This place and Junior/Refugio are very conscientious. There have been several times in which they checked my car out for free and at other times, they have repaired it for a lower cost than I might have had it done in Santa Cruz or other locations. Also, the shop has stayed open past its usual hours to make sure my car was ready for me, when the choice, for them, was stay longer than posted or have the car ready in the next morning or day. Also, Junior has let me know about upcoming needed maintenance I would not have known about . . . and he has kept me away from making any self-directed fixes that would not have been a good idea, such as using a supposed valve or gasket sealer that would have been at risk of doing harm. The only minor flaw is that once in a while they will suggest an item that still has several months to go before needing replacement. At least, I think they suggested new tires, and the tire shop said my current tires would last a bit longer. In any case, mostly excellent and very caring! read more

We have been going to this auto repair shop for over 20 years. That alone should tell you something. We have followed them with their move many years ago. They are honest, fair, respectful and we trust them 100%. This is an auto shop you can trust and as a woman that is very important. I am very thankful we have an auto repair shop in our community like Salinas Auto Repair. I highly recommend this place. read more

My BMW had an oil leak coming from bottom engine area, Cuco and Junior replaced oil pan, did a great job, very friendly atmosphere. I recommend them for sure! read more

awsome service fixed my car quick got me back on the road thanks. I'm taking my cars their all the time Thanks Refugio and jr

I brought my son's car in to repair the clutch. Got a fair estimate and the work began. The next day I was called and told that the car wouldn't start and the engine would need to be replaced. No compression and only one valve working. I had it towed to another nearby repair shop. The car started right up and no problem with the engine. The new auto shop replaced the clutch. I was charge $100 by Salinas Auto Repair for the diagnostic work. (Also, as my car was being towed away, a worker at Salinas Auto Repair offered to buy the car from me.) read more

Here's the long story short. I rolled into town on a short assignment and after parking my Toyota, I couldn't get it out of park w/o the emergency release button. On top of it, my break lights were not working. I had a general idea of what might be wrong, but I didn't have the time or tools to address it. I was referred to JJ transmission b/c another reputable shop in Marina was booked full. Shout out to Marina Tire and Auto, thanks for being upfront and steering me in the right direction. Despite JJ Transmission being booked full, the owner said to bring it down and if it was a quick fix they would help me out. I dropped the truck off and he ordered the part he thought would fix it and in a matter of hours my truck was back to being fully functional. Bottom line is, I was in a very tight crunch, I had limited resources and time and JJ transmission took the time out of their very busy day(I observed with my own eyes) to help a new customer get my truck back on the road. What they didn't know is that my wife was counting on using that truck to visit family she had not seen in a long time and had JJ transmission not stepped up, that would not have been possible. Sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. read more

They just recently moved to 225 Kern Street. Check them out! They are the best and I thank them for all the times they have helped my cars when I needed it the most. read more

Salinas Auto Repair & Transmissions - Auto Repair Near Me - Salinas, California

A disturbing thunking underneath my car en route from San Luis Obispo to Santa Rosa had me call AAA around 6 pm then wait 2 hours before giving up and deciding to stay the night in Salinas and hope to find a mechanic the next day, Saturday, so that I could get to the memorial that was the reason for the trip. Searching online for a mechanic open early on Saturday I decided on Salinas Auto Repair & Transmission, and showed up without an appointment a few hours before opening. Junior was already at work and listened to my concerns and right away looked into the issue. My fear that the wheel was throwing lug nuts (it happened to me once) was reassured as Junior checked all the wheels and the undercarriage. I was on the road again within the hour ... the mysterious thunking had stopped. The charge? $20. Thank you! read more

We lost our transmission in our Jetta on the way to Baja. Junior and his dad diagnosed the issue immediately and got to work on finding a replacement. It was the week before Christmas which made for challenging shipping logistics. They got us up and running again in two days. They were professional, courteous and helpful. I definitely recommend this shop for service! read more

