John's Automotive Care El Cajon Santee in
El Cajon (CA)

I did a pre-purchase inspection with them, and they saved me from buying an almost totaled car. The car title was clean, however the inspection revealed a frame crack by the tranmission in the undercarriage, leaking shocks, cracked winshield wiper fluid reservoir, diluted coolant. Highly recommend, well worth the price compared to buying a failing vehicle.

Overall great service. Had my car towed here overnight after it broke down. Justin later called me and in a very sympathetic way, broke the news to me that the engine was done. it was a high stress time for me and his kindness and patience for my turmoil made a big difference. These guys were super helpful and accommodating.

Justin, the manager, is a true professional and a scholar. I was completely unable to diagnose the issue with my Chevy, and he had me back up and running in under 48 hours. If you’re looking for real expertise paired with prompt, no-nonsense service, this is absolutely the place to take your vehicle. Give Justin a raise. Seriously. An incredible experience working with him—can’t shower him with gifts, but I can absolutely shower him with praise. Highly recommend!

Being a Senior citizen new to the area I needed to find a mechanic that would listen and discuss my problems with my car in a language I could understand. My husband is a retired mechanic for LAPD and always did whatever my car needed. Now Im on my own. I read the reviews for John’s Automotive, talked to the workers and felt very comfortable with their expertise. They did an excellent job letting me know what needed to be done now for safety reasons and what could be done now or later and let me decide. I am now a forever customer. The detailed printout explaining what they did and why was an unexpected bonus. I have returned three times for sudden minor problems and they happily fixed them two at no charge and always at my convenience. They are an excellent service for anyone in need of an honest mechanic. Once again I needed Johns Automotive for routine maintenance and an airbag alert on my dash for my 2008 Nissan Rogue - they not only fixed that and replaced the battery in my remote but gave me back a bright clean vehicle which meant a lot to me. They are always pleasant and answer any questions I may ask. Thanks guys for your service and always ready to help me. A continuing customer Nancy Martin I had a followup (items listed below)on my 2008 Rogue to start the new year in tip top shape(Jan 19, 2026) and received the best of care from everyone as usual.

Matthew and company are awesome... Always have great advice on what is definitely needed and what can potentially wait a little longer... making the pocket book last ... 🤙🏼

Found the shop I will go to for all future service! I’ve tried out shops all around El Cajon and ran into the worst customer service, outrageous prices, and work that had to be gone through again because it wasn’t right the first time. Hands down had the best experience with John’s automotive care in El Cajon! Having knowledgeable people, great customer service, and not feeling like you were ripped off or pressured made it a great experience. Matthew was my main point of contact and glad I worked with him, he made the experience perfect. Even writing this review I wanted to do on my own so others can see this is the place they need to go.

Best shop in town do not hesitate. Best Customer service too. Will definitely bring my other cars here.

Honest diagnosis of transmission issue. Don't ever buy an Infinity. Let me leave car overnight to give me time to find a salvage company. Very nice people.

I brought my Tacoma in to figure out a noise that was happening. I was told by one of their staff that it was my power steering pump. I made an appointment to get that specific item to be worked on. When I dropped off my truck, I did have them do an oil change, and check my brakes along with an overall inspection. I don't know what the protocol is for inspecting a vehicle there, but something is not right. They literally just focused on EVERY little damage to the outside of my truck (my truck is old of course it's going to have imperfections). They are NOT A BODY SHOP. Totally unnecessary. They didn't even check my starter or alternator. It is almost like they just popped the hood and said "yup, engines there" and shut the hood. After I got my truck back, my battery light was on (it wasn't on before) I called them, just to find out, yes the battery is "good". But if they actually tested my vehicle on their "inspection" they would have known my alternator is dying. I ended up going to O'Reilly's to get that checked (I used to work there). They informed me that my truck needs to go to a shop ASAP. Now my truck is not running. So in other words, don't trust your vehicle with them unless you want to be stranded on the side of the road or be ripped off.

Excellent shop with honest and kind help for all your mechanic needs. Very helpful with second inspection of an older vehicle and went above and beyond in understanding our situation, needs and what we were looking for. Im not looking forward to mechanical needs in the future, but I am glad I found someone whom is honest and straightforward and wont mess up the little things like overfilling your oil, which I tend to find so many local mechanics doing. Its the little things and big things and all that inbetween that make a great shop. Thanks!

Had the best experience ever, had set up a alignment the day before and it took less than a hour and my SUV Is driving better than ever.

Always a pleasure to do business at John’s Automotive Care in El Cajon. Justin and all are amazing! I’m always kept informed as to the status of my vehicle repair/maintenance. Wouldn’t go anywhere else!

Our family took our vehicles to the La Mesa location. We are now going to go to the El Cajon location as it is closer to our home. We were also very happy to experience the same great service we had always received at La Mesa at the El Cajon location. Justin spoke to my wife and I explaining our service options and offered recommendations instead of just trying to sell unnecessary services. Thank you Justin and crew!

Have had great service and very satisfied with work and details to inform me of any problems regarding my car. Anything needing service, was always explained and completed properly. I'm very satisfied with all work performed on my Ford Flex. Very happy with John's Automotive Care-El Cajon. Great customer service!

I called early morning because my Alternator went out and I said I need to leave for work by 10am is there anyway I can get this done, and Justin said come right now and I’ll order your part and let my mechanic know you are on the way and let me tell you, they got it done! By 9:45 they were pulling my car around and I was paying and out of there! I was a new customer, they had never seen my car before and they were awesome!! What a great experience and the cost was so reasonable!!! I will now always come here and tell everyone who asks!

