A car enthusiast since as long as he can remember, Isaac became the owner of Certified Auto Repair in 2014, moving to SLO with his wife and family from the Los Angeles area. He’s been in the automotive industry since his teenage years and prior to purchasing the shop was in high-end European car sales, working with Porsche for 10 years. When Certified Auto became available, Isaac jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the close-knit SLO community, own his own business and build a team and repair shop the community would be proud of while also still living his passion for cars.

A UTI graduate with over 15 years of auto industry experience, Eric has knowledge of all vehicle makes and models – everything from 60s muscle cars to the latest hybrids and electric vehicles. With a “curiosity for fixing things, taking stuff apart and building things,” Eric never quits until a problem is diagnosed and always verifies to ensure we’re performing the correct repair. He received his initial training through the Mercedes program in Santa Barbara, worked at an independent European shop before coming to SLO and then Certified Auto two years ago.

Our scheduled maintenance service and undercar specialist, Gonzalo has been in the automotive industry since he was 17 years old and has over 10 years of experience. He joined the shop in 2018, which he says, “has given me the ability to expand that knowledge, especially with the master technicians we have here who are extremely knowledgeable.” Another of his passions is electrical diagnostics because of the “problem-solving” dynamic it presents.

The lynchpin in our day-to-day operations and driving force in making sure the shop is a smooth-running machine, Melissa is likely the first face you’ll see or voice you’ll hear when you walk or call into the shop. She’s the liaison between technicians and you! She assists customers in determining problems with their vehicles while providing accurate repair descriptions to technicians

This is Mondo’s third stint at Certified Auto, which he says has become “like home.” He started under previous ownership 20 years ago as a 20-year-old and has made his way back twice after stints in Portland and other shops around the San Luis Obispo area. He recently rejoined the team out of a love for working at independent shops because of “the variety of vehicles we get in with different symptoms and issues always keeps you on your toes. You can’t just cruise along.” He loves working with a team of other passionate mechanics where “we can bounce ideas off each other and problem solve together.”

A “big car guy” who races Mitsubishi EVOs on the local sports car scene, Michael joined the team in the summer of 2020 after spending three years at Santa Maria Ford. He trained in the automotive technology program at Allan Hancock College and specializes in tuning and drivability, a skill born out of a passion for tuning his own race cars. He says of independent shops like Certified Auto that “you learn a lot in the environment here, more than just typical stuff at a dealership. It makes you want to work harder.”

Another new addition to our expanding team at Certified Auto, Ruben also came from Santa Maria Ford in the summer of 2020 where he specialized in refurbishing used trade-in vehicles to be re-sold. That comprehensive experience, along with his training at UTI, has turned Ruben into a bumper-to-bumper specialist. “Being able to repair something that is broken and get it back on the road is super rewarding,” he said of his passion for being a mechanic.

Having moved to the area from Temecula to attend Lopez High School, Tanner hopes to turn his hands-on training at the shop into a career someday. He said he loves learning something new every day working with a team of experts.