Pit Row

Spent a few hours changing the brakes on my car and could not have been happier with the experience (and this despite squishing my thumb and whacking my head!). I could have never have done this project at my house...at least not without a LOT more stress and time. But aside from the convenience of working with a lift and the availability of tools (I had brought mine, but still needed and used the available air tools and extenders the real appear is the staff. The manager(?) Art is beyond helpful and was so kind and friendly that I left looking forward to my next visit. He offered advice and showed me some techniques that eased the job tremendously. Great value too - I likely saved over a thousand dollars vs. taking it to a shop and got to learn more about my car.

Recommend them strongly - totally happy.

I'll just jump right in.
First time visiting a DIY shop.
First time visiting this shop.

2002 Subaru WRX Impreza

Atmosphere: Bay 4
It's was incredibly clean. Cleanest car shop I've seen. A lot of space to work with.

Equipment: Stocked tool chest with extras on the other side of the shop.
(I'd imagine they don't want your own tools to avoid innocent theft by mixing them together.)

The lift was amazing. Looked and operates like a new lift. The lifts have several sized pads and spacers for special vehicles.

Online resource tools if you need to reference the instructions for your project.

They have gloves and napkins and various little extras. Ultimately you are there to DIY.

Staff: I came in on a Sunday and arrived late. I had called in earlier to let them know but I still arrived late. Not an issue they held my spot and accommodated my arrival. I was given a small tour of all tool locations, wash stations, hazardous containers, and tools.

Everyone I met including what appeared to be management was incredibly friendly. Prior to booking my appointment they informed me no master technicians would be available on Sunday but The manager (we will reference him as that for now) had decided to spot in on his day off and see what he can do to better help the business.

I ran out of the fluids I needed to continue my project and they had an employee on standby ready to take their customer to the nearest O'Rileys. The employee that drove me was also incredibly personable and kind.

I can't think of any cons to give this place. I'll be back next Saturday and will update if it changes but I don't see how this place could fail. It was a great first experience at a DIY shop.

Thank you Pit Row Team!

This place used to be awesome........ and then it got sold.

The new owners clearly don't care about keeping it tidy, organized or otherwise usable. The guy at the front desk just sat on his phone the whole time after showing up to open 15 minutes late. And I had an appointment, so they knew I was going to be there.

The bay they put me in didn't have a tool cart at all, so I got put into a different bay with a tool cart missing most of the sockets. Nothing was in order, or even in the right place.

I will not be going back. Too bad. This place was great when Dennis & Selma ran it properly.

This garage is amazing. Do not hesitate, book now and go!

It is very reasonably priced, the staff is super helpful, and nearly every tool you would need is available at each station. I own an old Land Rover and without any prior knowledge was able to replace the front and rear struts, front and rear rotors, and front and rear pads.

The professional grade lifts are incredible. My ability to change these parts was solely due to watching youtube videos and utilizing the in-house computer which has instruction manuals for all vehicles. Lastly, without the support and encouragement of the garage manager and staff, I'm not sure I would have completed the job. If you have a question, more likely than not they will be able to answer it for you and/or help you get a bolt loose you are struggling with, etc.

Highly recommend this place, and a great addition to the area.

Come to Pit Row. Seriously. It's the best experience I have ever had working with my car. I don't have to roll around on gravel or worry about someone stealing my tools curbside. This is the place to go!

2014 BMW 328dx w/ 163,000mi on the ODO.

I have been to Pit Row quite a few times now. If you are a DIYer this place gives you the tools you need to safely take on jobs that you would usually refer to a mechanic. I have done oil changed oil, transmission pan gasket, fuel filters, diagnosed vibrations, removed and reinstalled the bumper to install new headlight assemblies. The lift is a big help when doing any job. On many cars you need to remove the underpaneling and often times you may need to drop the exhaust to get to components.

I care about my car a lot, in general I have not had the greatest experiences with mechanics. Art, the master technician at Pit Row changed that. Art is an honest guy who shares his infinite knowledge of German cars wherever he can. He has saved me the time when a mechanic stripped one of my wheel lugs. He showed me how to go about extracting it in the most efficient way possible. He easily saved me $200 on taking it to a mechanic to have them extract it.

He also helped me diagnose a wheel vibration the same mechanic that stripped my lug bolt bent my wheel hub while he was replacing my wheel bearing.

As you can see, this is THE place to go if you like working with your car and really care about the quality of work being done to your car. Even if a job were to theoretically take me four times as long as a regular mechanic I would come out ahead in overall cost.