Everyone at John's was friendly, helpful, professional and fast. Matthew was especially kind to this elderly woman (old lady). Explained everything needed and got me back on the road safely. Thanks.

I bounced around to a few different repair shops in east county for service on my Yukon, and these guys are far and away the best. They were honest, kind, thorough, and fair. I worked with Justin and couldn’t be more happy with the experience from start to finish. I’m thrilled I found my new go-to spot!

I was so pleased with the experience I had at John's automotive! Matthew is an excellent service provider and was timely with updates. I found them through the "cool air rebate program" and, because I'd had estimates from other dealers, know that they could've told me I needed repairs that weren't truly needed. My a/c works great! Thank you, Matthew and team!!!

Matthew is an excellent guy; he helped me avoid buying a car that needed at least its selling price in additional work, which is not the headache I need after the heartache of my beloved previous car overheating recently. He was polite, kind, honest, and direct - exactly what you want from your auto-shop. Thank you for the save Matthew <3

After visiting five other automotive shops that couldn’t get our car aligned up properly and one even quoted us thousands in unnecessary repairs. We finally went to John’s Automotive. They took care of us right away, diagnosed the issue accurately, and were able to align our lifted suburban without all the extra charges or runaround. Any repairs that were actually needed, they handled professionally and efficiently(we didn’t need any). We decided to have all of our fluids changed and vehicle serviced. We’re incredibly grateful for their honesty and skill. Thank you guys so much, highly recommend!

I couldn’t be happier with the service I received when I walked in at 5:50 pm. Matthew was kind and scheduled my service for next day. I already had a diagnostic from another business that day. Drop off was quick and I was shuttled to work, which is already a plus plus in my eyes. Received a text about a two hours to call them. The diagnostic didn’t show a code and called to ask me if the previous mechanics cleared out the codes. Long story short no codes were read at the previous shop either. Matthew informed me they could do the service or? I opted for the time to wait and see. Matthew also informed that this was going to be no charge as I already been charged for the diagnostic at previous shop. I found my place and felt comfortable with all around and being less than a mile from my home. Thanks John’s Automotive for opening in East county! Thanks Matthew for going the extra mile!

Johns gives me piece of mind. It’s always stressful when your car isn’t working right and you need to take it to a shop. Johns is reliable, honest and they are so patient and good about explaining things. Justin is amazing. He’s very honest about telling me what needs immediate attention and what can wait a couple of months. Very knowledgeable. Thank Goodness I found Johns!

Matthew was very straightforward and helpful. I got an affordable diagnostic for the cooling system and they let me know my options. They let me keep my car there free of charge over the weekend even though I had no further work done, as I’m saving up for repairs.

My car started having an intermittent issue where it wouldn't go into gear after starting. It felt unsafe to drive. I had already been to two different places to try and find an answer that day. Then it happens again.I was searching online to see if I could find an answer when John's Automotive El Cajon site came up. I called to see if they could help. I spoke with Justin, and he communicated with me in a very kind manner while I told him a long story about what was going on. I was so surprised and happy that they were able to accommodate me right away. A couple hours later, they had found what could be the cause of what happening. Chris the Technician even took the time to explain things to me and recommended changing the crankshaft sensor to see if that would correct the problem. They had to order the part, so I left my car overnight. They were able to have it ready the following day. I'm happy I found them and I will definitely be bringing my car back for future service. Thank you!

So I came across this company while googling for auto shops near me because I had an urgent need with my vehicle. And from reading the many great reviews, I decided to make a phone call. I spoke to Scott and he was so nice and willing to listen and understand how I was trying to explain what was going on with my truck. He told me to bring it in so they can further look into it. When I got there, Service Advisor, Justin, took my over. He was so helpful and knowledgeable. He also made me so comfortable being there. Also I would like to say thank you to Cassidy for going above and beyond on taking me home, while my vehicle stayed overnight. They were able to have my vehicle ready by the next day as it was New Year’s Eve and I had a lot on my agenda which I explained to them. Definitely will come back when needed. Thank you guys! And a Happy New Year to you all!

These guys are truly THE BEST at what they do!!! We lost our transmission leaving Mexico and made it (on recommendation) to John’s by the skin of our teeth. We rented a car to head home to Utah. In the meantime, John’s got a new transmission ordered, installed and running like a champ in no time. They kept me so informed and trusted us to pay just half for this huge job, even though they didn’t know us at all. We had a wonderful time picking up our van when the work was done. They gave us smiles, drinks and snacks and a restroom. It felt like picking up our van from old family members. We left beaming! We couldn’t recommend them enough! Thanks guys!

If I could give 100 ⭐️ I would!! Where do I begin other than this place is amazing! We drove from Arizona to take my military son’s truck to the VPC for transport on a Friday. VPC said the emergency brake needed adjustment or fixing and we had an hour to fix. Even though we knew nobody or our way around ..We went to couple places around .. again not knowing our way around. We were referred to John’s and at first all guys were out to lunch and no way they could do it within the hour. BUT …. They did! They cheered on as we took the vehicle back and even though they rejected us for have a hairline too much gas I want to send out a shout out to John’s for coming through last minute and getting it handled. They are truly amazing .. I appreciate what yall did technically for my son who is in the military … we just now have to find another way to get to him as I needed to head back to Arizona and I couldn’t afford to stay the entire weekend and it was already hard for me to get it to Cali to begin with but overall John’s were our heroes of the day and I couldn’t recommend them enough! May you all be blessed and may your shop be abundantly blessed with work!! Thanks.. Military Mom