SS
Shawn Swanson
Apr 4, 2026
BEWARE!!! BEWARE OF SHADY SHOP!!! I don’t like publicly bashing a business but my experience was so bad that I have to make a statement. Don’t let their “30+ years family run business” fool you into thinking you’re working with a reputable and honorable shop.
My truck had a severe oil pan gasket leak and a very minor rear main seal leak. 1st issue is they they quoted me separately for the two jobs totaling over $3300, stating there was NO overlapping labor which is a complete lie. Considering the egregious quote, I opted to only get the oil pan gasket done as that was where the severe leak was from and I paid the $1200 for that job. Once complete, they informed me that it was still leaking a lot of oil, and that all the oil was coming out of the rear main seal. Over the next couple days, I noticed that the leak was just as severe as it was prior to getting the gasket “fixed”. So I took it to another NAPA certified repair shop to get it looked at, as I did not believe it was all from the rear main seal. The other shop informed me (with video evidence) that the oil pan gasket had a SEVERE leak, and the rear main seal was slightly weeping. This shows that South gate LIED to their customer saying there ONLY was a rear main leak when it was leaking primarily from the gasket they had just “replaced”. This also supports they just wanted me to pay another $2200 to “fix” the rear main seal. The new shop quoted me for both an oil pan gasket + rear main replacement for $2100, which was CHEAPER than South Gate Automotive quote for the rear main seal alone. This is because there IS overlapping labor. I went ahead and approved the job as I needed my vehicle fixed and fixed right.
During the replacement process, they found the gasket was installed BROKEN, and they also found that a oil cooler line gasket was never replaced (which I paid South Gate to replace as they RECOMMENDED it to me). I received my truck back with zero leaks once repaired.
I shared all this information, video evidence, and documentation with SGA, and I was promised to hear back from the manager ASAP. Weeks passed with very little communication, as I would have to continue calling and all I would get from the manager is him beating around the bush, placing blame elsewhere, and owning up to no wrongdoing. I simply wanted a partial refund as the job they “completed” was never done right. Their warranty states that I can bring it to any NAPA certified shop for warranty work, which I did, but SGA stood behind the fact that I did not bring the truck back to THEM for the repairs. Why would I want to bring my truck back to a shop who has shown they cannot do the work properly and will price gouge you wherever possible?
Do not take your vehicles here if you are looking for fair priced and high quality work. They will rip you off and return your vehicle in the same condition you dropped it off but they have no problem taking your money. LOOK ELSEWHERE as anywhere is better than South Gate Auto!