K-Tech Automotive

K-Tech Automotive is an unscrupulous and dishonest business that took advantage of my elderly father. Here is my experience: My father, was 79 years old when he brought in his car because it was overheating and most likely needed a new thermostat. They charged him over $1000 for work that should have been less that $350. I have talked with three other garages in the past week and they have each given me estimates that are three times lower than then the $1,062.03 my 79 year old father was charged.

For example he was charged $24 for a thermostat gasket. That gasket costs about a dollar or less. He was also charged $70 for a thermostat. I am upset and outraged that a business would take such advantage of an elderly man.

K-Tech Automotive has been nothing short of a headache. The mechanics are capable and can definitely do proper work. I will give them that. Current service advisors and potentially a tech they had in the past were not so great. Not very knowledgable of cars to the point had to be put on hold a few times to go back and talk to technician. My mother brought her car here for the past few years and has needed work done to it like any car would.

Some of these items would consist of brakes front and rear and brake fluid, full tune up, spark plugs, transmission fluid, coolant, and drive belt. Both times the quotes for work was nearly as high if not higher than going to the Toyota dealership itself. Now having worked as an ase master technician for Toyota for nearly a decade as well had been in a service advisor role for a number of years.

I am not new to the process. Had I lived in the same state as my mother none of this work would ever make it to their hands, however, I am willing to pay for quality work at a reasonable price (not more than a dealership). On our most recent visit, check engine light is on for an ignition coil. Technician recommends replacing all the coils and spark plugs.

But wait, not just 9 months ago we had replaced the spark plugs during our major tune up. I asked technician to remove the plugs and to take a picture for me to prove they need replacing. He does and when I mention we replaced them 9 months ago (3-4k miles) on them later he changes his mind and says they looked dirty to him so he just recommended it.

So this is bad to me because it means two things, any other recommendations he made needs to be proven, and that the technician who was supposed to do the service last time possibly didn't actually replace the parts. He also recommended coolant to be replaced which again was done 9 months earlier. But upon proof these items seemed fine by me but were still recommended anyways so that's a strike against them in my book.

Back to the actual diagnosis of needing to replace an ignition coil came to just above 400$ alone. The coil only costing about half that. Meaning they wanted to charge a whole hour of labor, which they don't do normal hourly rate as they decided they want to scale the rate for job difficulty. They deemed the ignition coil which requires 1 10mm bolt and a clip a hard job.

The advisor claimed it was because they needed to "reprogram/initialize" things. Having worked for Toyota, I knew this was BS as there is no process besides erasing the code and short test drive to confirm. And thats if they choose to do the test drive vs just letting the car idle in the shop. The technician earlier in the day had claimed drove around for 10 miles to replicate, but upon getting the car back, the odometer doesn't lie, they didn't drive it that far.

Sad to say will need to find another shop close by for my mother to take her car to. Whomever I dealt with when doing the brakes as well as the tune up was great as they had car knowledge and were able to work with me on a reasonable hourly rate for work. I would advise anyone considering this shop to think twice. Simple services, sure. But anything over that, consider getting a quote at your local dealership, it may be cheaper.

Business ethic not good, fake nice, riding on reputation of former employees. This shop failed to detect an air lock in the cooling system of my beautiful and cherry 2006 Range Rover. After pouring over $4,000 into front end, rims, and tires for the car at this shop, their neglegnece resulted in a blown engine. I had just taken the car in to have it checked over before a road trip.

I was supposed to pick it up on a Sunday, but they failed to leave it by the front gate, and left it locked in the yard. When I did pick it up Monday it immedatly started overheating very badly. It had never overheated before. When I called in to explain there was a big problem with the car, their front desk person was very rude and entitled (lady with tattoos and fake lashes and nails) told me, "The car was fine when it left the shop, If you want to bring it in, we can run a diagnostic." Every time I took it in they ran an $80 diagnostic.

