In this day and age it's difficult to find people you trust, let alone a mechanic. A friend of mine when here to get their window handle repaired and he reported a fantastic experience. Next my aunt went and she too felt this shop really stood out in how they explained the work and carried it out. Now it's my turn to pay the recommendation forward to all of you in the east bay looking for a solid shop that will do good work, charge you a fair price and not rob you. Valerie not only answers the phone, she's also a mechanic and when discussing my repair issue, I could tell she was building a mental model of what could be wrong. Professional and friendly service, excellent follow up, fair pricing and excellent diagnostic work have won me over. Other mechanics you may meet include Tina and John. Tina was very down to earth, humble and knowledgeable. The shop is huge compared to other auto repair businesses in Oakland. I think I saw 3-5 bays and the skylights make it an open and welcoming place. Val(erie) talks about car problems without the ego and two recommendations to double back for warranty work on previously completed work saved me hundreds of dollars! Right on College avenue, it's easy to get to and you can stop for a bite after dropping your car off. read more

I called several auto shops getting quotes on a brake job. I explicitly stated right off the bat that I needed all four rotors and brake pads done and was quoted $550-600, which was far better than the other quotes I received so off I went. When I picked up my vehicle, the bill was over $1200. I pointed out that the quote I received was half of that, and was told he said $550-600 was "each, front and back." This was absolutely not said on the call. I will not be returning, but if you're considering this shop make sure you get your quote in writing before agreeing to any work. read more

They screwed up a simple oil change. They took a short cut and did not adequately attach the Lower Engine cover under the car. While I was driving on the freeway the next day, the cover came off under the car, leading to a dangerous situation. When I called Sheaff's, they were not apologetic and tried to avoid responsibility. I don't trust them to properly do the work. read more

Had my vehicle worked on my car broke down on a family trip. Ihad it towed to the nearest auto shop up on inspection the parts they said they fixed weren't.I called the shop and spoke to DAVE he said the Mechanic JUAN switched the parts and my car broke. Would not recommend this place Dave is a scam and a liar. He stole my Money and stranded my Family. read more

First Time Customer, Dave Said I needed so many things done to my car. I Took my car to another place they looked at it and told me it did not need Any of the things he was aggressively making me do. I will Never go to this place again. I hope our community is made well aware this person and his in unacceptable manner.If you have ever had any business with Dave. I would recommend getting a second opinion. To be Safe. read more

Went to pick up our family vehicle after repairs asked Dave the guy at the counter what was wrong with it he said that IAM A Woman and that it doesn't matter I've grown up and lived in this community for years never been treated so horrible. read more

Simple oil change. Didn't expect any issues but didn't have right filter. The promised 10 minutes turned into over an hour and still not completed. I'll go elsewhere read more

I had a preventative maintenance done at this garage before a trip to the mountains. While coming down off of the mountain, one of my wheels came off of the car. It was a very dangerous situation, but luckily me and my passenger were safe. It was terrifying. When my car was towed to a repair shop, they noted that all of the wheels were loose - after Sheaff's had rotated the tires. Clearly, they didn't check this during maintenance. I'd been a happy customer for @2 years before this, but will never go to this garage again considering this experience. Doublechecking safety issues like this seems like it should be a basic part of the work. read more

I scheduled an appointment for an oil change and came in. No one had any idea why I was there. They said they could do it but it could take a couple hours. Well I scheduled the appointment on my lunch break with one extra hour, so appointments don't matter I guess. Not going to be taking any of my cars here. Very hard to communicate with even in person. read more

Honest broker, price lower than the dealer service willing to install factory parts. Can't beat the location.

