Fairmount Auto Service

Alex H

★★★★★

Edited 8 years ago

I’ve taken my truck here a few times, and have gotten quality work done. John is incredibly honest, and was willing to work on my older car (1990).

Miles Digby

★★★★★

5 years ago

Met John when he was in Berkeley 30 years ago! Honest as the day is long. You bet I recommend him! Great job 👍 every time.

Damon

★★★★★

6 years ago

John at Fairmount Auto has been taking care of my family's cars for well over a decade. Reasonable price for great service. I simple don't take my car to anyone else.

Richard Capone

★★★★★

9 years ago

Have been coming here for years. John, the owner, is extremely knowledgeable and honest. The big plus here is honest. He isn't interested in overcharging people to make more money. John wants to provide great service and get paid for the work he does.

Mike Oei

★★★★★

4 years ago

We were starting out our trip and broke down in El Cerrito. We were surprised, after hearing from the local Honda dealer, that it would take four hours just to diagnose a check engine light code. With a carful of family, that was horrible news. We called Fairmount and John said to come in and he’d look at our code right away. It was an orange warning code but we lost engine power. After being stumped initially (it was not a normal car issue), he came out about a minute later before we drove off and said there was a technical bulletin that sounded like our fix. It was a ‘rare’ problem though. We thought to give it a shot. After a little over 1 hour, the part arrived and we were on our way again! As soon as we hit the freeway, our van had more power than ever. We had a new vehicle. After a week’s worth of driving around northern California, we are grateful for the trip that was saved! Thanks John!!!

Luna Flórez

★☆☆☆☆

4 years ago

I would give 0 stars if I could. The owner is very rude and arrogant. I was intending to become a new customer here. When we called, John the owner told my husband to bring the car the next day, he said he closed some time between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. I went there at 3:30pm. When I approached the front desk, nobody was there. I asked one of the mechanics to find out who to talk to. He pointed at John. I approached him. He asked me what I needed, but he immediately told me he was done for the day and that he didn’t take any car after 9:00am (never mentioned that on the phone). He was incredibly rude and arrogant, and he left me talking to myself and went away. I stayed in my car trying to process what had just happened and he came back to make fun of me because I was still there. I told him that he had been very rude and i didn’t plan to get my car worked on at his place. He started making more comments, at which point I just left.

Bill

★☆☆☆☆

4 years ago

First John quoted me a price for two oil changes then after researching called me back to raise the price almost double. Ten plus years in service but doesn't know a 6l engine takes extra oil. He started to curse at me over the phone. I should have taken my vehicles because months later my transmission failed at 60k miles. The transmission shop said it was odd as well. If everything goes smooth and he believes he's making good money off you then I'm sure your experience will be fine but if he misquoted you look out because it somehow becomes your fault and he gets very unprofessional. Not trustworthy.

Ari Nava (emergingsea)

★★★★★

9 years ago

John the owner is very nice and fixed my car very affordably. He has hot wheels cars at the front that he always offers to my son who loves hot wheels. Highly recommended. It's nice to have a good mechanic and now I don't have to worry about being swindled when my car is having issues.

Kimberely Balo

★★★★★

9 years ago

I was on my way to the Bay Area and my car started running very bad. I didn't have a lot of money for repairs, how ever I called the nearest shop to me and spoke with "John" on the phone. He's (was) very busy (probably because he is honest and knowledgeable). He took the time out of his busy schedule to look at my car. He discovered what was wrong (simple fix) and took care of it. I tried to offer him money, but he refused. Very nice man and nice shop too. Thank you very much again John! (It ran great all the way to Belmont! 😀🚙

Aleida Kasir

★★★★★

2 years ago

We’ve been bringing our cars, a hybrid electric and an ancient rusted Subaru, to Fairmount for a couple of years now and I’m very thankful we found them. Always shoots straight, doesn’t try any weird mark ups and overall and super nice guy! My family also brings their cars here and we’ve all been happy.

Aleta Gee

★★★★★

9 years ago

Recommended by a friend and so glad he did. Great service, explanation of what repairs needed to be done, at what cost and how much time they would take. We had our car towed in without any issues and in a couple of days, after giving authorization, we picked it up. No problems with the work or price. Will bring all our vehicles here with trust.

ric peralta

★★★★★

Edited 4 years ago

I have been working with John on all my cars since 2004 if not longer. He has always diagnosed the issues and suggested which items needed urgency vs those that could be deferred a bit longer. He and his team have also reviewed cars I was thinking of buying with a pre-purchase inspection and has waived me off some nice cars (in my mind) for what they were in terms of maintenance and reliability (not the best). Highly recommended team!!

Alan Rockefeller

★★★★★

3 years ago

I brought my Subaru in for a 110,000 mile service. John was great, he gave me good advice and fixed what needed fixing. It cost much less than the dealership, and I think the quality of the work was much better. I'll definitely be bringing my car back here whenever it needs anything.

Erik Jekabson

★★★★★

a year ago

John is a treasure. Honest, fast, does great work. I’ve been going here for over 15 years now. Can’t recommend him highly enough.

Oded Hilu

★★★★★

3 months ago

Reliable and honest, reasonable prices. I discovered this place recently and it's great!

ilana unger

★★★★★

11 months ago

John is the best! I totally trust him and his advice. He is extremely reliable! I will always bring my care to him.

Andrew Bowman

★★★★★

2 years ago

John did a great job for us recently when we needed new brakes for our Volvo. He did a thorough job including many steps often skipped by other mechanics, and used quality European parts. Best of all, John was super friendly and helpful. Reasonable pricing was lower than several chain businesses along San Pablo. Will be bringing all of our cars to Fairmont going forward!