Been here 3 times for catalytic converter shield, hybrid battery replacement, and oil change for my Toyota Prius. Each had the best turnaround time and price compared to all mechanics in Berkeley / Oakland / Richmond area. Henry is the man read more

Henry was so helpful when my catalytic converter was stolen from my car. He made the repair in such a timely manner and did his best to give me the best price! I appreciated it and would definitely come back read more

Excellent, very careful and responsible service. Fairly priced. Trustworthy. Specializes on Japanese and European cars.

Friendly, honest, dependable. Henry is easy to communicate with and listens to your concerns. After a year of reoccurring 'check engine light' with my car, the dealer was not able to diagnose the problem other than to tell me to keep the gas cap tightened. Henry did a diagnostic and found a small leak from my fuel pump that the dealer had replaced in 2024. Henry told me to take my car back to the dealer to have them correct the problem. This has been done and so far no more issues. Thank you, Henry! read more

I've dealt with Henry for many years. He is unfailingly pleasant and expeditious. I highly recommend him without hesitation. He's kept my '92 Ford Ranger running. I appreciate that more than he realizes. read more

Nice staff and Henry very upfront and communicative. I had a seized caliper and was only in town for a few days. I called them same day and they had my car fixed and out the door in 4 hours. No overcharging, upselling, or any funny business. I'm very happy with the experience. Couldn't recommend this place enough! read more

This guy will always try to save you money. He'll let you know when you can do things yourself. He'll reuse parts if he can. He goes out of his way to make sure you're getting the best deal. And he is so super fast and incredibly nice. Possibly the best mechanic I've ever had. Definitely the best I've ever had in the bay. read more

I am an over eighty year old senior with more than 50+ years experience of bring cars to so many auto shops for either maintenance or repair, Henry Chin's Auto Care is the " Best" ! My whole heart is so grateful to Mr. Chin ! read more

This is a great mechanic. I hope he never retires. It solid work with a clear explanation at a good price.

Henry is always reliable, always efficient. I've used him for years with more than one vehicle.

I actually found this garage listed in a car fax for a car I was interested in buying a couple of weeks ago. Fast forward I ended up buying this car and needed to get the brakes replaced. I tried calling them a few times to set up an appt. but my calls dropped. On my lunch I decided to pop over to see about setting up an appt. I told them what I needed and they pulled my car in. 20 minutes later they called me to let me know my car was ready!!! I have other things I have to fix but unfortunately they're so busy there's a bit of a wait to get in... definitely shows they're in demand IMO. read more

Honest, responsible, ethical, reliable owner who manages a great team. We all know, happy employees means happy customers! One big common concern is finding an auto shop that won't rip you off or tell you to fix things that do not need to be fixed. Well, Henry does NOT do that. You can count on him to be honest with you and give you a reasonable price. I will take my car to his shop over a dealer HANDS DOWN, ANY DAY. Thank you Henry, for your service! read more

I really like the way Henry does things at his auto care. He was very thorough and explained things to me. He answers questions well and helps the consumer to understand. I feel Henry Chin's Auto Care provided a high quality service. I recommend it. read more

I couldn't recommend Henry Chin's Auto Care more, they provided me with excellent service and care when I was a difficult situation due to my car breaking down. When other places couldn't help me Henry Chin's Auto Care went out of their way to get my car fixed and did so at an incredibly affordable price. I would absolutely recommend anyone to go here and I will certainly be having my wife bring her car here for service here on out. This was one of the most considerate and helpful mechanics I've ever been to and I couldn't recommend him more!! read more