Had a great experience here. Brought my exotic in for an oil change (ALL dealers suck, do it yourself!). From start to finish, everything was top notch. Someone named Juan booked my appointment and was very helpful and patient helping me book the correct lift. When I arrived, I met the manager, Art, who was very friendly and accommodating. I also met a young man named Yuya who was extremely helpful, polite, and accommodating as well. All around great staff!

What else can I say- they treated me like a valued customer and the next time I need a lift or want to use one to make the job easier I'll be back! As others mentioned, my cart was missing some tools, but I have no doubt if I asked for specific items they would have happily found them for me. You cant expect a business like this to be perfect, given the nature of people borrowing tools, working with grease and oil, etc. I've been to another garage like this in another state and the tool situation was similar- but just ask for a tool or socket set you're missing and you'll have one in no time.

A+ fellas! See you next time!

Art and staff have really made my recent experiences working on my vehicles at this shop pleasant and enjoyable. Art genuinely seems to care about his customers and their experience here at the shop. Other than the fun conversations and just feeling treated like a good friend each time I'm there, Art has definitely proven his experience as a master technician by generously offering his help and guidance in getting me unstuck in some hairy installation troubles (the most recent one being cross-threading a number of misaligned bracket weld nuts on a hitch mount for my Jeep).

If you're a car nut like me who enjoys tinkering on race cars or building a more capable off-road vehicle or just performing some routine vehicle maintenance and have found yourself short on space or the convenience of having access to your own garage, I highly recommend giving Art and his shop a visit!

This place is awesome! It's very well lit, you can rent a lift, and get to use every single tool you need to work on your car. You also have very knowledgable staff to assist should you need any advice on repairing your car.

I brought my car in for an oil change but I plan on returning over the next few months to perform other service/maintenance items.

I searched online & called many auto shops for quotes on a simple job which they all were charging arm & leg.

but once I found out about Pit Row , it made life better! I fixed my car on my own & saved a lot of money also it was fun & I got to learn stuff I didn't know about.. for example how to use power tools & how to lift your car.

I highly recommend Pit Row for anyone who knows how to work on their cars and don't want to spend too much on labor.

Also crew are super friendly & helpful! Great environment! I drove from far north of east bay and have no issue coming back. 100% worth it

I came in here about a year, year and a half ago, and I can honestly say that the shop was sitting around a 3.5 star rating. The owner at the time was a bit more focused on the money side than the love for vehicles.

Now, if there was a 6 or even 7 star rating, I would give Pit Row ALL the stars.

Let me take you on a short journey.

You buy a 2016 WRX. You hit 36,000 miles. You can't wait anymore and order everything you need to go stage 2. Everything arrives. You dance and can barley sleep like a kid on Christmas Eve. You show up to Pit Row and quickly receive a friendly welcome and are directed to a lift. You and your friend work hard, replacing the intake and preparing to remove the downpipe. Disaster strikes. Two of the nuts are seized. You panic. You already have the intake installed and know driving it without a tune is a bad idea, but the only tune you have is for the complete installation. Your heart drops a little bit.

You walk into the office and admit defeat. "I'm just going to take it to a shop, I can't get these out..."

Enter Art, the owner, "Show me." You take Art out to your baby, defeated. He agrees that these are going to need some work. He then says to come back tomorrow and he'll bring some of his specialty tools from home to help as well as charge you 50% off tomorrow since you've been trying for a few hours to no avail.

Arrive at 9AM the next morning and see Art guide you to your lift with a smile. Get out and have no idea how to handle a two-post asymmetrical lift. Have Art give you a thorough explanation and example of how to handle lift without any judgement.

You look at the dreaded seized nuts. You know this is going to suck but you have to do it anyway. Notice Art is gathering up some tools. Before you realize what's going on, he's getting his hands dirty reaching up and helping you get these nuts off. Art spends about an hour with you until your stock downpipe is on the floor and all the feeling of dread and nervousness is replaced with excitement. This is happening. Your car is going stage 2... Today.

Continue to complete your work with Art checking in every once in awhile with advice and direction.

What did Art charge you for this experience? The 50% off lift rate. That's it. No $110/hr mechanic rate. No $150 flat teaching rate. Just the 50% off lift rate and to be able to hear your car when you start it up.

Do your research, go here, and get a job done.

I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I'm so glad I ran into my problems at Pit Row. Not only did I save money, I learned about my car, I learned about lifts, and I get to go home knowing I did this.

Pit Row is worth every cent of the lift fees and it's employees make it worth even more. Don't think, do your work here.

Thanks for all your help, Art. I'll be back with any other projects for this car and future cars.