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 / Suspension & steering

Suspension & steering

Uneven tire wear is the cheapest diagnostic in the trade. It tells you what the suspension has been doing for the last ten thousand miles.

A technician on a lift inspecting the underside of a car at the front hub
Checked on the lift, both sides, every time

Inspected unloaded

Ball joints, tie rod ends and bushings only show their play with the weight off the wheel. An inspection done with the car on the ground misses most of it.

PrintoutBefore and after
Tire wearRead and recorded
InspectedWeight off the wheels
Suspension & steering
PrintoutBefore and after
Tire wearRead and recorded
InspectedWeight off the wheels

Alignment is measured, not eyeballed

Camber, caster and toe against the factory figures, printed before and after so you can see what changed. An alignment on worn components is money wasted — we check the parts first.

Ride complaints

Struts and shocks are judged on leakage, bounce and mileage together. We will not sell you four corners because one is wet.

Checked on the lift, both sides

Worn steering and suspension parts show up as uneven tire wear long before they feel wrong to drive. The car goes on a lift and gets inspected with the weight off the wheels, both sides, because a component that is worn on one corner is usually worn on the other. Alignment is set to the factory figures afterwards.

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.