Blue Ribbon Automotive & Smog

You get a Blue Ribbon for 1st Place & Blue Ribbon Automotive lives up to it's name. They are #1. The best automotive shop in Bakersfield. The owner Mike is one of the nicest people I've ever met. He explains things so a normal person, who knows nothing about cars, can understand. I've been there twice & there were different girls in the front office each time but they are so friendly & make you feel right at home. Deanna is one of their names & she is just awesome. I think the other girl is Mike's stepdaughter. She is very sweet. I've only lived here for a couple years but I sure wish I would've found Blue Ribbon when I first moved here. I was totally ripped off by one of their neighboring competitors. I highly recommend Blue Ribbon to everyone in Bakersfield. Don't be fooled by any of the neighboring businesses. Blue Ribbon is the Best.
Lisa

I called this place to see how much it would cost to have some headlights installed with a hid kit they told me to bring the car in so a technician could look at the vehicle and give me a price on how much it would cost . The price he gave me was $148.50 for the install so I decided to set a appointment to bring the vehicle in to have the work done that we agreed upon. when I brought the car in that morning. I sat there for about an hour and a half in the waiting room by the front office desk . The technician that gave me the price quote on the install came into the office from the service area to tell me it was gonna be an additional cost of another hundred dollars Because he said he had to pull the bumper off to put the new headlight in and a additional 75 for the Hid kit . which is a bunch of BS because he knew that when I brought the car into him since he already looked at it a few days earlier he knew he was installing head lights and a hid kit and gave me the install price of $148.50 . so now he wants to renege on the price we agreed upon which is bs . This place tried to pull a fast one on me and tried to get a extra $100 bucks out of me and he said another $75.00 to put in the hid kit which is crazy . First quote was $148.50 then he wanted a additional hundred and another 75 to put the Hid kit in what a joke this place is ...they will nickel and dime you to death ... do yourself a favour and go somewhere else. I did and got it all installed for only $150 with no additional fees

Vacuum line was broken by the sensor by your technician. You can see a fresh crack on this old car. I would not recommend this station to my worst enemy.

I went to Blue Ribbon believing they were going to be able to find the problem to my 95 Dodge Intrepid and fix it. They did tell me they would be able to find the problem as to why my AC was overheading for 198 dollars, but didn't tell me that if the part wasn't available through the dealership that I would have to locate the part, because they didn't have the time to search for it. Believe me if I would have know that I would have gone somewhere else. Very nice people at the counter, but dealing with the people outside that do the work is not pleasant. When going outside to the garage to pick up car, one of the mechanic was very rude to me, when telling him I was looking for my car he said o.k. Put his head down and continued to do some paper work on a car. I stood there for a while, thinking he wasn't going to help me. I said, should I go around the fence and pick it up. He responded "JUST WAIT A MINUTE, I WILL GET TO IT"! Never will I do business with them again and will tell my friends here at work about what happened. I shouldn't even give them 1 STAR

If you don't mind paying the maximum, this place is okay. They gave me an estimate to replace an oxygen sensor for $170.58 ( $83.75+tax for the sensor and $80.55 for labor). I bought a vehicle specific 12 month warrantied sensor for $29.95+tax and it took me less than 15 minutes to install it. Blue Ribbon told me their cost for the sensor was $33 and the "program" said it would take .9 hours to install. It's only my opinion, but marking up parts 250% and grossly exaggerating the labor is unethical. Their labor estimating program must be geared towards technicians who have difficulty buttoning their shirts. To their credit, they haven't broken any laws. They have the right to charge whatever they can get away with. Vote with your dollars and take your business elsewhere.

Maybe good to locals or for regular service/repair, but don't bother taking a car here for a pre-purchase auto inspection. When buying a used car from a private seller you want piece of mind the car is mechanically sound by taking it to a qualified mechanic for an inspection. I read so many great reviews about Blue Ribbon, I thought this is the place to go!



Waited an hour and after the 30 point inspection, the mechanic gave the car a clean bill of health. Since I had previous problems with oil leaks/seepage from a prior car I owned, I SPECIFICALLY ASKED if there were any he could find on this car, he said NO. This was on Sat. 9/8. Car needed re-smog, took it on 9/11/12 and to my shock the 1st thing the mechanic mentioned is an oil leak! Not a new one, not one that could have happened on the two hour drive home, but a clearly visible one if you just get on your hands and knees and look under the front of the car (which he had me do). When I asked if this could have been missed by the pre-purchase inspection we just had done, he said any competent mechanic during a GOOD inspection should not have missed it. When I called Blue Ribbon, receptionist put me on hold for the owner. 30 seconds later she was back on saying "he said" (the owner) to bring it back to take a look at it. I told her a 2 hour drive back would not be worth it and left it at that.



