North Coast Alignment

My Audi was showing problems with brake pads so I needed to find a decent place urgently. I found them on Google, it was close & got great reviews so thought I would give them a try. They were efficient, took my car in within one day over Memorial Day W.end & v quickly had valet service to take me home as well as a free quote and were quick to update me with estimate and patient in explaining the pricing.

My husband said their price range was fair. Work was fast & also they gave us a small discount which was sweet since we were 1st time customers. So far all is going well a week later so I'm happy to recommend very good report & good things all round! Thank you guys

The guys at DRIVE AutoCare are top notch. Just dropped my car off after a nail punctured my tire. They patched it really quickly. 100% would recommend any day.

They are very competent and do a great job. They are now my go to service center for my cars. Initially, while they did a great job on the repair, I had an issue with returning follow-up calls after I picked up the car and so mentioned this an early review. The manager called me immediately and was very apologetic that they had dropped the ball on returning my call since they pride themselves on their work and customer service. The prompt follow-up was impressive, and it was clear that they strive to deliver excellent customer service. I

I needed an oil change and a tire rotation. I mentioned there was a slow leak in my right rear tire. Troy took the extra time and effort to remove the tire, identify the leak and patch it. Highly recommend!

Very great service. I initially went in just for a tire rotation and then asked them to check if anything else was wrong in general. They did a thorough check through and they sorted the results to me as urgent, recommended, passed. For each item it gave a recommended frequency to check (even on the passed items). For the recommended and urgent items they gave me a detailed reason why.

This is why I'm giving them 5 stars. The transparency makes me feel like I can trust them, instead of just telling me a blanket statement like you need to do X. I'd recommend this place for sure. Awesome customer service.

Everyone was so friendly, accommodating and easy to work with here. I got my smog check done here and it took exactly the amount of time they gave (30min)- easy in, easy out! I will certainly be back again!

Went for a smog inspection and a rattling problem and honestly did it because they were the closest to my home. Saw all these awards for good customer service but you know I see these all the time. This time the awards were deserved. Friendly, professional and still the home town small guy feel. Will come back for all my needs going forward. Just moved to California and I've found my shop.

Great service as always. In addition to the oil change, they guys also cleaned my hybrid battery air filter free of charge! Service: Oil change

I don't have to explain my self, but Excellent Excellent and honest place. Brian and Lauren awesome.

I took my Porsche in for a wheel alignment at Drive Auto Repair. They're located near all the wonderful shops and restaurants on Cedros in Solana Beach. The staff was polite and efficient. I droppped the car off with them and walked to Lofty's for a fabulous lunch. I got a call that my car was ready. The price was lowest around the valley and I was pleased with my car's performance after the alignment. I plan to take my other car in as well. Thank you Drive Auto for great service!

Paul and his team at DRIVE are incredibly helpful, honest, and professional. I used their SMOG service a few months ago and it was fast and reasonably priced. Due to the quality of their service I have been back twice for diagnostic issues with my 2001 Jeep Cherokee and received excellent service both times fully explaining my issue. Each time they diagnosed the problem and since neither were critical to the safety/drivability they simply gave me an estimate and I did not feel like I was being pressured into getting the repair done.

Their SMOG is walk-in service and for other appointments it has always been same or next-day. They take such good care of my Jeep that I will be returning for all future maintenance and problems. It is hard to find an auto shop like DRIVE that understands why my XJ is an awesome older Jeep.

Very friendly and responsive. Surprised that a 1 axle alignment would cost $200. May shop around next time. Asked them for estimate to furnish and install 4 new Michelin tires. Was over $2,000 while Costco was $1,430. I want to give DRIVE this order but they need to match it. That is real life. I understand if they don't. Overall an excellent shop with great people.

Came in for routine oil change that included routine 30 point inspection. Car had some additional problems that the crew addressed with great care and consideration. Spoke with owner as well and he also expressed care and concern for my vehicle.

I had a great first experience with Drive. They diagnosed a tough to figure out repair on my car. Easy to drop and pick up, good communication and a fair price. I'm glad to have found a good local spot. Services: Electrical, General repairs & maintenance

Drive was responsive, timely, and very professional. Importantly, they have been able to identify and resolve every issue with my car. Drive is definitely my go to mechanic! Services: Oil change, General repairs & maintenance

Critical: Value Took an hour and a half to tell me they couldn't smog test my car because the idle was slightly too high. Charge full smog test price for this service. Rude about trying to fix an "old car". (1988)

I don't know what I would do without Drive AutoCare and the wonderful people who work there! I've been going to Drive for 4 years now and every experience shows me that they don't just care for cars but also the people who drive them. Paul and Annie are truly the best of the best, and when I've been in a crisis with the car, they have come through as if I was family, except that I'm not. I trust them 500% and recommend them to anyone who needs a wonderful, honest, local auto shop. They are best of the best.

