I normally dont write reviews but I would like to shed light on my personal experience to help others make the right decision for their vehicles.I had my car serviced here for over two years as I moved to San Diego from Hawaii. (I was actually recommended by a friend to have my car serviced here.)In the beginning, things were great. They were honest and very responsive upon my concerns and questions about my automobile. I even went to the dealership to have my car routinely inspected and had this auto center confirm any extra labor/repair issues that the dealership had recommended.Fast forward to today: I dont know if management has changed or if they are just more busy, but now it just doesnt feel like your local family service center anymore.Roughly three weeks ago I had my car serviced for new struts, brake inspection, and engine clean for about $1600.00. They told me to come back one week later as they stated verbally in person that there was an engine oil leak that they fixed and wanted to reinspect. During that week I noticed my car was making a loud creaking noise whenever I would accelerate or turn the steering wheel. Never had this issue before this appointment, but I figured it could be due to the installation of the new parts. I thought no problem, Ill just let them know about the issue upon my one week inspection.One week comes by and I drop my vehicle off at 7am. I come to find out now the engine gasket has to be replaced and they want to charge me an additional $625. Look, I know Im not professionally trained in automobiles or the service of them, but the lack of communication and surprise on additional costs/fees just made me feel really disappointed today. They didnt even address the creaking noise that I mentioned as my top concern.I hope this auto service center can use my review in a positive way and make changes to help improve their customer service like I remembered two years ago.Like in any successful business, the chief complaint needs to be addressed in order for quality work to be achieved. 🤙

DO NOT BRING YOUR BUSINESS HERE!!! Would give ZERO stars...First and last time here!Came in for a simple oil change and tire rotation. Not only did they NOT call me when my car was done. The main guy was horribly rude when I questioned the work and disagreed with him. I did not agree with his reccomendations. I clearly stated what I wanted them to do. As a Mechanical Engineer, I understand the risks when declining service and advice. Terrible customer service, and trashy attitude from the guy in charge. If thats how you want to run your business go ahead, but you wont get any of my money. Was really hoping to find something close to work...🙃

I left my truck to have threaded holes re-tapped and a skid plate installed. I did them a favour my removing the original skid plate so it would be faster for them. An employee checked to see that it could be done and confirmed, they would be able to re-tap and install. I was told it would cost about 1 hour labour. I was called later in the day and told that they couldnt re-tap the holes so they installed the skid plate but I would still be charged one hour labour. It actually only takes 15 minutes to change a skid plate. I was from out of town so they took advantage of me. Anyway, I made it back home and my usual mechanic. My mechanic removed the skid plate, re-tapped the holes, and re installed the skid plate. That only took my usual mechanic 45 minutes. From my experience, do yourself a favour and stay away from University City Service. Youll be overcharged and the work wont be done.

Update: Owner reached out to help me return the coolant and was very professional. Solid costumer service, can’t complain.Beware, bought coolant and tried to return it unopened with the receipt on the same day, and they would not accept it and was rude about it.Otherwise, had my cars alternator replaced some time ago and that was fine and reasonable.

Ive been going to this shop for 2 decades. They provide very good warranty work.

These days it is really difficult to find a service, ANY, service, that you can trust. This shop is one such place and I could not recommend it enough. Scott took my car in and told me that they would check the intermittent “check engine light”. Two hours later they told me that they ran the diagnostics and could not find anything wrong, neither at the time nor historically. Relieved, I asked for the charge and was told that there isn’t any. All I can say that our car is due for a service soon. I know where to take it. Thank you!

Great spot, and helpful kind group of people working there. They are down to earth and get to the point.

Service is fast, usually same day for small services like oil changes. Staff is friendly and give no BS answers about whats wrong with your car. I would recommend them to anyone looking for an honest and fair mechanic

Poor customer service without database after my first visiting. When I took my car to the shop second time for changing engine oil and third time for checking engines, the worker simply told me to go to the other dealer shop.It is not okay to refuses the customer’s needs no matter how they look like.

Friendly and fast service, depending on the day (avoid Mondays). Convenient for me, as the 41 takes me straight here to and from work.

Helpful, considerate, convenient location and fair pricing

How to make a simple never go there again

These people are awesome!

I dont buy gas at this location because its cheaper across the street but the auto repair guys are excellent. I brought my vehicle in because I was told by Pep Boys that I needed a new alternator and a new water pump. Turns out that was not the case and I wasnt charged anything even though they spent time on my vehicle. Auto mechanics dont have a particularly good reputation for honesty, so when presented with evidence like this it deserves recognition and reward.

