Pauls Golden Hammer Auto Body

RIPOFF
Brought my Subaru in because the wheel would squeal and my brakes needed to be replaced. I had just had the belts replaced so I know it wasn’t them. Paul said it was the power steering pump. He said he replaced it. I picked it up. Still squealing. Brought it back. He then kept if for a day and said he had to go to the manufacturer and have them replace the part. He told me that the manufacturer said there are a bunch of defective power steering pumps in the current batch. I called Subaru and asked about this and they heard nothing about it. So this went on for a month and Paul swapped out the power steering pump 5 times. All the while Paul made sure to let me how much of a hit he was taking financially having to replace the same part over and over again failing to see that not fixing my problem and charging me for it wasnt a financial drain to me. So alas, it still squealed. He then said «well, just drive it around for a month and see if it goes away.» It didnt. Then he says «maybe its not the power steering pump. Maybe it’s the rack and pinion». Well thats just terrific since I suggested that might be the issue around the 3^rd power steering pump replacement. He didnt refund me the money for replacing a part that wasnt the issue. I wasnt going to let him go near my car any more because he misdiagnoses things and then doesnt make up for it. How are the brakes he replaced? Well its been less than a year and they are already starting to squeal again. So i gave the man almost $ 900 for practically nothing. I feel cheated and robbed and I sound like an idiot driving around town with a squealing car but do not have the money to fix it.

This place is great and they have earned customers as long as we live here! We needed our alternator fixed. Paul quoted us more than 300 dollars less than pep boys– and did it just 2 days. Highly recommended, honest people. If you need your car fixed come here!

Paul is wonderfully accommodative and was able to offer me a faster job at a much better price when I rear ended someone. He was also very helpful in advising me over a complex insurance coverage question. He’s a stand up guy and he did a great job on the car.

Great local mechanic. Paul is helpful, gives you a fair price, and tells you exactly what is going into it.
I’m glad I took my car here for some light work and will definitely bring it back next time.

Wow a place you can go to and have a honest mechanic tell you what is wrong with your vehicle what needs to be done to your vehicle and do it at a very fair and reasonable price. Thanks Paul oh I will be in for the breaks soon.

Who wouldn’t love an auto body shop whose slogan is «We Meet People By Accident»?! I happened upon Paul and the Golden Hammer when I was looking for someone who could help me fix a loose door handle on my Toyota Sienna. I had been told by my own trusted mechanic that it would be very expensive because it would involve opening up the inside panel, blah blah blah. Well, Paul took a look, and gave me 2 options: one was a fix from the outside, at $ 65. The other involved ordering a part, and painting, which would have been upwards of $ 150. Since it’s an old car and I don’t really car about seeing a little screw on the outside, I opted for the cheaper fix. An hour later, and I drove away. Thank you Paul! You’re my new go-​to auto body guy!

Had a minor fender bender that I wanted to repair without insurance. Found that Paul was nearby and brought my car in for a quote. The price was right and Paul guaranteed his work for life, so I went for it. The work was completed on time and the results were great! The crash site was gone. All the metal returned to it’s original form and painted nicely. Looks like new.

My mercedes ml500 needed new spark plugs so we went to paul who is sort of a family friend. After leaving his shop my car started smoking had to get it towed back to him. He supposedly fixed the problem. Then after driving it for a few days my bas/​eps light came on. Triggering my brakes to lock up !! I almost got in a huge pile up accident. Lucky i was not rear ended. Took it back to paul. He had thw car for a week. I finally got it back. My back bumper is cracked evn more than it was before, my window looked like it was removed and put back incorrectly, and my engine shakes now. I am a 19 year old female. I told him i dont feel safe and the check engine light an bas esp light is on! He didnt fix shit created more problems for himself to fix !! I thought i could trust him. I have no more money to fix the car. I dont trust paul nor any mechanic. We have suspicions that he was stealing parts from my ml500 and placing them in his he is currently selling. my car is currently rotting in the driveway cause its not safe to drive. Thanks again paul! I cant drive my car nor do i have any money! We are currently filing a lawsuit against him because he stole my perfectly fine brake pump, and water pump and replaced it with BROKEN PARTS!!!
This man paul was a family friend that screwed us over
DO NOT GO TO HIM!
HE WILL RUIN YOUR CAR! AND STEAL YOUR PARTS!!!

