Barsom Tire & Auto Repair

Been coming here for almost 10 years. Gilbert ‘s Barsom Autho is a Southern California AAA authorized service center. He takes AMEX (seems to me like the more shady busineses don’t like to take AMEX). Mechanical certifications from ASE are displayed all over the wall.
I bring my oil and get a free oil change. I keep asking if there is any work that needs to be done on my car, but I keep hearing that there isn’t anything wrong with it.
My last car was an old 1993 sedan with 200K+ miles on it. I kept asking when I needed to replace it but it was good for years. Finally it started having more and more problems and Gilbert said I should probably replace it soon or it would just start having more problems and costing more.
Only thing I don’t like is that he’s not open on weekends and takes holidays off (so don’t think you can take your car in on your day off).
Going to be visiting him again soon for my oil change (free with my own materials) and check up (not free). Already stocked up on full synthetic oil and an oil filter.

So a couple of months ago I had a headlight that was out so I brought it here to get a new one. This had happened to my drivers side headlight in February last year and this time the passenger side was out. The owner replaced it and everything was good until a few days later when it went out again. I brought my car back and he said that the seal was loose which was a common problem with Volkswagens and the only way to fix it was to take the light casing out and replace it. Ok fine. So I took it to my normal mechanic today because I finally had the money to get it fixed only to discover the entire casing was broken and that’s why the light wouldn’t stay on. I don’t know what they did to it here but I don’t appreciate being lied to and breaking my car. I never had a problem with the headlight until I brought it here. Now I have to shell out a few hundred dollars to get it fixed because of something they broke. Never coming back. Do not recommend. Avoid.

Was towed here by AAA GREAT customer service but the pricing is outrageous.. I was charged nearly $ 100 for having it looked at. which was expected but still bums you out since they quoted me $ 3500.
I couldn’t get it fixed there. and it’s still site in my driveway.. Had to quit my job. so now im looking for somewhere close to home.
I know people want to make a profit. but that’s crazy expensive.
Hmm. yall claimed I needed a new transmission. .
I decided to go home and taken it to a a mechanic friend. we put transmission fluid in cus it was low. Strange how low it was since I dont have a leak.
And ive been driving it ever since. without a replacement. .?
You claimed I needed $ 2500 in transmission and the rest was for plugs & wires and an oil change.
I am sure your technicians are worth every penny but dont call me a liar sir.
I omitted updating this until I saw how you chose to accuse me of lieing
ESPECIALLY when I can take a photo of the documents with price quote. and my transmission.. That you claimed i need to replace. IS Still working. i have driven over 8000 on it since you said I needed $ 2500 of work. So glad I didnt trust or do further business. .
I found it bothersome your guy was more interested in «buying «my car as is. and selling me his green 4 door explorer?
. But im glad I didnt do any business with you people.
Wow. and you are calling me a LIAR.
Attention people from Unilocal.dont take this review down. I will fax over their quote and invoicing and u can have someone check under my car. its the same tranny and its working fine.
I hope AAA revokes your contract for trying to swindle a gal.

Cant believe i fell again for this. I trusted this place after reading 5 star reviews. I already went to jiffu lube for FREE diagnose check up and they told me i need a new pair of rotors. And estimated me for almost 320 $ plus tax. So i told them i will think about it. So i came here *thinking* that this place would be trustable and cheap. Guess not, they charge you 120 $ just for diagnose check up and quoted me over 410 $!! I shouldve done it at jiffy lube. Maybe its just me but this place is very over priced.

Had an excellent experiece came here because my car was shaking when I would drive and would not change gears past 40 mph… they ran a diagnostic on it turned out the ignotion coil was out got it replaced total was $ 272.67 with tax parts and labor… I got a $ 25 discount and they fixed my broken dipstick for free :) quick service respectful staff definitely check this place out…

I was having some issues with a slow leak in my tire. Although it was just before closing and only a $ 10 job (and they were in the middle of helping 2 other customers) these guys took the time and were FAST and efficient! Super impressed with these guys! They multi task great as a team!
PS– I have had my fair share of mechanics that like to take advantage of chicks so I am weary of places like this! But these guys seem very honest and hard working! I will be back here next time my car needs some TLC!

