I called and asked Dave if he could do an inspection of a vehicle I am considering to buy. He gave me snark and asked me what the definition of an inspection was. Exact words "whats the definition of an inspection". The conversation ended. Good grief. Side note, typically a pre purchase inspection cost between $150-$300 and I have had them done in Wisconsin and Oregon. Its easy money. Most mechanics dont require you to explain the job or definition of a pre purchase inspection. read more

Rolled up to Dave's shop with a [big] pulley/belt issue on my 90s Bronco. He sorted it out and had it repaired two hours later. I couldn't believe it. He even showed me something else I should get checked out. Ultimate mechanic experience. Can't recommend him enough. read more

Dave is the best in town. had a radiator hose and heat pump explode at 8am on a Wednesday , had it towed to Dave and within 5 hours he had it repaired and good as new Ready for pick up. Great pricing and a great communicator w a lot of knowledge on all ranges of vehicles. my family has been going to Dave for over a decade and have never had an issue. 10/10 would recommend read more

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Dave Wert and his team are the rudest, most careless mechanics who ever worked on any of my vehicles. I gave them one star because there's no way to give them less. I had an SUV that needed transmission work. After talking to Dave, he suggested that it would be more cost-effective to put in a rebuilt transmission than to try to fix the existing one. I agreed, and about a week later I picked up my car. A day later, I brought it back because it was hard to shift into reverse. As I stood at the counter describing the problem, Dave was giving me dirty looks, like I was inconveniencing him, or I must have shifted wrong. Two days later, I drove down to Dave's to pick up the SUV. I sat outside the locked fence for 20 minutes after they were supposed to have opened, while mechanics were talking and joking with each other inside. Finally, one of them came over, unlocked the fence, and handed me the key to the truck. I drove the SUV home and had to return the next day because the backup light didn't work. A year and a half later, my wife was on the freeway and began to notice a vibration when the SUV got up around freeway speeds. As time went on, it got worse. It's now undrivable. As it turns out, Dave put the driveshaft in backwards, despite the chalk marks showing front and rear. Of course it's now too late to do anything about it. These things should never happen in a well-run shop where mechanics know what they're doing. read more

Excellent work done to my van here. Friendly & honest too. It's nice to be able to trust someone with your vehicle. Dave is very knowledgeable and has been in business a long time in San Clemente. read more

WOULD GIVE LESS STARS IF POSSIBLE!!! I called to explain what was happening to my car (to fill them in on what i've tried to fix the problem) The response i received was "ok well keep trying" and "Well you did everything you can" I could not believe what i heard. ZERO STARS 1000% DO NOT RECOMMEND EVEN GIVING THESE GUYS A CALL!!! DAVE WERT AND WORKERS ARE EXTREMELY UNPROFESSIONAL UNHELPFUL AND RUDE p.s. i am not one to leave reviews whatsoever but this was hands down the worst customer service EVER! read more

Good work, fair price, and a mechanic that can actually work on cars without computers in them

Went in to have my diesel looked at . Check engine light was on . It was having trouble starting up in the morning. Even though he said he doesn't work on diesels . He stopped what he was doing . Came over and hooked up to the machine for the check engine light . Saw the problem was a switch or something to do with the intake . Popped the hood and noticed a loose switch of some kind . Fixed it on the spot . And didn't charge me a thing . Says a lot to me about his integrity and honesty...... I'd give Dave a try if I were you...that was cool of him .. thanks Dave read more

Brought our car in to have the clutch and transmission replaced because Dave's was recommended by our mechanic. After job completion, we had to bring the car back several times; once because various wires were either not reconnected or were connected incorrectly, and once because the clutch was not installed correctly. Corrections were made begrudgingly. About a year and a half later, the car began vibrating above 2500 rpm. Over the next few weeks the vibration continually worsened until it became so violent that the car was no longer drivable. As it turns out, the driveshaft was put in backwards (even though someone had drawn an arrow with the word "front"). I wish we could give Dave Wert Auto Repair 0 stars. At least in our case, the work was careless and interaction with Dave and his staff was unpleasant. I can't understand how our experience was so different than those whose rating was 5 stars. read more

