| Location |
| 549 Rowe Place (map) |
| Part of the Rowe Place Shops |
| (near 5th & I Streets, behind Dairy Queen and Midtown Animal Clinic) |
| Hours |
| Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm |
| Phone |
| (530)758-2333 |
| Established |
| 1973; new owner in 2006 |
| Website |
| http://www.bernardstire.com/ |
Bernard's Tire, Brake & Alignment began as a family-run operation in 1973. The shop was sold in 2006 when the owner retired.
Bernard's provides general auto repair, but specializes in repairs to your vehicle's drive system. Services include repair and replacement of drive system, wheels, wheel alignment, retreads, and performance rims. Much of Bernard's business is by referral, and oftentimes comes by way of Redfield Machine. City of Davis trucks have also been seen serviced there. Bernard's offers reasonable prices/estimates and good customer service.
The shop carries Cooper tires almost exclusively, and mounting is not included in the quoted tire price; however, Bernard's includes a lifetime of free tire rotations every 5,000 miles. Cooper tires are rated highly in consumer satisfaction by JD Powers.
To find more automobile repair locations within Davis, please visit the Automobile Repair page.
2005-11-30 22:13:46 I've found the owner to be honest and competent. Some of the staff aren't so impressive, but the owner is the one who really matters. —GrahamFreeman
2005-12-20 20:37:43 I've bought tires here three or four times over the years - always got a good price, good work done. and all in a timely manner. Highly recommended. —PaulThober
2006-01-03 21:05:02 My whole family has gone to Bernard's for countless years and we've always left happy. Customer Service A+. Seeing this reminds me I should probably get my tires rotated soon and the brakes checked! Though I haven't done it, they do offer to give you a ride to work/home after dropping your car off. I highly recommend that everyone go to Bernard's. —BrettCoder
2006-05-01 18:40:27 They try to explain everything and they are really honest. —AmirArdeshir
2006-05-24 08:41:24 I just had some new tires put on my car, and am very happy with the service I received at Bernard's. They have very competitive prices (even when compared to Wal-Mart or Costco). They seem to sell mostly Cooper tires, but they sell Cooper off-brands as well. When you buy tires at a place like this, you know your not going to get some cheap crap that nobody will be accountable for. When you need tires, I highly recommend getting a quote from Bernard's . . . you'll probably be surprised. —AdamSchneider
2006-09-29 21:32:23 Took my 1999 SUV in because the ABS light was on (I found them here on DavisWiki). They fixed the problem and had the car back to me the same day. They took the time to explain what was going wrong and what they did to fix the problem. I was very pleased with the service. —DanielBoxwell
2006-11-01 12:46:38 They got me in for an alignmetn first thing this morning on very short notice. The technician took the time to get the steering wheel perfectly straight, even though that meant putting the car back on the rack after his test drive. They also had no obvious problems getting my lower-than-stock car on the rack. Very reasonably priced, as well! —RussBowlus
2006-12-06 03:52:18 Got a 4 wheel alignment after finally chewing through a pair of tires. Afterwards the car acted oddly (severe diving to the left). Brought it back and they threw it up on a lift and found the right ball joint had come loose. Fixed it, re-aligned and refused to take any payment for the second round. These guys are worth doing business with. —TarZxf
2007-02-28 10:19:48 These guys go above and beyond. They came to pick up my car for me while I was at school, and saved me a lot of trouble. Higly recommended! —BeckiBrunelli
2007-08-27 09:38:07 I had my tires taken care of by Bernards for years, and I was always pleased with the product and service. The owner, Ed, took over the business from his dad years ago. I learned last week that Ed retired and sold the place last year. Some of the same guys work there, but I can no longer endorse the shop because it's under new ownership. —robinlaughlin
2007-11-07 14:07:12 Called today to check prices on tire rotation and balancing. Bernard's offers tire rotation and balancing of the front tires for $28.50. Additional tires are balanced for $12.95/tire. —MattVanGundy
2008-03-03 22:01:31 They seem fine. They realigned my tires and fixed the rattling. —JohnWong
2008-08-20 14:12:29 Good people to do business with. Clear prices, service when promised and often sooner. When my 6 month old tires from them started going flat frequently, they cleaned up and sealed the rims for free, no questions (it was my old rims, not their new tires at fault). —NotTires
2008-11-15 14:59:31 I put in new tie rod ends last night and threw my alignment way out of whack (as expected). Dropped by Bernards with no appointment and they got my truck aligned in about an hour and a half, and it tracks perfectly straight. I also asked if they could grease my new tie rod ends and they did that at no extra charge. Very nice guys there— sat and BS'd about tires with one of the employees while another was greasing the tie rods. Very friendly. Will do business with them again. —ChrisC
2008-11-15 19:51:46 Very friendly customer service and quick turnaround. I bought a set of new tires and got an alignment. They gave me a quote for 3 different tires and went over the merits of each set. I was very pleased with their service. —evergeneva
2009-03-15 11:14:55 I like this place. They're understanding and willing to go the distance to make sure your vehicle is fixed with as little hassle possible. I'll go back again. —Jeserah
2009-04-07 17:12:08 GREAT experience! I was referred by some friends and I was given a free brake inspection (promo.) When I went to pick up my truck, I learned that I still had 70% brake life left and I don't need to repair anything, whereas a $15 brake inspection at Sears got me a quote saying that I had less than 25% brake life left. Just goes to show the honesty of this shop and that they're not trying to squeeze money out of you by saying you need to replace things that don't need to be, unlike OTHER places. When my brakes DO wear out, I know where I'M going for honest service! Thanks Bernard's!!! —Omicron
