Skip's Tire & Auto Repair Center in Los Altos

Great shop to go to for vehicle services. They quickly helped me when I needed a tire valve replaced with a new one. They inspected the vehicle and filled all four vehicle tires to the correct tire pressure. I receive very good service each time I bring a vehicle to their store. They are nice and pleasant to their customers.

I recently had a terrible experience with Skip’s tires. I should start by saying that we’ve been loyal customers for just shy of 20 years. When we have any need for tires, we don’t think about it and go to Skips. So when it came time to replace our X3’s tires…we went to Skips. My husband (who’s not one for details) too the car in and got sold OEM tires which I don’t have a problem with. The assistant manager (David) sold my husband tires at an eye-watering gouge-like price of $630 per tire. In addition, David slipped in a road hazard protection plan to the tune of another $100 per tire. He didn’t offer a more reasonable comparable tire, nor did he make it clear that the protection plan was optional. This is where I got involved. I went in to talk to the manager, Patrick Denker, about the ridiculous price of the tire compared to competitors who sell the same tire for $370. Skip’s corporate owner (Monro Tires) offers a 30-day protection plan, so I told Patrick that I’d like to take advantage of the policy and get a refund for the difference. In addition, I wanted to get details about the protection plan because I’d like to cancel it, and I was sure that there had to be a cancellation policy on it. Patrick said he couldn’t do either refund right then but would instead have to talk to his manager. After many weeks of back and forth, with lots of in-person discussions, Patrick said he couldn’t do either refund because my husband had signed the work order. Patrick talked a good game of being sympathetic to our request but his “hands were tied” and it was up to the corporate office. In the end, Patrick proved to be completely useless and ineffective at doing anything. He would never call me back with updates, I always had to initiate. I ended up having to resort to submitting complaints through the Better Business Bureau, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair. I had noticed that Monro had a high rate of response to the BBB complaints that they get, and in the end that was the only reason I got our refund. Despite Patrick’s lame “I’m so sorry, but I can’t do anything” I was able to get our full refund on the tire price difference and on the road hazard cancellation. It was a pile of work for me, a major nuisance, but I don’t give up when I know I’m in the right. In the end, Skip’s lost a dedicated multi-decade customer, and I’m happy now to post negative reviews anywhere I can. The local management of Skip’s is horrible, ineffective, and useless. The corporate owners are just as bad and only respond when faced with BBB complaints. But at least they do that.

Kept having a low tire pressure warning the night before a road trip. Visited them in the morning and they were able to fix it right away. Really appreciated their quick turnaround and will definitely visit them again if needed in the future.

I come to echo all the negative feedback. This place is horrible. I scheduled an appointment a week in advance for 11 am, show up on time, and David (the assistant manager) tells me I will have to come back at 1 pm because they only have one mechanic working. I am typically quite understanding of these situations, but David did not apologize or address the major inconvenience. They could have called me to tell me to come later, but I had to show up (thus driving an extra 35 mins). I come back at 1 pm, and I speak to the front desk guy who tells me there are two people in front of me so I’ll have to wait. One of whom didn’t even have an appt scheduled!!! Plus it took over two hours for a simple oil change service. I’m so frustrated by how rude, unaccommadating, and unprofessional this place is. I would have rather spent way more money on the service to have a more positive experience.

This was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had at a tire shop. I made an appointment for 11:30 AM, thinking it would mean I’d get quick service. I came in with a flat tire, expecting them to take care of it, but they told me they couldn’t do it that day. I was so confused because I had and appointment specifically to avoid this kind of problem. When I walked in, the staff wasn’t welcoming at all. Employees didn’t even bother to say hello or ask how they could help me. It felt like I was being ignored. I tried to explain my situation, hoping for a little understanding, but their attitude made it clear they didn’t care. The way I was treated was extremely rude. When I talked to the manager, hoping he’d be more helpful, but things only got worse. His attitude was shocking. He told me, "We’re not a fast-food restaurant. An appointment doesn’t mean anything. You just drop off your car, and we’ll call you when we get to it, maybe in one or two days." I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had an appointment, yet they acted like it was meaningless. It was so unprofessional and dismissive. I left the shop feeling frustrated and upset. I couldn’t believe how poorly they treated me as a customer. They didn’t even try to offer a solution or show any empathy for my situation. It was a complete waste of my time. Now I understand why this place has such a low rating. I’ve been to other tire shops before, and this has never happened. For example, at American Tires, I’ve always had a great experience. They’re professional, friendly, and take their appointments seriously. They make sure to explain things clearly and treat their customers with respect. If you’re thinking about going to this shop, don’t bother. There are much better options out there. This place doesn’t value its customers, and their service is completely unreliable. Save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else where you’ll be treated better.

PLEASE READ!!!!! Absolutely terrible experience. I made an appointment for 1:30. They told me it would take 2 hours to complete a simple oil change!!!! He said that maybe they would be able to get it done quicker, but they were really busy. So I went and got lunch, because there was literally only had 2 cars in front of me, hoping he was exaggerating. 4pm rolls around and there is no call, no expectations set, and I walk back over there and my car has still not even been put into the work bay! So of course I left, feeling so stupid for wasting so much of my time. Then as I left I realized… WORST PART IS!!!! IS THAT THE GUY BEHIND THE COUNTER LITERALLY TOOK MY PHONE AND SWIPED THAT THE GROUPON THAT I HAD ALREADY PAID FOR WAS REDEEMED, WHEN I FIRST HANDED HIM MY KEYS!!! I HOPE I CAN GET MY MONEY BACK FROM GROUPON OR FROM THIS TERRIBLE BUSINESS!! SEEMS LIKE FROM THE REVIEWS IN THE PAST THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. SKIP’S LOS ALTOS IS LITERALLY STEALING FROM HARD WORKING PEOPLE. THEIR TIME AND NOW THEIR ACTUAL MONEY? Should have went to jiffy lube and been in and out in 15 min. Do not recommend. Don’t waist your money, or even more so, your time.

Skip’s used to be good - I used them regularly to maintain our older cars. This last time, …not so much. Culture here definitely changed and is now terrible. I had them replace a tire with a damaged belt from a pothole strike…. “David” (new owner or service mgr) tried to pressure me into an alignment 2x and I said no very clearly. No, I don’t need the cooling system flush for “dirty coolant” that BMW just did in January. No, I really don’t need a $54 air filter change - I changed it in January. The additional work suggestions were blustery - they were made to sound like work that must be done and would have been intimidating for someone who didn’t know better. The oil change quoted at $105 was $140+ for “extra oil” because my car “takes 8 quarts”… it takes 7 and he knew he was quoting a BMW and didn’t say anything about extra charges up front. The statement had a Byzantine array of items and math that was impossible to understand, and I have engineering degrees. No, I didn’t ask for or want the hidden $40 “extended warranty” for the new tire. He did the alignment anyway and then argued about how much I should pay them. The total, even after scrubbing the obvious stuff out, was ~$200 more than expected. Terrible. Even criminal. You’ll be happier somewhere else.

Straightforward. Made same day appt by phone. They took me early. Tech was friendly and explained what he found and about various procedures. Manager inspected and suggested rotating tires due to uneven wear. Cost was agreeable.