Meissner Automotive

I have mixed experiences with this business.

First 2 times - good experience.
Last time - costly unnecessary checks.

Shop around! I won't be recommending people here.

Honest and high quality work..bar none! Been going to the for over 6 years and never dissatisfied.

Excellent service. Meissner Automotive's personnel were very quick to check us in, understand the problems we were facing (A/C in a Mercedes ML350), and getting to work on the diagnosis. Meissner's staff were very prompt with updates and candid in their assessments, helping us decide on the best path forward. Work performed was timely (had to wait on parts). Being in constant touch on how things were going was reassuring.

My wife's car started with some erratic behavior of power windows, door locks and mirrors. Kurt was able to assist with sound advice on what parts to try. Clearly his years of experience was invaluable and at a fair price. We are now back on the road again. From intake diagnosis to completed repair we had confidence in what was being done with updates on progress.

Scott and the team are responsive and provide excellent service. I've had a couple of times with last minute requests and each time, they've been able to accommodate us. Easy recommendation for anyone who values their time ;)

Mixed review. They did more work than was necessary, took twice as long as they estimated, and used aftermarket parts that (are safe but) make a noise.

I was driving from SF to Santa Barbara, my low tire pressure light came on, so I got off the freeway to check pressure and stopped at Meissner since they were the first shop I found. My mechanic in SF told me that the rear brakes and front tires should be repaired but I could wait until after the SoCal trip. When I stopped at Meissner they looked at the car and said it'd be best to replace tires and brakes before the trip. That seemed reasonable so I asked how long it would take and was told 3 hours. I was due in Santa Barbara for dinner so that would have still allowed me to be on time, and I agreed to the service.

In reality, they also (unnecessarily) replaced my front brakes which did not need replacement or repair - I found the report from my SF mechanic after I got home, brakes were still at 8mm. That meant an additional $300+ expense. Plus the entire service took 6 hours. I arrived in Santa Barbara at 10 pm, and missed my friend's birthday dinner.

While on the trip I started to notice a noise from the front wheels. Had it checked out by my former mechanic in LA. They diagnosed the squeeking as aftermarket brakes and brake pads that were inserted by Meissner.

Meissner Automotive did a front end suspension repair consisting of replacement of ball joints and control arm assemblies along with replacement of rear strut assemblies on my 2005 Honda CRV. Wheel alignment was included.

The work was well done and timely. The price to complete the work was about $1500 less than quoted by Larry Hopkins Honda in Sunnyvale. Kurt and Scott are great to work with. The car was checked in for repair quickly versus the typical 20 minute wait in line to check in for a dealership repair service. A great place for repair without the tacked on overhead costs associated with dealership repair.

I brought my BMW Z3 to Meissner on March, 22 as it failed bi-annual smog test for having very hi NOx at 15MPH. They inspected the car and just found that spark plugs needed replacement. In regards to emission problems they were absolutely unable to solve the problem. They mentioned that if spark plugs were not the problem, then the CAT would need to be replaced.
Unfortunately I am really disappointed, if they are not able to perform emissions test, they should not have taken my car. **To be clear and fair, They did not charge me either.**
I then brought my car to Auto Technica in Sunnyvale. Massis within 1 minute started explaining to me potential real problems, PCV Valve, faulty Secondary Air pump valve, etc.
My point is that in my opinion, if they do not specialize in certain repairs, they should just refer to knowledgably mechanics nearby instead of wasting clients time.

This was the second time I went to this shop. First time was to fix the suspension of a Honda Civic that was involved in an accident, one more time, they did not realized after a full inspection that an upper control arm was bended.
I am giving up on them for sure. Not quality service and hard to understand as their mechanics like Donnato, etc have years of experience.

Thanks for reading.

I was a regular customer for many years. When I bought a new car 5 years ago, I also purchased a maintenance agreement at the dealership. Well, that ended this year and I needed some help with my car (engine light on) so jI m back to Meissner b. They remembered me and they also remembered my daughter. They took care of my problem right away. The price was reasonable and service was EXCELLENT. i realized that I don't need to go anywhere else from now on. I'm very glad to be back. thanks Meissner!

My catalytic converter was stolen and they were the ones the insurance recommended . Took a while for the parts to come as they were on back order. But they got the job done ... had them also get a custom shield put in to deter people from stealing it again ... they did an amazing job through one of their contacts...