I love supporting my local small businesses. Barsom Tire & Auto is a family run shop with great service and reasonable prices. I come here to get my oil changes. I rather give them my money than Jiffy Lube or some other corp style place. Even though the prices are about the same, I say support your local small business and come here today for all your auto needs.

Super fast repairs!
Came in to get a second opinion after a friend told me I’d need a new serpentine belt tensioner ($ 350 in repairs). The repairman took a look, did a thorough inspection and said that the belts (serpentine and alternator) were the only things that needed replacing ($ 125 in repairs). He also said he could do it right now and if I left my car there I could come back in a few hours and pick it up.
Friendly, professional, and I’ll definitely be bringing my car here if I need any further repairs on it.

I’ve found my new car repair place!
Gilbert & his staff were able to help get me back on the road after a blown tire this morning. They ordered my tire immediately upon arrival and had the new tires on just minutes after they arrived at the store. Gilbert’s wife was very friendly and I felt like this family business was more about service and upfront honesty rather than your usual mechanics trying to push an unnecessary repair on you.
I will definitely be taking my Explorer back for future service. It’s good to know there are still some honest & reputable people left in the auto repair business.
Thank you Gilbert & staff.

The reason why I took 1 star off is because of their price (they can be expensive on some stuff… read my entire review and you know why) and not being opened on the weekends.
Other than price and only open on the week days, this place is great. Gilbert, the owner, takes his work very seriously. To my observation, he is honest and truthful. He will definitely go extra mile for you if he can. His work is solid and trustworthy. I can tell that he will not compromise with the quality. He will listen to you patiently and will answer all your questions. This place is also AAA approved facility. I only tried them once but really liked it and thought this will be my mechanic for ever for everything. However, now I have a change of heart based upon my recent price experience.
Recently I needed rear brake replacement for my car. I checked the prices with 4 dealers, 2 Midas, 2 Firestone, 5 local car repair shops, and then called Barsom to compare. Amazingly, this place was expensive among all! Yes, including the dealers! Why I would come to this place if I can go to the dealer and get the best original product plus little bit extra for free? Barsom was about $ 30 more compare to the highest price I got from the other places.
I ended up going to this other place for the first time based upon the reviews here at Unilocal and really liked it. Their price was also one of the best with good quality product.
I will still call Barsom next time to check their price. If they are nominal then I will definitely come. If not, then I think I already found my new mechanic. I also wish that this place open on the weekends, at least Saturday.

I never received the letter Gilbert posted in response to my review of his services prior to him charging my credit card too much money. I also received a voicemail saying I needed to call my attorney for writing a negative review of his company on Unilocal and that he «didn’t take negative comments lightly.» What a professional businessman.

Wow, This place is a good as it gets when youur looking for a quality automotive shop. I’m not from the area and I was lucky to find this gem. I wish I had a place like this back home A GREAT, HONEST AUTO SHOP is hard to find. I was taking my family to Disneyland when the car desided to give up. Gilbert (the owner) took a look at my said it just a bad battery, while I was there I told him about how, when the car was cold, made a knocking sound. He said he would have his courtesy shuttle take me and my family to our hotel and then said he would call me back when it was finished, so I could get my family going on our disneyland trip. He then called me back to let me know that he found the knock problem too. Two (2) Dealers told me they could not find the problem and he has the car for less than 2 hours and finds it! and fixes it. No more problems. If you live in this area I would highly recomend this place.

