I became a Desert Heat fan several years ago when Kevin and Kurt helped me solve a problem while I was at a neighboring business and they didn't even charge me. I have used them for almost all of our auto repairs and maintenance and have always been very satisfied with the quality of work and the reasonable prices. However today I came in and didn't recognize anyone there. Everyone seemed friendly enough so I didn't have any concerns. I was told the driver side door latch needed to be maintained not replaced and the driver side electric window motor was dead. I was charged $238.00 total when the part itself costs between $37.00 (carid.com) and $53.00 (amazon.com). This means I was charged between $201.00 and $185.00 to remove the door panel, grease the lock and install the window motor. I have removed door panels before which takes between 10-20 minutes tops. I have never installed a window motor, but I expect it to be a 30 minute job with another 10-20 minutes to grease the lock and put the door panel back on. I think a more fair and reasonable price would have been closer to $150.00 rather than almost $250.00. None of this is really a catastrophe, but I didn't appreciate my car smelling like a tobacco factory caught on fire when I picked it up. I refuse to give them a 2-3 star rating simply because this could be an anomaly and if Kevin and Kurt are still involved I am willing to give the place another chance. It is extremely difficult to find good, honest and affordable mechanics and I hope I won't have to go on the hunt again. Sorry I missed you Kevin and Kurt! read more

these 5 star reviews have to be fake don't go here my car was in the shop for 2 years because they blew the engine and broke my window and made me pay to replace it even after they admitted fault read more

This is a real auto shop. Established many years and the most friendly staff around. Straight forward and honest mechanics

When I say James is awesome that man got my car together and for a reasonable price. I brought my car in for one thing and ended up needed more work then I expected I was a little sad but he reassured me he would take care of everything and that he did and he even got me 2 front tires for a great price! Hands down he is the best I will refer all my family friends to James any time! read more

I've been going to James at Desert Heat for almost 10 years. They are the fastest and best priced shop around. I trust their advice and recommendations more than any other shop. Highly highly recommend. read more

We have taking our cars to James for fast reliable work! They are honest & very knowledgeable! Thank you Desert Heat for fixing Bella's AC & letting her ride with freezing cold air! Much appreciated!!! read more

Review from 11/13/2021- Ok this is my first time ever posting a (negative) review on Google, because I honestly do not understand why this repair shop is rated so high, or I might probably just be an exception. Free inspection (if it takes less than an hour to find out the issue, which is explicitly stated on their website)?- Definitely a lie. I was still charged 65 dollars for a check engine light inspection that took less than an hour. 65 is really not a lot compared to other shops, but I don't like it when what they advertised is different from the reality. 10% off for new customers?- Another big lie. I had to pay 300+ bucks for spark plugs replacement and inspection without any discount for my first repair there. The price is definitely not competitive, neither is/considering the quality of their service. I am a college student working part-time and this was honestly a lot for me. What's worse is that I literally paid this much just to find out that the repair led to more and even bigger issues- my car started to have some symptoms it never had before literally right after they had my spark plugs replaced. It started to shake like driving over rumble stripes and the check engine light would even flash (pre-repair it was just on steadily, not as serious as flashing) once I accelerate on the highway. I am not saying this is the case, but it did make me suspect they might have sabotaged my car, replaced a good part with a bad part, or did something else like that to make sure I come back. After the initial inspection, they told me my car was generally pretty healthy and had no other issues except for the bad spark plugs, but when I brought my car in literally just 5 days later for another inspection after noticing the new symptoms, they told me one of my ignition coils failed. One mechanic told me it was the coil for cylinder 4 but the other told me it was for cylinder 3.... And both times I went there different staff members would say the same thing- we don't have the parts here yet but we have ordered them and they are on the way here now- even before I approved the repairs, which made me feel like I couldn't say no since the parts were already on the way. Simply put, again, I am not saying this is actually the case, but they made me feel they do not want you to leave the shop without spending money. They were going to charge me around 200 bucks for the ignition coil replacement (at first they said it would cost around 220 but the second time they somehow changed and said 180+), to be honest the price was lower than I expected and I wouldn't have minded paying to have my ignition coil replaced at this price, but I refused since I *felt like* they were trying to trick me out of money plus when I tried to have them explain to me why my car would have more issues after the replacement their response didn't really make sense. If you are a young lady like me who doesn't look knowledgeable about cars, I recommend bringing someone who knows cars (or at least appears to) with you to the store or simply just going to an authorized dealership for service/repair to avoid being fooled. Again, this is just my personal experience with this shop and I do believe others' great experiences with them. I am an international female college student who speaks English with an accent (this might make them think I am bad at English), has a lack of knowledge about cars, feels rich since obviously I can afford to study in the US, so I tend to be the target if the mechanics do decide they want to fool someone to make more money. They may have really provided satisfactory service to other customers, but for me personally I think they were dishonest and cared more about how to make more money from you rather than the quality of their service. Then I called James to request a refund, he refused and kept blaming me for having my car further repaired at another repair shop instead of coming back to them so they can repair using warranty. Then he *intentionally* (maybe) put me on a hold that was so long that I had to hang up. read more