I was so disgusted by their utter refusal to be accountable or to make it right that I did not go back. My car was totaled. I had to sell it for $1000. This was a total nightmare mechanic experience. Don't take your car to K-Tech

I just want to share my experience with in my opinion was an unfair labor charge. I have been happy with repairs on my three cars in the past but I think these two labor charges were unfair. 1. Replacement of two license plate came to $204.60 labor. I have replaced these bulbs in the past and it took me about 15 minutes. 2. Replacement of the front parking lamp bulbs came to another $204.60 labor. The employees there are friendly but I did not think this was fair and I never heard from the owner as I did dispute the charges.

I brought my rav4 in for front brakes and rotors. I told the girl at the front desk that I needed brakes and rotors and left my keys. I received a call shortly after informing me that it would be around $1300 for just front brakes and rotors and to "adjust" the rear drum brakes. I was at a loss for words because $1300 for brakes is outrageous (I ended up taking my car to jiffy lube, who did them for $300).

When I went to get my car back from K tech, the nice girl at the counter informed me that I owed $90 for their "inspection". That's right, they charged me $90 to tell me exactly what I already knew. This is a classic example of shady mechanics trying to overcharge customers. I'm sure they get away with it every day. I've found that firestone in santa rosa is a much better shop with honest mechanics.

Amazing! The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Customers are treated like family. They care about the community and are in the business of helping people, fair business, and doing right work. They are honest, sincere, thorough, and overall amazingly good humans! I have anxiety, and I can be a "difficult customer" sometimes. I am so impressed by how compassionate and supportive they are consistently.

I feel confident in their work and have continued to bring my car there for maintenance and major repairs for several years now. A wonderful place just like home. Thank you K-tech!

I have used K-Tech for many years. In those years there has never been a "miss"; repairs/tuning etc done well, done in a timely fashion; meanwhile the office staff are uniformly polite, personable and efficient. Loaner cars being available has been very useful at times.

Booked an appointment for 9AM on Monday the week prior. I called earlier than the appointment and notified we would be late. I was not advised of any issues or potential delays. Appointment arrived at 930. A printer problem delayed the vehicle being worked on until 10:37. We were quoted $319 for an alignment. Then we saw the vehicle LEAVE THE FACILITY being driven by an employee to their "other shop that has an alignment machine" at 10:39. 11:13 the car comes back and is "complete". $319 for less than 30 minutes of work, including a short drive.

This was the most absurd alignment job ever. They kept us waiting for an HOUR, spent 30 minutes with the vehicle and had the nerve to charge us the maximum of the estimated amount. Do not use this shop, you will not get any value from the experience.

Great customer service, clear estimate. They were very helpful in giving me recommendations on repairs to an old car and got it running like new. Thank you so much!

My Explorer was there for 5 weeks while they tried to find out what was wrong with it. I finally had it towed to another shop and I wanted to put a Big Sign on the side of my car saying: Another Happy K Tech Customer! I wasted over $1000.00 there and their recommendation for further work was Incorrect. My Explorer is now fixed thanks to another shop and I'm still waiting for K Tech's owner to respond to my phone call 3 business days ago.

Their website says Owned & Operated by a Mercedes Benz master technician but that is pretty far from the truth! Stay Away unless you have Tons of time and money to BURN . 3 weeks later: Still no phone call from Owner after repeated requests! 5 weeks later: After repeated requests to speak with Kate with NO RESPONSE, I'm Done. My dispute has been accepted by my credit card and I couldn't be Happier. Next step: reports to both BAR and BBB

Great auto shop, very personable, and fair prices; what could be better?

I bought a used car and took it in for a check up and they did only the services that I requested. What was really amazing is they included an inspection of vehicle and the report they produced was extremely thorough. The detailed report provided pictures showing areas of concern and they provided a copy that was emailed to me. The car was returned washed and tires were detailed and looked sparking. And they even provided a 2-year 24,000 mile Nationwide warranty. All this was well worth the money.

