Hoffmann Automotive

Hoffmann Automotive is a local automobile repair shop in business since 1979. Owned by the Hoffmann family, they have a good reputation for customer service. Service is a high priority at Hoffmann Automotive. Customers who need a ride to or from home/work will be accommodated by most any available technician, or by Jeff Hoffmann himself.

Hoffmann isn't one of those cheap-o budget places, but you definitely get what you pay for. The service is fantastic and they stand behind their work. The parts they set you up with generally come with long warranties and easy replacement (on the off chance it's needed). It's a pretty popular place — call ahead to make an appointment, since they can get booked up several days in advance.

While they do have a waiting area in the shop, they offer you a ride home when you drop off your vehicle, and pick you up when the service is done. It's worth taking them up on the offer—it typically takes a few hours for, e.g., oil change + headlight replacement.

They used to be operated out of the Hoffmann 76 gas station. Both facilities were owned by the Hoffmann family and garnered a good reputation for customer service. Hoffmann family owned Davis Muffler & Hitch Center, which now shares (shared?) the Second Street location.

Not to be confused with the former Hoffman's Garage.

• Having car problems? There are many automotive repair services in town!

How was your experience here?

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2010-02-16 18:27:59   I'm taking my vehicle in tomorrow, which will be the first time I have used Hoffmann for service. I have a failed window regulator, with my window stuck in the down position. They were polite on the phone, and asked me if my car is garaged, which it is. I am assuming they were going to let me bring it in tonight instead of tomorrow morning so it would be garaged. Anyway, I looked up the entry in the wiki to get the phone number, and I read through all of the comments. I have two interesting observations (make your own inferences):

1) Every single negative comment on this page (except Truman) was made by a person that created an account, left a negative comment, and then disappeared from the Wiki.

2) Truman's contribution to the wiki comprises two comments on this page, and one edit to correct the pricing of a competitor... —DavidGrundler

• Just picked up my car. Diagnosis was proper, and fix was fast and well within the expected price range. They were polite and knowledgeable. I will definitely use them again. They also conducted a complimentary 30-point inspection. —DavidGrundler
  

2010-03-09 13:26:41   I used to work across the street from Rick and Jeff when they owned the G & 5th street property and can tell you that they were never underhanded or shady, as some of the "ghost" posters here have claimed. I have seen these people work their hindquarters off trying to help even the most rude of people and have always seen them to be friendly, honest, fair and professional in every way. They have been here for over 30 years and do very little, if any, advertising which means they have been doing word of mouth business for over 30 years. You tel me what kind of business can do that if they are "shady" "cheating" or any of the other slanderous statements I have seen here.

I recommend this business and these people VERY HIGHLY.

Don't be fooled by the "ghost poster" that will pop n here, make a derogatory statement and never be seen or heard from again or post directly on a competitive businesses site. —WesOne

2010-04-12 15:13:30   I went in to Hoffman Automotive today for the first time. Needed new tires, and one of my headlights went out last week, so that was on the list. And it was just about time for an oil change, so... hey, why not. When I called this morning to check on availability and prices of tires, I spoke with Jeff Hoffman, the owner. He got my info and said he'd do a little research and call me back shortly. It took less than 10 minutes, and I made an appointment for shortly thereafter. Went on in and Jeff was super friendly. Got me set up with an estimate (which was about $10 off and didn't include tax... close enough, although certainly not exact), and then drove me home personally. A few hours later I got a call from Jason there, who came on out to get me. If you have a chance, ask Jason about New Orleans right after Katrina—he's got crazy stories!