I was in town from Phoenix and my car was not doing so well. The sparks and coils went out the day before I was suppose to drive home. The team at Drive was so nice and accommodating and got me in immediately even though they seemed booked and busy. I was shocked when I got a call at 7pm because they stayed late to ensure I got my diagnosis and my car was ready to go the next afternoon.

They took the time to talk to me and my Husband a couple times (he was home in AZ and I'm somewhat clueless about cars). They have very fair prices, and a nice clean shop. I wish they had a location in Phoenix because they would be my full time mechanic if so.

After the repair on my car ended up being something silly (which they easily could have been dishonest about), I am certain that I can trust the people at Drive. I was putting it off, worrying about the expense and hassle. I'm so, so glad I brought my car here. It really made my day and was such a relief. Brian is an absolute angel. Thank you guys! You've got yourself a lifelong customer.

DRIVE AutoCare on the 101 in Solana Beach is trustworthy and honest. I'm so glad I found them! Way less busy than DRIVE on Cedros as well. Can't thank them enough!

This place trumps my Porsche dealership. They are honest, flexible and fairly priced. It's a tough thing to find a trustworthy mechanic and this place puts me at ease because I know I'm being taken care of. They even offer a shuttle if you live in the area. I had a time constraint and they were able to get my car worked on just in time. I value their respect for the customers time. Thank you for such a great experience and will continue bringing our other cars here.

I brought my truck here to get my brakes checked out. The service was fantastic and the work was great. They were great with communication before they started any work on my truck. They were also fast. Thanks again!

I love supporting our beloved local businesses! Drive has excellent customer service (everyone working there is friendly and welcoming), and they changed my oil super quickly (approximately 45 minutes). Scheduling an appointment was a breeze (I was able to get one the morning after I called). I won't go anywhere else for my oil changes because the experience is so great here!

Bryan and his team are the absolute best in knowledge and skills. The last two times, they have gone out of their way to expedite and repair unusual parts of our cars. They are detailed and will list everything they see as needing repair with reasonable estimates. You can pick and choose what you want them to repair. They are our forever go-to for car maintenance and repair. Both Roy and I are very happy and pleased and highly recommend them.

Years of 5-star service from Drive is what I have had, and now finally, this review. Like most of you reading this, I have a BMW, in fact I have had many. The last 3 have all been serviced by Drive in SB. Best decision ever. This review is prompted from Drive, and especially Brian for going not beyond, but WAY beyond. Let me say that if you go to Drive, you will get fairly priced (not expensive, not cheap, fair and affordable!) service.

You will get the best customer service experience you have ever had, and I can promise you, IF by some chance something isn't what you want, they WILL work to resolve it. There is never a need to put a negative review for them, I know for a fact, they will go to the end of the earth to resolve anything, they are on your side. Case in point, my 2013 needed valve cover gasket, new radiator and other things. 3K of repairs.

But I have a purchased warranty. So in all cases your mechanic has to call them and get the repairs approved. They approved the radiator but not the 2K for the valve stuff. Brian called me to notify me about this. Remember he was on the phone with them for quite some time, on hold, then the adjuster, etc. So I called, same answer. Urghh! Brian suggested another way to approach it and offered to try.

Guess what, another 1K towards the repairs. That is the kind of thing Drive will do for you. I go there for every single thing for my BMW. I have never ever been anything but 100% satisfied. I never have to worry, or stress. What more can you say.

DO NOT go here! If I could give zero stars I would. Long time residents of the neighborhood and recently decided to try this place after our normal mechanic wasn't available because of quarantine. AC went out in my husband's truck and took in for a "recharge." They called back and said it was going to be $1,275 to fix AC and added another $2,500 for other things that "needed to be fixed" totaling $3,800.

We opted not to get any service done but they still charged $140 for service they didn't do (original AC estimate was $179). Long story short- took our truck elsewhere and AC was done for less than 1/3 of the cost. The $1125 worth of brake work did not need to be done- nor did the $1250 for power steering. I was provided pictures of my brake shoes that had 70% left and my brake line was NOT leaking as I was told by DRIVE.

These guys clearly don't run an honest business and are looking to prey upon anyone that is foolish enough to get bilked. Pretty much like a dentist charging for a root canal when you just need to floss. Unbelievable. DO NOT go here unless you want to be taken advantage of.

Drive is number 1 in my book. I send everyone here. They are courteous professional quick responsive with excellent value. They have saved me (and my car) numerous times. I'd come here even if I wasn't a local.

Can't say enough wonderful things! The team got me in last minute, late afternoon, for a flat tire and delivered by keys by days end. Miguel was kind and efficient. Made a really inconvenient life moment, easier. Seriously, thank you Drive!

Couldn't make room for a same-day smog check. It may be a good place for car repairs and maintenance but wasn't able to provide the service I needed.

They did the smog job that 2 other shops were too afraid of. My Porsche Boxster was handled with care and smog to success. I will definitely use you services again! Thanks, Bryan

Been using the Smog shop and California Imports, both owned by Mike Gilmore and in Solana Beach since 2001, and find the service excellent and they don't try to sell unnecessary work.--knowledge clerk/servicee writer. Trust is an important issue, I am comfortable witth them.

I went in for an oil change (calling kind of last minute). Beside that, I had a larger problem (warning beeps saying "fasten seat belts" going off continually while the seat belt was fastened). I planned to take to car the following week when I could get an appointment at the dealership. In the meantime, Brian not only did the oil change, but topped off my fluids, etc. reset the car's computer ended - that ended up fixing the warning signal problem. I've taken my husband's car into the other location - both are great and I would highly recommend Drive to anyone in need of car care. Kim K

Great service! Very trustworthy guys here doing a great job. Highly recommend them to anyone who needs help with their vehicle.

These folks are top notch. Easy to see why they have two locations within walking distance of each other. Super friendly to work with. Very professional. Extremely competent. They even go far enough to coordinate payments with my fleet vehicle company, which I am confident adds an additional layer of work to their process. Definitely commend.

I have a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. Smog test was not $44.95 (with $15 coupon) as Michael states in a comment below, cost is $53.20. I went to Lee Rollins Firestone in Miramar afterwards on the same day for an oil change and they quoted me $45 for the smog test. I messed up, bummer. The wait time, however, was only 30 min.

Very pleased with the quick & honest service. I will probably come back here for regular oil changes.

Smog check pricing is $20 more than the surrounding area. $79.99 for a smog come on. Went ahead and left my truck there. I asked if there was a special the girl did yes. $15 off with some email coupon. Yeah. Bottom line call around it will save you a least $20. Btw the tall older lady behind the counter is unpleasant. Playing with a Doberman puppy. Lacking professional behavior and customer service. North county coastal people please reconsider this establishment. Then why was I charged $79.95. please call me to process a price adjustment.

My 13 year old Mini Cooper S has received the best of care and runs like a dream, I've been surprised at how smooth she feels, so much so that I hate to sell it. Brian the manager has a wonderful trustworthy nature and much more reasonable pricing structure than other quality shops around. I am greatly appreciative of the detail oriented attention, genuine respectful nature & friendliness. I wish all businesses operated like this. Thank you!

Smog Depot has a small reception area staffed with one or two people. Don't expect to be greeted or acknowledged when walking in though. However, you should expect a lot of eye rolling and groaning by the supervisor/owner/manager(?) if you dare to ask scheduling questions. What did surprise me was that the same rude supervisor suddenly became friendly as he went into describing the technical details of the smog test results.

Just keeping that guy in the back of the shop instead of customer facing would yield this place at least another star. Now as for the smog test itself, they ran a quick OBD test and failed me because their instruments reported a sensor failure. Of course that did not stop them from charging me the full amount. With those results I walk over to the excellent repair place next door and guess what?

Their instruments say everything is fine with my sensors! Walking back to Smog Depot and they stick to their original claim. So I drive to a different smog check station where of course everything checks out and my vehicle passes right away. $50 wasted on rude manager and Smog Depot's equipment failure. Update: After posting the Yelp review I received a call from the owner, Mike, and he is going to refund the charge.

This place is awful. They incorrectly diagnosed my car and stated it needed a new transmission and would be about $5,000. I picked up my car and took it to another place and it turns out it wasn't the transmission. I felt like I was screwed over at this place. I told them not to touch the car, yet they went ahead and did an oil change and charged me $50.00. That's ridiculous. It's really sad that this place has gone down hill over the years.

My family were loyal customers since 2000, not anymore. I will never go back or recommend this place. Fast forward to two years later and thousands of miles on the exact same car. It is still running great and has not had a new transmission put in. In fact, I recently relocated to North Carolina and the car made it just fine. Not bad for a car that you told me needed a new transmission.

