Villa Service Center

34 South St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USA

Address:	34 South St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, USA
Phone:	+1 805-781-3925
Site:	villa-automotive.com
Rating:	3.8
Working:	7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 8AM–5PM 9AM–4PM

Location

Photos 75

Reviews 5

Anonymous User

I originally had made an appointment with the local Lincoln dealership for the 35k mile service when my "service engine soon" light came on, and after some not-so-pretty online reviews, cancelled the appointment, and called the highly-rated (New Times, Best of SLO winner for 15+ years, etc...) Villa Automotive. I have been studying some basic car maintenance practices on my own to get a better understanding of whats-what under the hood. Rich, the service manager, was an angel answering my questions and multiple phone calls. He kept me informed about the whys and whats of what was needed and found a couple of used parts for my older car to help keep costs down. Unfortunately, I also had some vandalism shortly before I planned on taking it in for maintenance. Villa also does auto body work, so I scheduled the insurance adjuster to inspect the car when I dropped it off for service. Rich introduced me to Jason, the body service manager, who listened to my concerns about getting every detail from the incident repaired. He then took care of the meeting with the adjuster after I left. Not only did he make sure I didnt have any less obvious damage (scratched paint, etc.) he took a moment to show me how my poor, neglected wheels could be shined up. When I picked up my car, he had thrown in the no-so-quick-and-easy labor for the wheel cleaning... gratis. Furthermore, he is checking on a missing wheel cover for me, and will let me know when he finds the right one. My car is purring now, and is as pretty as the day I bought it! I have always believed in the power of excellent customer service. I feel that I have found not only an honest place for auto service, but have begun a working relationship with great people at a wonderful business. I am thankful to Rich and Jason and all the un-sung heroes at Villa Automotive. -JD

Brett Wyrick

My Mercedes-Benz C300 randomly started pushing white smoke out of the hood as my lady and I were driving towards San Francisco on a Saturday night. I pulled over and had it towed to the only place that was open on a Sunday nearby - Villa Automotive in San Luis Obispo. The guy who helped me out was truly real with me - he was upfront, straightforward, helpful - I told him I owned a Mercedes but I wasnt really on a Mercedes sort of budget and he was understanding. They picked us up from our hotel in their shuttle van, which wasnt the cleanest but hey beggars cant be choosers! Turns out I put too much oil in the car when I changed the oil and the car just started burning it off after a long amount of driving (we road-tripped from Scottsdale, AZ to Squamish, Canada). The service guy said Id have to drive it to burn some of it off and that it would smoke, and so I drove it around for 10 minutes or so and he was right. They had emptied some oil out of it and then added some to make it even (car takes like 9 quarts of oil, and its only a V6!). Service guy even steam cleaned some areas where the oil had spilled too. Great service. Guy at the desk recommended places for us to hike and everyone we met in San Luis Obispo was oddly in love with the town - but hey, they were all friendly. Good experience. We made it to Canada and back to Scottsdale, AZ without any problems.

Eric Kunkel

Im a central coast native born and raised and I cant say enough good things about my recent experience with Villa Automotive. I had a difficult time finding a shop that was willing to work on my 74 F100 race truck but Villa took me in without batting an eye. Josh went above and beyond to make sure that the issues I was having with it were taken care of to the best of their ability. Even to the point of swapping my carburetor with his personal carb from home to confirm the tuning issue. Not only did they figure out the tuning issues I was having but also set me up with a plan of attack for other to do items on the truck to make it more sound. He worked with me, explaining the process every step of the way, and I can honestly say that I learned more in that one visit than I would have in an entire month on my own. The entire time he was approachable, professional, patient, and explained things in a way that the average person could understand. At the end of the day they came in right at the quoted estimate despite the additional time they put into working with me and chasing the tuning issues. I can whole heartedly say that they have gained a customer for life and I actually look forward to the next time I need to bring my vehicle back in. Thank you Josh, and thank you Villa Automotive.

Anonymous User

Im not from San Luis Obispo and had a problem with an older (88) van. I had somewhere to be 6 hours away that evening and told them that if there was anyway they could fix it within a couple hours that I would really appreciate it. They told me they would see what they could do and I waited. I waited for a couple of hours until I asked them if they had any news yet. No one had even looked at the van yet. I wish they would had told me earlier if this would have been possible or not. I rushed to rent a vehicle and barely got to my destination on time. My van sat down there for a week and they could not find the part they needed. I finally did a google search and within 5 minutes found somewhere that could have the part shipped out within a matter of days. When I found out how much labor was going to be to replace the part (over $400) I had the van taken elsewhere. The problem is not quite fixed yet, but it turns out that there may be a simpler solution to my problem that Villa didnt even take the time to look at. They were too focused on trying to find the part (which they couldnt find and I found within 5 minutes). If youre looking for a shop that cares or speedy and affordable service, look elsewhere.

Anonymous User

Bad reputation that is well earned. Growing up in SLO I saw Villas go from three shops to one. I worked around the auto industry for the past 15 years. I heard several first hand complaints about the service and Villas taking advantage and sticking it to customers. I also avoided Villas based on recomenndation of locals in the Industry that I trusted. My wife took her car to Villas to get it smogged without my knowledge. She called me complaining that she was quoted one price under $50 bucks plus taxes and fees. Now Villas said her car didnt pass the test and it was going to be $280 to fix/clean it. Based on the above knowledge, I went down and paid $80+ to get the car back without the smog cert. I took the car to a place I trusted and SURPRISE it passed. It wasnt even close to failing. Bastards. Why write this review. 1. Its True. 2. Im out of the Industry now and can write it. 3. No business is perfect but I hope this helps you take your car any other shop but this one.