond to help. Took about a week but very much worth the wait!!! also added in a brake job and discounted it too. I will tell everybody to go here. Very happy!

I have a 2003 Honda Accord, I had a new transmission put in at Ocean Honda in 2007 and just recently the transmission warning light came on, I didn’t want to take it to the dealership after having multiple terrible experiences. I found Scotts Valley Transmission online and took my car to them and all I can say is wow! They were awesome! Did everything for an awesome price and had my walk out with a smile on my face I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them! Owner even stayed a half hour after closing to explain to me the problem! Great work!

These guys are totally awesome, and literally went the extra mile for me. I own a 1992 Dodge cummins turbo diesel with automatic transmission that was slipping and having serious issues. They did diagnostics with all the gauges, and everything pointed to bad problems inside. They took it apart and showed me the bad parts that needed to be replaced and what happened, and how a previous shop in sac cut corners. I was very happy with how they communicated to me the problems, and what they were going to do to fix it at a very reasonable price. I own a 4X4 and taking my transmission and transfer case out is no easy task. They are good at it!
If you need your vehicle to be fixed right with attention to detail, Take it here.
My transmission has never felt better, and use less diesel to get around.
I took my truck here because my cousin told me about the shop. Glad he did. They deserve recognition. They have a warranty, and ATRA and ATSG members.
Thanks Brandon and Ken for really helping me out!
Job well Done

I have had my transmissions serviced here for years now and have always had great service at a reasonable price. When the intake manifold failed on my Mustang GT, I was happy to find that they also had certified Ford Mechanic doing the mechanical work. Brad did an excellent job on my manifold swap and cleaned up the coolant that had leaked all over the engine. He even reworked my thermostat housing to make it look new! Good Job Brad!
Take your vehicle to Scotts Valley Transmission with confidence. Brandon, Ken and the rest of the crew provide a level of Customer Service that is rare these days!

It’s a pleasure to use Scotts Valley Transmissions, where Ken and his crew actually take the time to properly road test and perform extensive diagnostics, BEFORE simply recommending an expensive rebuilt unit.
Far too many so-​called «transmission» shops and dealers will simply tell you that your transmission has completely failed and offer to install a rebuilt unit to the tune of $ 3 or $ 4 grand. Or, they might try to convince you that the diagnostics and repairs could end up costing more than just putting in a rebuild.
In my case, it was a $ 5-​buck part inside the transmission that was causing the issue. They did have to take the transmission out and open it up to get to that pesky part, but the bill for that was less than half of what I would have paid to have a whole new transmission installed.
Because Scotts Valley Transmissions actually opens up and works on transmissions (instead of just taking transmissions out of a box), I also have the benefit of having had somebody who really, really knows transmissions go through the entire unit with an experienced eye.
You might be stuck for a whole new transmission someday, or you might get off relatively easy by having some failed parts replaced in your existing unit. The only sure way to tell would be to take it to a knowledgeable and experienced shop like Scotts Valley Transmissions.

Thanks to Brandon and Ken!
My husband and I have had a lot of work done recently on our cars both at SV Transmission. They got the job done when they said it would be done.
They drove me back to my office after I dropped off the Car.
My husband stopped in quickly with another issue and helped him on the spot.
These are good people, good old-​fashioned service and treat you right!

I was traveling to Scotts Valley/​Santa Cruz and experienced trouble with my auto while I was there. I dropped off the vehicle after hours and left the key in the slot with a note saying I needed the car as soon as possible because I was scheduled to leave. When I talked to them the next day I could tell they were busy, but they were able to get the work done as quickly as I hoped. It worked out perfectly for me. They even picked me up at my hotel when the car was finished.
They were professional, and the price for the work seemed fair. So far, the car seems to be working very well.

These guys do excellent work.
They rebuilt the transmission on my ‘91 Chevy SUV which was juddering and leaking fluid… it’s perfect now
Then I asked them to rebuild the rear axle due to excessive wear (I gotta lot of miles) and that worked out well also.
Now they’re working on the clunk in my steering and seem to have fixed that issue too!
prices is reasonable
the folks I talked with (Ken and John) are friendly and helpful
I‘m very satisfied with this place