Thank you, Leslie, for your 5 Star Rating!
Found Walt’s Auto Service when I was looking for a different auto repair shop for my 1990 Honda CRX SI, a long time ago. The independent Honda repair shop where I had been a customer for many years changed owners and it was time to move on.
I’ve been a customer at Walt’s Auto Service for……..what must be going into a second decade by now. I first found them on a “Top 10” list in Auto Club’s Westways Magazine of auto repair shops in Southern California. Then I began to notice that they made the “Daily Breeze’s South Bay’s Best” awards list year after year.
Hondas and Toyotas (and their associated makes) are what Walt’s primarily repairs, but they are certainly perfectly able to diagnose and repair other makes as well.
I took my 1990 Honda CRX SI to Walt’s for many years until I gave it up in 2010, and now my 2010 Honda Accord is there for every oil change, service…..whatever it needs.
At my very first Walt’s visit, I liked how I could see AND watch (if I chose) my car being attended to, simply by standing in the customer parking area. All nine bays are visible. At Walt’s, the standard is integrity, thorough inspections, industry-standard pricing (or better), Genuine Honda/Toyota parts and same day service is the “norm” (with rare exceptions).
This small, very personal staff has never disappointed. Kay, the owner and manager, is at the shop everyday and interacts with every customer. Paul, the ASE Certified Service Consultant and ASE Master Technician, will always explain and show everything on the car that is an issue, without even having to ask him. (He knows I will look up parts online on my own otherwise). I ask for these “teaching moments” and Paul always “makes time” to be sure that every customer is satisfied with the work when they drive away. He shows me the old, busted parts that came off my car, even if he has to scrape up the remains off the floor (and he has).
Paul will always tell a customer “the whole situation”. He never insists that any particular repair must be done immediately; unless, of course, there is a clear and/or catastrophic failure with a part, system, etc.
If a repair or part replacement doesn’t HAVE to be done today, Paul might say, “I would take care of (name a repair) within the next ‘x’ number of miles”….. or “Honda recommends that (name a part) be replaced every ‘x’ number of miles”, but it is always YOUR choice, without any pressure.
You will NOT find “upselling” at Walt’s Auto Service. A car owner’s OWN prior neglect of their automobile is certainly not to be blamed on ANY repair shop. Any “unexpected” repairs brought to your attention at Walt’s are simply a testament to the thoroughness of their highly-experienced technicians’ inspections.
As far as who “works the magic” in the service bays, Walt’s employs two technicians, Francisco and Randy. Francisco is a fully certified ASE Service Technician/Specialist and has been servicing cars at Walt’s for at least two decades, I believe, and Randy has been there for many, many years as well. Talk about technicians that know EVERY one of their customer’s cars….. inside and out.
If my car was ever stuck out in the desert or anywhere else with a major problem, I would have it towed to Walt’s Auto Service in Torrance without a second thought.
-Leslie /San Pedro