My family has been coming here for over 50 years and the service is phenomenal- always courteous, trustworthy and on time. Keep up the good work!

These mechanics are trustworthy and dependable, weve been using them for years. They always let us know what can wait when money is tight and give us good rates.

I took my cars for service, every time the service was fast and I could feel the difference driving away. Scott has been very professional, prompt and helpful. He even checked to make sure I need the service prior to doing it. The quick service time was Impressive! Thanks very much!

Great local gas station with a repair center. This is my go to gas station. I also get my cars smog checked here when required by the DMV. Great prices and super friendly and helpful staff.

Just got my oil changed here on a Saturday morning. The price was pretty standard. What I appreciated most of all is that they didnt try to up-sell me on anything. They said they expected it to take 1 hour, and it took exactly that.

Great knowledge honest shop

You can pump your tire for freeOil change is $43for everythingEngine check start at 55$Overall affordable, I am a ucsd student and I think it is a good place for students as a whole.

I went in to get my brakes changed and had damage on the rotor. After my service I didn’t understand all that had to go into repairing what I caused. Brian kindly reached out and helped with throughly explaining in detail of the repairs. Ask questions, they are very knowledgeable!!

Emissions and oil change quick and for a very fair price. Friendly service; great guys. I consider myself super lucky that our neighborhood auto shop is as awesome as UC Service Center is!!

Amazing Family owned auto shop. The guys who work here are very honest and reliable. If you need a new auto shop deffenitly give them a try. They have a Yelp check in for $10.00 off.

Excellent service! Prices are great and the people are very courteous, polite and friendly. Popped in twice without appointment was greeted immediately and no wait.

Had a flat tire, they patched it up and sent me on my way. Very professional, good price too.

Ive been coming here since 2007. Theyre great!

Wonderful service. They always do good work.Very pleasant and helpful. Highly recommend this Service Center.

Just been there and got excellent service. Very friendly, very professional.

Had a simple problem and was expecting a $50 bill for a 10 cent part and 1 minute job, but they were kind enough to help me out on the spot at no charge. Definately coming back for service now!

Have my oil change done here in March. They replaced my Battery! I didnt notice until today as the battery totally dies and my car can not be started, got roadside assistance, the guy told me the battery is a 6 year old battery! But I bought my car, brand new, in Sep. 2018. What the hell! I wish I had evidence (such as photos of the battery before and after oil change) to fight back. Totally fraud, stay away!

Employees not wearing masks during COVID-19 pandemic

Quick and fair. Id go here again.

Every worker is nice and helpful. A good spot, easy to find. Only down side is getting back onto the main road is a pain with street traffic.

Incredibly honest and caring! Im reviewing because I was extremely impressed with their honesty. It cost them a lot of time to try to diagnose my car and they admitted that they werent sure of the solution and told me to take it elsewhere. I am definitely coming back.

This is a very honest and great location. I highly recommend not to take it anywhere else if you are paranoid of what mechanics may do to your car. Im a software engineer at heart so I dont know much about cars. These guys are seriously passionate about doing a good job, thats why I feel I can rely on them to take care of my car while charging me for an honest price, thanks so much guys!

I got SMOG certification here. They also fixed my squeaking back tires that the Mazda dealer service center failed to fix. Recommend!

Take my vehicle to a gas station to get repaired???? Are you kidding me how can you trust the guys at a gas Station? One word Integrity! These guys know what they are doing and seem genuinely interested in not only maintaining your car but also saving you money. I used to live in UTC so this place was super convenient. I have since moved downtown but still will use these guys, because I just dont trust the local ones around me. Ironically in their efforts to save their customers money they have insured themselves repeat business and longevity. All businesses should follow this companys simple model. Price Low + Be Honest + Look for Opportunities to Save Your Customer $ = HUGE BUSINESS SUCCESS. Thanks guys, now if you get BMW certified you will get 100% of my business.

For a California SMOG test I didnt know I needed a special STAR station. After the test was done, I checked the internet to find one and it turned out that this is one of only a few In San Diego. They take good care of our two cars, but they should tell the world that they are a .STAR.

Hands down the most compatant and trustworthy Automotive Repair Shop Ive ever used, Brian and his crew are true technicians that know what there doing.

Never go here. Last time I was here, they broke my air conditioner compressor. and they havent payed for that. I had to take care of it somewhere else.------If a car has over 100000 millage, it does not mean its compressor can die when the car is parked at your shop.

These guys are great - honest, skilled, quick and reasonably priced. Been coming here for years and never had a bad experience.

Reliable and competent garage where you can trust your vehicle will be repaired to your satisfaction

Needed help to change my battery. Called the night before to confirm they could take care of it first thing in the morning. I dropped the car and they swapped it quickly with no issue. Thank you guys!