One of my favorite things is to go somewhere that I never been and have it live up to my expectations. I called Smog Depot after finding a coupon online. The guy on the phone quoted me a price said to come right down there was no wait. I arrived to a clean but small shop and pulled right in. The two people behind the counter were polite and efficient and wasted no time getting my information so they could start my service even though the phone was ringing off the hook and they were pretty busy.

I have a 14-year old van that requires smog test every renewal. I'm always worried that it's not going to pass and cost me a billion dollars to fix. I guess it's just in my nature to worry because only one time in the seven years that I've owned it has it failed and that was because the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. Anywho, back to the point, I highly recommend this smoke shop if you're anywhere in the beach area. They were honest quick efficient and I have zero complaints. That is a bonus!

Staff is super friendly, no gimmicks, don't try to make you do unnecessary work. Had some work done to find a issue with my evap system and they were more than helpful at a very competitive price compared to other shops for the same service! Great to deal with and I let all my friends know to visit smog depot!

Just had my second smog check by these guys- I called them, scheduled, showed up on time and they got me finished in 20 min. Awesome job guys!

Place has horrible service. They state they work on high end cars the mechanic doesn't even wear gloves and gets his grimy hands all over my Alcantara steering wheel. The manager their doesn't even know what he's talking about, if your looking for a place that has values of honesty and integrity don't go to smog depot.

You would think just going to get smogged would not warrant a YELP. NOT TRUE! Sean and the guys at Smog Depot seriously helped me out with my car (which was determined to NOT be smogged). We got it done and they totally went out of their way for me. And you know smogging is not how they make their $$ so I would use them for alignment services or go to their brother shop, California Imports for other work as well. Also totally amazing service and great people at Cal Import, especially Mike. Thanks guys!

Easy-peasy. I dropped my car off--a 2002 Mercury Sable--with no appointment at around 8:30 on a Tuesday. They told me it would be about 20 minutes, so I went for a quick run down the Highway 101 into Cardiff (gorgeous!). I got back about 30 minutes later and everything was all ready to go! They also send the certificate to the DMV for you. DEFINITELY bring this coupon with you: http://www.smogtips.com/Solana-Beach-Smog-Check-Station-Test-Only-Center.cfm. Having $15 off makes it about $53, give or take, which matched up with all the other smog check places I looked into--otherwise it's kind of pricey.

For comparison, someone recommended the Encinitas Smog Center to me, and I called them at the same time I called Smog Depot. It would have been $53.20 as well, but when there was a wait and the test itself would take about 40 minutes. No brainer!

I happened to be in the Solana Beach area for work, needed a smog check, and found this place via a quick google maps search. Super nice guy behind the desk, and I was in and out in 15 minutes! Fastest smog check I've ever had done. Thanks!

While getting a Smog Check is not on my list of favorite things to do, this place made it easier to run my errands last week. It only took 20 minutes to get in and out, got my smog check done in just enough time to grab a coffee down the street at Cafe La Boca. The lady behind the counter was very helpful and courteous.

I was very pleased today with Smog Depot on N Cedros in Solana Beach. I had searched online for smog test centers, found this one on http://www.smogtips.com/ and got a $15 off coupon. I read 2 Yelp reviews from 2011 -- one 5-star and one 1-star. I was concerned about the price issue, so I called and verified the total cost (including the filing fees to DMV). The net cost to me was $55.20 and the work was done within about 20 minutes. Net-net, I was pleased.

Friendly and fast but $80 for smog check? I didn't know any better, and was shocked when they said the amount, and the guy behind the counter said Oh its because you have a "test-only" requirement, so I went ahead and got it done. Looking online now I realize I could have had it done for over half that price! Next time I'll do my research, but I won't come back here.

Apparently (since I reviewed the wrong place - North Coast Alignment and they called me to tell me they are different businesses) there is some type of discount coupon online.

Unless you are utterly certain your car will pass and you can negotiate a lower price with Smog Depot Solana Beach I recommend you take your car elsewhere. My car barely failed smog here. I attribute this to it not having been driven for months and insufficient warm-up time. When I asked if these would be factors the manager assured they wouldn't be.

When I asked for a pre-test the manager refused and glibly said the car would likely pass smog. Finally, when testing the vehicle the technician warmed up the car only briefly. The car might not have warmed up to the proper testing temperature. The same car passed ten days later after frequent freeway driving and a noticeably longer warm-up at a different smog test station.

The pass was clear and by a significant margin too. The price I paid at Smog Depot Solana Beach was $20 more than the passing test ten days later at a different smog test station. I feel ripped off.