Tommy is a salesman and will sell you from the start. He comes off very knowledgeable but he's really bad at execution. All talk, no walk. No attention to detail. Its taken me a little time to post my opinion because I wanted to take some time away from my horrible experience and let my feelings settle. It's been longer then a month and I still feel like he stole money from me. I had to find another mechanic and spent another $1200 to fix the stuff he messed up. I paid $4000 dollars to him for some basic repairs on my 1966 Cadillac. My car worked before I brought it to him. My intent was to double down on the cars reliability. I wanted to update anything he could see causing issues in the future. Especially before it got painted. This was the wrong move on my part. His attention to detail is way below par. I feel like I did business with someone learning on the job. I still can't believe he runs a business like this. Everything he touched, he left his mark on and then some. My brake lights still don't work. My windshield wipers that did work, don't work now. My high beam dash light won't turn off. He fried electrical stuff. He didn't space the distributor right and it failed the day I picked it up the first time. I have to turn my headlights on just to start my car. He changed out the front end (tire rod ends, upper and lower control arm bushing) and didn't even take the time to align the car before he sent me on down the road in it. Keep in mind all this stuff was fine before he touched it. He was just updating things before they became an issue. It took him 60+ days to perform 20 hours worth of work all said and done with. I'm going to give it another month and if I still feel the way I do today I will be reporting him to the bureau of automotive repair because I feel so taken advantage of. Don't risk it with him. Do your homework. read more

1. Will only take cash for anything expensive. 2. Won't work in the rain. 3. Will only change oil in the morning since the car will get hot. Tommy is a nice person and I used to take my car to him all the time. I found another place to take my car to now which isn't as convenient but will get me in regardless of the circumstances. read more

Tommy is definitely a fine dude, and was very helpful. They finally fixed my truck, after taking it back to them 3 or 4 times. But they didn't fix everything... They were also supposed to change my oil, but did not. The oil was black. I asked them about it, and they said 'That's the color of our oil'... Black is the color of the oil you put in people's cars? I've wrote and rewrote this review 6 different times, as I don't want to give them bad-press, but this was the nicest thing that came out. Go somewhere else. read more

These guys are truly amazing. My Alternator went out and after going to O'Reilly Auto Parts (and being sold a shotty alternator) to save money on the repairs I called them to help install a new belt so I could drive my car again. Not only did the replace the belt, quickly and cheaply, they were incredibly honest about the issues the rebuilt alternator I purchased was having and the cheap belt I bought (like I said I was on a budget!) Knowing there was no way to properly repair my car in my current financial status, I thanked them and was preparing to risk driving on the repairs for as long as I could. Instead of saying thanks and have a nice day, these guys not only fixed my car, new alternator and belt, because they cared, they worked with me to make sure I could afford to have my car fixed properly. There's not another shop in town I would go to and they will always be my first recommendation. read more

Tommy is THE best! My AC went out and the "other guys" quoted me 3x his price, not only was he professional but very efficient as well. I'm in north county and will gladly continue to drive to see him! If I could give more than 5 stars I would! read more

Tommy is the best! Honest guy, down to earth. Super knowledgeable about the ins & outs of cars and you can trust him. Great local shop. My car was not running and he put his heart into fixing it and got it running beautifully. read more

Tommy is the man! I'm a car guy and try to do most of the work my self so when I take a vehicle to a new shop the first thing I do is talk to the mechanic or owner to feel them out. Cliff side did not disappoint. It's a real locals style garage and I'm thrilled to find a new go to. Simply put; Tommy (the owner/operator) is knowledgeable, reliable, fast, honest, and in no way tried to up sell. He called and gave me price options on parts before moving forward on the job and I liked that too. Next time my car has an issue I can't fix on my own I'll be coming back. read more

Reading some of the comments below I wanted to share my positive review of Cliffside Auto Clinic. I've been entrusting my car repairs to Tommy since 2016 and will continue to do so. I drive a 2008 Volkswagen Passat, not the most simple car to work on due to all the electronics. Tommy has worked on numerous parts of this car (timing belt, radiator, PCV valve, etc.) and to this day it runs strong. Tommy even paid for towing and repairs+labor+parts once out of his own pocket, honoring the warranty on his work when an additional issue arose that were linked to the parts he installed. It is obvious that he is a honest mechanic and hard working business owner. Don't fall for the trolls out there that would have you believe otherwise. read more

So I was scheduled to take my car in to have some work done. Had never been to this place but a friend told me I should give them a try. I was planning on leaving my car and my buddy was coming to pick me up. I was chatting with one of the guys inside and I look out and see somebody arguing with my friend who had just pulled in to pick me up. I walked out to see what was going on and my buddy tells me the guy said to him "I don't care if you're here to pick up Jesus Christ himself, if you have having work done on you car get it off the property" I have no idea who it was, owner? manager? regardless, I got in my car immediately and left..I would NEVER go back to this place! Absolutely ridiculous!! read more

Thanks Tommy! Excellent and fast work at a reasonable price. I'll be back and will refer everyone I know!

Beware of this place! They do not guarantee their work. The work they do is shoddy at best. What they were supposed to have fixed on my car failed to work the following day and they refused to take a second look unless I paid an additional $400+ for their time. And something that worked when I brought it in was broken when they were done with my car and they blamed it on whoever had done work on the vehicle previously. Kind of strange since it worked when I dropped the vehicle off. My advice is don't trust these people with your vehicle. Especially is you value your hard earned money because you're gambling with it if you let them touch your car. read more

Tommy and his crew at Cliffside are superb. An example: I brought my car down with a funny sound it only made while driving. Tommy said, "Let's go for a drive!" We drove along Sunset Cliffs, but of course, the car didn't make the sound. I was getting embarrassed, but Tommy was as nice as can be, said not to worry, sometimes having a passenger can affect the sound but the problem is still there, asked if he could try driving--we switched, he drove for a couple blocks, took a few turns, made the sound appear (I wasn't crazy!), knew immediately what it was, and had it fixed by the end of the day. Another time, when I had an erroneous tire pressure monitor light that wouldn't go away and that another mechanic tried to fix but didn't (just did an easy fix to cover the symptoms), Tommy's crew worked on it (fast) until they figured out the root of the problem and fixed that. And recently, the morning of a long road trip, my hood wouldn't open when I went to check the oil. Nervous about driving a long way without access to the engine, I drove over to Cliffside as soon as they were open. They fixed the latch within minutes and sent me on my way, no charge. That is serious customer service. As a rule, I trust these guys to check out my car before long trips because I know I'll be safe, and I know they'll give my car an honest assessment of repairs and charges. And I really appreciate how professional and friendly they are. I won't take my car anywhere else. read more