This is my go to place for fuel. The location cant be beat and although I can find gas for less money elsewhere Ive always trusted the quality of Shell. Im considering getting my car serviced here as well.

I had to take a minute to commend these guys on their good nature and great service. Smog was quick and they are capable of almost any auto services.

Brian is a very good manager has an excellent knowledge of the business I would take my car to them. Quality of work is great.

I went here to get my oil change on my lunch break. I have an older, german car and whenever i get my oil change I feel like businesses always try to upsell me to the 5-star, synthetic, 85 dollar oil change that I dont really need. University City Service center did not and it was so relieving. I told them exactly what I needed and they got me in in enough time to get back to work after my break. The guys were honest, nice and a pleasure to deal with. If you are someone who feels like you get taken advantage of because you do not know any better go here. I have never dealt with such honest guys who truly care about their customers. I am going back if I need anything in the future. Highly recommended!! Ask for Martin or Bryan, they were the best!

Showed up at 7am, got service right away, short convo over best options for oil, and she was fair and straight forward about price. Even asked what I thought about competitor range for oil change cost. Only took 20min or so while I sat comfortably in a coffee house next door, free wifi.

Ive been coming here regularly for 4 years and have always had great service. My car and my fiancees car are always fixed ads taken care of properly.

Wow! Came in for an oil change and smog test and was finished in 45 minutes in spite of the parking lot being full of cars and the mechanics all extremely busy. Really good customer service. They came highly recommended by my neighbor and lived up to his recommendation!

Excellent Place treats me nice and fair

Excellent service. They replaced a timing belt for a much better price than my dealership and did not try to up sell me on replacing additional items (which is what the guys over at Firestone tried to do).

They are great! I needed to repair a flat tire and it was done in 10 minutes. The cost was very reasonable too.

Went there for a smog check and it was great, fast, and everyone was super friendly. Will definitely come back here for more mechanic work on my car!

Need your car fixed? Best mechanics in San Diego!

I went in today for a smog check. Walked over to the Vons plaza, and as soon as I sat down to eat I got a call from Brian telling me my car didnt pass. I signed something with the price at 50, but he told me not to worry about it since it failed early on. Brian offered to work with my Dad on the phone (hes my main mechanic!) to fix the issue. The problem seems rather redundant, so Im gonna take it home. Either way, I thought Id recommend this place to other UCSD students looking for a smog test place.

Always amazed at how quick and fair the service is. Nail in my tire? 5 minute, $15 fix. Check engine light comes on? Diagnosed and fixed in less than an hour. It always seems like they are super busy, with tons of cars waiting to be worked on, but they always manage to squeeze me in. Its easy to feel like Im getting scammed by often gloomy mechanics, but at University City Service Center the mechanics are often smiling and seem to have the customers best interest at heart, and I never walk away feeling like I paid too much. I even dropped my credit card in the parking lot and received a call telling me that they had picked it up and had it in the shop for me. Been here over five times, never had a single issue.

Great, honest service. UC Service has provided great service over the years. We bring our fleet over for regular, and major service.

Quality work and honest. A precious combination. Been going here for years.

Came for a light bulb change. They changed the wrong one because they didnt even check which one had burned. Then they claimed I should have told them which one to change. I had to argue to get a refund and to have the right light bulb changed. Not professional at all.

Great service over the years for our cars. I feel I will always be treated fairly and honestly.

I worked with Brian and he is very professional and got back to me in a timely manner and their work is good and prices are reasonable. I will definitely go back.ThxM. Kupai

Very honest people and reasonable prices.

They were very nice and helpful!

Had a nail in my tire. Fixing took less than five minutes. Very nice staff and very very good service!

Fast smog service and good price

Quick and fast!

Better off going to a different mechanic. Didn’t tell me what was going on with my car and didn’t want to be helpful until he knew I was going to give him all my money.

Took over 24 hours to diagnose the problem. Overcharged for labor and parts and broke my hood strut and refused to do anything about it.Took my car to a different mechanic and got it fixed within the day for at least 100 less then what they quoted me

Never had a problem with Brian and these guys. Good, reliable, and honest service.

Always nice and helpful and I trust them.

I took my car in for an oil change and my bill obviously increased significantly I trusted them and I shouldnt have.

Fast and fair price smog test

Great service and nice Staff.

Great truck parking

The lady working here was extremely rude.

Shell petrol station & AAA service centre

They mixed up my car with another, but quickly remedied the issue

Good

Very upfront about pricing

Quick, efficient...

Fast