I usually get my 2016 Honda HRV serviced at Honda, but am new to town and decided to come to Henry at the recommendation from my coworker. I am incredibly disappointed by how dishonest he was - I paid over $500 to replace a belt and tensioners, 3 days of my time, and unnecessary stress, when all I needed was to replace the cabin air filter (which I did myself for $20). The inside of my car had a whistling noise, and when I took it to Henry he said the serpentine belt needed replacing. He gave me a quote on the phone and then a different one in person. He was going to charge me over $400, but when I asked him why the price inconsistency, he corrected and charged me $127.42 for that service. It did not fix the issue. He told me to leave my car for a few more hours for a full diagnosis. Later he told me to come back and he would give me the special price of $377 (he said that he was giving me a deal, that for those he didn't like, he would charge more) to fix it. I came back to fix it and and he charged me $383.34. When that didn't fix the whistling, I came back in a third time. He opened the car hood and said he couldn't diagnose the issue but that I would need to leave the car with him again to see if yet another part has to be replaced. No accountability, no transparency. Basically, he would not tell me what the problem was, but said he would need to keep replacing parts that he felt needed replacing. I decided to look back at my Honda maintenance check paperwork from a year ago, and saw that they had mentioned I was due to replace my cabin filters. So I paid $20 for an air filter at AutoZone and changed it myself with some help from Youtube. What do you know - no more noise. Even if the belt and the tensioners really need replacing, you're telling me a mechanic can't tell that a whistling noise is the result of an old cabin air filter or old serpentine belt and tensioners? The whistling was coming from the inside of the car, not the outside! I want to add that prior to this, I'd had 2 oil changes by him. The very first time, he told me that I needed to leave my car with him for several hours to fix a battery issue (which I knew my dad had just replaced and likely only needed to be tightened). I told him it's okay, that I can do it myself. He said nvm, and he fixed it in a few minutes. The second time, he told me he would need to increase the price for the oil change. When I asked him how much, he stuttered a bit and did not seem to have a set price for this service. I don't doubt that Henry has been helpful to other folks, but I was disappointed by how dishonest he was to me. I didn't get a good feeling since the first service, but I kept coming back because I didn't know where else to go, that I trusted my coworker and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. It turns out that he *was* dishonest, and now I know. He was never apologetic or transparent, he had no intention of replacing the air filter (the whistling issue for which I came in for his help), and said numerous times that no mechanic one would give me this service, tell me what the issue was, or give me this price. I will not be coming back and will recommend my other coworkers and friends to stay away. I don't like to give my money to big business, but will go back to Honda for reliable service. read more

If possible, I would give 10 stars for Henry's competence, friendliness, honesty, and dependability. I was was on a road trip and my brakes needed immediate attention. By pure luck we were right next to Henry's shop. After a test drive he took my car in. He kept me informed and updated throughout the day. At one point, after trying multiple places, he could not find the right part, so we settled on a temporary fix. But he continued to search, then drive one hour for the right part! He had everything fixed by 5:00! Henry was genuinely concerned for my safety and went above and beyond to guarantee that. I wish I lived in the area to make him my regular guy! read more

Henry is truly a stand up guy, and besides his honest, efficient, friendly service, I would've gladly schedule future service with him just bc he's so friendly on the phone (which is silly to say, but such a rare quality). *edit* I actually wrote the above BEFORE I picked my car up. Now? When I die, I want to come back as a Yelp Bot, bc I want to do nothing other than make sure Henry and his team get anything other than 5* reviews. Henry's kindness made me cry. After a day of being told I have pneumonia, having paid 300.00 to a horrible dentist who took advantage of me and left me feeling like roadkill, I went back to Henry's shop to pick up my car. The car that will take me across the country back home to my family - after a year of losing so much as a family, and to have dealt with so much loss from so far away - Henry and his crew actually restored my faith in humanity (however temporarily). Henry has kind eyes, a great sense of humor (seriously, I trust anyone who says "bye-eee" to me on the phone bc I know they are my kind of people:), and beyond all this is just a super talented, solid, wonderfully decent and funny mechanic and person. I would trust anyone who works with him and actually might use Henry as my new barometer for human decency. Thank you Henry. I will pay your kindness forward in droves. read more

Henry Chin's Auto Care - Only the most amazing humans think to use this as their temp key tag. - Auto Repair Near Me - Berkeley, California

In the world of auto mechanics, you can get good, honest, or reasonable price. If you're lucky, you get two. Oh with Henry, I can confidently say you get all three. Support your local small business. Especially when it's run by a beautiful son of a bitch like Henry. Can't say enough good about this place. Do it. read more

New to the area needed brakes for my car. Was trying to hold out until I moved back to the East Coast. Unfortunately I couldn't, went in on a Monday morning at 8 o'clock. Spoke to Henry took me right away, by 9 o'clock he had called me with what he needed to do to my car, which was full brakes and rotors. He said he would reach out to me when he was finished and by 3:30 he had called and let me know my car was ready. Great owner, great staff, very easy to find and a local own business. read more

The battery for my Lexus died (I had purchased the car used). I called around, and the dealers didn't have the battery. Another mechanic referred me to Henry. Sure enough, he was able to get it the next day! Less than a year later, I had surgery and was not driving. I neglected to start the car during my six weeks of recovery. Henry tried to charge it overnight, to no avail. These are expensive batteries, this time; he was able to obtain another one at a lower price! Harry is my new mechanic, and I'm delighted to have found him. By the way, when the tow truck came to tow the car to the shop, the driver said (he had an address only) you're going to Henry Chinns'. His outstanding reputation follows him! read more