Rodents got into the engine compartment of my hybrid Chevy Volt and chewed some wiring; Tia of K-Tech told me they have a certified hybrid mechanic, so I had the car towed to their shop. They found the bad wiring immediately and gave me a detailed and prompt estimate. The work was completed on time, on budget and I couldn't be happier. I will definitely return to their shop for routine oil changes, tire rotations and such. I'm glad to have found them; a pleasure to deal with.

Tremendous service and expert techs that can do it all with many vehicles! Love supporting this local business and the support they give to our community. I've known a few people that grew up unadopted in foster care that we given a tuned up car from K-Tech. Thank you K-Tech! Services: Brakes, Engine repair, Oil change, General repairs & maintenance, Auto engine tuning

At first I was told $200 est for a simple coolant hose repair. That it would be ready the next day by tia. Then after I was told a ton of extra things had to be done by another tech. Then I was told by tia everything was expected to be done Tuesday. Then tia called me back and said that air had gotten into the coolant system and that it had to be flushed out so it wasn't going to be ready until the next morning.

Then when I got there at 12pm the next day. I saw that the hood was still up on my car. So I waited around In Sebastopol until 4pm hoping to finally get my car back after a week. Arriving back at the shop at 4pm I was told that it needed a hose replaced because the original hose they got was wrong. How is it that one day I'm being told 1 thing by 1 person.

But the next day when that person isn't working I'm being told another? What's going on here? Then when asking to speak to the owner was told that she was not going to ever be available to speak with by the general manager? Like what?!

We bring our vans here for fast and reliable service. Deanna has always been wonderful to communicate with and keeps us informed at all times. We support our local businesses, especially during these trying times. Thank you K-Tech for your services and being able to get us back on the road and working.

K-Tech did an outstanding job of diagnosing my car's problem. They did a professional and timely estimate that was thorough. Erica, the office manager was courteous, timely with her communications and pleasant to work with. Highly recommend!

First time here. Took my car in for an oil change and while doing a 50 point inspection as part of the oil change service the mechanic found a couple of things that needed attention, one of which was serious safety issue because of something the previous shop I had gone to had done wrong. Not only did they do the inspection as a regular part of the oil change service, they also emailed me the report including pictures of of what they had found.

That impressed me, no shop I had been to before has ever provided pictures. They provided me with a loaner car while the work was being done, and when I picked my car up they had even washed it for me. Needless to say I was very impressed and will definitely be going back.

Great care of my vehicles and my questioning mind. Most recent visit was for an oil change and investigation of a mystery noise on a 2001 F150 that they replaced the engine in a few months ago. I feel like my concerns were investigated thoroughly and addressed. Deanna in the office is great-knowledgeable, positive and patient. These guys have cared for 5 of our vehicles-oldish, newish-through 2 teenage drivers. They have been honest and always helped me figure out what was the most important to fix when I couldn't afford to fix it all.

We have an aging Prius with over 185k. Our hybrid battery started to have problems triggering error codes. With feedback from Toyota interpreting these codes, it was determined that the battery had reached end of life. K-Tech was able to locate a brand new Toyota battery and replace it all within the same day, and at a reasonable cost. The car runs like new. Very pleased.

Such amazing customer service and results. Mechanics you can trust! Both of my cars are serviced by K-Tech and I couldn't be happier. Monica is a sweet and will go above and beyond to help you.

One of the worst mechanic experiences I've had to date. They ended up quoting me over $6,000 for all repairs. I went with the fewest, and only most necessary repairs and got it down to about $1,200. In looking over this invoice, they charged me many hundred dollars just for a few simple diagnostic questions (about $300 for checking why my rear cabin light wasn't working only to advise that I bring it to a wiring place instead. That's just example, there's more).

When I brought it to another mechanic in Santa Rosa they were shocked by the price of the quote. I ended up fixing my car for a fraction of the cost and it's happy as a clam. They also put branded license plate frames on my car without asking permission in the midst of this.