Don Cuco and his son are some of the best in the biz. They rebuilt my Jeep transmission and had me back on the road in no time. Great service, prices, and daily updates about the car. Can't ask for more! read more

I have taken my suv & my daughter's car there several times..They are excellent..They not only do great work, but try to keep the cost down.. Cuco & Jr, father & son, are the nicest people.. Friendly, fair pricing, and good work..What more do you need? read more

This is a long story, but I'll make it as short as possible. My family members were all meeting up in Monterey. We were coming from San Diego, Irvine and LA. My daughter's car broke down (transmission) in Salinas on Aug 11th. She was able to get her car to this shop, which was right off the freeway. It was closed, but the owner, Cuco, happened to be working on a car outside. He told her that he can work on it on Monday and he was kind enough to park her car in their lot and lock it up over the weekend. We returned to the shop on Monday. Cuco was nice, cared about my daughter's situation. The placed looked good, 5 reviews on yelp, we decided to take a chance. Left the car at the shop. Bad move. He told us that he could replace the transmission with a used one and have it ready by Wednesday/Thursday that week. On Tuesday, they had sent him the wrong one, he re-ordered. On Wednesday or Thursday, he had replaced the transmission, but said there was an issue with the power steering's computer programming? He would have to reprogram, and that it would be ready by Friday, for sure on Saturday. I decided to pick up the car Saturday morning. I fly out from San Diego to Monterey, then Uber to Salinas. The place was closed! I call Cuco, he told me over the phone that the car can't be driven, it wasn't safe because the power steering was not working properly. It won't be ready until next week. I Uber back to airport, pay premium airfare to catch the last flight out of Monterey by way of SF to San Diego, then Uber home. Tuesday, I fly back to Monterey, Uber to Salinas. Paid over $2,100 for the repairs. I was going to drive back to San Diego, until Cuco tells me that the car needed new tires, so I drive to Costco, wait a couple of hours and had 4 new tires installed. When I drove to Costco, I noticed that the car kept pulling right. Pretty badly. The mechanic at Costco told me that I should get it aligned, especially since I had new tires and I was driving 400+ miles. By that time, it was 4:30/5:00 pm and all the alignment shops in Salinas were closing. Costco finished my car around 6:30/6:45pm. I called every shop in Salinas and Monterey. I'm thinking, I'm screwed, they were all closing soon. Last minute, I get a lead from another shop with a guy's name and phone number. I did a hail Mary and called. It was late and the mechanic was kind enough to stay. He went to work aligning my car, showed me the before and after specs of the alignment. I told him about the car pulling to the right. He checked underneath and couldn't see any issues associated with the pulling. He took it for a test drive, the car was still pulling severely. I mentioned to him about Cuco's comment about the power steering issue. He worked on it some more. Finally, he figured it out. He said that he used his computer and reprogrammed the power steering and that he was able to fix it!! All within an hour. The transmission shop caused the misalignment and at the same time messed up the programming for the car's power steering, but Cuco failed to fix it and didn't tell me afterwards. I didn't get out of the shop until after 9:00 pm and still had to drive to San Diego that night. Cuco should have fixed the power steering issue and failed to inform me, especially since I was driving 400+ miles that night. This whole situation ended up costing me about $2,700 in repairs, flight costs, gas, uber rides, lost days flying back and forth to Monterey. read more

I've Been Using this place For all My Vehicle Needs for about 20 Yrs. Very Honest,Quality Work at a Good Price. I couldn't Imagine going Anywhere else for Auto Repairs. read more

I highly recommend this place... our transmission went out on our van hauling a travel trailer on highway 1 in Big Sur... some local guy recommended them to me and I couldn't have been happier and pleased given our circumstances. They were honest, fair etc thank you Junior... I give them a five star rating... read more

The staff at salinas auto repair are A1!!!! They took the time to listen to my concerns regarding my vehicle and answered every question I had without me feeling like they were leaving something out! These folks care about their customers and it shows. They are extremely fair and trustworthy! Thanks again Junior for taking care of my truck! read more