San Marcos Auto Repair

All of the staff did a great job from making the appointment to diagnosis to fixing the problem. They did a great job of communicating at each step and even followed up with a text the following day to make sure everything was all good. I would definitely recommend them if you need any work done on your vehicle.

Kind, communicative, transparent, and friendly staff that produces quality work. Price of work may be due to owning Audi vehicles myself but otherwise I would recommend for your automotive needs.

I was very nervous about any mechanic shops I could possible select. As many know, reviews are the source that can bring in or push away business. Dealer Alternative couldn't have done a better job in easing my nerves. Their communication is absolutely phenomenal. Their kindness and courtesy is top tier. You will not find any better shop than Dealer Alternative. Not only are they clear in their billing but they do not charge an arm and a leg to get what you need done...done. I am very happy to say that Jay has 100% gained all of my trust and Dealer Alternative will be the only mechanic shop I use as long as I am able to do so.

I had a great experience with Dealer Automotive. I have a 2013 Jeep Wrangler that is used off road extensively and has 192K miles. I would not call our family mechanics but we try to solve as many problems ourselves as we can. In this case the jeep went into limp mode would not stay running at least when we had the problem. I am also out of state so we worked through the process remotely via phone and text. The team here kept me updated every step, we worked together during troubleshooting because the problem was not obvious until they found oil on the spark plugs. Once they got into the engine they found some additional problems. I really appreciate that the team sent me a ton of pictures and each turn was very quick to let me know what was needed and why. I was worried going in that the engine was blown and that this was the end of the road for what is the first of many jeeps in my family. Dealer did end up doing extensive repair with valve cover gasket, timing, water pump and subsequent tune up and oil change. I really appreciate how communicative the team was with me through the whole process, I appreciate that they were up front about extensive repair required and why (and it matched my research) and then I got updates every single step along the way. My son is in San Marcos and Dealer is where we will start with for all future problems. Thank you!

They are very nice and friendly, and very knowledgeable. I would recommend using them!

3/3/26: So far so good. I called to get the basics of a digital quote. They answered the phone with kindness and courtesy. I got a quote in response within a timely manner. I looked at other places, each of which did not show as much professionalism or courtesy. The prices are good. The other places wanted to charge me between $50-$200 more for the exact same work. So definitely more affordable. I have scheduled for the work to be done and got my car in the shop around 11am-12pm. Update 3/4/26 @8:15am: The communication on progress has been absolutely amazing. They got the more difficult stuff out of the way first. That was front break pads and rotors as well as front cv axles. They did a diagnostic and found that my spark plugs were bad and my #4 coil needed replacing. Still a work in progress. Update 3/4/2026 9:02am: Received the communication that my car was ready and has been fixed. The major issues resolved. The kindness, courtesy, and professionalism is hard to find. I am happy that I found this place. Dealer Alternative is an absolutely amazing business and I will be taking my car here for any foreseeable car work I need done.

Great service, I got my truck back the same day! It ran better than before! Thank you Jay!

Wonderful business! Always take great care of our cars and the atmosphere is so welcoming. You have a sense that they will take care of you with knowledgeable expertise and that’s exactly what we got.

Always a pleasure.