My wife has a 2009 Toyota matrix that had been getting service at Sierra Toyota in Lancaster. They said that she would have to get the engine main seal replaced and the CV axle boot replaced. The labor alone would have cost well over 1500 at the dealership for this work. I heard of Carl's Automotive through word of mouth and decided to give him a try. I truly believe that this way is better than yelp could ever be. I got an appointment to bring in the Matrix and let Carl have a look at it. Luckily, I had a week where the car could just stay at Carl's and he could have a really good look at everything. A few days had passed because I knew there would be a great deal of work to be done. Made a phone call to get an update on what work had been done and how much it would cost. Come to find out, Sierra Toyota had misdiagnosed my wife's car. The main engine seal was not the issue. The issue was properly diagnosed and fixed at Carl's shop. The total cost of being at his shop for a week with parts and labor was just over $500. Also, the car got fixed properly and there are no more leaks. I truly believe Carl's Automotive is one of the last places in the state of California where you can get your car worked on and have that elusive piece of mind we all yearn for. I just hope he doesn't mind the business I will give him in the future. read more

... this shop's a little different. One of those diamond-in-the roughs you initially scratch your head about. Surprisingly well-equipped shop, Carl can do certain things other shops can't. Carl's ex-aerospace, so intellectual aspect of what needs be done, gets done, before wrenching begins, before the car gets rolled, into the stall. Carl and I went back 'n forth two months trading thoughts, hashing it out, somewhat complicated endeavor, r134a retrofit on a vintage supercharged MR2 (e.g., doesn't share principle A/C components with any other Toyota). Crux of our dilemma, that parts ran out on this vehicle, 20 years ago, we had to make due with what we had. But, Carl still has all the old equipment to service R12! Dozens of specialty shops petrified, scared to death to even touch the thing, even the local Toyota dealership here in Lancaster chickening out, kicking me to the curb, by the time we rolled my AW11 into the stall, Carl had the retrofit wrapped up less than 24 hours, restoring A/C -- to a nearly 40 year old vehicle? If you can believe that? Other reputable shops, having bid-over US$9k to do the retrofit? Threatening to tear the entire car apart? Carl came in, a cinch under US$400 bux, for the retrofit. Can't say enough about the guy, ability to find simple solutions to complex issues. Handy place to go when you've got something involved, complex, other lilly-livered shops are afraid touch - read more

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WARNING this is how CARL treats FRONTLINE WORKERS WHO HAVE BEEN HIS CUSTOMER FOR 10 YRS PLUS!!!! If you want to be ripped off this is the place for you! Carl is a liar and a cheat! ( he will quote you one price then charge you another,) He charged a frontline worker over 110% of what a gas cap costs (Carquest price $13.99/ Carl's price $31.73), 200% for new rotors( Carquest price $73.99 X 2 = 147 .98/ Carl's price 149 .18 for each front rotor = $298.36 for both) and 150% for new brake pad kit( Carquest price $57.99/ Carl's price $133.63) charged $500 for parts that cost $258.61 (total)according to carquest the auto parts service Carl utilizes! For my brothers and sisters who don't know, just like I didn't, Carquest is the autoparts service Carl utilizes for his automotive needs. Now if you do decide to use carl as your mechanic, I emphatically stress (PRIOR TO PAYMENT) identifying the item numbers on your receipt then go on the Carquest site to verify this man is not cheating you! (BECAUSE HE WILL of you are a woman or a layman to automotive machanics!!!!) Do it in front of him that way you can see the look on his face when he tries to manipulate you! Thank You for Cheating a loyal and long time client Carl (10 yrs plus) a client who trusted and valued the services you provide. Your greed has eroded my trust and confidence not only in your work but your ethics as a human being. We are all struggling through this pandemic financially, mentally, and especially Spiritually. This does not Grant you the right to rip your unsuspecting longtime clients off because they trust you. I mean one of the reasons I come to you is because I know that you are a good mechanic and believed that you were an honest man and business owner, however your actions dictate you dont care and you are willing to rip off your long standing customers to make a buck! (FRONTLINE WORKERS) DUDE THATS LOW BRO! So with that said; I strongly implore anybody seeking car service do not utilize Yucca Avenue car service owned by CARL. HE WILL RIP YOU OFF WITH A SMILE AND A HANDSHAKE!!!!!!! I almost forgot Carl decided to add injury to insult this by makìng it seem as though he was doing a favor buy acting like he gave a 50% discount on the labor he charged! Lol who does that (Thats any automotive businesses bread and butter!! )? A LIAR AND A CHEAT WHO WANTS YOU TO THINK he IS AN HONEST BUSINESSMAN!!!! 10 YRS CARL THANKS!! I WONDER HOW LONG HE HAS BEEN DOING THIS TO HIS CUSTOMERS! read more

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The "BEST" in A.V. Carl is my go-to mechanic from now on. Carl quoted me a price $200 less than a shop in Palmdale. "Experience", Great Prices, and Integrity. Anyone that says different must be his competition. read more

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We have been taking our vehicles to Carl for 20+ years. Was a time, he was a good, honest mechanic. Today, my husband picked up our Ford Ranger, which only had a brakes and fuel filter issue. Now, magically, the steering is going out. We will not be returning to Carl's. read more

This place is in an Industrial area and doesn't look like much from the outside, but Carl, who runs & owns the place is SUPER kind, helpful, and honest. We are not local to Lancaster, but were driving through when our car stopped shifting allowing us to drive faster than 50mph and it was smoking. So we pulled over and found this place. Carl gave us a quick diagnosis the best he could by checking out the engine codes and looking under the hood. He was really helpful and put us at ease by giving us an idea of what we were dealing with. read more

