Save your money and avoid this shop. The owner, seems more focused on making money than doing quality work. As long as the suspension gets installed, that's all they care about. They only offer a 30-day labor warranty, which honestly says a lot. Seems like they already know customers end up coming back with issues. I took my truck in and the "techs" installed the tie rods incorrectly -- literally backwards. This could've turned into a serious or even fatal problem if I hadn't caught it myself. I called the shop explaining my truck was driving incorrectly and something felt off. Instead of taking responsibility or trying to help immediately, the owner told me to bring it back in 5 days because they were "fully booked" and had no time to look at it. Very disappointing experience overall. Poor workmanship, poor customer service, and safety clearly isn't a priority here. read more

Big Bear Automotive - Tie rod installed backwards. VERY VERY DANGEROUS - Auto Parts & Supplies Near Me - Salinas, California

Ok this shop gets down literally. Called on my way too salinas from monterey and they said sure bring it in and we will check it out. With in 20 min apon arrival they said back it in gave me a an excellent price too replace a blown air bag 5 stars for the immediate attention from Alex definitely come back with some other equipment thank you gentlemen read more

Big Bear Automotive - Alex and workers inspecting bags the right way - Auto Parts & Supplies Near Me - Salinas, California

Recently took my 2024 Ford F-250 Tremor to get a 3" lift and slapped on 37 inch tires and 18 inch rims and could not be happier. Rides really smooth and the work was done clearly with quality. The staff/Owner also follow up with you after the vehicle is done and show how much they want you to be happy with their service. 10/10 Recommend and will be back there with future upgrades ~Jordan Morales read more

Big Bear Automotive - Auto Parts & Supplies Near Me - Salinas, California

I called big Bear automotive talked with Alex. I Explain to him that I wanted a leveling kit for my 2025 Ford F150. He was very helpful, we set up an appointment , they completed the job within a few hours, and I was able to pick my truck up the same day , they did a good job. read more

Follow through with service. Never heard back from anyone to schedule my service once I called to place the order for parts. Not once but twice. read more

This business has awful reviews on Yelp and I almost didn't come here to get work done. However, you should note that the bad reviews are 2+ years old, and none of them really have that much context as to what the shop really did wrong, IMO. I called Big Bear on a Thursday afternoon asking if I could get an appointment set for a lift kit installation. Rene, the owner, was the guy who helped me over the phone and set me up with an appointment the following Monday at 8:30 am. Got to the shop at 8:30 am on Monday and Rene was the guy who helped me again. He is the business owner. He was courteous, professional, and no BS. I bought my own lift kit myself and he asked to see the parts before taking my truck into the shop. He said the shop would do a pre-lift inspection and then get started on installing the lift kit. He told me I should expect my truck to be at the shop until 4 pm but that he'd call me if it was done sooner. He gave me an estimate for the labor + alignment and I signed the paper and left. My truck was done by 1:45. I got a 2 inch Eibach lift kit installed and DAMN the truck looks good. When I was checking out, Rene told me everything they did to my truck and answered questions I had about what size tires I could run with the lift, if his shop works on electronic modifications (aftermarket headlights, etc), and was really helpful. He told me he put my stock suspension in the Eibach box and had loaded it into my bed for me. For my lift kit installation + alignment, it cost me $600. I had expected to pay around that. When getting back into my truck, nothing was missing or misplaced or had been touched or moved (an old negative review said someone had stuff stolen out of their vehicle while it was getting worked on?????). Also - this shop didn't charge me a "corking fee" like other shops do because I brought my own parts. Lavender Bros in Seaside said they would add a 10% addition to my lift job invoice because I didn't purchase my kit through them. I'll definitely update this review if I notice anything wrong or off with the suspension but I'm really glad I went to this shop despite all these awful Yelp reviews. Again, they're all super old and have no context. Are they fake reviews???? Are they from dumb people???? Idk. Id definitely recommend Big Bear and may come back here when I get new wheels and tires for my truck. I say "may" because they're all the way in Salinas and I'm located in Monterey, so it's a bit of a long drive. Thanks, Rene and Big Bear for lifting my Tacoma! Quality work! read more

See all

Purchased a new Toyota 4-runner and wanted to add a 3" Westcott lift, which are specialists in Toyota lifts. I wanted no cutting or modifications done. It was recommended that I go with 285 70 R17 tires, in which I did. Looked great. Drove it home and the ride was bumpy and the steering wheel shook. I was advised that it was normal for the ride to be bumpy with that size of tire. They assured me the tires were balanced. I got a second opinion and had it balanced at another shop using a road force balance machine. Which was a machine that Big Bear does not have. Drove for a day, made a sharp turn and discovered the tires rub on the front mud flaps and front frame of the bumper. Contacted the shop and was advised they could remove the mud flaps and cut a part of the front bumper fender. Again, I wanted no modifications. I asked to go down a tire size. They wanted to charge me for mounting and balancing of the new tire. I did not think it was fair that I have to fork out more money for their error. Plus I paid for another shop to balance them properly. They are the professionals. How and why would they allow my truck to leave their shop with an improper fit? Why would they not inspect it? I had to speak with the owner Renee who appeared sincere in trying to resolve the issue. It was explained that they are already stuck with trying to resale the larger tires and he has to pay his crew to remove the old and balance the new etc. I paid $95. He was the one who ended up doing the swap. So what crew was I paying? We left the shop with newly replaced tires and heard a rhythmic thumping sound. Drove a few blocks and pulled over to inspect only to find that all the tires were mounted with the stickers on them. Tried to remove as much as I could, but the sticky residue is still there. This was just a passive aggressive way to tell me to F* off. What he failed to realize is I spent a-lot of money at his shop for sloppy service that should have been done correctly the first time. I had knee replacement in the time between getting the service done to finally getting around to getting it fixed. I was unable to drive, had to arrange for a ride and was in a-lot of pain to deal with this huge inconvenience and disservice. So congratulations Renee @ Big Bear you got the review you earned! read more

See all

Excellent shop for anything truck related. I've had several trucks/jeeps lifted by them over the years. I've always come away satisfied.