I was a customer of Stauder (the owner of this shop previously) and had had good experiences so decided to bring my car in when the check engine light came on. I regret it immensely. The reviews that mention Val - she's no longer working there - and I wonder how much that has changed the experience of this shop for women. I suspect it is quite a lot. Over the course of about 4 months my car was in and out of the shop for days on end probably 10 times because the check engine light kept coming on. They first did a transmission service. Seemed reasonable, but the check engine light was already on within a mile of me leaving the shop. Next they replaced the battery. Ok, it's about 5 years old I guess that could make sense... I get the car back, again the light comes on within 2 days. Next they tell me the TIPM needs replacing and that I should pay for a new part because the salvaged ones can be bad. They replace it with a remanufactured one, even though they had specifically said I should not get a salvaged or remanufactured part because they can be problematic, which also doesn't solve the problem. I asked them to put the original part back in since it was an expensive part that didn't fix the problem and they did not do it. They finally tell me that it must be an electrical problem they cannot find and refer me to another shop, but not to mention their name to this other shop. Huh...ok....? I call this other shop and they say they don't work on domestic cars and that the people at Scheaffs would know that. So I go back in and the entire shop has turned over. I don't recognize anyone there anymore. I am now basically starting from scratch. They replace the TIPM again. It still doesn't fix the problem. So now they tell me that it must be a transmission problem that would cost thousands to fix. I'm thinking I should donate the car at this point but I'm not feeling confident in their assessment so I take it to a transmission specialist. The transmission specialist says there is nothing wrong with the transmission and that he suspects it's a faulty ignition switch. Failure of the car to crank when turning the key was a problem I had told them about repeatedly over the months but that they ignored/never included in their diagnosis. So I take it back and ask them to replace the ignition switch. (Note that at this point I only take it back to their garage because the dealer is so backed up they couldn't get to it for weeks) They replace the ignition switch, I get my car back, and now the dash lights on the instrument control flash at random. This is something that has never happened before the work they did. I take multiple videos of this happening within 24 hours of them doing this work, I take it back and they say they can't find a problem and can't be sure the work they did caused it. Multiple times over these months, even though I showed them videos and described in-depth what was happening, they would tell me that the car ran completely fine in their care and that the car must be "crazy". And somehow every time I got the car back the problem would happen again within 24 hours and often as soon as I got in the car. A couple of times I circled around and came back to the shop because I didn't even get half a mile away before the problem happened again. They asked me a couple of times to test drive it with them. Not sure why I would need to test drive it with them given I provided videos and detailed explanations of the problems happening. One time I did ride in the car while they drove it and the guy kept saying - The check engine light is on! The car is in limp mode! The car won't shift! - and I was thinking yeah that's why I brought the car in and that's exactly what I've been saying...? I'm wondering how many of their other customers they want to drive around with them to prove that what the customer is saying about the car is actually happening? It made me pretty uncomfortable. So as of now I have spent thousands to have the car fixed (truly was just trying to avoid the used and new car market because of how rough it is), and it is still not fixed and they don't seem to want to take responsibility that the work they did is now causing a problem with the instrument control panel. I truly don't know what has happened in this shop since the days of Stauder and Val but I would absolutely not recommend you take your car here for anything more than the most basic of maintenance and service, if even that. read more

Jim and his team at Sheaff's took great care of my husband's Ford F-150 truck. Jim took the time to explain what the issues were with the truck and when possible, pointed out what he was talking about. Scheaff's is a solid neighborhood resource for auto-care. read more

Just beware that, at least for basic maintenance, this garage is very expensive relative to a dealership or other garages in the area. My experience with this newest owner is limited to an oil change service. I was charged approximately double or more of the going rate in the area for this service. $225+ for a basic oil change service here. It's not that they were rude, but rather just evasive about the basic charge for the service, and seemed annoyed by questions. It was not clear to me going in, what I was actually being charged and what was included, and I did have difficulty clarifying the charges after the fact as well. I went into the transaction with a trusting mindset because I thought I was dealing with a previous owner who I had a history with. This garage is very conveniently located and has a good reputation based on previous owners, BUT they are, I believe, under a second new ownership since the original Sheaffs. Just be careful that you get a clear understanding of the charges going in. I don't plan to use them in the future for basic maintenance, but there may be other work for which they would be a good choice. read more

This review is long overdue - - we went to Stauder for years, and were so sad when they sold the shop. To our delight, Sheaff's service manager, Val, and the lead mechanic, John have maintained the tradition of honest work and customer service. They always take the time to explain the issues to me, and present the repair options. They would let ME decide, and I never felt over-sold. As a woman, this wasn't always my experience. As long as Val and John are there, we'll keep coming back read more

My car broke down nearby so I had it towed in on December 30th in the late afternoon. They made it clear there was no guarantee they could get to it until Monday, but resolved the issue today (December 31st) first thing in the morning, and replaced a tail light that has gone out and tightened my rear brakes. Truly so delighted by the service here. read more

Great and honest service (is that an oxymoron for a mechanic??!)! We had a fairly simple car window/door repair needed, that we probably could've done ourselves but we didn't want to totally make a mess of the problem, so we brought it to Sheaff's Service Garage to fix properly. The owner originally quoted us a price but after looking at the problem, was able to fix it easily and did not charge us. We appreciate the excellent and honest service and now look forward to bringing real problems for them to fix :) read more

I've been going to this garage for decades, starting when it was Stauder's Chevron on Telegraph Ave! I was a happy and loyal customer all that time, referred everyone to there. However, I've noticed with the management change over to Scheaff's, esp the past 3 years, that their customer service has declined to the point of being rude to me the last 3 times I called to set up an appt. Stauder's used to be generous, honest and leave my car cleaner than when I left it with them. Now, it's exactly the opposite, to the point that I won't be returning there again. Based on reviews with the exact same problem, I believe that after my last car service that they charged me to fix a mistake they made, and were rude and defensive about it to top it off. I've come to distrust their workmanship and there's no where to go from there but to look for a new garage. RIP Stauder's. read more

Amazing service and attention to detail, very helpful staff, and the quality was top of the line. I have found my new mechanic and couldn't be happier! read more