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Review Highlights
“Kurt had the repair expedited on a Friday afternoon for us to make the trip on Saturday morning.” in 27 reviews
“Scott at the front desk is really patient and really cares about his customers.” in 5 reviews
“Gary Meissner and his staff are highly professional, thorough, honest and fair.” in 4 reviews
About the Business
First established in 1962. Meissner Automotive have truly stood the test of time. Technologies and cars have changed, many shops have come and gone but Meissner Automotive is still here today. Meissner Automotive is a family business serving Palo Alto by keeping their customers and their cars happy. We keep our techs current on factory servicing and changing technologies. We specialize in Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mini Cooper and Mercedes Benz. We carry many of these brands factory scan tools which allows us to keep up with dealerships diagnostics while providing our customers a break from dealership prices. Not only is Meissner Automotive a specialized diagnostic shop, but we also provide factory servicing
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Overall rating
84 reviews
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- K N.Sunnyvale, CA5413Apr 25, 2024
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.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 1Oh no 0Business owner information
Kurt M.
May 1, 2024
Hi K N. Thank you for reaching out and thank you for your past patronage. Unfortunately, it seems we could not meet your expectations on this visit. You brought your hybrid vehicle to us with a concern of a low hybrid battery. We did perform all the necessary tests and were able to confirm that there was no problem with the vehicle's hybrid battery and systems which is good news as these repairs can be very expensive. However, even if we find no issues we still need to charge for our testing and inspection time and are not able to provide a discount on this service. I hope your vehicle continues to provide you with good service.
- Michael S.Mountain View, CA4132Jun 25, 2024
Honest and high quality work..bar none! Been going to the for over 6 years and never dissatisfied.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Eric H.Los Altos, CA12497Sep 13, 2023
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.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Eben K.San Francisco, CA015Dec 30, 2023
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.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Yeuk Y.Palo Alto, CA02119Mar 22, 2023
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 ;)
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Carol R.San Francisco, CA0541May 28, 2022
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.Helpful 4Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Donene H.Cupertino, CA091Apr 2, 2022
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.Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0Business owner information
Kurt M.
Apr 12, 2022
Thank you for the great review Donene!
- Angel D.SoMa, San Francisco, CA022Mar 24, 2022
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.Helpful 1Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 1Business owner information
Kurt M.
Apr 12, 2022
Hi Martin. Thank you for letting me know about this issue and I apologize if we did not communicate well with you. The reason we recommended the spark plug replacement and valve cover reseal is that your spark plugs are worn and oil is leaking into the spark plug wells which will cause a misfire and consequently a high NOx level in the exhaust. We also told you that there is a very good chance that whoever ran this test might have not pre-conditioned the car correctly and you might want to get another test done. If the spark plug repairs don’t completely solve the issue then the only other choice is the catalytic converter. As you did not seem to have confidence in our recommendation and did not authorize any repairs, we invited you to come pick up your vehicle. In the interest of customer satisfaction, we did not charge you any testing fee or make any repairs. As an aside, PCV valve failures and Secondary Air Injection failures may cause a vehicle to fail the smog test, but will not cause high NOx levels. I hope you are able to find a shop that can meet your needs and get your car repaired.
Kurt Meissner - Mo B.Palo Alto, CA232710Jan 22, 2022
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!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Shyam Sunder K.Millbrae, CA01Sep 10, 2021
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...
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