Desert Heat Auto - The spark plug they replaced with was faulty (looked like someone broke it intentionally). - Auto Repair Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

I took my car for a second opinion James said he replaced and put new parts never did the work couldn't find my key let my battery die and said he wanted to clean my battery after I just there to pick up my car I said u know this is a red flag so he gave me a jump I went straight to AutoZone to buy a new battery because he said if I turn it off it might not start so I bought a new battery and they highlighted what I was charged for but wasn't done they showed me a brand new one and I was shocked hideakin tried to get me for a timing belt we just got replaced oh and desert heat auto James and his buddy do hard drugs because of the way they act just ask for ur old parts back and look before and after I have and they look through ur car too I empty my car out I don't even leave a penny I had a key in glove box and it was on the passenger front seat floor that's when I was like do touch my car I'm buying a new battery I don't have tweaker time I have to be at work and they said they fixed my ac still blow's out hot air do not go there unless you know what it should look like read more

Desert Heat Auto - So they changed this for me and charged me - Auto Repair Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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Terrible Place!! Stay Away!!! VERY SLOW!! put a small dent in the hood of my husband newly restored 1970 El Camino, accused him that is was already there, lol,,, I was not there when we dropped it off. Was over charged for minor repairs. Our vehicle was left outside in the elements for over 3 weeks filthy when we picked it up. Never agian!!! I don't see how these guys have any good reviews. read more

I Found Desert Heat Auto by searching for top rated auto repair shops that had top reviews from customers and found Desert Heat having 4 and 5 star reviews from customers. Simply said here, I believe I was over charged by a family owned business for work on my vehicle. I called Desert Heat Auto because the mechanic that was recommended to me was too busy. When I called Desert Heat they told me bring it in. I needed break work. front break and partial tune-up that cost me over $700. at Desert Heat. When my wife came home told me car is fixed I asked her how much, she said was over $700. I said $700. wow, for front break and spark plugs. I wont be going back there for future work. Guess a local mom & pop shop needed the money so they overcharged me. read more

James & his gang are great! Always taken care of my F250 whenever I've needed them. Fitting me in and doing swift and precise work at a fair price!! read more

Desert Heat without a doubt is a great place to have your car fixed. They had to refix the vehicle but they got it done. However, something is up because either someone is taking the money when paying and picking up the car or the ower is trying to make more money by saying that we didn't pay for the service. Yes, that is right. I've been fighting with the owner because he said that I didn't pay for the service. Well, I thought it was the owner. Finally, the Owner called me and cleared everything up. I was heated. He was really nice and said that He would keep an eye on staff and the mechanics. Because he called made me feel really comfortable. I recommend the service to anyone who is looking for great service. read more