2009-06-01 20:15:24 While the manager Yusef seems nice, I have to question the integrity of the mechanics. A routine wheel bearing job suspiciously lead to a failed transmission moments after receiving the car back from them. Also, after dealing with the transmission fiasco, on the same wheel the bearing was replaced, the brakes are now squeaking. I had asked them to check it out for me since they worked on the components last, but the manager was quick to blame the brakes, even though they had no problem before. After bringing the car to my normal mechanic, it turns out the caliper pins in the brakes were not greased by Bernard's mechanic and was sticking. (The brakes have to come off to do a wheel bearing). Would I go back here again? No. Would I purchase tires? Maybe. If you have a european import, I suggest staying away from this place. They are good for tires and alignments, but I would stay away for any mechanical jobs. —lawrenceucd
2009-25-08 23:15:24 STAY AWAY from this place. Had to do a regular check (no damage nor break) and asked for the approx. price. They told me between 150-220$ which seamed reasonable (checked some adds before). Let the car there and told them to call me, in case they found smth. unexpected. Called me to tell me that all was right (great car!) and they don't even had to change the plugs as they were still good (great service, I thought). They also told me the price, but couldn't fully understand on phone (foreigner). Sounded as in the expected range. However, when I came in to pick up the car the costs where 5 TIMES higher as previously told! Wouldn't pay and resisted to the told price ... however, they said they had told me the price on phone so had no chance but to pay. They gave me a 10% discount, but I still felt really ripped OFF. The mechanic said he had been working the whole day on the car (to change oil of engine, differencials, and for general service ... OF COURSE!!!). For those of you who still want to go there -> the rip seams to work as follows: Tell the car owner that it will cost little, show the owner that you are willing to save his money by not doing all the required changes, mumble the price during phone call, say you have worked the whole day on the car because with these new cars everything takes much longer, add high oil prices and say you don't get better prices yourself, and HAVE A GREAT NIGHT OUT after the ripped owner walked from yard. STAY AWAY from this place! —tfb676
2009-11-11 11:03:21 Seems like a nice place up front until you find out that they charge you almost $80 just to look at your car. I know that's a huge red flag right there, but I decided to have them do the labor anyway based on all the good reviews they've received on here. Also a poor choice. The labor costs at Bernard's for a simple break job are nearly $90/hr. I payed $437.25 in labor on a job that took on 4 hours to do. Seemed to have done a good job, but not worth the cost. Take your business to the honest guy who'll take a look and give you an estimate for free. —LoganTurner
2009-12-28 18:27:54 I am really impressed with Bernard's! I called around to compare prices and try to find the best deal. Not only were they the most competitive, they saved me from buying tires for $500+ that are only good for ~ 25,000 miles. The technician at Goodyear told me what a great deal the tires were and I was going to buy them. When I talked to Bernard's, he spent a good amount of time going through their inventory trying to find an ideal tire for me. When I asked the difference between the tire he recommend and the 'good deal' tire for Goodyear, I was shocked when he told me the life span was half the other tire! I feel like the Goodyear worker was not being honest. I am VERY HAPPY I called Bernard's. —CharlieMurphy
2009-12-28 19:53:54 How many Bernards are there? —CovertProfessor
2010-07-15 13:29:39 Good prices and quick service but don't leave any change in your car or it will be gone, EVERY TIME!! —[email protected]
2011-02-23 10:05:12 They installed tires for me. The whole process was fast and professional. They did not charge much = I thought price was fair. Also, I asked to fix headlight cords that were dangling, they did it for free. I will be coming back for sure. Thank you Bernard's! —Adelina
2011-08-09 19:10:35 My brakes started feeling funny on my truck and after researching it on the internet, I found that it was likely to be my brake booster. Rather then change it out and find out it was some other part, I looked for a locally owned shop in Davis to verify if it was indeed the brake booster or not. Bernards seemed to have positive reviews so I decided to go there. They gave a free estimate and told me that it was a "check valve on the brake booster, not the actual brake booster." The part was $40 dollars and they charged me $47.50 to install it. My brakes started acting up again about 2 days later. I took it back to Bernards and they then told me it was indeed my brake booster that was bad and it would cost me $550 dollars to fix it. I decided to wait and went home and watched a youtube video on how to change a brake booster. The extent of the labor was removing 8 bolts, switching out the brake booster, and then reinstalling the 8 bolts. I went to a used auto parts place in Sacramento and got a brake booster for $75 dollars. When I went to look under my hood, I saw the check valve Bernards had previously installed had 2 metal clips on it. They had charged me $47.50 in labor to remove two clips and put the check valve in! This is something you can do using your fingers. I ended up installing the brake booster in 2 hours using my cheap tools I bought from Kragens auto parts. Since I changed the brake booster in 2 hours, I don't understand how Bernards can justify charging $550 dollars to change it using their skilled mechanics and nice tools. They can probably change it in 45 minutes if even that. I regret that they got my money to change the check valve that did not actually need to be replaced , however, the experience did give me a real good impression of the things going on there. I prefer to support independent businesses owned by local people but Bernards is one place that will never get my recommendation or my money again. I suggest that you look elsewhere for a local shop to fix your car.
What was your experience with Bernard's?
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