DRIVE AutoCare (Hwy 101 Solana Beach)

"In a time where customer service has gone away completely. Most of the time when I need help or customer service from an establishment, I get caught up in a voice mail tree or funneled to an email where I never get a response. Here is my experience at Drive…I needed some substantial work done (suspension, valve cover gaskets, steering rack) to a 06 explorer that was going to be utilized by my son at college in northwest Idaho. I needed it done so that I would have peace of mind being so far away and inclement weather up there. The truck came back and had a small intermittent misfire, nothing crazy, but I did not want to send it up to Idaho and have to worry about it. I spoke with Jose, he advised to bring it in and they would go back over what they had done. Jose and his team could not find the issue and since it was very intermittent they had a hard time replicating the misfire. I sent an email to Mike, the president and owner explaining my situation. To be honest, I did not really expect a response or reply (see first paragraph) within 10 minutes of me hitting send, Mike called me. He advised me that he would go to the shop my explorer was at (he has three shops) and help diagnose the problem. I was pleasantly surprised. About an hour later Mike called again and advised that he was driving the Explorer and was having a hard time replicating the misfire. He asked if I could drive with him to see if I could show him. He came by and we drove for 20-30 minutes and could not replicate the issue. Mike advised that he was going to do a fuel injector cleaning to see if that would clear it up for me. He assured me that they were going to make sure the car was good no matter what. After the Fuel Injector cleaning, I drove away and have not had any misfires and feel confident in sending the car away for my son. This customer service Mike provided me was above and beyond and I’d say a big reason why he’s been in business for 43+ years. I’m grateful for Mike, Jose and the rest of the crew at Drive. Highly recommended."

"Awful Experience - Stay Away. TL; DR: extremely rude customer service, ignored the problem I asked to be serviced. This mechanic was recommended to me because they support the CarMax MaxCare plan. I took my Jeep in because the engine was making a distinct sputtering noise. They called me and said that they could not hear the noise, but that they found a new "overheating" problem.  I had seen no temperature warning nor any signs of overheating.  However, they assured me that this was a problem, and I agreed to have the problem fixed based on their recommendation. I asked again, "Are you sure you could not hear the noise?" They said "no, we cannot hear any noise coming from the engine." When I went to pick up the car, I requested the tech and another mechanic walk over to my Jeep with me to ensure that the engine noise wasn't there.  When we started the car, the engine began to make its distinct noise. I said, "This is the problem I brought this in for.  What does this mean?" The tech said, very rudely, "I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know. I would have to take it all apart and find out." I felt extremely disrespected as a customer considering A) this was why I brought the Jeep in to be serviced and B) his tone was unacceptable and very unprofessional and C) isn't this the job of a mechanic? I asked why they did not address the sound, and they said that because I didn't describe it as a "ticking sound," they did not address it, even though both the tech and another mechanic agreed that there was something wrong with the engine, but seemed indifferent to the fact that they did not address the problem. Lastly, despite being a MaxCare customer, the person at the register made no attempt to help me out.  He said that because I brought the car in for a "sputtering" sound and not a "ticking" sound, I was not eligible to pay only my $150 deductible and would be charged for parts and labor. Dude...seriously? The tech was extremely rude to me, you did nothing to address the problem I brought the car in for even though a malfunctioning engine was CLEARLY audible, and you're going to charge a first-time customer close to $500 because I described the sound as "sputtering" and not "ticking?" I will never go back here and I will be sure to tell many of my experience in hopes that other customers will be treated with respect and actually have their problems addressed at other mechanics."

"I called Monday morning and surprisingly, was able to get in that day. Besides doing the work we discussed (Service A), they did their recommendation from last time and of course, gave me new recommendations. Their recommendations are needed but I asked them if I could hold off and for how long. Overall I think they took care of me and my car. Thank you Drive"

"I have a Land Rover and for many years the dealer and foreign shops took advantage of the brand. I couldn't understand why other shops would charge over $600 for an oil change. Once I found Drive 101, they use the same factory recommended oil and use all the factory specifications and I find the prices to be very reasonable. It has now been over 5 years and I trust Drive 101 for all my repairs, services and questions with my Land Rover. I couldn't be more happy to find a local shop I can patronize. They always communicate with me on the progress of the service and when to expect the completion of the work. The Service mgr and the ASC Certified technicians always have the best attitude and skills to solve any issue I have with my vehicle. I will continue to take my vehicles to Drive 101 for all my service and repairs."

"My car was having trouble starting so I brought it in to be inspected. They had my car for several hours until they figured out the problem, and ended up giving me a referral to a place that could fix it for cheap. They didn’t charge me for the inspection and I’m super appreciative of how awesome they were. Will be coming back in the future!"