Academy Automotive (805)

Wow, Gus and his team are amazing, I was traveling N on 101 when my knock sensor went out and car would not go over 40 Miles per hour. I stopped at auto zone had it tested , confirmed knock sensor, Friday afternoon 1 pm I knew no one, looked on line read reviews and said this place looks like it might work.. I rolled in told Gus the problem with car , and he said we will take care of it. Now you have to understand most mechanic shops you have to schedule an appointment. They’re not gonna squeeze you in on the spur of the moment,, and the shop not only squeezed me in. They are the nicest people, cared for what my need was on a Friday evening did an amazing job and I was out of there at 4:45 PM.. this day and age its hard to find a good mechanic and it’s impossible to find a good mechanic that is honest. I will drive to two hours on one of my trips to have Gus fix whatever is needed. I can’t give this shop at 10, but I can give Gus and the staff a 100. Truly a great shop and amazing people. Thx Bob

Jan 11, 2025 · Robert Stewart

I highly recommend Academy Automotive. Great, quick service. Gus is awesome. He completely rebuilt a 2003 Toyota Corolla for me as my first car. He is selfless and honest and helped me get a great first car at a more than reasonable price. Overall, it was an amazing experience. I am super grateful for the phenomenal service of Gus and his team!

Sep 19, 2024 · Nolan Story

I decided to rebuild my owned since new 2003 F150. I’ve always loved this truck and it has treated me well. Gus had been a friend for a while, this was the first project we did together. I could not be happier with the way it turned out! We (He) rebuilt the motor, transmission, rear dif, suspension, seats/carpet and paint. He pulled the bed off and painted it separately, painted the fuel tank and brightened up the frame and suspension pieces where needed. Pulled the doors and hood, lights, grills and hinges. Thankfully the body was straight. Gus suggested we change up the color, we went with a Mercedes silver/blue- it is stunning! On his recommedation we rebuilt and upholstered the seats adding seat heaters and new carpet. We added CA compliant shorty headers and a larger throttle body and went through the rest of the motor appliances to make sure they had enough life left. There was way more done, too much to list, my final bill was 3 pages long! I’ve been driving it now for a few months, Gus has been there for me as we shake this thing down. Academy is owned and run by Gus and his wilfe, they are lovely. A mostly full rebuild always takes longer and is more expensive than thought. They both helped me through the challenging times. We are still friends. The finishing work is beautiful. Driving the truck now fills me with a sense of pride. I’m impressed and grateful for the job they did, everytime I get in. Thank you Academy Automotive!

Aug 29, 2023 · teddy Yonenaka

Gus is great! Taken my truck here a few times and always left happy.

Feb 02, 2025 · Mandeep Sidhu

Don’t fall for the “leave us a 5 star Google review and we’ll give you a discount” trick like I did originally! It inflates their reviews and misleads customers. I’ve now taken my car to Academy Automotive 3 times, with each time the experience becoming worse to the point where they have lost my business entirely. Last October I had them do an engine oil change as well as change the differential and transfer case fluids (I provided the oil filter and all fluids). When the car was ready they told me they replaced the rear diff and transmission fluid (NOT requested). They were quick to finish the original job but I was still charged for the labor for transmission fluid despite their mistake. It wasn’t I huge deal at the time as I was planning to have that job done in a few months and Gus was sincere about the mistake. Next I took my car in to have the suspension worked on (struts and coils replaced, which I provided), as well as repair the skid plate and adjust the parking brake. I also asked them to inspect the other suspension components for wear and notify me if they saw anything that needed to be replaced. A nearly $1700 job in total. After getting the car home from alignment I checked the skid plate and found a loose bolt. No big deal. The foot break was tightened to the point it was difficult to push down. The suspension was squeaking like crazy, had a ton of rattling, and made a popping noise when turning in reverse. When you take your can to a mechanic, you expect that the job gets done right the first time. I called the shop and told them about the issues and they got me in the next week to take a look at everything. Got the car back and they adjusted the parking break, tightened and lubricated the suspension but told me in order to eliminate the squeaking I would need new bushings on the upper and lower control arms, but that they recommend just replacing the arms themselves… I was frustrated at that point because that should have been identified during the install. They then proceeded to tell me how much I owed for the work. Why would I have to pay for work that should have been done correctly the first time? I explained my frustrations to Gus, and said that if he wasn’t going to stand behind his work and nickel and dime me then I’ll just take my business elsewhere, which he was fine with. He offered me a “discount” but was fine with losing the business. Do yourself a favor and don’t take your vehicles here. I’ve spent over $5K here in the last year, so a shop willing to lose a good customer over $175 is completely ridiculous.

Jun 11, 2024 · Bryan R