I’m a touring musician with a group that performs all over the US and abroad. It’s a large band with members spread out between L.A., Nashville & Chicago. I live in Los Angeles. Typically, I fly to all our shows, but we recently had a short run with shows in the San Diego area and Ventura, CA. As such, I decided to drive that leg. After the initial drive down to North San Diego county, I noticed an intermittent grinding sound from my car. After the first show, I drove further south to downtown SD. By the time I got off the freeway, the grinding sound was constant and loud. I knew it was not good. I drive a 20 yr old Toyota Prius with almost 150k miles. I typically don’t make long drives, and she was clearly not up for it. I still had to do a show in SD the following night, then drive three hours back north to Ventura for one more show, before finally driving another hour back to LA. I woke up early the next morning, on a Saturday, and had to pray I could find a decent mechanic that was open on a weekend. Somehow my searches led me to John’s. A quick scan of the reviews and I got a good gut feeling. I called right at opening time and spoke with Aaron. I explained my plight. I know how tight mechanic’s schedules can be and it’s not always easy nor feasible to throw another job into the mix last minute. I could sense Aaron’s hesitation, but I think he could sense my desperation, so he said, “Ya know what…yeah, bring it in, I’ll see what we can do.” It wasn’t exactly close by; about a 20 minute drive, but I felt relieved just knowing someone would take a look at it. When I arrived and spoke with Aaron face to face, he could not have been more personable. He hopped in my car and I drove us around the block so he could hear the noise it was making. He immediately had some ideas as to what was going on just based on the make and age of my car and he eloquently explained in perfectly easy to follow terms what the best and worst case scenarios might be, just so that I was prepared. His mechanics got to work and I took a stroll around the neighborhood. I found a lovely park to hang out in not too far away, also a quaint café and a delicious Mexican restaurant. Aaron called me once they knew the full extent of the situation. I walked back to the shop and Aaron explained it to me in plain terms that were perfectly easy to understand as a laymen. Thank God it wasn’t the worst case scenario. There were a few things going on, given the age of the car, mostly related to the ABS braking system starting to wear out, which he explained probably should be addressed sooner than later, but in the immediate term, deemed I could cautiously get back on the road (at least long enough to get back to LA), with some new rotors and pads. He could easily have soaked me for a huge job costing thousands, but he’s a genuine, honest, decent, compassionate human being; that’s very palpable. I went for another stroll and before too long they had my car ready, and for what I think was a completely reasonable price. I was able to finish the weekend of shows and get back to LA. Along the way, Aaron was just a warm personality and a great conversationalist, even in talking about things not directly related to my vehicle. The whole experience really saved what could have been a nightmare situation. I’m extremely grateful to Aaron and the whole team at John’s Automotive care. This is the type of mechanic’s shop you’re lucky to find, and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. Thanks guys! 🙏💛👍🏼