Central Avenue Service Center in
McKinleyville (CA)

Honest, timely, professional and reasonable-cost shop! It’s not easy to find a car mechanic place that has all of these qualities. We have been taking our cars here for decades and Rich never disappoints. His office staff is wonderful and having the option of having our quotes texted to us is so convenient. 100% recommend this amazing business. 10/10 easily!

I can't think of any reason this place doesn't deserve 5 stars. I've taken 2 different rigs in to them & they are not only fair, they just bring that down to earth feeling with the hometown welcome to the table. I just like this place for numerous reasons but the main one is how they make you feel. You aren't just a number. They treat you more personable than so many other places & they do good work. I suppose that the descriptive word is: kindness. You feel cared for here & your business appreciated. Nothing negative towards those chain shops, but here you really can walk out in a better mood.

Wouldn't take our cars anywhere else. They do excellent work in a timely manner and we never have any issues with repairs or routine maintenance.

Fast friendly service! What more can you ask for!

I’ve been taking my vehicles here often and on for many many years. Whether it’s an alternator, exhaust issue, dog bitten seatbelt, they’ve always come through for me. They are very friendly and have always been directed with me. Only once that I have an issue, they weren’t able to help with and they referred me out and everything worked out great. My go-to place!

I thought I was gonna have a major problem on my car, it wasn't. Only fixed problem, didn't try to up sell or add additional cost. Just by listening to the car Rob new where to look for problem and fixed.was out the door fast and inexpensive.just moved to area and this is my forever mechanic.

Excellent performance and workmanship on a difficult project (replacing fuel and brake lines) on my older vehicle. Friendly office team made scheduling and communication easy. Definitely recommended!

I've been having my vehicles serviced here for several years now and am always impressed with the quality service not just on my vehicle but also the professional communication and genuine care for me and my car. If you are looking for a honest service center look no further!!!

They are best !!!!! Melissa in the office is extremely knowledgeable friendly and she makes you feel very welcome. The mechanics are very thorough friendly and I’ve always been ready to help me with my truck no matter what the problem.

My car needed a water pump and a few other parts replaced/fixed. My car is running great. I liked the updates I received on my phone, along with the estimates, which I was able to reply to. My car was finished in a timely manner. The front desk Receptionist was very nice and professional, service with a smile, thanks to YOU. And, THANK YOU, to the mechanics that worked on my car. I will definitely be referring you to my friends and family. Great customer service. ? DB

Fantastic service and very friendly! Second work on my 2005 Sienna and now it feels new!!

Great service! They fixed a longstanding issue with my car that I thought wasn’t fixable, and did so at a fair price. They kept me updated throughout the repair service and got the work done very quickly when the parts came in

I brought these guys my car when it overheated, and they immediately replaced a water pump and radiator that were only a year old. $800 later they replaced a hose clamp that had gone missing (and was clearly the problem), and charged me another $30. To make it worse, they told me to remember to put coolant in my car like I'm some kind of moron.

I brought my car in for a diagnosis because first gear was shaky on engagement. I was told that they couldn’t find anything wrong but that I should probably have the flywheel resurfaced and that would fix the shakyness. I made an appointment for them to do the flywheel and replace the clutch, and also to put on an aftermarket sway bar I brought in since they would have to take the old sway bar out to do the flywheel anyway. I also asked if they could calibrate my tpms system for my new wheels. They said it would have to stay the night one night, so two days worth of work. I received no update on the work being done on either day my car was supposed to be getting worked on. I finally called the shop just before they closed on the second day to get an update because supposedly it would have been done by then. I called and no one answered. I got a call back thirty minutes later from someone who seemed like they may be a mechanic, I’m not sure. The man seemed very confused and said that none of the work had been done because they had to order a new flywheel that morning because mine was broken completely. I was not told how much it had cost before it had been ordered. He also said the sway bar I brought in was the wrong one. I had it custom ordered, just didn’t have time to do it myself. It was the right one. My car ended up having to stay at that shop for almost two weeks while I started my summer job and had to borrow a car. I had to call the shop to get any information or updates, they never called me. I was told by multiple different people that I brought the wrong sway bar in, that it was missing parts, that things didn’t fit and no work had been done. At one point a woman called me about an ABS light being on the dash, and I told her that there had definitely not been an ABS light on when the car came in, and she said “but the mechanic put it in the notes so it was on”. Only when I came to the shop to confront them in person did I get any straight answers about pricing, parts, labor, and warning lights. When I asked them why the ABS light was on, the woman I had talked to on the phone looked at me and said “oh I meant the check engine light, sorry”. Honestly it’s really important to be detail oriented when you run a business. I guess they are used to dealing with people who don’t really know what’s going on with their cars. They ended up charging me three times what a brand new fly wheel costs from Honda parts directly, saying “that’s what it costs from the dealership”. That I can understand, I suppose, but buying a part that costs thousands of dollars without letting the customer know first is inexcusable. I ended up finally receiving only one call from the shop the whole time my car was there and the man introduced himself to me as the owner. He told me that the sway bar had been put on, and that he was sorry about the confusion. Confusion? I had four separate employees tell me that I had brought the wrong sway bar in. At the end, I just threw money at them to get my car back. All the warning lights were still on the dash. Go ahead and reply “sorry we weren’t a good fit for you” if you want. I’m sorry your mechanics can’t tell if a sway bar will fit. The owner needs to hire a full new staff. He at least seems competent. If you absolutely must go there, insist on speaking to him directly.

This place came highly recommend by a friend, so I was excited to take my van there. I paid $150 diagnostic fee and they were unable to diagnose my problem. They recommend that I replace a part that I have already replaced and gave me a quote for the work. This quote for future work included another diagnostic fee of $145 and a $127 fee to install the part and $245 for the part for a total of $541.... This part only takes 5 minutes to replace... I know this because I have already replaced it myself. Thank god I have some knowledge about vehicles and this place only scammed me for $150. For this price I received no new information on my problem, only advice to throw more parts at it and hope one of them fixes my problem.... It was a complete waste of my time and money. Needless to say I will not ever go back and don't recommend that anybody else go there.

These guys did a really great job getting the issue(s) (alternator in March, starter assembly in May) fixed in a timely manner - at reasonable prices!

A waste of time and money. Extremely poor work. I had them fix and oil leak and replace a battery and check for any other problems. My car continued to leak oil. The battery died. I had to have it towed to AAA for checkup. They notified me that my car was super low on oil and the battery had to be replaced. Obviously, I won't be using Central Avenue Service Center again.

The owner is great .And you can't go wrong taking your vehicle they're always good service. As everyone is well aware taking your vehicle to the shop is an anxiety process. Well not here you're in good hands. Quick and efficient most of all trustworthy.

Got an appointment and was serviced in a timely way. Evening drop off was easy. Was treated kindly and respectfully. Price was fair. I recommend Central Ave Service center.

Office was super helpful understanding the DUI paperwork for my interlock. Mechanic was awesome, he stayed with me through about 10 fails of learning to blow on the machine, -Even did a examples for me.

We've been taking our vehicles to central Ave service for 15+ years and we've always been treated with respect. They keep their word and their prices are very reasonable. Office staff are kind and helpful.

I’ve been going to Central Avenue Service Ctr for ~20 years and have never been disappointed. My whole family uses them now. They’re consistent, honest, fair priced and always do great work. It’s a good feeling to have a mechanic you can trust.

Proceed with caution our car was damaged from someone trying to get our gas and they refused to help pay for the damages and tried to put blame on us every chance they got.Since the owner responded my partner gave you all the reasons we know it happened while parked at your shop and at the end of everything you just said I won’t pay for it. We tried to talk with you and you were rude. It came in with it and left without it.

Very impressed.  I have a 2011 GMC Yukon that stalled in the most random and inconvenient places.  Central Ave. Service Center took the time to diagnose a tricky problem with the car's computer and fixed it!  Yukon runs great now!  Highly recommend Central Ave. Service Center.

I had a very necessary repair, an oil leak! My car was able to be repaired the same day, quickly and even affordably!! Also, the office manager and the mechanic were very kind. It couldn't have gone better & I would recommended this repair shop!

I have been using Rich's garage for years. They all have been honest, kind, hard workers. Explain things to me in simple terms, do their absolute best to get it done fast even though they are always booked solid. Recently I had to have my car that broke down in Eureka, towed to the garage which was a bit over what my insurance covered. Still it was worth it to me to know my car was in good hands. The tow company did end up charging alot, but the tow man even said if he had to go anywhere, he would go there as well.

Thank you Richard for the awesome job putting my 1929 Ford Roadster back together. As always your professionalism and integrity far exceeded my expectations. I would recommend Central Avenue Service to anyone that truly cares about quality workmanship.