Arbor Auto Works

I went for an inspection at 5:45. They were closed. The website says open until 6:00, so expected them to be open. The guy at the counter was snarky, «Our systems are already shut down for the day». I would not recommend this place. My first time there and my last.

This place has an incredibly «Austin» business flavor. The owner is super generous, helpful and all about building relationships and repeat customers. I went in for an inspection sticker and Winn went out of his way to help me fix another problem with the bumper and didn’t even charge me for it.
It’s really important to trust your mechanic to do complete work and to not get ripped off. I trust Winn to do the right thing and I highly recommend him for his integrity and kindness.
On the downside, his front desk guy could use an attitude adjustment. He was rude and seemed bothered by having to serve me. I watched him do the same to another woman, and then treat a male customer with respect and friendliness. Chauvinist or just grumpy., either way, it’s not a good face for the company.

I came in with my beloved car, a 1990 Toyota Cressida, to get her inspected for safety before I took her on a cross country roadtrip back home to North Carolina. Winn and his staff were very helpful, respectful, and straight forward. They identified two major problems, a bad transmission and a leaking freeze plug. Their analysis was accurate and their advice was frank and honest, the cost to fix the car was much more than the value of the car. These guys are honest and I trust their analysis and appreciate their advice. If I were to stay in Austin, I would use these guys as my regular mechanics.

They were very good at finding my car’s problems right away. They also found when driving it that the master cylinder was going out. I knew this was correct because I had trouble braking, and they did not try to sell me brake pads and rotors. The car was ready the next morning. I saw one comment that the labor was high, I think that’s just the rate these days for a good mechanic. Robert, the head mechanic kept me informed of their progress.

Great work, but overpriced.
The Good:
I know that their work is good.
It is done in a timely manner.
I trust them and don’t think they are cheating me.
The Bad:
Their prices seem high. Even if they aren’t out to get me, i still think their prices are high. Quality work is the expectation, not the exception. My car didn’t give me the luxury of shopping around last time i was here. I got it fixed quickly which was appreciated, but after a little research, i ended up paying a bit too much.
When i picked up my car, it smelled like a smoker had left their dirty laundry in the back seat. It went away after about three days, but it was pretty bad.
I used to get my oil changed here, but after going twice and them being closed during posted business hours i quit and started doing it myself. That was a couple of years ago, so i don’t know if it is any reflection of what is done today.

I went in for my routine oil change and also for a maintenance check. I left it there over lunch and my car was ready when I returned. He said my car is generally due for a tire rotation at the mileage I had logged, but it appeared they may have already been rotated and were good as-​is, so I only needed an oil change. The owner, Winn Kasper, is an awesome, stand-​up guy and Robert, at the front desk was exceptionally friendly and helpful! I will definitely return for additional car maintenance!

They were o.k., but I feel their prices are too high. Also, it took them the better part of a summer to diagnose an electrical problem with my car — a relatively simple issue that another mechanic spotted right away afterwards (the distributor condenser must match the new coil). This after two coils, two ICU’s, a distributor and multiple tows. They covered a coil and an ICU, but still added costs for diagnosis for the second and visit when they didn’t diagnose it right the first time ($ 79). In fact, the charge for many diagnoses when other shops do not. The last straw was when they wanted $ 500 for a power steering pump that’s not that hard to get at. — I will say that, when they did the right work, they were competent, friendly and timely.

The guy working on my car was apparently too busy throwing a fit about someone coming in during their last our to pay attention to what oil he was putting in. Seriously, I witnessed a full on work tantrum that day. Based on further diagnosis since then, he may not have replaced a cap or filter quite right too. All they did was an oil change, but I had to go back for another one at Jiffy Lube maybe 2 months later. They looked up the right oil and it was neither the one they used, nor the one they told me to use. And my car hasn’t been smoking me out with burning oil fumes when I sit in traffic since letting them re-​do the work I’d just had done at Arbor Auto. I guess it’s a good thing that the guy behind the counter never got back to me about planning a real repair I’d been considering making through them. Who knows what I would have gotten back then.

I was driving from Dallas to Austin to visit my daughter and I got the dreaded «Service Engine Soon» light as I came into town. The next morning I called a few garages but Arbor Auto Works was the first garage that told me that they could look at my car that day. When I arrived the owner was friendly and offered to have his son drive me back to my daughter’s house which was very helpful indeed. I was able to pick my car up the next after some cracked gaskets were replaced and I was on my way back home. It has been 2 months now with no engine related problems so I strongly recommend this garage.

Excellent customer service! Everyone that I came in contact with at Arbor was beyond friendly and helpful.
My car was repaired quickly and inexpensively. I’m extremely relieved to have discovered an honest and reliable mechanic in Austin! Places like this don’t exist in Southern California. Hallllelujah.

I heard about Arbor Auto Works through a friend after I had explained to her how awful Firestone tried to screw me over during the summer (went in for state inspection). I came in to Arbor Auto Works on Monday around 8:30 in the morning and my car was in and out in no more than 30 minutes. I do not remember the name of the lady at the counter, but she was very friendly and the whole experience made my day. If I have any problems with my car in the future, I will be going to Arbor Auto Works. Thanks for such nice, honest, and timely service!

after the multiple visits I decided to try fixing the AC myself, it needed the correct cap on one of the valves (like a air valve for a tire) the one on there didn’t fit! I added a can of AC Pro and it has been working for 6 months now without refilling.

