A CAR'S BEST FRIEND MOTORISTS MAKE SURE THEIR WHEELS GET THE BEST TREATMENT FROM HONEST, EFFICIENT SHOPS.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Chris Carter's mechanic is so skilled with Volkswagens that he even inspired the stay-at-home dad to write a poem.

The first few lines read: ``For V-Dubs, any model, I have a new motto, 'only trust Jim's Auto.'''

Jim's, owned by Jose Guiterrez, is the Volkswagen wizard of Long Beach, according to Canter. He knows this because his VW-driving family has taken their German cars to Guiterrez for several decades.

``We refer to him as our family doctor,'' said Carter, who drives a 1967 Volkswagen Microbus. ``He's honest, got good instincts and is just a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy.''

Southern California is car country and that means almost every driver has a favorite mechanic, a choice car wash, even a preferred smog check station.

Courtesy and ambience count for something, but honesty is by far the most valued characteristic.

That's why Maria Harmon takes her car to Auto Tech by Beck in Pasadena. ``He never tries to sell me a part I don't need,'' said Harmon, 56, who drives a 1983 Datsun - yes, Datsun - 280ZX Turbo with more than 300,000 original miles.

Harmon drives her French-beige car about 40 miles a day between Pasadena and her Beverly Hills job. And Beck Vattantham has kept the car running for a dozen years without a hiccup.

The mechanic has specialized in Nissan cars ever since he arrived in the U.S. from Thailand three decades ago. ``I try to fix the car before the money,'' said Vattantham, who takes pride in the fact that he is still servicing a customer from 1972. ``And if I can't fix the car, then I don't charge a dime.''

On average, Southern California motorists need about 30 minutes to commute one-way to work, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is the equivalent of approximately 10 full days in the car a year. At the same time, the cost of maintaining a car is on the rise as new technologies beget greater skills in the garage. In 2004, California drivers spent an average of about $180 repairing their cars, a 6 percent increase when compared with repair costs the previous year.

The problem is that many drivers feel like they're being cheated when they leave a repair shop. ``In general, the auto repair industry gets a bad rap. It seems a few bad apples spoil it for everyone,'' said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the California Department of Consumer Affairs. ``But the number of complaints we get is always going to be higher than legitimate beefs.''

Which makes a friendly endorsement all the more important.

Robert Tatangelo drives a 1987 Nissan pickup and when the odometer hit 91,000 miles, he thought the car was on its last legs. More than 384,000 miles later, he recommends his mechanic - Schneider's Automotive Repair in Simi Valley - to all his friends.

``Neither the engine or the transmission have been rebuilt,'' said Tatangelo, who drove the truck on a daily basis from Simi Valley to Santa Barbara. ``When the car hit the 400,000-mile mark, I went down to Schneider's with a cake from Costco.''

Looks like cake and other forms of appreciation aren't foreign to Schneider's. The repair shop has been in Simi Valley for 25 years and family-owned for about three generations. ``The cars we work with are special because of the customers,'' said Mitch Schneider, president of the repair shop. ``It's been a privilege to watch families grow up. We're probably even working on the cars of kids whose parents were kids when they first started coming here.''

Not all automotive repair facilities are steeped in tradition, which poses a challenge for newer garages seeking credibility. The Automobile Club of Southern California attempts to find the best repair facilities through its ``Approved Auto Repair Network.'' More than 600 repair facilities in Southern California pay the Auto Club to participate in the network. The Auto Club does an inspection of each facility to ensure it's meeting requirements for the network.

``The network eliminates the hassle of finding a reliable facility,'' said Elaine Beno, spokeswoman for the Auto Club. ``We know most people are looking for good customer service and honest automotive repair technicians.'' Those are important characteristics to Mitzi Coffin, 80, who drives a 1992 Honda Accord. And she recently found a smog checker in Burbank that has them.

``The place is so clean and they were so courteous,'' said Coffin when describing Smog Time on Glenoaks Boulevard. Even more impressive to Coffin was that Smog Time charged about $38 and extended a coupon to all of the residents at Coffin's retirement home. ``That means a lot to them because many are living off Social Security.''

Sandi Richy, 55, can certainly appreciate a good deal. She's been taking her Hondas to A&H Auto Specialists in Redlands for several years. ``The only reason I bought another Honda was because of them,'' said Richy, also noting that A&H provides its customers with a ride back to work. ``They seem to know their customers and they know them well.''

Of course, Southern California drivers also enjoy pampering their cars. Aprildawn Walker, 60, recently discovered the El Monte Auto Spa and Resort. ``I finally have a favorite car wash,'' said Walker, who drives a yellow 2001 Ford Focus. ``I pay a whole lot less and they do a much better job than most of the higher-priced car washes.''

The Auto Spa, which is accentuated by its tile roof and coffee bar atmosphere, charges about $9 for a complete car wash. But the Spa will also wash the outside of the car for about $5.

And while a first-class feel is important to many drivers in Southern California, some repair facilities prefer to retain that old-time charm.

Such is the case for Jose Guiterrez in Long Beach. He knows he can change the sign of his repair shop from Jim's Auto to Jose's Auto. ``But everyone here already knows the name of this place,'' said Guiterrez, who worked for Jim for 10 years before taking over. ``It doesn't matter these days. I like to take care of people and their cars. The name will stay.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Above, Chris Carter's Volkswagen microbus wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for Jose Guiterrez, owner of Jim's Auto Repair in Long Beach. Aprildawn Walker, top, of Baldwin Park is pleased with the car washes she gets at El Monte Auto Spa and Resort.

Greg Andersen/Staff Photographer

Leo Hetzel/Staff Photographer

(3) Mitzi Coffin has been taking her car to Smog Time for inspections and loves her smog tech Armen Aghajanian.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer