General Auto Repair
General Auto Repair in Kern County
Engine overhauls, brakes, suspension, fuel and electrical. The shop Kern County trusts with transmissions works on the whole vehicle.
The big jobs
The heavy work is where a specialist shop earns its keep.
Plenty of shops are built around quick turnover: oil, tires, batteries, pads. The jobs that actually decide whether a vehicle is worth keeping are a different proposition. An engine that needs rebuilding, a differential that has let go, a brake system that needs all of it rather than some of it. Those need equipment, room, and the patience to take something apart properly and put it back together right. That is the work we have done since 1956. A transmission rebuild is the most exacting job on a vehicle, and the habits it forces on a shop are exactly the habits a big engine or drivetrain job needs. Measure everything. Replace every seal. Test it before it goes back to the customer. Our White Lane and Tehachapi shops do full general auto repair, and White Lane came by it honestly: it is the Handley's operation, which did general repair next door to us for years before the two became one.
Why us
Why people bring the expensive jobs here.
Seventy years in one county, on the hardest job on the vehicle. That record is the whole pitch.
Fast, without cutting the corner
Most repairs go back the same day. The ones that cannot are the ones worth doing properly, and we will tell you which yours is at the start rather than at the end.
Done once, done right
A transmission rebuild does not forgive a shortcut, and that is the standard the rest of the work is held to. Measured, sealed, tested, and driven before it goes back to you.
The honest answer, including the unprofitable one
We will tell you when a repair is not worth doing on the vehicle you have. That conversation costs us the job and it is the reason people come back for the next one.
Seventy years, and we stand behind it
Family owned since 1956, three generations, five Kern County locations, and a warranty honored at every one of them.
The big jobs, done in one place.
This is the heavy mechanical work. Every one of these starts with a free diagnostic, so you know what is actually wrong before you commit to anything.
Engine & drivetrain
Engine overhaul or replacement
Rebuilding an engine after major internal damage or wear, or fitting a replacement where a rebuild is not the better value. We tell you which one your vehicle deserves.
More on thisTiming belt or chain replacement
A worn belt or a stretched chain takes the engine with it when it lets go. Replacing it on schedule costs a fraction of what ignoring it does.
Turbocharger or supercharger
Repair or replacement of a failed turbo or supercharger, including the oil feed and plumbing that usually explain why it failed in the first place.
Clutch replacement
Replacing a worn clutch assembly, pressure plate and release bearing, with the flywheel inspected while the gearbox is already out.
Differential or transfer case
Repair and replacement on four-wheel and all-wheel drive, where a noise left for a month reliably turns into a much larger bill.
Transmission repair, rebuild or replacement
The specialty, and the reason the rest of this list is in safe hands. Automatics rebuilt in house since 1956, heavy duty and diesel included.
More on this
Braking, steering & ride
Brake system overhaul
Master cylinder, lines, rotors, calipers and pads. A proper overhaul of the system rather than new pads pressed onto worn everything else.
More on thisSuspension system repair
Struts, shocks, springs and control arms. This is what fixes the handling, the ride quality, and the way the vehicle has been eating its tires.
More on thisSteering and front end
Tie rods, ball joints and steering racks, with an alignment afterwards so the new parts are not worn out by the old geometry.
Fuel, exhaust & emissions
Fuel system repair
Fuel pumps, injectors and tanks, and the diagnosis that establishes which of the three is actually at fault before anything is replaced.
Catalytic converter replacement
Replacing a failed converter, and finding what killed it. A converter rarely dies on its own, and a new one fitted to the same fault dies too.
Exhaust system replacement
Pipes, mufflers, or the full system where corrosion or damage has gone past the point that patching it is honest work.
Cooling, climate & electrical
Radiator replacement
Replacing a leaking or blocked radiator before an overheating problem turns into an engine problem, which is a different order of expense.
Air conditioning repair
Compressor, condenser and evaporator work, plus leak diagnosis. In a Bakersfield summer this is not a luxury repair.
More on thisElectrical system overhaul
Alternators, starters, and the wiring faults that take real diagnostic time to trace instead of a sequence of replaced parts.
More on this
If what you need is not on this list, ask anyway. The diagnostic is free, and we will tell you plainly when a repair is not worth doing on the vehicle you have.
You're covered
We stand behind every repair.
Whether it is a transmission, an engine, or a full brake system, the work is backed. We have stood behind what leaves our bays for three generations, and that does not change with the size of the job.
Real reviews from Google & Yelp
Seventy years of Kern County saying the same thing.
They could have done a $300 fix that lasts a week, but they didn't take advantage of us. Honest people.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before booking a big job.
Yes. Engine overhauls and replacements are among the biggest jobs we take, and the diagnostic comes first so you know which of the two you are actually looking at.
Tell us what you're driving. We'll take it from there.
Book your free diagnostic in under a minute. Only your name and phone are required, and the slot is yours as soon as you submit.
Free diagnostic, no obligation. Warranty honored at all 5 locations.