What clients say about MWR Auto Skills Center in Coronado (CA)
I showed up this morning to change out all my brakes and rotors. Checking in was smooth, and the team helped me line up my car on the lift right away. After I grabbed the tools I needed, a couple of employees respectfully checked in to see if I needed anything. I mentioned I was having trouble breaking the screw that holds the rotor in place—and without hesitation, three staff members jumped in to help. They helped break free my seized rotors and even reassembled the front brakes while I worked on the back. I felt like I had a pit crew.
Their support saved me hours of work and made the whole experience way less stressful. Big thank you to the team at MWR Auto Skills in Coronado. I’ll definitely be back next time.
I had a fantastic experience at the MWR North Island Auto Skills Shop. Tom, the manager, is truly outstanding-he consistently checks in on every bay and goes above and beyond to ensure customers have what they need. John at the front desk is also consistently friendly and helpful.
Ed, who manages tool checkout, stands in stark contrast. His approach is not playful or good-natured; instead, it is consistently negative, dismissive, and unprofessional. He frequently rolls his eyes, shames customers for requesting tools, and responds with sarcasm and irritation. What should be a straightforward process becomes unnecessarily difficult due to his attitude-my 30-minute oil filter job took two hours because he issued only one tool at a time, refusing to make the process efficient. When I expressed frustration, he responded with, “I don’t have time for this.” Tom stepped in and provided the necessary tools, for which I was grateful. While Tom did not explicitly acknowledge this as a recurring issue, I sensed in his body language that he was aware of the tension without wanting to make it official.
Ed’s conduct is not simply “tough love” or banter-it is outright disrespectful and detrimental to the customer experience. He creates unnecessary obstacles, blames customers for his own inefficiencies, and fosters a hostile environment. This is not sensitivity or a quirky personality; it is a pattern of behavior that undermines the shop’s otherwise positive reputation.
I recommend that Ed receive clear feedback on the impact of his actions and, if improvement is not seen, that management consider whether he is the right fit for a customer-facing role. Professionalism and respect should be non-negotiable in any service environment.
Overall, the shop is an excellent resource for DIY car work, and most of the staff make it a welcoming place. Addressing Ed’s behavior would further elevate the shop’s service quality and reputation.
Recently have been going here while working on my car on-base. The staff is awesome and Tom and Edd assisted me all the way, even going out of their way to give me tips and pointers on what to do next on my vehicle. Will continue to go here, and I suggest coming here too, SEVERLY UNDERRRATED.
I haven't been here but i see a lot of comments about this guy ED. makes me not want to go here and fix my car. MWR should do something about their employees.
If you're thinking about going here dont... just go to the one on Miramar, so much nicer and much more well staffed and better tools. Ed made me feel like I shouldn't be checking out tools, dude was very rude. He does not know how to just grab people tools, the guy in front of me asked for a socket set and Ed questioned (not in a polite way) him about something he was doing prior. Also the price to rent a lift was kinda outrageous for MWR standards, paid $10 an hour for a 4 point lift. Not a 100% sure but I'm pretty sure I've gotten cheaper rates at other locations.
Ed, the guy checking out the tools needs to find a new job. He is extremely rude when you ask to check out any tool (which is his only job). The head guy (who is absolutely amazing) leaves at 4pm and then Ed refuses to check out additional tools and chastises and chases everyone out by 4:30 so he can leave 30 minutes early all while working on one of his cars using the lifts with the MWR tools without paying anything for it's use. The MWR people need to pay more attention to how this place is managed/run. Also, help Ed either realize that his job involves checking out tools without being rude or help Ed find somewhere else to work!
It's hard to find someone to help you at the counter on a Friday. I've been there other times on a Saturday and Sunday without that issue. The tool room guy gives a lot of unnecessary attitude when asking for tools. I'm not sure what his problem issue is. For the most part, the shop has what you need for basic repair work.
Staff is friendly. There's always somebody around to help and watch to ensure things are going smooth on the compound. The prices are great. The only thing that may be lacking is the amount of tools they have compared to 32nd Street however, I have done full suspension upgrade on my car and miscellaneous other things there with zero issues on getting tools needed. Facilities are what you would expect from a auto shop, very functional.
They have tools (most work) and they have lifts. Tool room dude is weirdly hard to find, when you do find him he acts almost offended that you need something. Was also weirdly rude and verbally combative, gave me bootcamp “no-right-answer / you’ll get berated no matter what you say” kinda vibes. Also stood over another dude yelling at him to hurry up once cleanup started.
Everyone else was cool, tool room guy just gave me the impression that I was more of a walking inconvenience using my car maintenance privilege instead of a customer paying around $100.
I'm currently living in an RV, so having a place that I can work on my vehicle when something comes up is a huge benefit! These guys rock, no complaints!
Need to update their info...they've been closed for over a month due to being short staffed. No announcement by MWR that they're closed, no placards on the gate...have to drive by every week to see if they're open yet to try to work on my vehicle. Hire someone already and open the facility back up!
One of the best services from Military MWR. Multiple lifts for DIY car services. You can borrow tools & also buy some items in their small store. Additional services include vehicle & RV storage & a resale lot on base for a low monthly fee.
Will not let you in after 1500 even though they are open until 1700. Say they need a 2 hour buffer to ensure people can complete work before closing. Simple jobs like tire rotation, & even an oil change should not need a 2 hour buffer. This policy is also not published anywhere.
Other than the bad hours and self applied "policy", the facilities are nice and there are plenty of lifts. They also have plenty of tools you can check out, although I haven't done anything here more complicated than oil and tire rotations.
The guys here are friendly, and helpful with whatever you need. Ed helped me replace a broken passenger door glass, it's easiersoer with one person holding the panel while the other gets it aligned on the track. Thanks again Ed!
Out of the roughly 4 employees that work there. 3 are professional, helpful, and seem to enjoy their job. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10 I get stuck having to deal with Ed, the guy who lends out tools. He's got a terrible personality and is neither helpful nor professional. He seems to hate his job. I won't be coming back here again, which is unfortunate that such a useful resource is ruined over one bad apple.
