Berkeley Auto Repair

Second review here. I had them replace a my brake booster a couple months ago, and that included the master cylinder. Long story short, that master cylinder failed. They owned it, replaced it under full warranty. Class act, support your local small business. Price of the original work was absolutely reasonable too.

Glad to know that there is a shop not afraid to work on older vehicles! This time I brought it in to replace my stolen catalytic converter, a job complicated by the fact that parts had to be special-ordered for my '90s-era Tacoma. But Gus at the service counter let me bring it in with no appointment, stuck with the job and kept me informed every step along the way, remaining friendly and professional throughout. I also know they did some negotiating with my insurance company and I'm just glad they took take of all of that for me. Finally, they provided an option for securing the new converter with rebar. Another outstanding experience at Oceanworks. Appreciate that they helped me get through all the issues with minimum hassle and got my trusty old Tacoma back on the road.

I've taken my 2016 Ford Escape to Oceanworks twice and each time have felt respected and secure in their communications and recommendations! Highly recommend as a professional, efficient, and respectful mechanic shop.

Oceanworks traced an oil leak in my 2013 Toyota Corolla to the timing-cover area and presented resealing it as the solution: about $2,700, or roughly $3,500–$4,000 if the timing chain and tensioners were replaced at the same time. Only after I asked how serious the leak was and whether they would drive the car themselves was I told that it was “not super bad,” the car was safe to drive, and I could monitor the oil and return if the leak became much worse. I then took the car to an experienced independent mechanic for a second opinion. After inspecting it, he said the leak was extremely minor and recommended monitoring it rather than repairing it. He estimated that the soonest it might need attention would be about five years and that it might never require repair. That matches what I observe at home: there is no oil on the ground where I park every day. I appreciated Oceanworks’ diagnostic work and do not dispute where they located the leak. My concern is how the recommendation was presented. I was given a multi-thousand-dollar repair as the solution before the leak’s limited severity and the option of monitoring it were explained. I left believing I might eventually need work that, according to the independent mechanic, may never be necessary.

I trust Oceanworks with my Toyota Tacoma! They can be counted on for outstanding customer service, communication, and mechanic know how and fair prices.

I first took a car in to Oceanworks over 30 years ago, when Chris ran Oceanworks...now he and I are both retired. Others there have since retired and new faces have come on board. Here in there for a few years at a time I lived elsewhere and have had to take my car elsewhere. I've seen the gamet from great to shoddy work; integrity and dishonesty. None compare with the honesty and skills at Oceanworks.

Brian, Gus and the team at Oceanworks are legit. Last year, they replaced our rear suspension and they were absolutely great to work with. Was heading to Berkeley Bowl when we started noticing some slippage with our 2014 Ford Escape. It didn't sound great and serendipitously they were near by so we hobbled it over to their shop on a Saturday and left them a voicemail. On Monday, they called back with transparent pricing on conducting diagnostics (2 hours) and found the issue was with the transmission. Something you never want to hear as car owner. Given the cost to rebuild versus the value, I needed to think about it and they were gracious enough to keep it for over a week since it was immobile. Decided it was better off breathing a third life since there was nothing else wrong with it and thankful it'll be taken care of.

Thank you for your help yesterday.

Greetings Shelby, Thank you for your stellar service, prices, always being available to my daughter (and I); as well as providing a loaner while her vehicle is being serviced. Most of all, appreciate your Team of Mechanics, and Oceanworks PROFESSIONALISM and HONESTY. Respectfully submitted, Deitdre