I’m always amazed at the quality of service I receive at Barsom. I feel they don’t use any gimmicks to you cheat you out of money. It’s refreshing to actually get honesty in opinion and unpretentious customer service.
My sister recommended this auto shop to me because of the great service she has always received on her car. I got oil changes at either Barsom or Honda World because they charge about the same price ($ 40). It was not until recently that I took my Honda Civic into Honda World that they began to recommend fuel injection ($ 229.99), replacement of transmission fluid ($ 129.99) and four wheel alignment ($ 129.99). I questioned whether I actually needed these maintenance fees, and so I took my car into Barsom. They checked my car and said I did not need any of these maintenance suggestions by Honda World and that everything looks fine.
Barsom is a great place for your auto shop needs because I believe they were informative and very honest in answering all my auto needs and questions. Also, they participate in AAA discounts, which is a great help to your budget. I am now a loyal Barsom customer. I now feel my Honda Civic is in great hands. I recommend this shop to everyone, even though I may be doing a disservice to myself by prolonging my wait time for car services if more people find out about this awesome gem!

We needed to get our Ford Escape serviced and with almost all of the «dealerships» closed it can be tricky to find a reliable, capable and honest garage.
We have found a few good mechanics that we trust and ask them to refer us when we need something that they don’t do at their shop.
I guess its because they are «good» mechanics they refer another «good» mechanic who can meet our needs. That’s what we found when we went to Barsom Tire & Auto Repair in Whittier. They have a really nice shop with good diagnostic equipment and skills.
Don’t let the sign fool you «Tire and Auto Repair» can be complex if you don’t know what you are doing. At Barsom they have a broad range of expertise and experience.
We called at 2:00 pm on a Friday to make an appointment for a wheel alignment and we’re prepared to schedule an appointment for next week. They asked if we wanted go in today at 3:00 and we were there.
And we were out by 4:30 and ready to roll again. It «feels» really good when you have confidence in the work someone does for you, we were «Happy Campers».
They are honest and competent. I will go back again.

Barsom is an excellent place to do business. They are awesome! The axel along with other expensive parts on my car broke last week. I was panicked to resolve how I was going to be able to pay for the repair. Gilbert, Barsom’s owner said don’t worry, I’ll do my best to help. Well, after checking around he was able to find high quality used parts. And he provided some additional discounts thereby making it possible for me to have my car repaired.
I think God must have put me there because any other place the repair would have cost $ 1000 — $ 1500 more for the repair. I am so grateful.
Gilbert also let me know that they are a AAA preferred repair shop. I didn’t know exactly what being a AAA shop meant. Gilbert said AAA does monthly checks on their facility, spot check audits of repair bills and random customer satisfaction surveys. It turns out that for the last two years they were are at 97% and 98% satisfaction levels. This year the scored 100%. I’m not surprised based on my experience. I give them a 100% score too.
By the way, Gilbert, his wife and staff are nice people too. And don’t let the Tire portion of their name make you think they are just a tire company, although their tire prices are just as good or better than club or walmart pricing (I checked!) They are a full service repair shop.
If you want an honest, ethical, well priced repair shop, Barsom is the place!

They have some pretty good customer service at this place. Really helped that I had my iphone app to bring me hear. Gave them a call and they answered promptly and respectfully. They gave me a reasonable quote over the phone. (I had my battery replaced).
The wait wasn’t too bad, and the room seemed nice. (Though it could have been air conditioned). In the end, I have to say, that if I had any other problem with my car, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring it here.
Like all repair shops though, I just want to warn you of things that you can do on your own. I’m not disparaging these people here, but oil changes, air filter changes (things that most of you who will be reading this can do on your own if you took some time to do some research can save quite a bit of money on.) are at an expected high price.
However; when it comes to things that take a little more expertise. Fuel injectors, tire replacement, or battery replacement, (Anything that takes a pain in the butt to dispose of) I would recommend here.
When they replaced my battery, they also noted that I needed my belts checked (and my oil replaced: P) While these things were things I should be aware of, I’m glad they didn’t shove it down my throat to get additional services.
Cheers. Good job Barsom. You have made me a happy customer.