I brought them a 97 Toyota Camry that a private seller was selling. I didn't catch his name but the manager of the place personally inspected the car that I brought him since Upstar Auto Sales and Services said that they didn't do "mechanical inspections" which is kind of strange considering that all the Yelp reviewers say that they are such a great place to bring your car for maintenance and repair. You would think that they do mechanical inspections but I guess not. So...I had to find an alternative auto body shop and I saw D.S. International Auto Repair right across the street and I thought, why not? I called them up, told them if they do mechanical inspections and they said that they did, so I told them I'll be there in like 5 seconds. Five seconds later, i was there.
I get there and told the first guy I saw if he was the owner. He corrected me and said he was the manager. Then I told him that I was the one who called like 5 seconds ago and, he was like, "Ok, so where's the car?" He popped the hood, looked inside for a mere 2-3 seconds and told me that it has been in an accident--most likely a frontal one. He told me that the color of the hood and the inside brackets were different colors. The stickers that were missing indicated this to be the case. Ordinarily, he said, there would be these stickers that are inside a car that shows that it came from the original manufacturer. Those were missing and by California law, he said, they MUST be pasted on the car on the inside of the hood somewhere--unless you're a private seller, in which case, you're simply ignorant of the law.
Then he peered over the engine block and told me that there was a massive leak of oil on the surface (he points it out me and shows me the the leak and where it came from) and that means that there must be a massive leak underneath the engine block. Very bad, according to him. He said ordinarily, Camry's RARELY leak oil, if ever, assuming you took care of it doing all the regular maintenance that it needs.
He then took it for a test drive and told me to come along. He told me during the drive that the shifting is hard and that most likely the transmission is not the original Toyota Camry transmission. Usually, the shifting is smooth and kicks up or down relatively fast between the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear.
Then he told me as he was braking that the rear two brake rotors are probably shot or warped because there was shaking when one presses on the brake. That's not normal, according to his diagnosis. He told me that the transmission is not good, meaning within a month or so, it'll most likely breakdown since it wasn't made to fit and for use in a Camry. And then he was like, "it'll probably cost you $1,400 to fix it." I was like, "Good to know..." All throughout, he was very detailed in his explanation. He broke it all down in layman terms and in a way that I can understand him. At the same, he didn't sound condescending at all. He spoke to me as if he knew a lot about Toyotas and it seemed like he knew a lot as well. Nothing in his expression or "aura" that he gave off seemed like he was lying to me. He got straight to the point with no bullshit. AND! He didn't try to sell me anything that I didn't need. I greatly appreciated all of that.
After the whole thing, he ONLY charged me a mere $25 for all that. Wow! What a bargain! Man, aside from Chia-In Auto Repair on Garvey Ave who charged me $20 for the whole mechanical inspection on the lift, this is the next time cheapest auto repair shop I've ever been to and plus, he was just as honest as Chia-In Auto Repair, if not more. I highly, HIGHLY, recommend this place if you're looking for relatively cheap, honest, and quick service. read more
