This should be a 5 star review, but for lack of communication between management and deceptive pricing Im not sure if Ill be back. Charlie, the owner, provided an oil change for $xx.xx. Next day I take a smaller vehicle in and Im charged $15 additional for less oil (same service). I was told oil prices change but I am having a hard time accepting a price jump that high which apparently occured inside of 23hrs. I was told a price and got the ol bait n switch. 3 stars for fast service though.

I had a great experience at Central auto repair. The service manager Charlie, and his team of professional mechanics were able to diagnose and replace my alternator, and get me back on the road the same day, with an extremely quick turnaround. In addition, they were able to replace my brakes the very next day with another quick and painless turnaround. I highly recommend Central Auto Repair. They’re honest and dependable and they do great work.Thanks again Central Auto Repair.Kind regards,Gary

Charlie’s crew was outstanding! Very professional and explained to me about the braking system in my car. I feel very happy with the work that they’ve done for me today. I will be returning in the future.

They serviced my account and charged me $125.00 when I drove my car home all it blew was hot air. I called them and they said they were closing and I said Ill bring it back in the morning. They had my car all day and when I went to pick up they hadnt done anything basically saying I dont know whats wrong so I asked for my 125.00 back and he wouldnt give it to me.

Always professional and willing to work with me on repairs ...

Central Auto services all of our vehicles, they always do a great job, easy to schedule, pricing has always been fair.

Several years ago i got injured and needed my car more then ever. It was really important to have a reliable car for all my doctors appointments that i couldnt miss. After having bad experience with other mechanics, i went based on reviews what other customers have said about this place. Not only did it had great reviews but also had a positive environment. I turned over my keys to Charle to get an idea whats wrong with it. He was straight forward what needed to be done and was a fast worker especially his crew members. Once the problem was fixed, i never had to worry about it again or have any issues with it a week later. My car lasted with 300k miles till i finally bought another car. I have been coming here ever since for honest work and great expectations.

I am more than grateful for the team that works there. Since I have had my car fixed here, I Never been to a dealership repair shop and will not go back ever again. Great service....

Good service quick alignment job 75 bucks print out of before and after adjustments

Most honest repair shop i have been to. Gave me very fair price. other shops wanted almost double. They also used original parts since aftermarket was around same price. That’s a big plus that they took the extra time to offer me great deal while using original parts. Quality work and very professional . Will definitely be back for any car repairs i need.

They did an amazing job taking me as a walk in with two cars and several things to do. Thank you. Very reasonable priced

HONEST AND VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND REASONABLE PRICES

They did something pretty good and went put of their way for me to get my car home so that was good, but the reason I took my car home was due to the price they tried to charge for the labor it took. I dont know any $250/hr mechanic shop. So Ill say 3 stars

Central Auto offers great service on all my vehicles

WARNING DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR HERE. I wouldnt pass smog so i brought my car in. Had two trouble codes. Owner assured me he could fixed the problem. Once done same codes kept popping up. Took car back to them. They had it for 3weeks. Then told me I should take my car to the dealer to get a second opinion on tier diagnosis.I mean what shop tells thier customer that?!? Then they wanted to charge me an additional 2300.00to fix the next diagnosis they werent sure of.900.00 later and 3weeks worth of rentals. Waste of time.. they dont know what thier doing..

Nice people, wheel alignment for $75

Very disappointed. I took it in for an alignment, they told me I needed new brake pads and rotors because it was metal on metal and that my front bearing was out. I already new my bearing was out and was headed to the dealership to see if it was covered by my warranty. My brake pads needed to be changed, they were at 20% but were not metal to metal and both rotors were not effected. Saved $596 by knowing what needed to be done instead of believing them. Do not go here, they had the opportunity to do the right thing, chose not to.

They were able to quickly find the issue, order parts and it was ready the next day at a reasonable price! Will absolutely take my car back and recommend this place!

Worst shop I have ever used. The shop tried to fix a smog sytem leak, two visits to Central, they reset the check engine light and left me with a broken smog system hose that I could not see. Charged me full cost for Toyota parts and used cheap knockoff parts. I drove directly to another shop where they fixed it the first time. I contacted the California Bureau of Automotive Repair and got a partial refund. Reviews are fake, shop is a ripoff.

Great work on our vehicles

Charlie is awesome and always great service

If you value your vehicle make sure to stay away from this place. the owner charlie knows nothing about cars. installed my parts upside down, and caused 5k in damages and refused to pay for them. they have no experience in the automotive field. I wish i could give zero stars. STAY AWAY

This place took a long time to fix nothing!

