Thao Auto Repair Auto repair & auto body · San Diego
Service desk(619) 640-4606 Book a slot
Bring this in Oil change $45 · full synthetic $60

Bring this in

Oil change

Conventional$45up to 5 qt
Full synthetic$60up to 5 qt

Plus sales tax and any disposal fee, itemized on your invoice. Not an out-the-door price.

  • New filter, every time
  • Multi-point inspection on the lift
  • Tire pressures set, tread measured
  • Fluids topped to the correct spec
Expires 12.31.26 Thao’s Auto Repair
(619) 640-4606 Call

Expires December 31, 2026. One vehicle per visit. Most cars and light trucks.

Quarts beyond five, diesel engines, and European engines that require a specific manufacturer approval are priced separately — the extra cost may be substantial. We tell you before we start, never after. Some engines must have full synthetic; if yours is one we will say so rather than put the wrong oil in it.

You get a written estimate and you authorize it before any work is done. If the job changes, you get a revised figure to approve.

Home / How a repair goes

How a repair goes

Five steps. You approve the third one, and nothing happens before that.

  1. 01

    You describe the symptom

    When it happens, how fast you were going, whether the engine is cold or warm. Symptoms narrow the search faster than any scan tool — the tool only reads what has already failed.

    Two minutes at the desk, or through the chat on this page.

  2. 02

    We pull codes and verify them

    A stored code names a circuit, not a broken part. We reproduce the fault, test the circuit, and confirm the part before it reaches your estimate.

    OBD-II scan, live data, and a road test where the fault needs speed or load.

  3. 03

    You get the estimate in writing

    Parts, labor hours and tax, itemized. Approve all of it, some of it, or none of it. Nothing is touched until you reply.

    Sent by text or email. Reply with a line number to decline that item.

  4. 04

    We do the work and document it

    Torque specs, fluid grades, part numbers and the measurements we took all go on the order. Anything we found and did not expect is noted whether or not you paid for it.

    Photos of anything you cannot see from the driver’s seat.

  5. 05

    Road test, then keys

    Every repair that changes how the car drives gets driven before you get it back. The result is printed on your copy along with the warranty terms.

    Warranty: written on your repair order, in months and miles

And this is what step five hands you

The repair order.

Sample — this is the document you go home with
RO 0000ClosedExample job
P0301Cylinder 1 misfireCoil resistance out of spec. Swapped the coil to another cylinder — the misfire followed the coil, so the coil is the fault.1.0 hrBook time
SPARKPlugs, set of fourOriginal plugs at high mileage. Gapped and torqued to the manufacturer figure, both recorded on your copy.0.6 hrPlus parts
DECLINEDRear brakes — not yetPads and rotors measured against the discard spec and still within it. Noted for the next visit, charged nothing.$0.00Noted only
Road tested · no recurrencePriced beforeyou approve
Book a slot

Tell us the symptom. We will tell you the next opening.

The chat narrows the symptom down with you so the call is short and the desk knows what to pull before you arrive. It will not diagnose your car in a chat window, and it does not book for you — the last step is a phone call, to a person.

Call (619) 640-4606

Where we are

3400 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM

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