Such nice people! I went in simply to get my oil drained out of my car cause my bf accidentally overfilled it and we didn't have the tools to do it and the voltswagon dealership couldn't book me an appt same day arrgh I'm glad I found this place! They saw me right away and worked so quickly and kindly did the drainage for no cost. Definitely will go to this place if I need any work done on my own car! Thank you so much! It's my bf's birthday as well so now we can safely drive the car to celebrate his b-day! read more

My car wouldn't start & I got so stressed. I found Henry Chin on Yelp. I'm so glad I chose this place because he made it so easy and quick. It's also easy to get taken advantage of when you don't know much about cars. However, Henry was very honest and transparent about pricing and what was done. His prices are definitely lower than nearby shops, and they do incredible work. read more

He is ethical, fast and reliable. I've gone to him for all my car issues and questions and he gives me a detailed explanation of what he is doing without an upsell. Deserves your business for sure. read more

Highly recommend Henry Chin's to anyone who needs auto care. Honest, great customer service and value, and Henry is just a good person helping out his customers. I'm experiencing a family emergency situation, and he was so kind to me. I know he's kind to everyone, tho it made a difference in my life. Side note: I always pay in cash if possible, especially with local small businesses. The fees they get charged by the processing companies are egregious, helps the proprietors a bit. It adds up. Let's help each other when we can, makes the world a better place. read more

Came in for fixing up a 1998 4runner. I recently had switched from a high mileage oil to Costco's synthetic oil. Then came the oils leaks. At that time, I did not correlate the oil leaks to the switch in oil type. I brought the car over to Henry's (he previously helped with replacing all 4 brake pads, and I thought his service was decent, so I came back). This is when Henry tells me that I have oil leaking from the oil pan. He estimated somewhere around $800 for the fix. So I got the oil pan gasket replaced, and then a few weeks later another oil leak propped up. Henry never told me that another issue would prop up, but then when I visited him for this 2nd oil leak issue, he insisted that there would be more oil issue problems to come. So I leave the vehicle with him to try to resolve the oil issue. He assesses that it's the real main seal leaking, and fixes that. That comes out to ~$800. I get that fixed, and then he tells me that I should just sell the car after in order to not lose out on any more with car fixes. He also suggested that I replace the engine if I want it completely fixed. He basically stole 2k from me. I was able to fix the issue myself by adding in "Engine Restore" (reference, https://www.restoreusa.com/index.php) and that solved the oil leak issue. This was an easy and quick $10 fix. It was only later that I realized what caused the oil leak issue. It was due to switching from a High Mileage oil to a regular Synthetic oil. The high mileage oil has conditioners to swell the rubber seals, for seals not sealing correctly is a common problem in high mileage cars. I wonder why Henry was not being honest and stole a huge chunk of cash in order to manipulate me into getting more services done. What a joke. SCAM. Dont come here to get any major work done, or else he will work you with his charismatic persona. read more

Great little shop in downtown Berkeley! Henry is an upfront honest guy & his team does great work. Highly recommend! read more

Henry was quick and professional, I called on a Monday to schedule brake pad replacement for Thursday morning and he called me back later that day to let me know that someone canceled and that I could bring it in at the same time on Tuesday. I took it in right when he opened at 7:30 and my car was ready for pickup at 10:30am. They work great, it cost half the price that the dealer quoted me, and I definitely plan to take my Civic back for some upcoming routine maintenance work. read more

Henry is terrific. Repaired our tire while we waited. Who does that? He'll get more of our business from now on.

Another auto shop recommended that I take my car to Henry Chin's shop for a new aftermarket hybrid battery. Henry conducted a full computer check of our car and researched multiple battery options. The best available battery was located in Sacramento. Henry sent someone to pick up the battery that day because the the person selling it was leaving town on vacation the following day. That's great service. Henry is knowledgeable, professional, and goes the extra mile for his customers. I will definitely have our cars serviced by Henry Chin. read more

Five stars for Henry! I have never felt so at ease leaving my car with an auto repair - Henry is incredibly friendly, honest, and does great work. I was told by a repair shop in San Francisco that I needed over $2k worth of repairs, and I was nervous, but then I brought my car to henry's shop and he saved me from getting totally scammed! He fixed my car up perfectly and it's running great. I have a Mini Cooper thats 10 years old and was leaking oil and had a bunch of other hiccups, and she's as good as new for a literally fraction of the cost. I live in SF and will only be taking my car here from now on. Thank you so much Henry & team! read more

The engine on our daughter's aging but sturdy '08 Subaru Outback was smoking, she was able to get to Henry Chin's. The car had multiple oil leaks, but for a very reasonable price, Henry basically rebuilt the engine and sealed all the major leaks. We're hopeful the car will run well for several more years. Henry is honest, does great work and his prices are fair! Thank you, Henry! read more

I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the times your company has shown its dedication to doing things the right way and considering the customer's needs. Specifically, I brought in my 2005 Toyota Rav4 on a late Tuesday afternoon with an issue of sudden failure. You quickly diagnosed and repaired the car within a couple of hours. This level of service is exceptional and something I have witnessed from your team repeatedly. But this time, you went above and beyond by discovering a gas cap breakage that was causing the dashboard check engine light to be on. It is a pleasure to do business when you know that the people you are working with genuinely care about your vehicle and your best interests. read more

My Lexus was having engine problems and every car repair shop I had taken it to previously had told me that I would need to get an engine replacement. I took it to Henry and he was actually able to get my engine back up and running without a replacement, making the cost to the repair the car way lower than I had originally expected. He's honest, fast, and has your best interest in mind. Taking your car to Henry's shop means you'll be getting service from someone who is reliable and won't be someone you'll be worried about misinforming or misguiding you. read more

I've had to take my car into Henry's three times now and each time he was friendly, informational and affordable. His shop will definitely be my go-to for all my mechanic issues read more

I've been going here since 2017 and have no complaints whatsoever. Reliable, trustworthy and reasonably priced. Besides that Henry and his team are very friendly, knowledgeable and fair. read more

Henry and team were so kind and easy to work with, and I felt like they were being honest and doing everything possible to make sure I could drive safely. I had previously been told that the rattling noise was "just how subarus are," but Henry and team were able to fix it and did so quickly and without much additional cost. I feel way more comfortable ahead of my move out of state knowing that they found and fixed multiple issues. Henry also gave me clear instructions on issues to keep an eye on in the future. read more

Hands down the best auto repair shop I've ever used and a great community vibe. I always feel like I'm visiting a trusted neighbor when I visit. They are kind, honest, and caring. They have never tried to sell me services that I don't need (and often in fact told me repeatedly when I don't need them). But they also listen to my concerns and perform checks if I still request them after being fully informed. The car always feels great after they tune it up and the prices are extremely reasonable. I highly recommend this place for your one stop auto care. read more

Honest and reliable. That's all you can ask for. They've always been super friendly and I've been going there for over 15 years.

I can't say enough great things about Henry Chin's Auto Care. He's honest, cares about quality work and charges reasonable rates. Judging by how the mechanics interact, I think Henry instills a positive work culture at his shop. I had two recent incidents this summer that illustrate his great customer service. On a Friday afternoon, my car window had fallen out of alignment, making it impossible to roll up. The next morning we were supposed to leave on a trip, so this was a problem. Henry had a full schedule, but he still squeezed me in so that I could go on my trip. Moreover, he took the time to explain the problem without condescension. Another time, I had an issue with a car key that was a simple fix. Instead of charging me for the "repair," Henry was honest and showed me the "key" button underneath the steering column that restored the sensor function on my key fobs. I must have knocked it with my knees accidentally. Anyway, it took him 1 minute to explain and fix, and my lesson was free of charge. I should note that I had called the dealer before going to Henry Chin's, and I was told that I'd likely need to replace the smart keys, easily costing hundreds of dollars. I appreciate the service I have received and will definitely go back. read more

Came here to get my oil engine changed and it was an incredibly easy and quick process! called ahead of time inquiring when I could bring my car around and Dan said it would only take 30 - 45 minutes for a quick oil change. There are tons of coffee shops and restaurants around the area so it's pretty easy to kill time until they are done.I brought my car to the auto shop and within 10 minutes, I was out shopping around and got a call around half an hour later saying my car was ready. The experience was very fast and friendly! My only complaint is that it was significantly pricier than I anticipated at $88 for an oil change :/ He told me that fully synthetic oil would be better for my car, but I wish he had given the price quotes for regular oil too since I don't even drive that often. Regular oil changes range from $40-60 but for full synthetic 80-90$ is about right. read more

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