| Location |
| 638 Cantrill Drive , Suite G (NEW LOCATION) |
| Hours |
| Monday - Friday: 7:00 am - 5:30 pm |
| Saturday: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm except on holiday weekends |
| Phone |
| (530) 297-6600 |
| Fax (530) 297-6602 |
| Owner |
| Bob Lavelle |
| Established |
| 4/1/2005 |
| Payment Method |
| Visa, Master, Discover, American Express, cash, check |
Davis Import Auto Service is one of the places in town for automobile repair. They work on a variety of makes including Saabs, Mazdas, Toyotas, Fords, VWs, Passats, and Hondas. The majority of commenters praise their honesty and service. They typically have coupons in the Little Green Coupon Machine.
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2007-06-22 15:39:45 One of the few places in Davis that will work on my SAAB. —WilliamBeamish
2007-08-22 08:20:25 Bob Lavelle, the owner, is an ex-service manager for a Mazda dealership, I think, and he's terrific. I have been using his shop for a couple of years, and have found him to be fair, honest and capable. —Lani
2007-10-26 13:56:57 Bob is GREAT... He's worked on just about all my cars, Mazda MX6, Toyota MR2, Ford Ranger, all with great service. He's Fair and Honest which is very important to me. —Aaron.Curtin
2008-01-28 10:42:47 Bob is trustable. thats hard to find with auto repair. Bob will perform most services on volkswagens, which is also rare. He has helped me in tough spots, even giving me phone advice while i was trying to fix my car myself. —achassy
2008-03-19 10:12 Bob is a straight shooter. He's patient, honest and doesn't talk down to you like many other auto mechanics. Over the past month we've needed 2 repairs (luck of the draw) on our 2000 Passat. Bob took the time to explain our repairs and costs to both my husband and me separately. He did a great job on both repairs and because we only own one car, we were pleased with the speed he got us in and completed the repairs. We highly recommend Bob and his services at Davis Import Auto Service. —DebWestergaard
2009-05-04 00:54:00 Been to this shop many times in the past few years, for reasons ranging from the routine (tune-ups, brakes, oil changes, etc.) to the more improbably (window was stuck in the door) and each and every time Bob has been incredibly forth right, earnest and capable. An honest mechanic is a hard find and Bob is the best you could hope for. There have been multiple times where he could have charged me more, but chose an equally valid repair that was a little cheaper, a real rarity. Most importantly, he hides nothing, you can trust that if Bob thinks you need something, that you probably do. Contrary to the name of the place, this place will work on any car. All of this, plus he's a nice guy to boot. —Sherief
2009-09-29 19:25:57 My first experience with Bob was when, while driving my ’85 Tercel down to Davis from Seattle, I noticed a hot plastic smell coming from the car. I took the car in to him, we drove it around, he was unable to identify the source (no one else has, either). After 45 minutes of driving, looking and sniffing, I asked him how much I owed him and he said, “Nothing”. He has done routine maintenance on both my cars (my other car is a 1990 Camry), and I have been quite satisfied with his work. When my ’85 Tercel failed the CA Smog Check, he sent me to another shop since he doesn’t do Smog work (I don’t blame him). Shop #2 (who will remain anonymous) confirmed that the EGR valve was not working and not fixable (broken pintle). Shop #2 called a local Toyota dealership and determined that the valve was no longer available. End of story- I could junk the car or find a replacement myself. Shopping online for an EGR valve means choosing between many possibilities, any or all of which might be the wrong part. Reliable matching of vehicle to part is best done by matching VIN to the part. Toyota dealerships can do this, other outlets can not. I called Bob and asked if he had any words of wisdom. I was expecting to be shopping for another car soon. To make an involved story short, in less than 20 minutes Bob located a dealership in Kansas (correction- a national parts clearinghouse in Kansas which referred him to the correct local dealership) with the part (matched to my VIN) and arranged to have it shipped to him, thus saving me the price of a replacement car (and they don’t make anything quite like the Tercel wagon anymore). He asked nothing in payment but I will remunerate him well-I can afford it now.
