Seal Beach Chevron

It was up to me to review the other Unilocal reviews PRIOR to purchasing the Groupon for the Auto-​Care Special.
I have never had an issue going to an auto care special place (except for in 2009 when I went to Valvoline in Santa Fe Springs for an off job)
Here goes:
–Drop off the car at 7:30AM, get an estimate that it will be done by noon
–Headed out to Seal Beach for a little bit
–Returned to the shop by 11:00AM, was told by Mike that my car required a cabin air filter change and a window wipers changed. They took the courtesy in showing me what the air filter looked like and gave me the charges; however they were not successful in contacting me prior the service…
****They basically were telling me, «we’ve already removed and changed the air filter, so now you have to pay for the service» when I politely asked if I could be the option to refuse the service and perform it myself.**************
which really equated to the fact that they were going to perform the services even without my authorization. So, it would have either happened on this visit or the next visit.
[this was something that occurred to another customer in the past, I’m not the first and I won’t be the last.]
–The summer season is fast approaching and they sold me windshield wipers for $ 17 each.
–They kept the car until 1:30pm, which equated to the fact that they COULD HAVE taken my refusal for the service instead of having it being done by noon.
–they even said that I was due for a tire change when it’s not completely necessary… basically telling me that I’m obligated to perform the service at this station after a couple of thousand miles. [tires checked, only 30% wear… thank you though for giving me a future ‘service request’]
–I give a call to free-​auto care and Groupon; Groupon apologized and now I am able to choose another company to perform my next oil change. Happy ending; however if I would have been given the option, they would have rather saved themselves a complaint, kept a customer and saved a total of $ 40. [does not seem like a lot to alot of people, but when you’re in a financial bind, like myself, you could use all the money you have]
I really DO NOT appreciate businesses which obligates you to accept services when typically we are supposed to be given the option especially on services that we can perform ourselves (I have personally changed 3 sets of windshield wipers of my own, and 6 cabin air filters for other cars)
All in all, do a smog check here, refuel here… that keeps this place in business still yeah… but please consider another place to do auto repair… save yourself the time and trouble.
I already got my money back for the experience and I get to try another company so for that I am very pleased; however maybe other people aren’t so lucky. Please understand if you are running into an issue that you get to have another option.

Overpriced. Poor management. Terrible customer service. Do not go here. They will charge you an arm and a leg. I came here to get my oil change. Met with the manager, he recommended a bunch of things that were wrong with my car. Things that I JUST fixed. I will not be returning here

Been going to this shop for years as it’s convenient and close to the house. New management now. Had my car there for almost two weeks for them to figure and fix the problem.

Seal Beach Auto Repair is a tiny place connected to the Chevron gas station on Lampson. I did my smog check here, and with the printed $ 20 coupon from the website, it is by far the best deal in the city.

Went in for a broken heater, was quoted at $ 700, actual bill was $ 900+ after the work was done. Then my check engine light came on as I drove it home. Brought it back and they told me it was another $ 100 to have it looked at. ARE YOU F’ING KIDDING ME??? So bummed, we have 3 families of people who’ve been visiting this place for years and gotta say we’re done. Thought we’d be treated a bit better than that.

Came for a smog check. Showed up at 4:30 (30 min before closing) with my printed coupon. Mike at the desk was very friendly. Test took 20 minutes. Simple.

Went to this location for a smog check and was pleasantly surprised with the service. Joseph was extremely helpful and very professional. I was in and out in 20 minutes and was really happy. I will bring my car back for all maintenance from here on out.

The employees here look like they hate their job. Coffee tastes like burnt popcorn. Other than gas and convenience on my way home from work, not much to get excited about here.

This shop location is convenient for me. They have a tech familiar with BMW and they are not cheapest yet more economical than the dealership.
Joseph and the techs I’ve met are patient explaining technical concepts and communicate well

People think because of their location in College Park East that they are going to jack the prices up. Well, I have found the exact opposite to be true, they are very competitive and offer warranties with everything they do.
Joseph is the service manager, he is reliable and a great communicator.

The service manager (I think his name is Joe) does not have good customer service. He is condescending and impolite. I stopped by to drop off my truck for an oil change, but I was so turned off by his behavior that I just left. According to other reviews, I’m not the first person to have an issue with this guy. Perhaps someone should explain to him that customer service and friendliness is just as important as the mechanic’s quality of work.

What the heck happened to this place?
Finding a good mechanic is as hard as finding a good dentist… trust-​worthy, quality work, good price, honest/​friendly/​knowledgeable staff, and won’t add unnecessary work because they just feel like charging you that extra money. I’ve been coming here for 8 years and have had great customer service and honest repairs until they changed management on me! Mike and Randy were the best but I guess they had to move on, and now they replaced them with a yappy, lying salesperson who doesn’t really give a crap about your car (let’s just call him JS). JS only cares about «quantity and not quality». He’ll probably «fix» things that don’t need to be and rack up the price. The familiar faces of the mechanics are still there, but now I’m doubting the quality of the repairs with JS around.
I was overcharged with the service I got (I guess I’ve trusted this place and should’ve checked other places knowing that they have new management). When I asked about the service, he didn’t explain it to me as well as Mike and Randy did. He talks about things unrelated to your car, to hopefully distract you of the cost he keeps adding. He even lied to me telling me that they put air in my tires when I asked, but I checked and they didn’t!
It’s easy to bring in first time customers, but it’s always hard to keep them coming back. And now, I’m not going back there until they find a better manager!
Oh, anyone know of an honest dentist?

They are closed down for repair & quite rude when asked to be pointed in direction of different gas station

Wow… such a bittersweet reaction-​I have been a customer for over 25 years and have never been treated by a service manager in such a condescending way. It took me 5 vists a couple of appointments and 4 days without my car only be told after $ 140 that there was no more that can be done without having to buy additional parts. Shame on me. This SM has minimal customer service skills, yacks more about issues unrelated to repairs and in the end treats his service technicians in a similar way. The technicians are awesome, not so much for Joseph Smith. Mustang Corporation please take note. CUSTOMER BEWARE. Make sure that all work is documented otherwise you will go back like I did!

Had a very quick and easy smog check done yesterday. Joseph the service manager was very welcoming and a pleasure talking to. A very smooth and nice experience.

I’ve used these guys before, and I’ve always gotten good repair service. A new guy apparently runs the place (as of June 27, 2014). I had cooling system problems, which are not usually cheap to fix. I dropped the car off early, but I was not contacted on the first day (as is the usual procedure most everyplace, especially under the former management).
Since I was NOT contacted after dropping the car off, which is unusual for most repair shops in this area, over the past twenty five years. I had to go down to this place after spinning my wheels for the entire day, and was given a list of things to fix, most of which I was not in the shop to repair. Moreover, I was not given an explanation as to why I was sitting on my ass without getting an information call regarding the problems that the mechanic uncovered. Instead, I agreed to replace the water pump and radiator, because that was why I had taken the vehicle there in the first place.
On the second day, I was again not contacted, despite dropping the car off at 7:00 AM. A mysterious timing chain problem developed, and that added about five hundred bucks to the bill. The new guy (Joseph Smith) doesn’t call you when new problems develop, unlike the former management, and which is required by law. Instead, he put this on the bill without even bothering to talk to me about authorizing it. He also doesn’t bother to write up your bill until you show up to find out what’s going on, perhaps because he doesn’t bother to get your authorization for additional repairs, which also is required by law. While waiting for my bill to be calculated, I did notice a few calls coming in asking what in the hell was going on with their cars, over about a half hour time frame.
In short, I felt like I had been totally bullshitted by this bunch. It took a half hour to get this new guy to write up my bill, while I sat on my ass. I had a HUGE bill and not one f*cking call from this bunch in two days of down time. Looks like I need to start looking for a replacement for this bunch.

I came to this service station and left because they had advertised a $ 20 off mobile coupon, but once I attempted to use the coupon they informed me that I needed to print it out – even though the advertisement said I could show the mobile ad to receive the discount. Joseph was unreasonable and I will be reporting this to the better business bureau too.

Not only is their coffee machine out of order, but the guy tried to sell us cold coffee instead… No. And their selections are minimal compared to most cheverons

Took my car here after getting ripped off at the dealer, and ended up paying only a third the cost.
These guys take care of you; we take all our cars here now!

I LOVE Seal Beach Chevron for ONE reason, they have a gas pump off to the left of the service station that is usually unnoticed by others and I can swing in, swipe my card, top-​off, and swerve out of there… sweet, dude!
I don’t know WHAT happened there, I guess I was spirited away by words that begin with «sw»…it all came out so fast, I couldn’t stop it