Monica was great, very nice and understanding. After our car was water damaged from the Sebastopol flooding and engine totaled, she allowed us a couple days to leave it on the lot while we figured out what to do with it in this highly stressful time. In addition, on the same day, I brought my car in for an oil change and a few other items, and now my car is back in optimal condition, thank u for your service! I also love that K-Tech is woman owned and managed, will definitely return for my car services

K-Tech has been awesome. We moved to Sebastopol recently and needed to have our car serviced and found K-Tech online. We were attracted by their commitment to being Green and their support of the community in addition to being a woman-owned company. They've been super responsive to our needs. We had an emergency radiator failure on the way home with 3 dogs in the car.

After getting it towed to K-Tech near the end of a work day, they ordered the radiator right away so we could have the car the next day AND let us use a loaner car. In addition, their office manager, Monica, manages to be kind and efficient. We love K-Tech.

K-Tech Automotive takes care of our community by offering auto repair services at a affordable price. We are really happy about their professionalism.

I've had several repairs done by K-Tech, and have been extremely happy with each one. Monica is very personable, and takes time to explain what they found, and what needs to be done. K-Tech treats my car as they would their own. I will continue to bring my car to them whenever repairs are needed.

I was in from out of town and my oil service light went on. My dad was able to get an appointment quickly and right away. The front reception staff were friendly and informative. Service was completed as promised for an oil change. Great place for automotive needs!

I drove to Sebastopol from Pennsylvania with a friend and we had an issue a few hundred miles shy of our destination. Monica and the crew at K-Tech fixed up the car (busted water pump) for a reasonable price and then followed up a week later with a phone call. I took my Chevy Malibu back a few weeks later for a check up before heading east. They gave me this check up for free, since they guarantee all of their work.

They found another issue and fixed it expeditiously ( I had been driving my car on some very rough roads). I felt safe and comfortable hitting the road and driving 3000 miles back home. I have had zero issues since visiting last November. I will add that I called 4 times (yes, four times) to ask questions about the repairs and Monica graciously and patiently answered them each time. Also- I loved the snacks and treats they had in the lobby. It was a very inviting atmosphere. Thank you, K-Tech

K-Tech was already a bit too expensive for me, which was maybe justifiable given their location (I live a block away) and friendliness. But now I can't trust their work. I need to take my business and recommendations elsewhere. I'm choosing to drive 20miles to a more affordable shop with a fair warranty. I visited K-Tech in 2014 to do my Subaru's front wheel bearings & hubs.

Recently I learned that their work on my front-right bearing has prematurely failed. The car has been deemed unsafe to drive by another mechanic. There's additionally a downstream of repairs that are needed as a result of this issue, including damage to my right-front axel, and the right-front tire is significantly worn. I'm learning all this slightly outside of their warranty (by 33 days/1,826 miles).

I think the problem has been with me for well over a month, but I didn't have time to take it in and have borrowed my wife's car to get around instead. My initial bearings lasted over 115,000 miles/13 years, but K-Tech's work lasted ~25,000 miles. Something's really wrong here I explained this to them and got "That's weird!" I was hoping for "I'm sorry, please let us make this right." I think the right thing to do is honor the warranty on their prematurely failing work, but they're not going to do that.

They instead offered me a ~30% discount (t ofix their failed work not including the resulting damage it caused nor the cost of transporting the vehicle). That's not enough to keep my family's business. When I requested that they honor their warranty given the circumstances, they called out that their discount is a really good deal if I took into account that their warranty is a "prorated warranty." Here's a tip for you Yelpers: If you see/hear these words at a mechanic, walk away and don't look back. It's the first time I or anyone I know has ever heard of such a warranty clause.

It essentially means that the warranty covers less as time goes on. The website doesn't explain this at all; it simply states "2-year/24,000 mile nationwide warranty" which is rather misleading.