2009-11-09 14:58:23 I will never consider going to the dealership in Sacramento now that I've found this place. Great service and a great deal. —Sahota
2009-12-29 09:57:21 Simply fantastic! These folks gave my friend very helpful advice on getting his breaks fixed (he ended up doing it himself), and completed an involved replacement job for me in record time and at less than initial quote. Very trustworthy establishment. —JaneKostina
2010-01-09 17:59:24 I was have problems with my Passat and Bob was extremely helpful. He drove around in my car with me to figure out the problem (which ended up being minor). He didn't charge me anything for this and the other minor things he did (put air in my tires etc) but he left a really good impression on me. I took my car in for it's 30,000 mile checkup and had Bob's shop do all the work on it. This was during finals week and he got it back to me ASAP. He is very trust worthy and I will always go to him if I need car work in Davis. —aggies1988650
2010-01-28 10:16:05 I use Davis Import Auto Service for all repairs on my Honda Civic and CRV, and have been for years. I won't go to anyone else in town. Bob is extremely reliable and competent. Best repair shop around. You can trust him fully. —CharlieRussell
2010-02-02 12:10:06 I will echo all of the positive reviews here that Bob is the BEST. I have never felt so comfortable taking my car in and knowing that my car will be maintained well (and for a reasonable price) and that nothing unnecessary will be done. —RainbowVogt
2010-03-12 08:32:38 I trust Bob. The friend who referred me to Bob, trusted Bob. I've referred several people to Bob, and they have all thanked me for pointing them towards an honest, knowledgeable, and friendly mechanic. I will not take my vehicle to any other shop. I have been very pleased with Bob's work. Ironically, my vehicle broke down in the Bay Area late last night; 300 feet from an auto repair shop. This morning, I am having my vehicle towed 80 miles to Davis Import Auto Service. —Gabe
2010-03-17 18:10:16 Bob is the MAN! He has done great work on my VW. Whenever I go to the dealerships I am treated with disrespect. I go to Bob and he is all smiles and super friendly. On top of that he has fixed almost all the problems on my VW at about 1/5 the cost of the dealership. Also much better results than I ever got at the dealership. I was worried that the numerous problems I was having with my old VW were going to lead me to have to sell her and get a 'new' car. With Bobs help she is running great now. He is fair, honest and takes time out to show you what he has done and how he is making your car better. Great shop, fair prices, and specializes in VW! I would drive from most anywhere in CA to go see Bob whenever I have another issue. From the large problems to the small ones, Bob is the man. —SummerSkyPoppy
2010-06-18 01:00:55 I agree with all of the posts that say Bob was nice - he is. But he also attached my replacement fuel filter with zip-ties instead of replacing the bolts, which, to me, seems a bit sketchy. I was having difficulties with my engine idling rough, so I took my car into Bob. He ended up charging me $700+ (a discount from the $900 he originally quoted me) to clean out the filters, change the spark plugs, etc. of my BMW. This didn't seem to fix the problem but only exacerbated it, my car died on my two days after he did all of the work. I finally was able restore balance to my car when returning it home where my mom's partner noticed the fuel pump was damaged as well as the zip-ties Bob used on my fuel filter. I feel a bit taken advantage of.
Upon the recommendation of several Davis residents, and the Davis Wiki, I have started servicing my car at Triple A Automotive, where I am treated with respect and provided full honesty. —DanielleLee
2010-09-07 13:05:24 I found this shop from this page, and found that the mechanic just across from me was the only one who would be willing to work on my car. A rebuilt engine for my '77 VW mark 1 Super beetle along with some extra cost about three grand, which is a fairly reasonable price considering that I couldn't even get the gex engine at that rate. Bob is an extremely decent man. I do not doubt his fairness and sense of responsibility. He took forever to fix my bug (it became a feature at his shop for two months), but he installed a new engine at a reasonable price. When I needed a car and he wasn't finished, he set me up with a rental on his card. In the rush to get the car back to me before I moved, the air filter was neglected, he is coming out here at this moment to get it to me because of how important it is. He makes mistakes just like anyone else, but more than most he takes responsibility for them and best earned the trust of his clients.