Charlie & Frank always take great care of my car at affordable prices. I can highly recommend them! ☺

Great service - both for taking care of my car and me. Highly recommended if you have a VW or any car.

Simple Charlie is the best and affordable shop for your daily driver.

Let me start my review by saying that this Central auto repair shop could’ve had me or my family seriously injured or even killed because of their incompetent repair work. Please do not take your vehicle here. Further more they neglected to take responsibility nor pay for the repair work that I had to have redone at the dealership because of this incompetence. They cost me $1800 dollars in repairs (1/2 of which were for unnecessary parts installed by there mechanics that didnt fix the problem and labor ), A Triple A call, A dented and scratched rim ( not included in the 1800 dollars that I paid in repairs) and almost caused a serious accident because they used after market parts and neglected to put the correct bolt on my braking system!My husband took my 2013 ford edge to Central Auto Repair because the breaks were giving off a burnt odor as we were coming down the mountain from arrowhead. This was March 7th 2019. They had the car 2 days and said that problem was the front brake pads and calibers. We paid $423.00 dollars and got them fixed. However, after about 2 days of driving the vehicle I noticed the burnt smell had returned and the vehicle was becoming more increasing difficult to stop. It began making a sound and the pedal was very mushy. My husband returned the car to Central Auto Repair and they kept the vehicle until April 17th 2019 because they were having difficulty determining what the problem was. When my husband picked up the vehicle this time, we were charged $792.00 because they said they had to replace the ABS unit, the break booster, break booster vacuum hose and the master cylinder. When we received the vehicle, the burnt smell was gone but all of the dashboard indicator lights were on. When my husband asked Central Auto Repair to reprogram the computer to remove them. They explained they did not have the proper computer equipment to do so. We then had to take the vehicle to the Ford dealership for reprogramming. The dealership charged us an additional $240.00 do a diagnostic and reprogram. They also informed us that my computer was wiped of pertinent information such as my VIN number. Then on June 14th as I began to exit the freeway, what I thought was my ABS system automatically locking my brakes was actually the brake caliber bolt dislodging. This caused the front half of caliber to disconnect and fall. This caused the caliber to grind and scratch the inside of the rim of the vehicle. I struggled to get the vehicle to moved forward which caused the vehicle to violently jerk forward almost causing me to nearly ram the vehicle in front of me. I had to have my vehicle towed from riverside to lake Elsinore ford. The dealership found that the break caliber bolt was not properly tightened causing it to vibrate lose and fall out. We then paid another $268. dollars to replace the caliber and the bolts and inspect the other side to ensure the others were not compromised. We went to Central Auto Repair and explained that the ford dealership informed us that Central Auto Repair’s mechanic did not tighten or possibly put the wrong bolt on the caliber. We showed the owner pictures of the damaged rim and the bolt missing. The owner refused to accept responsibility and placed blame on the Ford Dealership. He became upset and refused to compensate in any kind of way. The service manager of the Ford Dealership even called to explain the action that caused the damage and the owner became even more upset and hung up in her face. ****** In Fords diagnostic report they stated that they did not understand why all of the braking system parts were replaced if the only thing that was wrong with the vehicle was the brake booster and the master cylinder. Furthermore, if they didnt have the equipment to reprogram the computer then they didnt have the proper equipment to diagnose my vehicle causing unnecessary repairs and added costs!

Good service and you will be blessed to have Charlies mechanics work on your car.😀

Rude dishonest no integrity. Damaged my car and refused to fix the $7k damage he caused. Will be taking to the bureau of automotive repair. And going after his bond.. DO NOT USE...

Love this place. Charlie and Sam are the best! We service all our vehicles at Central Auto!

Great place, great prices. Will highly reccomend.

Charlie goes beyond and above to make sure your car is fixed and safe....No car is perfect but he makes sure its nearly perfect and gives me a peace of mind...Been his customer for almost 4 years....Awesome and trustworthing mechanic...!

Best prices around for quality work

Charlie is very knowledgeable and gets the job done right! Highly recommend!

Charlie and his team are great and honest with affordable prices

Excellent service and they do a great job at a reasonable price!

Great place for auto service.

Amazing service. Thank you Charlie.

Most honest mechanic in Lake Elsinore.

Honest and reliable.

Honest, fair, and a great mechanic

Owner is very friendly

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