H t p Auto Care / East Palo Alto, California

Rating: ★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Used Car Dealers, Automobile Parts & Supplies

Address: 40855 Albrae St, East-Palo-Alto

Postal code: 94538

Phone: (510) 249-9159

Pep Boys Does Everything For Less

Pep Boys retail and service location offering a wide range of car parts and accessories, from brakes to electronics and car care, as well as auto repair and services, including oil changes and tires.

Categories:

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Used Car Dealers, Automobile Consultants, Brake Repair, Auto Oil & Lube, Automobile Accessories, Mufflers & Exhaust Systems, Clutches, Wheels, Automotive Tune Up Service, Tire Dealers, Truck Service & Repair, Radiators Automotive Sales & Service, Emissions Inspection Stations

Neighborhoods:

Baylands

Open hours:

Mon-Fri 8:00 AM-5:00 PM,Sat-Sun Closed

Reviews:

Honest Mechanic

Everyone needs a good lawyer and honest mechanic. I found Tom to be honest and reasonable. I found him to be knowledgeable and has worked on my car several times. Only negative thing I can say is it took quite awhile to get my car back but I didn`t realize the head had to be sent out.
Will continue to go here for my car repairs.
Dee Dee

iamdeedee / 2/8/2012

Honest, Good work

Sure there are better places to get your car serviced. Buy, hey, there are much worse places to go as well, not to mention much pricier places like the local car dealerships who are only interested in positive ratings from their exit customer surveys.

I took my car in for brake work about 1 1/2 years ago because they were only several blocks from where I worked. Tom, the owner, greeted me, gave me a ride to ... view morework and had my brakes repaired by the end of the day. I expected to pay about $250 as they turned the rotors and replaced the pads but I walked out paying only $110 for everything. I have repaired my own brakes several times in the past I couldn`t do what he did for much cheaper.

Last week I returned to Tom`s beause my left front brake was occassionally squealing. Again, dropped off my car and Tom gave me a ride to work. Tom couldn`t find anything wrong (I told him the problem was intermittent and not always repeatable). He wanted to keep the car a few more hours to see if he could determine the source of the problem. I needed my car but he insisted we take one last test drive together as a to listen for the problem. Ultimately he couldn`t locate any problem but he didn`t charge me and refused to take any money from me for his time.

The only downside to Hi tech is they are a bit understaffed and overworked and thus are terrible with return phone calls and estimations of when the repair work will be completed. I found I had to be proactive and call seveal times about the status of my car and eventually just show up towards the end of the day.

The bottom line is they did good work for me. I felt Tom was honest and sincere with servicing my car and I have experienced much, much worse over the years and spent far more money for the same service Tom provides. Give him a try.

jlf007 / 9/14/2011

Below average service, indefinite waiting time, not the best

Tom is better than the previous owner, David, of this place. But not all good. I`ve been to that place since 2004. Tom helped me fixing my car at a very reasonable price (according to him), and did a few free tire services for me in the past. I appreciated those. Until one day I dropped off my car for ignition problem and he charged me for $300 for Charlie`s labor which according to him $250 / day. Well, the car was ... view morefixed, but I found my carpet was extremely filthy with some coffee beans (?), and a cigarette burned mark. What the hell? When I picked up my car, he used my car as a transportation to pickup his shop laundry shirts (like around 100 shirts that filled up my back seat) from somewhere. I guess it`s really close by because I didn`t notice a drop in my gas gauge. He did say ""sorry I borrowed your car."" So, I can understand Gina`s frustration about not telling his customers that he will do something to your car. Unless you`re so frustrated and got nowhere to go, you can probably try this place. But just keep looking for new mechanic. Also keep the distance with him and remain as autoshop-and-customer relationship, so he won`t step on your head. You`ll probably get the best price and service for first or two visit, but that`s it. Last but not least, his ""five minutes"" is actually ""30 minutes"", and he doesn`t do the courtesy of calling you first before replacing the part, so make sure if he did change the part. Who knows? I will still go there but I will start to look for new shop to exercise my option.

kvl888 / 4/19/2011

Best repair show in the whole bay area

Call me crazy but I drive all the way from Dublin to get my car repaired at Hi Tech auto. I strongly disagree with Ninad about his review. My experience has been total opposite of what he wrote. I have been taking my car for repair @ HiTech for more than 3 years now. During this time, Tom, Charlie and David, have performed repairs on my cars many times. Tom and his team have been very upfront about issues with my... view more car during this time and have been providing excellent care and repair for my car. Just to quote an example, last time i had an issue with my car and i couldn`t drive it to HiTech in Fremont, Tom got my car towed at there expense for repairs. No one else would do this for you. Tom has been very resourceful is providing me a whole range of options for repairs and lets me chose without pressure. I would recommend all of you looking to a repair shop to try out Hi Tech auto. They are worth the money and time. I highly recommend Tom and his team. You can be assured that you are getting teh best care at the lowest possible rate possible. Since I started taking my car to Hi Tech, a lot of my friends have shared there frustration and horrifying stories of how they were ripped by there repair shops, and have started using there cars to Hi Tech on my suggestion. Each one of them have thanked me for the recommendation. I am sure once you take your car for repairs @ Hi Tech, you are going to thank me too :).

Deepesh / 5/22/2010

stole my money.. beaware... fraud alert !

I rarely write a bad review for some one (i am usually very forgiving) but this time i had to take time out to warn everyone and would like to save you guys time and money (importantly frustration). By giving ONE star rating I am being very generous and it`s system limitation that I can not give him -100 stars or something. Tom is nice to talk to but he has absolutely NO CLUE as to what he is fixing and does NOT u... view morenderstand anything about repair. I took my bmw 330i for repair and had my ""service engine soon"" light turned on. He charged me around 650 plus dollars and didn`t do the right repair. I took my car FOUR times and he said he did something every time and never fixed the problem. On top he SHAMELESSLY told me the problem could be anywhere and I should consider changing spark plugs, engine tune-up and etc..which will cost additional hundreds of dollars. He changed crank shaft sensor, camshaft sensor and mass air flow sensor and none of them worked.(Now I know why..because that wasn`t even the problem). These guys are extremely lazy, lousy and never keep their time commitment. Now after fixing the problem at some shop, I sincerely feel Tom owes me straight 650+ dollars I paid. Please do me favor and don`t take your car to this shop. I probably wont take my car even for smog test here. I know one guy reported that this the best auto shop in the world..his world has to be really really small ..may be 300 ft in radius ..lol!

ninad / 11/31/2009

An excellent shop for auto repair

Hi Tech Auto Care & Smog is the best auto shop in the world. The mechanics, especially Tom, are bunch of great guys and excellent in auto repairs. I took my car for a minor repair 2 days ago and Tom, my mechanic, fixed my car without any hassle unlike the other auto mechanic shops out there. I definitely, 110% recommend the shop to anyone looking for a reliable, hassle-free auto shop with bunch of great guys who are... view more great mechanics. Thanks Tom for being such a great guy and a great mechanic!!!

Rolando / 6/5/2009