My experience with desert heat was Horrible They charged me $1000 to pull my Ford F-150 motor out It took them four days to pull the motor and when I went to inspect the progress I talked with the young man who actually did the work and he said he had it out in four hours so I was very skeptical when I talked with the person in charge they told me the motor was completely trashed with a scored crankshaft due to it being locked up When I first called him I told him the motor locked up and he said that he had a good crankshaft in case mine was bad in order to get me to bring it in and when he told me the motor was not rebuild a bowl he wanted to install a used motor for what he was originally charging for a rebuild I decided not to have them work on my motor they had already collected $1000 so I told him I would pick it up in a couple of days and when I pick it up say didn't put in my air compressor brackets and all the hardware so I had to go back and get the all the accessory's myself I found a competent very skilled shop in Glendale that specialized in rebuilding motors had it done completely rebuilt with new pistons new crankshaft High volume oil pump and they had to scrounge around the yard to find all the accessory hardware And the total was $3700 By the way when I went into the shop being a former automotive business owner it was filthy parts were everywhere scattered about And I suspect the good reviews that they have are put in by themselves because I saw nothing but rip offs trying to rip me off read more

They exceeded our expectations. We brought in our 2005 F-150 because the A/C stopped working in August and everyone in the shop was so kind and friendly and doing everything to figure out the problem. When they finished and we drove the truck home we couldn't believe how cold the air was--I was freezing. I honestly did not believe it was possible to get the A/C to work that well on a 15 year old vehicle. Amazing! I highly recommend Desert Heat--honest, hard working, very thorough and reasonably priced. read more

Do not put your trust in Desert Heat Auto. We went to their Chandler location with our van and my mother's car. Both were in and out of the shop for over a month, and the problems were never fixed. My mother's car was returned to us in worse condition than when we took it in to them! We ultimately had to go to the dealerships and have them finally complete the repairs. It's not fun paying for the same thing twice! No one at Desert Heat Auto will talk to us, give us any information, or offer any sort of refund. I hope no one else has to ever go through what we have. read more

We use to love Desert Heat automotive when it was under the ownership of Kevin and the care of Kevin and Kurt. That was 2 owners ago. They are no longer there so anyone who thinks they are, don't be fooled. The next owner was okay but they only did one fix on our van which worked so I'll say they were fine, but they don't own it anymore either so that doesn't even matter anymore. This review is for the latest. I am so beyond furious right now. A couple months ago we took our car in to get fixed. There were apparently multiple fixes, each coming in at a higher price, but what could I do, I needed my car fixed, so I approved the fixes. Going in to pick up my car when it was done I was surprised by the cost. It was almost 50% higher than what was quoted. I was floored and learned that when he was quoted me prices he never included the labor price, just parts. Who does that! I've never had a mechanic quote me just parts not labor! But what could I do, I paid it and left, knowing I wouldn't be back. Unfortunately that was not the case. Starting my car for the first time to leave that parking lot I noticed something was wrong. My car was shaking so bad. It was worse than when I brought it in. When we tried bringing it back in and my husband explained the shaking, they had the nerve to tell him that that's how cars are, they shake when they are cool and just had to warm up. How stupid did they think we were! One of their repairs was the motor mounts and my husband pointed out to them that it's probably the motor mounts. The owner told us that couldn't be it but he would take it back to try and figure it out. After not hearing from them for 2 days, I get a call saying they are still stumped and trying to figure it out. The following week, I finally call because they've now had my car for a week and the mechanic tells me that it was the motor mounts, DUH, and that they had them fixed 3 days ago! i took my car back and even though it still wasn't quite right I knew that this mechanic was completely incompetent so we just left knowing we would need to get it looked at by someone else. This takes me to today. Last week after I filled my gas tank, I smelled gas and noticed that my tank had leaked. So I finally took it to another mechanic to have them look at that and the rough ride the car had. My fuel tank wasn't properly connected to the fuel pump which was the cause for the gas spilling out every time I drove it. Which is another thing Desert Heat had replaced and couldn't seem to connect properly after replacing it! As for the rough ride, can you guess what that was? It was the motor mounts!! I need new motor mounts! The motor mounts that were used were so cheap they had already broken! I'm so beyond pissed right now at this mechanic I'm having a hard time containing myself. I'm now out an extra $600 to get the work done properly, not to mention the overpriced amount I probably paid to desert heat. Whoever bought this business has no clue what they're doing to cars and are causing more damage in the process! read more