This is a shop that will treat you right. I came in to get a service on my 4Runner and was greeted by Sandy, the mechanic. He was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about everything that I would be doing and even common problems with my car that I should look out for. All in all a pleasant experience and I will definitely be back! read more

Me and family have been going to Dave's for over a decade. He has always been honest and competitive. And he will always go over every possible and available option. I personally have taken 3 of my cars to him, and my parents and sister all have taken a few of their cars as well. I recently got my Subaru repaired amd runs and looks better than ever. Finding an honest and good mechanic is like finding a needle in a haystack. And Dave is it. If you need a mechanic, hit him up, you wont regret it. As long as Im living in OC, Im a customer for life. read more

Dave Wert Automotive - Before - Auto Repair Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Aka Pinky, You never told me anything and if you had then I would have expected the wait time. I asked you do you know how long this might take when I dropped my car off and you said no and NOTHING ELSE. If there had been the situation you put in writing then why didn't someone call me to tell me the status and apologize for the inconvenience? I was on foot and walked to the Denny's so you know where I was and you had my cell phone number. He was rude and if you where there why didn't you pop your head out and say what you put in response to my accurate review? You are lying and Dave deserved what I said to him and I know you were not out there when he pulled my car out and tried to get a last smart ass comment to me about next time he would be waiting at attention. My response was appropriate to his ridiculous behavior as a business owner. The bottom line is he accepted my labor only request and then threw it in my face that since I brought my own parts he had other cars to take care of first. I was suppose to be at his mercy and that was unacceptable and I can tell you that anyone who had self respect and didn't appreciate his attitude would not have put up with that kind of treatment. My business was not a priority because I brought my own parts and he made that clear by the way he treated me. read more

I went into Dave's shop Tuesday afternoon because I was having problems with my '84 firebird sputtering and dying on me on the freeway. Since it was my Daily Driver and I have 40 mile commute both ways to my work I was between a rock and a hard place. Dave took my car in despite the fact that he was obviously super busy and not two days later had already diagnosed and repaired the problem and gotten back to me with by fair the most fair price I had ever gotten on any work done to a car. Big Dave's the real deal and everybody in San clemente knows it, these reviews do not do him nor his staff justice one bit and it's unfortunate. read more

Dave Wert Automotive - Thanks to Dave this baby's on the road again - Auto Repair Near Me - San Clemente, California

I took my car there for a radiator flush and oil change. A friend recommended them because they did decent work at a good price and I was ALL about a good price at the time. It took them half a day because they had to get special coolant from Honda. And the price wasn't all that great. A few months later I took my car to another place for an oil change but they said that the drain plug was on so tight that they couldn't get it off without risking stripping it which would be a very bad (and expensive) thing. So I drove it back to Dave Wert. He denied tightening it so much but, hey buddy, he was the last one to mess with it. Finally he says he'll try to loosen it and puts it up on the rack. Dave is a big guy but neither he or his son could budge it using their wrench. I'm watching and getting nervous/mad when I see this long piece of pipe and I suggest that they insert the wrench into the pipe to gain more torque. They looked at me like I was nuts. What does a little 130lb girl know about wrenches, torque, etc? But finally they try it and TAH DAH... the drain plug turns! After all this they didn't apologize for over tightening the plug in the first place, didn't apologize for my significant inconvenience, didn't offer to make amends in any way, didn't even say goodbye! I said goodbye though, and good riddance. read more

Just happened to see Briana t's review and had a good belly laugh! Dave IS customer service! This little shop has been helping me and my cars run and run long, long time! Don't judge a book by the cover Bri! Dave is a true mechanic. He runs things his way (old school:) but sure stands behind work! He's shown me great customer service for about 30 years! Gonna get my brakes done this week! Give respect, get respect. You rock Mr. Dave and Family! read more

