Golden Auto Muffler & Brake Service

So for a long time (almost 2 years) my check engine light was on. My dad works at a dealership and has a mechanic coworker that checked it and it was a P0420. He said catalytic converter needs to be replaced. He said that IT HAS TO BE ORIGINAL MANUFACTURED PART. I also called another mechanic shop (more corporate name im not gonna say who for privacy), and they said also the same, it has to be original catalytic converter from the manufacturer. So thats two people that said the same thing. Mind you, my car is ten years old and has 106,000 miles on it. Its not like the most luxurious and expensive car so aftermarket would be my best and AFFORDABLE choice.

I heard about Golden Auto from my mother in law, and also another welder mechanic in Daly City that suggested this place. I've also gone to yelp and saw many wonderul reviews about this place. I went ahead and called them couple of days before finally coming in. And let me tell you, it was the best decision/choice i've made for my car.

The gentleman Kyle who answered the phone was friendly and polite. And Lisa was the one who actually looked at my car. She said to me "Don't worry, your car will be okay! (with two thumbs up literally!)" I asked her the price and she gave me a very very very very affordable deal in comparison to how much dealerships and other places charge! I finally asked her, is it original part or aftermarket? She said its aftermarket and also said "trust me it will be okay" She and Kyle also said I can order an original if I want to but I will spend so much more just for the part.

I took their advice and got picked up and went home. 4 hours later they called me and my car is good to go! I paid and was very relieved to see that light not come on anymore!!!! Now its time to take my car to a full Detail service that it deserves!

I definitely recommend this place if you feel like you cannot trust others. This one is super reliable, professional, clean garage and friendly! Thanks Golden Auto!

A local mechanic Ken at Twin Peaks Auto I know well and trust highly recommended Golden for exhaust repair.

I pulled directly into the shop.

The shop estimated the repair cost in about 5 minutes; I think the estimator was the shop owner.

The estimator told me "about $400" verbally; I may have misunderstood; I could not understand the estimator well.

The estimator walked me to the car on the hoist and showed me the ~6" flex pipe coupling between the exhaust header and next straight pipe would be replaced with a non-OEM part on this V6 2014 Audi A6.

The estimator told me they could perform the repair right away.

The estimator asked me to write my name and phone number on a blank Repair Order, and sign the blank Repair Order.

Were I to do this again, I would ask for the cost of all parts, labor, and any extra costs and a total price to be written on the Repair Order before I signed it. I trusted this shop because of the recommendation I received, so I let this go.

The work was done in about 45 minutes; 60 at most; probably 45 minutes.

Paying was straightforward and fast.

The car was ready to drive out.

The car sounds great.

I looked at the Repair Order when I got home and saw $60 for Parts and $390 for Labor. That seemed kind of steep for 1 hour of labor. The total price was $455 with tax.

I called the shop and a cheerful guy looked up my Repair Order and kindly told me that Exhaust repairs have flat labor rates that are not hourly, but are based upon the repair. $390 is the flat rate for replacing this flex coupling.

While I think this is probably the going rate in the Bay Area for this type of repair, it does seem like quite a lot of money for a fairly quick and easy repair. I was expecting this shop to be a lower price than most, based upon what I had heard and read.

I would go back to Golden Auto. My future self will ask for more details on the Repair Order before signing, and maybe ask to see a reference where they looked up the repair cost. I might try to haggle a little bit over a high flat rate for this kind of repair, because the repair was easily accessible and the connecting pipes were clean and in good shape.

I liked the people and experience. Very quick and efficient.

Been coming here for years, ever since I owned my first car.Always known for quality work for a decent price.

Unfortunately today I feel like I got robbed. But I needed my car to be in working order in that moment..

All I needed was for my New catalytic converter to be welded on. They quoted me at $200 for LABOR over the phone and in person.
Of course that sounded like a great deal so I drove all the way from Hayward to get my car fixed.

In person they suggested I add a flex pipe to relieve some stress to my exhaust system. They showed me the situation and I agreed. Only to find out they wanted to charge me an additional $250+?!?!

I really did not want to pay that just for a flex pipe! She managed to bring the price down "to work with me" pretty hilarious in my opinion but like I said I needed my car to be 100%

My $200 repair ended up being $405 out the door. And according to the invoice the flex pipe was only $40 and a added 160 for LABOR?!?!

They were already charging me $200 for LABOR. They only had my car for 25-30min



Never coming back.

Fast and easy. Friendly people. Will go back again and I would recommend them. Took my 72 Benz in and they did a great job.

I had to get a new catalytic converter due to not going to pass smog.
They replaced mine in 30 minutes.

Simple exhaust leak. Required a weld around the exhaust pipe where there was a loose slip joint. Shop rate is $180/hr

From the time I parked, had them check my issue, make the weld paid and left was a total of 15 minutes.

They charged $180. I drove my vehicle onto the lift and back off of it. They guy who did the welding took 7 minutes start to finish.

I had a similar fox dome to a vehicle 30 years ago. It cost me 10 dollars at the time. I expected 40-60.

Lisa the nice lady at the customer service is very honest toward their customers, I recommend this place.

The catalytic converter on my little 05 Tacoma pick-up truck got stolen. Golden Auto was able to get it fixed in one day. Good job Kyle/Lisa. A bit dirty though because the technician who brought out my truck put mud all over the floor mat. I asked for OEM catalytic converters but Lisa said it will take six months so I had no choice but aftermarket. For the catalytic converters, $2561.44. (My Tacoma has 2 cats) Walker catalytic converter 83601 $600, Catco catalytic converter 775106 $1150, labor $332.83, O2 sensor $160, labor $130, tax $188.61 = $2561.44. I requested them to put in a cage so that this doesn't happen again. Instead, I received a Cat Shield from Millercat installed (shield $150, labor $635.19, tax 14.81) $800. $3261.44 total. So far so good. No exhaust leak or check engine light after about a week of driving.

Helping out my dad to put back his catalytic converter back on his truck. Some low life tries to steal it but couldn't get it off. I just needed to weld it back on. I'm glad Golden Muffler is still around. I used to go to this place when I needed help with my exhaust system. And it was very affordable back then but now not to much. I know they're taking advantage of the situation. Their going rate $180 and the job was probably less than 30 minutes to do. She quoted me $250 to put it back on. I didn't have any other choice because my dad needed his car. And of course they took their time to weld it back on. After 45 minutes it was done. I paid $250 for a job that took less than an hour. It's just plain highway robbery.

Lisa helped me and was my guide as I was shown the underside of my car. Problems were well explained to me. Prices were reasonable and I was out in 2 hours. Happy camper. Thank you Lisa & crew.