Thank you Bob, you and your tech, your son, wife, and dog have all helped me so much. —DavidPoole
2010-09-29 22:03:14 Bob did some work on my 2002 VW and fixed an annoying problem with the secondary air injection system at a very reasonable cost. He also told me what was wrong with the airbag system, which allowed me to fix it myself and avoid over $200 in additional work. I definitely recommend his shop, and won't be taking my car anywhere else. His dog is friendly too. —DaveSimmons
2010-10-22 13:59:51 Every time I move, I wonder if I'm going to miss my hairdresser or my mechanic more. I loved my mechanic during my 10 year stint in the Bay Area but finding our new mechanic Bob at Davis Import Auto Service was the best part about moving back to Davis. Put mildly, Bob rocks. I was referred to him by the Goodyear guys and he has taken care of us for 5 years now. We have a 2000 Passat wagon and he definitely knows his VW stuff. Recently our car broke down in Vallejo and we had it towed back to Davis so that he could work on it. He found that one of the parts he replaced about 20K miles ago had failed and we needed to do those repairs over again. He went the extra mile to make a difference and the situation right when he didn't have to and we were very thankful. Bob is very trustworthy, which is saying a lot for auto mechanics and I would recommend him to anyone looking for fair and honest service. —DebWestergaard
2011-06-19 18:50:40 Never have I met a more honest and dependable businessman in an industry where it is incredibly difficult to find anyone with integrity. I will always give him my business when I can. —vaagrant7
2011-08-02 14:08:16 I have been taking my car(s) to Bob at Davis Import since moving back to California in 2003. In fact, two of the cars NEVER even saw the dealership since I trusted Bob with ALL the repairs. He is professional, courteous and takes pride in taking care of his customers.
He has worked on my Jetta, Saab and most recently my 2008 Subaru for the past 10 years. So, its HIGH time I talk about JUST how fabulous BOB is to work with and that I feel confident in his ability, honestly and overall dedication to keeping his clients happy. In fact, he is the only one to work on my Suburu. I never took it to the dealer since I had such tremendous confidence in BOB. Most recently, I had my car in for its routine oil change but felt something was wrong with the alignment. Turns out, it was a puncture with my rear tire. Bob took a lot of time and care to diagnose the problem and by doing so, he saved me from either a bad accident or flat tire. Either way, he not only did the routine oil change and some belt repair and replacement, he also drove my car over for a new set of tires. Since I needed to replace the tires, I trusted BOB to help. He volunteered to help me deal with the tire place and did a ton of research for me on a HOT Friday in the middle of the day. I was ready to pick up my car and take it to Costco, but wanted to keep my business local, however, the prices I was being quoted from the local tire place were off the charts expensive. So, I told Bob this and he got on the phone and worked his magic. Keep in mind, he had already fixed my car so the tires were not really his responsibility, but he welcomed the challenge and knew something wasn't right with what I was being quoted. He located me some brand name tires and worked with the local tire joint in getting them to review their estimate based on the tires he located that would be similar to the factory installed tires I was replacing. He went above and beyond by not only taking my car to the tire place, but he also did some negotiating on my behalf since he knew a lot more than I did when it came to replacing the tires and ultimately saved me some cash by holding the joint to their original estimate. I am SO thrilled with my latest repair work and will continue bringing all of our families' vehicles to Bob at Davis Import. I only wish that the amount I spent on the tires would have found its way to Bob vs. the local tire establishment who happily took my money without much regard. It amazed me the amount of money I spent for new tires and barely got a thank-you. Bob, on the other hand is a genius! Don't even consider taking your car anywhere else, DAVIS Import and BOB with his adorable dog are the best shop in town, and easily within a 45 mile radius. —amyaaronson