Kevin is the most honest business owner you will find. I have been taking my car to him for years. Now Kevin is working on my kid's car. Honest Reliable and affordable pricing read more

I took a car in for a pre-purchase inspection and these guys were fantastic. They were thorough, honest, and extremely helpful at every stage of the process. Their service was above and beyond the call of duty and I am very grateful to them. Great mechanics, great people! read more

Excellent Service. Fair, competent trustworthy and friendly. My new auto repair shop. You never really know what's wrong with your vehicle. Trusting the shop will only fix what's broken us so key. I know James and I trust him to treat me right. Give them a try. You will also become a fan. read more

Desert Heat Auto ruined my car. After I got it back to them, I resorted to taking my car to the dealership and that's where I found out the truth. The housing had been sauldered in a bad attempt to get it to stop leaking. Horrible, fraudulent work. Now they won't return my calls. NOT a company to trust with your vehicle. read more

Called for a price to replace an engine and transmission mount on my Honda Civic. They quoted a price much lower than the dealership. I told them exactly what was going on and what was needed before they gave me a price. I made an appt to take it in. I took the car in and, after 45 min, they told me that now that they had the VIN # they knew that a different mount was needed that would cost $200 more and that they couldn't get for 5 days. I drove an hour to get there. Why didn't they ask for the VIN # before they gave me a price and made an appt? Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper. And I'm pretty sure my other car was side swiped while sitting in their crowded parking lot. read more

great guys excellent work quick return.. I own a business and need my trucks fix asap when they break down . Kevin and kurt are my go to guys for all auto repair needs thx you both read more

I heard about these guys from a family friend, and even my own sister told me good things about them. Needless to say, I was expecting a good experience, right? WRONG. I took my 2007 FJ in because despite the car running fine and having no issues, the check engine light turned on, along with three other lights. I spoke to James (the owner) and let him know that I had already gone to two other mechanics that were skeptical with what could be wrong with the car, and asking him upfront if he thinks he could figure it out. I told him that if not, I wouldn't be upset and would pay the cost of the diagnostic test, but asking him to just be honest. To make a long story short, this crook had my car for over a month, only called me one time at 7pm on a Friday night (who does that) to give me any sort of an update, never called when he told me he would, unnecessarily replaced the crankshaft (and charged me for it) and literally lied through his teeth about his communication with me and about what small things where done to the car. The lights didn't go away despite him having the car for as long as he did and I had to actually argue with him over getting my refund for replacing the crankshaft for no reason. To top it off, he tried justifying his horrible communication skills, despite me telling him "it's fine if it's not fixed right away, just let me know when you discover something and what you plan on doing to it next." Despite him telling me confidently that he could fix the car, he had to reach out to two different mechanics and THEN the Toyota dealership and still couldn't figure out what was wrong. When I called him out on him claiming he could fix the car in the beginning, he admitted that he lied and said he could fix the car when he knew he couldn't. I'm giving him one star because his communication was horrible and when I caught him in his lies, he tried snaking his way out and telling me more bullshit instead of being honest and straight forward with me. Maybe this mechanic was good years ago, but my experience with James showed me that he has no integrity and has no clue what to do with Toyota FJ's. Caused me more issues than when I originally dropped the car off. Terrible experience and a poorly run business with no communication whatsoever. read more

Great customer service as well as very knowledgeable staff. My truck made it into the shop but after mechanic looked at it I was lucky to have made it in when I did. The staff took great care of my trucks needs and at competitive rates. I wide highly recommend this shop with no worries of getting taken advantage of like you do in some establishments. read more