I have been going to Carls for years. All car repairs are going to cost you. But these guys are honest with their work. Last time I was there I thought I needed a new alternator and it turned out to be a corroded wire. They could of easily had replaced it and I would be none the wiser. I have a couple of those stories, their honesty is why I coming back. Hopefully I wont need to see them for a while. But I'll be back if need be. read more

Carl is a liar, cheater and a fraud! Took our car here with trust that he would properly diagnose the issue. Before he even told me what was wrong with the car and how much it would be to fix it, he had already started working on it. The Cadillac converter was one of the big issues, he hollowed it out and tried to charge me $200 for that! why would I want that done when it won't even pass smog?! he charges way more than other mechanisms and he's extremely violent! when we told him we were not going to use him he refused to take the car off the lift. I had to call the cops! read more

I referred my brother-in-law to Avenue Yucca based on reviews, I'm upset I did. He needed an alternator changed on Ford Escape, which is a more difficult repair than normal, quote was $1000. Carl said alternator would cost at least $345 and labor was rest. I asked if it would be Motorcraft brand because that was the price from Ford, he said yes. Brother-in-law picked up car, I checked the replacement alternator, it turned out to be a new Carquest brand alternator which retails around 165. Not a Motorcraft one and he charged more than double the cost of the alternator. To top it off, bolt/nut for ball joint was barely hand-tightened, and tie rod nut was missing cotter pin, to me that was dangerous as hell. Supposedly the transfer case assembly was removed as part of labor cost, it looked untouched. Go somewhere else please. Your life may depend on it! read more

We had a lot of maintenance work done on our older Nissan. Carl was great about being up front with us and always talking to us first about doing the work. read more

This is my only place to get my car worked on. They are always friendly and helpful. They do their best to keep the cost reasonable. They are honest. Jason works on my car and he never lets me down. He does little extra things like checking my lights and fluids. He rotates my tires when he changes my oil. I absolutely recommend this business. read more

I had my car serviced last week by Carl. It would not start. Appeared to be a fuel issue. Carl was able to service my car same day which was great and do a full inspection only finding a cracked belt. However 800$ and about 5 days later my car breaks down again, same issue. Take it to a different mechanic, because it's the day after Christmas and No one is answering the phone at Carl's, to find out the gas sensor is bad and the car is simply out of gas! I call Carl. His response to me is "I guess we missed that". Wow. But u didn't miss taking my 800$. Lesson learned read more

Carl's Automotive recently Changed their name to Avenue Yucca Car Care. Don't worry, Carl still runs the shop, he just changed the name so it pops up earlier in the phone directory and web advertising. Carl's been great to me and my wife over the last few years. He's worked with break issues, oil leaks, and most recently some inconsistent electrical problems. Significantly due to Carl's work, our two cars have a combined 350K+ miles and are still running well. Carl diagnosed and fixed the most recent inconsistent electrical problem on my car within 5 minutes of looking at the problem. Since it was such a minor problem, he refused payment. I know the majority of car problems can't be fixed as quickly or for free, but his trustworthiness guarantees I'll continue taking my business to him. read more

I have known Carl for years and he is always friendly, honest, knowledgeable and truly cares that any repairs are done right the first time. I highly recommend Avenue Yucca (aka Carl's Automotive/just changed the name but same ownership). read more

What a nice guy Carl is. We were driving down from San Francisco bay area to San Diego when our check engine and trac off lights on the dash of our Lexus came on, along with a bucking of the car! Egads! What is this?! We did a search and found good reviews for Cark's Automotive so we called. He saw us immediately, diagnosed the problem, put our minds at ease that we were ok to keep going on our trip. Whew. When we tried to pay him, he wouldn't let us. He could have charged us $50 or more for the diagnostic but didn't. Peace of mind. I'd recommend checking him out. Integrity and honesty; good traits in an auto mechanic. read more

Avenue Yucca Car Care, formerly known as Carl's Automotive, charged me $148.94 for an engine speed sensor which is normally around $40. I researched this online and called Auto zone which quoted me a price of $41.99. When I questioned the price of the car part, Carl said that they don't buy cheap parts. Hooey. The total cost of the repair was $323.61 which was lowered from $412.09, to which I balked, to make me think I was getting a really good deal. Don't think I will return there ever. read more

Terrible! I will never recommend this auto shop to anyone!, my clutch went out on my car he told me it was slave cylinder charged me for it, then told me the clutch would have to be replaced after I told him that the clutch was the problem In the first place, he told me would 1300! For a new clutch I took it in for a diagnostic and ended up paying him for a part that didn't need to be replaced just the clutch, terrible experience and I will NEVER Recommend him to anyone. Negative 1 star read more

We drove all the way from Los Angeles, to Lancaster to visit a family member at the hospital in the Antelope Valley, when we arrive we rolled the window down and then the window didn't wanted to go up, worried about the family in the hospital, I went to look for a place where they would help me with the window. My first stop was Pep boys, just to open the window and see what was on, they were going to charge me close to $200.00, then I asked the locals for another place like a small shop, they gave me the name of this other guy who was going to charge me $85.00 for a piece that apparently my window need it plus labor, and all this is over the phone. Then I went to a gas station where I asked other people for directions and that's when I guy told me about Carl's automotive service. Not knowing the area well I went to lo look for this place. When I arrived Carl welcome me with a smile on his face and I told him what was going on and he asked if this happen before I said no, he asked for the keys to turn the car on and with a little hit on the door the motor worked and the window went up. I got the chills when I saw the window work and with a hand shake he close the deal. What a guy, he saw the situation first and then a price if any. He show genuine care and he understood my situation. Honesty and compassion is a unique quality, and without a doubt he has it. With close eyes I recommend it. Thanks for your help you made my day easy. read more