Late review and explain why .. I took my truck from the dealer in 2012 from 0 miles and sent it there to get a FTS 7" lift.. now about 75,000 miles later year 2021... my truck burnt two transfer cases and I did my own research.. what they did was sold me a 4x4 lift kit vs a AWD kit which my truck needs .. the reason they did thinking it would work is because most of the parts are the same except the front drive and and the transfer case relocate brackets and obviously the price they saved just to charge me the same as the AWD kit which was 2000K cheaper to them.... all you have there is a bunch of amateurs trying to experiment with your vehicles.. do your research first... I learned the hard way read more

Amazing customer service. Their pricing is fair. Alex was great at helping select a service without being pushy.

I've tried to get a quote on some work but nobody wants to give me a quote they keep leaving me on oh I will give you a call with your quote and that's happened twice now and once I actually went in. Wtf big bear read more

Did a great job on my truck they put a leveling kit on my 2021 trail boss it came out just the way I expected would recommend.

Big Bear installed a 6inch lift and 20x12 rims on my 2018 GMC 2500HD back in 2019 and I couldn't be happier with it. He recently installed a 4inch lift and 20x12 rims on my sons 2015 Jeep and again they did an amazing job. Rene took the time to explain different lift, rim and tire options and prices. Rene and his shop employees are all very respectful and knowledgeable. I definitely recommend him and will continue bringing more business to him. read more

Yo les compre un rin para mi camioneta y a las 2 semanas se empeso a picar el cromo y able con Rene el dueño y no se hiso cargo de los daños del rin lastima q no se hacen cargo read more

two years later found out my Lyft was installed a half inch offset on one side my bushings with grease were all pinched leaking grease within a month and a lot of rubbing on metal where it shouldn't be. and be sure to clean out all important items in your truck cause they will be stolen. read more

this place must have changed something because I have no idea how anyone could say this place is "honest". They cut corners and allow people to drive away in cars that are unsafe to drive. I will never bring another car here again read more

Terrible place they lifted my truck on Thursday with a 6 inch lift they told me i would have plenty of clearence for 37" tires they were wrong. They didn't tell me about the front tires rubbing until my wife brought the truck home. They obviously didn't do a test drive after the lift kit was installed. These guys shouldn't even have a license to serve the public. I'm very disappointed how my new truck runs with tires rubbing every time I turn left or right. read more

If you coming for a break job or oil change or something minor then these guys are cool. Other than that I would not recommend them to do any major repairs or suspension work. The new owner and team have no idea what they're doing. read more

Family owned and operated for decades, they are an honest auto shop, who also happen to specialize in offroaders and lifted trucks. Jason is a great guy to work with and their prices are VERY reasonable. He's an honest guy, something I look for wherever I bring my truck. He installed my Full Throttle lift kit 6 years ago and if I lift another truck I will definitely work with him. read more

Great place, they were patient with me while I changed my mind like 100 times on what I wanted to do to my Jeep. And reasonably priced. They had my parts in really fast and did quality work. I'll definitely be back if I need anything else done. I also appreciated that they weren't trying to push additional work on me or lift my Jeep any higher than I wanted. They heard me out, had great recommendations and were really knowledgeable. read more

The best and most honest shop! These guys are easy to work with, and straight up with everything they do. They have done different things for us over time, and it's always first rate, best quality, and a great price! read more

I brought a new 2018 chevy silverado lt z71 in their shop to install a rough country 7 inch lift kit with vertex shocks. I had them install tires and wheels I bought else where. I made my appointment for friday morning at 8AM and as soon as I got there the guy took care of me and the truck. They get the work done on time and have 3 people working on the truck and always double checking before they give the truck back to you. I went back at 2PM to get the truck and it was ready to go! The price is very reasonable as well and I highly recommend big bear! No issues since installed and well keep updating my review if any issues arise. read more

I went here after trying other auto repair shops looking for the right price for a simple part replacement. They listened to situation and charged me a fair price for their labor without gouging me unlike the other places I went to for help. Thank you for treating me like a good neighbor. read more

Excellent customer service. Did a great job on my vehicle. Pricing is very reasonable. Definitely will return and recommend.

Great friendly service the second you walk in the door from there front desk employee Alan! Exceeded my expectations,definitely recommending to other friends and family. read more

I've been taking my trucks to Big Bear for years....they installed a new exhaust system on one of my dodges' a couple years ago. After a couple of days the whole exhaust came detached from truck...had to have it towed to big bear...they had to weld it back on which should of been done in the beginning. I took my newer dodge recently to install original exhaust....drove truck approximately two times and the end pipe fell off and was never found. Called Big Bear to let them know. Took truck in so they could take a look...basically they told me someone stole it. Y would someone steal the end pipe and not the catalytic converter? Doesn't make sense. Obviously their technicians did not install it correctly yet again. I will not be taking anymore or my trucks to Big Bear read more

Ive been taking my cars/truck there for over 8 years. from checking /inpecting vehicles i just bought, installing lowering springs, purchasing rims/tires, fixing allignment, engine light on etc, Jason and Big Bear employees take care of buisness. If you want quality and to feel like your not getting over on, Big Bear is the only place. read more