The Short Review of Stockton Auto Care --
Pros --
High Quality Work at Bargain Prices.
Rith, the owner, strives to offer customers excellent work at low prices. He is very helpful and informative, and his diagnostics and estimates are almost always accurate. He's never charged me more than his initial estimate, and on several occasions the final cost was less than the estimate. If his mechanics find other problems, he informs you right away. No unpleasant surprises, no hocus pocus. Honest and candid, Rith never tries to sell you repairs that you don't need done.
Cons --
The garage is literally on the wrong side of the tracks. The freight trains run about fifty feet from the garage, and then you have to shout to be heard. No caviar or champagne in the waiting room; no limo service to drive you home. (Of course, if there was a fancy waiting room and limo service, your repair bill would triple. That's how the dealerships get away with overcharging.)
Since I don't live in Stockton, I have to drive over a hundred miles to take my vehicles to Rith's garage. However, since the repairs are much less than what other garages charge, I still save lots of money.
If you live anywhere near Stockton--and you are looking for excellent repair work at great prices-- you should try Stockton Auto Care.
The Long Review --
I first encountered Stockton Auto Care about 5 years ago when my Previa van was wrecked on I-5 by a big rig that dropped a pallet of metal parts in front of me (and then drove off into the night). Huge pieces of flying metal destroyed the radiator, ripped holes in the oil and transmission pans, blew out two tires and crushed one of the wheels.
Out in the middle of nowhere near Lost Hills, I had the van towed to the closest garage. They quoted me $3000 to get the van running. Since $3000 was roughly the value of the van -- before it was wrecked-- I passed. Towing it all the way to Modesto, I got a quote of around $2000 at a garage. A lot less but still an awful lot. A friend who is in the car business recommended that I take it to Rith at Stockton Auto Care.
Rith looked over the damage, made some calls for parts, and gave me a quote of a $1000. It actually ended up around $850 because by welding the holes in the oil and transmission pans, they didn't have to replace them. The radiator, of course, had to be replaced. Within a week the van was up and running. No leaks. No lingering problems. A few months later, I sold the van without any further repairs.
Rith and his garage are not your typical auto repair business. As I mentioned before, Rith never tries to pad his bill by selling you repairs that you don't need. Too many garages rob you with extra costs for imaginary problems.
For example, I lost a bolt on my Nissan Stanza that affected the steering. At a Midas Muffler shop, they quoted me $2800 to have the whole front end rebuilt. Fortunately, I found a small honest garage who replaced the bolt for $50. I drove the Stanza for another two years and it never needed any of the repair work done that Midas had tried to sell me. Corporate owned garages often run up customer bills to satisfy quotas and maximize company profits.
Of course, sometimes independent garages overcharge, too. I had a Tundra pickup that I needed to sell. A potential buyer asked to have it checked out by his garage in Berkeley. The Tundra ran perfectly -- but these mechanics 'discovered' $1500 in repairs that needed to be done. This killed the sale since I wasn't willing to drop my price to cover the dubious repairs.
I took my truck and their estimate to Rith. Chuckling over their high prices, he joked, "Maybe I should move to Berkeley so I can charge these prices!" After inspecting the truck, Rith could not find any of the problems they claimed needed fixing. Confident that the truck was fine, I soon found another buyer.
Aside from his honesty, Rith is very friendly, knowledgeable, and committed to his customers. How often can you say that about an auto repair shop? Take your next major repair job to Rith at Stockton Auto Care, and I'll bet you'll be amazed by how much you can save. read more