Excellent job on my 68' Ford Mustang! They R.O.C.K.! reasonable price-competive-job done in a jiffy-great communication. Will return in the future. read more

Thank You for all the excellent work on my classic car , childrens cars and our daily drivers. We have been taking our cars to Dave ever since we found him at Automotive International in SJC , and followed him to a few other shops he worked at till he finally opened his own shop in 1991. We have referred him to many friends and neighbors we highly recommend him, always courteous, best prices in town. Dave and his crew will treat you right each and every time. Again THANK YOU !!! read more

I took my 1966 Chevrolet Impala to Dave to have him look at the water pump and replace a couple belts. Dave helped my get my car running better than it has since I have owned it. When I went to pick up the car he took 20 minutes of his time to help me out with questions I had. I highly recommend taking your car here. His pricing is very fair and the work is top notch! read more

Do you want an honest good mechanic? If so, Dave is your man. I have been going to him for 4 years. Does the work on-time and never over charges. Very honest! AW read more

Got my 1988 chevy s10 exterior handle installed, these guys are reliable fast and reasonably priced! Im deff going to come back to these local guys! read more

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE NO MATTER WHAT!! Horrible service, they charged me for a diagnostic completely miss diagnosed the problem and had me spend a ton of money on things that did not solve my issues. Then when I complained and said what they had done did not work, they wanted to charge me a completely new diagnostic fee for their original mistake. And then they try fixing more things they thought might be the issue, instead of actually finding the problem and fixing it. Plus the actual work they do is completely half ass...(use zip ties, different size rusty bolts, junk yard parts) And I have heard this same thing about them now from tons of other people, wish I asked before I took my car in:-( Update- Called back to try and get what I paid $50 for an actual diagnosis of the problem with my vehicle. Again I explained that I had pretty much paid $50 for them to drive it for 5 minutes and take a guess at what the problem was. When that diagnosis ended up not being the problem which in my opinion is a mis diagnosis, I either want my $50 back or a new diagnosis of actual the problem. I'm not paying $50 for a guess that ended up being wrong. So I asked if I could bring it back in so they can do what they were paid for and figure out the actual problem. Was told "NO" I would have to pay another diagnostic fee (for another guess) if I wanted to bring it back down. THEN THE TRUTH SLIPPED OUT AND THE OWNER ACTUALLY SAID "Well if we figure out the problem and it's something you can easily take care of with parts on your own we're going to be missing out on a bunch of money, so if you agree to let us fix whatever it is we find I'll go ahead and let you bring it on down" So they refuse to figure out or tell me the actual problem; which is probably something really basic that I can do on my own because they want to make that easy labor money. This is so dishonest and just sleezy, good mechanics are the ones who are supposed to help you out and say hey you know what you can get that part at Auto Zone and bam your all good, save yourself some money!! Or hey this is a really easy fix took 10 mins, so I'm not gonna charge you that full hour price... Wishful thinking at this place!!! read more

DWA is a great neighborhood repair shop that stands behind its work. Your old school or new school whip will get proper attention here. Pay cash and save cc fees. read more

I wish I could give this place negative stars. We took 2 cars here and every single car turned out worse after he "fixed" them. I picked up my jeep after he changed a fuel hose and the mechanic had left a Wendy's fast food bag in my car, the floor was super dirty and there was a shop towel left under the hood. Mysteriously a few days later my gas tank started leaking, the one he had to drop to fix the hose. At the same time we had dropped off another car to him for a transmission noise and he said he tightened it up and it wasn't anything to worry about. Again, a few days later my transmission blew up because the piece he "fixed" had broken loose and ricocheted around causing $3000 worth of damage. He kept our cars for days without working on them and wouldn't answer the phone or return voicemails. He was rude with every interaction and ruined everything he touched with a sloppy, half-ass job. read more