I had a great first time experience with K-Tech! Excellent customer service. Monica was really friendly, knowledgeable, and went out of her way to find an affordable solution to my car trouble while keeping me updated each step of the way. I also love that there is a 2 year warranty on the part, which gives me peace of mind. Great location off of downtown Sebastopol.

Really appreciate that they participate in the GoLocal rewards bucks program and their refer-a-friend program (got to give a free oil change to my friend who sent me to them). I plan to go back next time I need work done. I do wish that they had more loaner cars (they were all out so I didn't get to use one for the few days my car was with them).

After being bombarded by mailers from this group, I needed car work, and thought since they bug me constantly with mailers, I'd call them and see what they'd say about my car issue. The phone rang, clicked and a message came up saying the call would be recored.then it rang some more and a guy said "K-TECH, can you wait a minute?" sure I said.

Not knowing the guy had blown me off completely. I was recording the call as well, and at 5minutes I hung up and called again. I went through the cycle again and the guy picked up.and was rude. "Im the only one here" was his excuse for blowing my call off. ( I called around 9am or so ) I asked to speak to his supervisor. he blew that Idea off as well. Oh! the guy did mention it's a $150.for their "lets see what's wrong fee" even if youve been to 4 other mechanics at 120 bucks a pop, .

Who provided printed out diagnostic review of what's wrong. " nope everyone pays 150.no matter what"! They guy was a totally negative jerk. My First Impression. My first impression of this Mechanic shop is to not do business with them, since they act as though they don't need more work, it's most likely you'll be over charged for their work and there work can be less, than a shop that take pride in customer service. Totally upset and turned off, to this business.

K-tech had my car for 3.5 weeks. During the last week, they used it for their own personal reasons, "joy-riding" as the CA BAR calls it, putting 460 miles on the vehicle. This is documented by mileage recordings on their own paperwork. They refuse to take responsibility for this, or explain it, or reimburse me for the unnecessary wear and tear. They solicited my business by telling me they were Volvo emissions repair specialists who were in a business partnership with a reputable STAR compliance repair facility in Santa Rosa.

All of that turned out to be a lie. Ktech have no such partnership, and each time Ktech declared my car to be "fixed", it malfunctioned immediately and had to be returned to them. That happened 3x in 3.5 weeks. In the end, after spending $4200 for what started as a primary purpose of emissions repairs, The car failed its smog inspection. The guy in the clean techie work uniform with all the certificates hanging on the wall is not the guy who does the work. Kate the owner does none of the work.

So regardless of their promo, hype and pictures, don't be mislead. There is a mechanic in the back with no visible credentials who is doing the work. One guy, many cars torn apart is various states of progress and regress. Their prices are exorbitant. I was willing to pay the extra because I was short on time leaving for a cross country trip, and tthought I would be receiving top notch professional service.

In the end. I discovered that Ktech, as a whole, is not capable of delivering pro-level reliable work, and they are obviously unsure of the standard practices and procedures which they sell to customers. Their true expertise lies within the art of the swindle: Bait/switch, pass the buck, and good cop/bad cop routines which they perpetrate systematically upon the customer.

What I saw was a shop is always overbooked. The lot full with cars that sit half repaired. Customers wandering into the shop asking what was going on with their vehicles. Very few people who were actually working on cars, an abundance of people in cute uniforms posing as technicians. You will notice the actual real mechanics as the ones who have grease and oil on their clothes.

Once ktech have your car and a significant financial investment from you for that first "repair" they know they have you. That is when they stop communicating via telephone I had to finally take the bus to their location, to appear in person just to find out what was going with my car. They played this game intermittently for weeks. Lie, cheat, steal, gauge, they are absolutely not burdened with any form of honor, integrity or ethics.

In 40+ years of maintaining a vehicle, this is the first time I have ever filed complaints with consumer protection agencies such as CA BAR and BBB. Kate and her business ktech is by far, the very worst experience I have ever had. Technically, sub-par. Ethically, reprehensible. Greedy beyond comprehension. Do yourself a huge favor and go anywhere else.