2012-06-08 09:19:35 First of all, if these people are Mazda specialists, let me say that Mazda in Fairfield actually has the parts for my car and would have done the same thing in less time, not keeping it overnight like I'd gotten used to with my Celica which is part of the reason why I finally traded that one in for a Mazda that Mazda still carries the parts for. I was getting tired of my Celica staying at whatever shop for three days every time it needed anything and costing me over $600 worth of labor for one little bitty part because "it's so old." Now, granted, as a single female living alone I will never again say these words to a mechanic: "the engine check light is on." I am a lifetime Toyota owner and I KNOW darn well that Japanese cars' engine check light stays on for no reason or no reason you need bother with, that the Japanese cars from a certain era engine check lights are overly sensitive unless you're a millionaire and if you were a millionaire and not a Davis Joint Unified Substitute Teacher earning $95 a day like me, why would you drive an older Japanese import instead of a brand new one under warranty at the Mazda dealership anyway? So that's a $700 lesson learned. This time I only got the car back from them for ONLY $700 by telling them I'm going to New Mexico anyway where there are no smog requirements to meet. The only reason I stupidly mentioned the engine check light was CALIFORNIA's new smog requirements that if the engine check light is on you automatically fail. Hence, getting the car back from them by telling them I'm going to New Mexico. That being said, if I ever want to spend an entire month's paycheck on one part again, a distributor rotor or ignition coil which is what Mazda said it needed, I'll take it to Mazda where at least they had the parts in stock and would have gotten it back to me the same day. (The part itself is around $14.95 by the way; the "diagnose check engine light" labor was over $200 worth of the bill)
I was given the suggestion by other Mazda owners in the greater Bay Area to check on Craigslist for those, what must be illegal aliens in parts of Sacramento that I don't want to venture into, for mechanics who say they come to you to look at the car and diagnose it, who will work cheaper for a flat rate instead of an hourly rate and I'm doing that. Although I wonder how they'd come to me because this is Davis and most of the apartments near the campus prohibit you working on your car on your own parking lot. There are car shops in Dixon that are cheaper, though, and still technically walking distance if I ever had to leave it overnight. But at this rate, I have to put off getting the insurance and registering it and doing anything else until my next paycheck at the end of this month, and it's only June 8th. Three weeks of sitting around doing nothing because of a $700 distributor rotor? The crack in the windshield I'm taking to Dixon to fix, next month when I get paid again, or looking in West Sac or Woodland for some place else.
Any car repair shop in Davis seems to be highway robbery even if they DO do a good job. It's like all of them are taking advantage of the fact that anyone in Davis who owns a car is geographically screwed as to finding someplace cheaper to fix it. Unless you're a millionaire look in Dixon first. If they have to keep your car overnight what you do is walk out Vaughn past the train tracks to Pedrick Road, take a left, cross the train tracks again and walk up Pedrick Road over the freeway and through the fields up to Russell Blvd, and back east into Davis and from there you'll find your way. —PaigeKennedy
2012-06-22 I do not typically reply to comments on this page, but I felt compelled when I was informed of this one. There are a couple of points that I would like to make. There were no repairs made until the owner authorized it. There was no hint of dissatisfaction either when quoted the cost of the repair, when the car was picked up or in the days following the pickup. I have not spoken to her at all since then. When the car was picked up I asked if there were any questions and everything seemed fine. I think we have a miscommunication on exactly what part was replaced. There is a difference between a distributor cap and rotor and an ignition distributor assembly. (commonly know as a distributor) We found that the car had a failed distributor. A distributor cap and rotor are fairly inexpensive parts. A distributor is a very costly part. The over the counter price from the dealer is nearly $400 for the part alone. Dealers typically charge more for the same part if it is installed in their service department. If I were to order one from the dealer today, (Friday) I would not receive it until Tuesday. —JaradLavelle
2014-04-04 10:22:05 I took my car for an inspection. They charged less than another place I had previously taken my car, however these folks found the problem and fixed it all for less than the other place charged to look at it. Very thorough inspection, knowledgeable people, really do a very good job. I cant give them a high enough recommendation. Excellent folks —BenW
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