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    Alternative Automotive

    4.4 (58 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Services - Alternative Automotive

    Check engine light

    Engine oil light diagnosis

    Auto general diagnosis

    20 More Services

    Auto noise diagnosis

    Tire Pressure Monitoring System diagnosis

    Auto no-start diagnosis

    Auto vibration diagnosis

    Auto diagnosis or inspection

    Auto pre-purchase inspection

    Auto maintenance

    Auto fluids and filters maintenance

    Oil changes

    Auto repairs

    Auto battery or electrical system repair

    Auto brake repair

    Auto engine repair

    Auto HVAC repair

    Auto light repair

    Auto steering and suspension repair

    Auto transmission repair

    Auto wheel and tire repair

    Routine automotive maintenance

    Transmission leak inspection

    Alternative Automotive Photos

    Recommended Reviews - Alternative Automotive

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Great people. Knew my Chevy. Found my problems and fixed it fast. Great communication and very reliable. I'll be back !

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    5 years ago

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    16 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Steven R.

    Steven R.

    Thank you Marc P.

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    I've been with Alternative Automotive for years, and am always pleased and satisfied with their work.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Alternative Automotive

    Review Highlights - Alternative Automotive

    Been doing business with Steve and team at Alternative for more than 25 years with every car my family has owned.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Escondido Auto Tech - Escondido Auto Tech

    Escondido Auto Tech

    (182 reviews)

    Call me a fan! After…read moreover 30 years, my trusted, go-to mechanic closed his shop. I was at a loss for where to find another honest, reliable, knowledgeable auto mechanic shop. After a lot of Yelp research, I found Escondido Auto Tech. I brought my vehicles for a smog and got great service each time. Found them easy to work with too. Next, I brought in my car for maintenance and a list of repairs and items to check on. Let me not bore with the mundane details, just know: -they took good care of the car, addressing every item on my list. -Frank, the service manager, took the time to discuss the list of repairs with me and explained what they would do-to make sure we were on the same page with everything. He listens! In fact, when he received the list (which I'd emailed ahead of time) he immediately spotted a safety issue and reached out to me to get it addressed promptly. -they finished the work AHEAD of the promised completion time -took the trouble to score parts at a lower price than quoted (and passed on the savings!) -provided a detailed completed work order with information I about my vehicle that I found valuable. Like I said, call me a fan!

    Dropped it off to have them check eveything for our trailer hauling road trip coming up, 100k mile…read moretune-up & breaks checked. This was our 1st time here and they are now our only go-to. They didn't oversell me (like our last mechanic place did constantly telling me I needed something fixed and it wasn't needed), very professional and did our whole list of service in a day.

    Joe & Sons Transmissions - Tony takes care of this amazing Corvette too!

    Joe & Sons Transmissions

    (23 reviews)

    Team here is awesome. Cynthia communicates very well and is very nice. Called around to find me…read morethe best deal possible for the quality parts I needed. Tony introduced himself and was very thorough with his inspection. 21 year old Vette with less than 18k miles on original motor. Made his recommendations and didn't try to upsell anything. Respectful staff, fast, efficient, and takes care of you. Like any place, be kind and you'll get that in return. Very experienced shop with loyal customers. They gained another. Should be all you need to know. Just listen to the recommendations they give. Not an ounce of rudeness from anyone at the staff here. If you experience that then I would question your own character. See you guys again! Update: Went back for rotors and brakes. Was welcomed kindly and took me in right away (appointment of course). Full replacement of rotors and brakes took less than 2 hours with top quality service. Great place with a family atmosphere. Will return again and highly recommend them to all in the future.

    Do NOT bother going there. They do NOT care about prospective customers. Called and talked to…read moreCynthia, asked for price of a rebuild or possibly a remanufactured transmission for my car, she asked for my VIN number saying she'd call me back. 2 days later, no call. So I caller her back, she said she was still working on it and would call me back. 2 full days to get pricing? Ridiculous! It's been days now since I called and she never called me back. This is NO way to treat a potential customer. It tells me everything I need to know about what kind of people they are. So glad I didn't take my car there! ** My response to Owner's reply: I did not need a diagnostic fee, since I had already had that done. NOT true that I was "frustrated" about that. I simply told them that. I was then told I needed to pay $600 for them to tear my transmission down and then give me an estimate. Which is absurd. IF you rebuild transmissions for a living, you should be able to give the customer a "ballpark" estimate, meaning from "as low as to as high as" numbers. Other shops do that. I did NOT "demand" anything, I simply told them that. That's when I asked for a total replacement cost, and Cynthia said she'd give me the price for that. And never did. So they make decisions on which customers to work with based on a couple of phone calls? Wow... you don't know me enough to judge and make that premature, uncalled for decision. Again, glad I didn't go there! You've been warned!

    Metro Transmission & Automotive - L-R    Ricky, Miguel, Rick, Michelle, Darrell, Robert

    Metro Transmission & Automotive

    (146 reviews)

    I really just wanted to say Thank You again for the fast and excellent service! Our livelihood…read moredepends on our vehicle and I appreciate your understanding with how important our vehicle is to us.

    Had a transmission rebuilt here about 3 years ago, i owned the van for 8 years at this point,and…read moretrans lasted 160k after the rebuild it never seemed to shift right into second gear, if throttling at a normal speed going up a hill it would shift into second at about 10 mph and the rpms would rise and fall with throttle position, and wouldnt really gain speed, would always have to manually shift it back to first until a higher speed, 20-30. Took videos of rpms and speeds sent to them. They scanned it and no codes. Test drove and they said it was fine. Well. It lasted about 50k And second gear started to shudder pretty bad. It also would shudder in reverse on steep inclines. Not sure if related. I get it. No codes = nothing wrong but then again when it went out last time there was no codes either, and it was barely drivable. I have owned this since new and am pretty aware of how my vehicles operate. Do majority of my own vehicle repairs since dealers and other mechanice seem to use parts cannons and not truly diagnosing. Got a new factory trans installed and now it feels like it used to, same hill starts easy throttle holds first until about 25-30, second is solid. Little to no rpm swings with throttle position except it goes better up hills now. 3 stars only because the trans lasted only 50k, under heavy use, original 160k. But this time i made sure they knew i wanted it to last another 150k and opted for new factory not rebuild. Cost way more this time but i feel it is right now. I do highly recommend them but i am upset it didnt last longer, either due to them or the rebuild shop.

    Alternative Automotive - autorepair - Updated May 2026

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