I later received a voice message from the owner . He let me know he spoke to the tech who performed the inspection and wanted to talk to me about what the tech had said he told me about the car. Well I'm not one for he said, she said, who's right who's wrong. The fact is, I took it to Blue Ribbon for a prepurchase auto inspection to make sure the car was mechanically sound and a clearly visible ongoing oil leak was not caught by his technician. I don't know what happened, all I know is either the tech is lazy or not as qualified as he thinks. Maybe Blue Ribbon's idea of a pre-purchase inspection doesn't include looking under the car or beyond what they can stand there and see, then pass it as mechanically sound and collet their $90 fee. But if you want to protect your investment, find a repair shop that does perform a GOOD and THOROUGH auto inspection by a truly qualified technician!

My roommates car was due for a smog & we saw Blue Ribbon's adorable commercial on tv so we thought we'd give them a try. Nicest people ever. Thay have earned two new customers and hopefully many of our friends and family as we are already passing their name around. Thank you Blue Ribbon.

They truly know what service is all about. Very fast. Taking customers late on a Saturday when competitors wouldn't.

Great customer service! While I was waiting for my smog test, I overheard a conversation between between the owner, Mike, and a woman who had taken her car to some other shop andf had a bad experience before coming to Blue Ribbon.



Mike answered her concerns about her car what he could and couldn't do to help her. He gave her clear, easy to undertand infomation and helped to eased her fears. He made her feel comfortable and she put her trust in Blue Ribbon.



I was very impressed and though I was only there for a smog test, there's no doubt in my mind that I can trust my car to Blue Ribbon for repairs when needed.



Also, Deanna was very nice, friendly and knowledgeable. They run a great operation at Blue Ribbon Automotive & Smog. I highly recommend them to anyone who needs an automotive specialist they can trust.



- Mark

Service was excellent and extremely fast. In and out in 20 min for a smog check. Deanna was awesome and extremely helpful. Thanks Deanna.

I went to this shop for the first time after too many bad expirrences at the place right next door. This is exactly what you should expect from a service shop. They won my business. I didn't have to wait and they were friendly and helpful. Coming Back!!

Been going to another smog shop for along time, I once tough it was the greats shops in town, Im wrong, blue ribbon showed me what good service really is, the girls in the office are so nice, mike he did a great repair for me, I had now idea mike owned the place and fixes the cars also, pretty look. Brian

High quality job at a great price, I also got a great warranty, I would like to say thanks mike for having such great people working for you thanks again , Dan

I was meet by a friendly staff and quick service. I will recommend their company to family and friends.

All I can say is this shop has my business for life. I have been ripped off so many times by other shops in that area & was ready to give up to another part of town. But then I walked through the doors of Blue Ribbon ... What a joy. The most friendly people & the new owner Mike, well let me say, he is one smart guy. He goes out of his way to explain things in a way no other mechanic has ever done. Had to leave my car overnight but that was okay. Great work, great price, great new place to call my own. I would highly recommend this shop. Peace & Love Blue Ribbon.

I went to Blue Ribbon Automotive & Smog about two weeks ago and the people working there are so nice, helpful and they have very good bedside manner! I initially walked in to the place right next door first and after speaking with the rude lady at the front desk for 1 minute I new I was in the wrong place. The people working at Blue Ribbon Auto are so sweet and they actually care about their customers, it shows!

Janice

AMAZING!

I recently had a problem with the breaks on my car and was not sure where to take it. A Friend of mine recomended Blue Ribbon Automotive. I was greated in a very friendly manner from one of the Girls. The Owner, Mike Myers, explained everything to me. I was shocked! Most Owners do not take the time to talk to you. Me being young i had tons of questions and he answered them all. I ended up getting my car fixed that same day with a great warranty. Thank You Blue Ribbon!!!

I took my vehicle in for front wheel bearing replacement, and not only was the price more than reasonable (rather than me spendng my time to do it) but was done professionaly (as one would expect) and done very time effciently. Thanks a lot for your hard work Blue Ribbon.

I took my car in for a break job and tune up, and they were very fast paced and I felt like they all really knew what they were talking about. Great experience and great employees. This is the kinda place you could send your grandma or wife too and you would not have to worry about them getting taken advantage of. I really really recommend this shop.

Took my vehicle in for repair, car was making loud noise, sounds like my engine was blown up, a spark plug had came out ,I have a ford f-150 ,I've heard that these trucks have problems with there spark plugs,they where able to fix it at a great price, will go back for all my repairs