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 / Services / Dent removal

Dent removal

If the paint is not broken, the factory finish is worth keeping. Paintless dent repair works the metal back from behind and leaves the original paint on the car.

Shallow dents along the doors of a parked SUV
Paintless where the paint is unbroken

When PDR is the right answer

Door dings, hail, and shallow creases where the paint has not cracked. The original finish stays, which matters at resale far more than most people expect.

Paint keptWhen unbroken
Hail damageYes
InsuranceAccepted
Dent removal
Paint keptWhen unbroken
Hail damageYes
InsuranceAccepted

When it is not

Sharp creases, stretched metal, or any dent where the paint has split. Then it is a conventional repair, and we would rather tell you that at the counter than halfway through.

What you get either way

A look at the panel in good light with you standing there, and an honest answer about what the finished result will look like.

Paintless where the paint is unbroken

Where the paint is not broken the dent can usually be worked out from behind — no filler, no repainting, and the panel keeps its original factory finish. That is better for the car and cheaper than refinishing, and it is the first thing we check for.

Thao Auto Repair is on El Cajon Blvd in North Park, San Diego, and has been family run for over forty years — started by Le’s father and run by Le ever since. Most of the cars that come through are from the neighborhoods around the shop: North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights, South Park, Hillcrest and City Heights. All makes, domestic, Asian and European. Repair, auto body and a full machine shop are on the one site, which is why a job needing two of the three never leaves the building.

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

Get directions

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Other services

Everything else we do.