I am sure he is great at fixing cars. The trouble is getting yours back. I had an accident I thought insurance would pay for. After a few weeks, I found out they wouldn’t, and Paul (my boss’ friend) agreed to hang onto my car until I came up with the money. He never mentioned anything about storage fees whatsoever. I called him with updates periodically for a few months. I had half of the money and offered him to pay the rest on installment. He said no – fair enough, that’s his prerogative. Well then I lost my job. I called him immediately and told him the situation, that I wouldn’t be able to afford the repair anytime soon and I should take the car back so it’s not using up his space anymore. He REFUSED TO RELEASE MY CAR TO ME unless I paid over $ 10,000 in storage fees we never agreed to on a $ 3,100 repair job he knew I couldn’t afford! Talk about bad business!
I filed a complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Paul admitted everything to the field officer, but they don’t have jurisdiction to do anything. They just try to mediate it for you. It’s all in the officer’s official report, though. The officer explained to him that he had to let my car go, and he still refused. While the investigation was still ongoing, Paul all of a sudden began unauthorized repair work. Remember, this is after I told him in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t afford the repairs and wanted my car back. Then, he TRIED TO PUT MY CAR UP FOR LIEN SALE and didn’t even send a certified letter as the rules require. Thankfully I got the notice in time to oppose it by mail and showed up just in case he tried to go through with it. I made sure he didn’t.
Now I am in the position of having to sue him or wait for him to sue me. He’s a sweet guy, and I’ve seen that side of him before, but in my experience he has been highly unethical in his business practices. There is no way on this planet that I would have entrusted my car to him for one day if I knew what kind of scam he was pulling.

Just a quick couple of words about Paul, as a man and business owner…
Recently, my car battery appeared to be dead and I was in need of a jump. Since Paul’s shop was within walking distance, I asked if he might have some cables I could borrow — which he gave me with no problem and a smile. That was only the start of a day long odyssey of me trying to get my car jumped, during which Paul offered his own two of his own personal battery jumpers, another set of cables, and then ultimately he got into his car and drove to my apartment to try his hand at jumping my car with his own vehicle! All of this was free of charge and without any financial gain for himself.
This is the measure of a man with character and foresight. He has earned a customer for life from me. He was just a selfless and helpful man who took a huge chunk of the day to help me get my car up and running (turns out the alternator and battery were shot and needed replacing).
Thank you for your character and help, Paul. I hope this helps give perspective for people and let’s them that they’re getting into business with a patient and helpful business man.

All my friends and I have taken our cars to Paul since 2000. He does a wonderful job and has been in the business for over 35 years. He will take care of you like you are family!

I had 2 flat tires & a baby in the backseat. Panicked, I pulled in and they patched me up on the spot! quick! Cheap! Easy! And they were genuine to boot! I lucked out! I thought I was gonna have to buy two new tires yesterday but they said all I needed was a patch! sweeet.

Paul has taken care of all my cars, from trucks to a Mercedes and Ferarri, for more than 10 years. I wouldn’t have anyone else work on my cars. Excellent work, nice, honest guy to deal with. Fair prices, too. You’ll be glad you found him.

I stumbled in here by accident because I went to the smog check station next door. I am thrilled that luck took me there. Paul was honest, helpful, and kind. He explained all the problems he saw when he opened the hood — making it clear that he knew what he was talking about. I immediately felt at ease. He showed me all the parts he replaced afterwards. His prices were reasonable. Paul’s my new mechanic.