Fred's Wrenchouse

I was referred here from another shop. I had them put catalytic converter cages on my truck as the converters were stolen a couple of weeks prior. Once the parts came in, they were quick, kind and excellent service! Highly recommended!

I had a good experience with Fred’s Wrenchouse. They were able to schedule me for an appointment quickly on the first call. Fred took the time to ask what was going on with my car and what had happened leading up to the issue. Later that same day, he called me back with an update and explained what repairs were needed. Unfortunately, the problem turned out to be a failed engine. Since I had already spent a lot of money on repairs for this car in less than a year, I wasn’t willing to put more than $1,000 into it, and the repair would have cost significantly more than that. I decided to decline the repair, but Fred was very understanding and gracious about it. I arranged to have my car towed out of his garage, and the process was straightforward. I appreciated the quick communication and professionalism.

We had a very good experience at Fred’s Wrench House: friendly, efficient, flexible and reasonably priced. It’s also close to public transportation, making it easy to go home and return when the car is done. We are new in the area, so we are happy to have found a good place for the maintenance of our car. (Recommended by our neighbors btw., another happy customer)

I've brought 2 different cars here and the service and work has been excellent both times. It's rare to find a shop that actually listens to you and cares about the customer. Thanks Fred for being a stand-up guy and a geniune professional. No biased. No attitude. Just solid work and timely service.

Disappointed. My regular mechanic in Berkeley doesn't work on pre-2005 cars and recommended Fred's Wrenchouse. Took in a 1997 Toyota 4Runner for a safety inspection and to understand why the battery light was intermittently coming on, and if it needed any other service. It's an older car that hadn't gotten serviced in a while but was running okay otherwise. Accepted their recommendation to rework the brake drum for better performance and fix the license plate frame light - $800+, okay. The problems started after the repair. - The car started shaking violently at highway speeds. Called them, at first they suggested someone might have tried to steal the wheels and to check the lug nuts. (The wheels are nothing special and the car is parked in a safe neighborhood; the lug nuts were fine). Took it back to them, they said there wasn't anything obvious wrong with the car and that probably the tires were out of balance? Why they didn't notice this in the original safety inspection and the timing of the issue seemed odd. - Later the car stalled while driving and couldn't be jumpstarted, had to get a tow. When we looked under the hood the battery was clearly way out of place like it had jumped over (off its tray and securing strap was loose) and a terminal seemed to have rubbed against an adjacent hose with a metal clamp. I had asked them to double check the battery issue three separate times while they were inspecting the car and each time they said it was probably fine. Got a ticket for stalling out at a bus stop to boot. Throughout the whole process they never seemed that interested in the car or the customer. Came away with more questions than answers and more problems than we went in with. Probably would have been better off not taking the car in at all. With all the good reviews I really don't know what to think about this place. All I can say is we had a pretty subpar experience and won't be going back.