The prices aren't cheap, but they also aren't outrageous. Extremely friendly, and as far as I can tell so far, the quality of the work is good. The headlight seems to be nicely aligned and all that. I'll definitely be coming back regularly. —TomGarberson

2010-04-12 21:50:11   As a UCD Student years ago, I used do my own car repair. For the past twenty-five years, I’ve relinquished auto maintenance to Rick and Jeff Hoffman, who’ve serviced many cars for me. They’re knowledgeable, professional, practical and run a first-class shop. —pschrupp

2010-07-07 10:23:13   I was working on my own brakes at 11:00 at night on June 30 and thought that I could change them out. My buddy omar and I had replaced front disk breaks many times before so we thought that the rears would be the same. Afer an hour into it and lots of reading repair sites on the interet we found that there were some special tools needed to push in the calipers. The bad thing was that We were leaving for camping the next morning for the fourth of July weekend. In the morning I took the car to Hoffmann Automotive and they expitided the repairs with in a few hours for me. We were able to leave by noon. I want to thank Jeff and Rick for making this happen. The service was excellent. The bill was hefty because I asked them to put in OEM parts. The labor charge was totally resonable. —Khanh

2010-08-02 16:10:54   Just went to Hoffman for a tire repair. Cheap, friendly, pretty quick (I didn't make an appointment). I'll be back! —DanLawyer

2010-11-17 09:05:05   Took my car here yesterday. It was great, timely, informative service. The quality of work and explanations made me very happy. I would recommend this place to anyone. Over all excellent —KatilinAdams

2011-05-11 11:27:09   I just had an very, very positive experience with Hoffman Automotive. A piece of my exhaust fell off my car on the freeway — that was exciting. They diagnosed my problem and did enough of a temporary fix that I can get home to the East Bay, where I'll do my own repairs at home. They saved me from a lot of trouble and expense — they didn't charge me at all! I hope I don't break down in Davis again, but if I do, I'll definitely take my car back to Hoffman. They were very polite, friendly, and kind. —KatieHarris

2011-06-13 15:28:00   I've now been here several times for various services. In addition to a full set of new tires, which I mentioned in an earlier review, they've done my 45,000 mile service which included flushing the power steering and transmission lines. I got a new battery, another new headlight (the other one... I'm not that hard on my headlights!) and some oil changes there. 100% of the service has been fantastic, and everyone I've talked to there has been extremely friendly. This last time my wife picked up the car for me while I was at work, and she was impressed with the folks she talked to. In the past, at other service shops/dealerships, she's felt like she was talked down to because she was a woman, but there was no sense of that here.

It looks like there were a few negative comments about this place years ago from single edit users accusing it of shady business practices. It's up to you to make your own judgment call, but personally, I suspect most of them are BS. Every business can make mistakes, so I won't go so far as to say they're all bogus, but Hoffmann's is an extremely high quality repair shop that, from my experience, is completely trustworthy. If you want high quality work, high quality parts, and friendly service, give them a visit. —TomGarberson

2011-08-08 13:48:10   Taking my car to Hoffmann Automotive was a relief. I'm a fairly new car owner as well as a young woman, and what I fear from unfamiliar repair shops is having my ignorance of fair cost and car mechanics exploited. I don't believe it was, here — the first visit they performed a thorough inspection of my car, blew the dust from my brake drums in an attempt to silence a disturbing scraping sound, kept me informed during the process, and finally assured me that the brakes were safe. Following the inspection the owner reviewed the results with me, informed me of upcoming maintenance checkpoints for my vehicle, and charged for the hour+ labor what I have gathered from my history with less reliable cars is reasonable for a AAA-backed auto shop.

On my second visit, just today, I brought to them an oil leak I thought was severe. Despite being busy they got my car up, examined, and out of there in about an hour, and, especially because I'm on crutches right now, I was thrilled with the effort made to square me away quickly. When explaining to me what was done (bolt-tightening, removal of the excess oil I added) and what I should do/expect, the owner has never insulted my intelligence, and I really value that. After all this, there was no charge for the hour they spent on my vehicle while I got to study and catch endearing little exchanges between the family members.

The business has shown great consideration to me during my tiny crises, and it has secured a return a customer. —Willikers

2011-08-10 12:09:36   BAD BAD BAD EXPERIENCE! AND VERY EXPENSIVE PLACE!!!!

1) Just to ckech why the engine light was on they charge me: 150$!!!! Just to check!!! All the other mechanics do it for free!!! (operation that takes less then 2 minutes!)

2) In order to fix the car they ask me 650$

3) I run away from this place and I went to another mechanic (he check the engine light for free) and he discover that was a very simple work, with a cost of 5$-20$ to fix it!!!

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