As a single woman and completely ignorant of car stuff, I have to rely on the good will of any car repair place to treat me honestly and do what they say. I work around the corner from Arbor so it is very convenient for me to drop my car off for oil changes. So when I needed a higher level of repairs done, I went to Arbor. I found the work to be exactly what they promised, on time, with no surprises. When I compared prices with other people who had the same work done, the prices were the same. What more can anyone want. Our expectations for customer service are generally so low because we are usually treated like (*****) everywhere. Not so at Arbor. I guess you cannot please everyone but I think they really try.

Rude and inept. That’s all these people are. The technicians are very nice but the desk staff is incredibly rude. I completely got that feeling many women have when they visit a egotistic mechanic who doesn’t think a woman knows a thing about cars. Rude. Rude. Rude. Rude. I went to have my husbands car inspected and they failed his car but it turns out that they actually gave us the report for a completely different vehicle. His car would have passed if they could read that he has a Hyundai and not a 1992 Maxima… after two trips back trying to solve a problem that never existed.

Winn has been my go-​to mechanic for the past 8 years! I don’t ever feel like I’m getting cheated and I’m always spoken to with the facts. They guarantee their work, and this is ever so important with an older car. There have been instances where I have had to take my car back in for the same «issue», but I’ve always walked out without opening my wallet! I’ve compared their estimates with other chain shops and Arbor is consistently 15−20% less.
You can make appointments online, or call to determine wait times. Winn will even take you back to work if you are in a bind!
Personal service is a rare find these days, but Arbor Auto Works is keeping that small town vibe alive!

I still think this place is awesome.
My car was making a terrible grinding/​vibrating noise every time I punched the gas. I was hoping it was just a loose panel, but dreaded needing a new transmission. Either way, this guy had the chance to try and squeeze me for some serious dough.
He looked at my car, found nothing wrong, and charged me nothing! I insisted on paying him for his time, but he said it was no big deal. WoooHooo!
The mechanic suggested that the noise I was hearing was likely coming from a defect in the axle (an imbalance I’m guessing). All the components checked out and there were no safety hazards.
There are some auto shops out there that would jump on a chance like this to charge hundreds or thousands of dollars for repair – not this place :)

I have to admit that I have NO idea what they did under my hood. But…
1. They were very, very nice
2. My car’s squeak is gone
3. The cost was about $ 100 under what the dealership quoted me for the same repair.
I’ll definitely be going back!

Because i am a groupon-​clone addict, I have three living social deals to arbor works for oil changes. Since it expires January, I figured maybe I should use one. So I called em up, was told to come in and headed down burnet to be a responsible car owner.
My first impression was that they were fast, friendly, efficient and would take care of my rattletrap 4runner. So I went on over to hat creek burger joint to get a delicious diet coke and tried to pay with my card. And it was declined. And tried again. And it was declined. Is this some kind of joke? The soda is $ 1.25… I’m employed, right?
I couldn’t get to a real person on the phone — probably because i was yelling commands at the prompts. «REPRESENTATIVE», «I HATE YOU: «REAL PERSON». You said, «open a new credit card. Is this correct?» Frustration central.
The LS coupon is for the oil change — excluding taxes — so i had to shamefacedly explain that my card wasnt working and to fix it, I would have to take my car to the BOA to figure out what was happening. Long story, a little shorter, BOA had put a protection thing on my acct bc I’ve been christmas shopping a lot lately. For myself.
The point here though is that the guy, instead of being rude, condescending or asking me to leave something so that I would come back, handed me my keys and just said take care of it when you can. And that was pretty damn cool.
(And yes, I went back and gave them the $ 5)

A few months back, I took my car to Arbor at 10am on a Saturday for a routine oil change. It was my 3^rd visit, and I am basing my review on the events that transpired as a result of this visit.
I’d noticed some transmission fluid leaking, and asked if they’d check it for me. Since the trans. fluid can’t be checked under the hood in my particular car, I had no idea how low it might be.
I waited at Austin Diner (next door) and got the call.
New transmission gasket and pan to repair a hole, and new fluid. And then a suggestion for something completely unrelated (new struts!), which would’ve brought my total to some obscene amount. I said «just remedy the leak».
Arbor closes at 1PM on Saturdays. It was now 12:30PM.
Right at 1:00, my car was «ready». After I paid, I got in it and my steering wheel was covered in grease, and I had black fingerprints all over the door and console. I know the tech was in a hurry to get off work, but really? Yuck.
Got the car home with no incident.
Did not drive it Sunday.
Woke up to drive to work Monday, and my driveway was COVERED in pink transmission fluid. I knew something was terribly wrong. I immediately called Arbor.
After some questioning, they did agree to send a tech and a manager to my house to see the car, but instead of towing me back to the shop so as to not risk ruining my transmission by running the car without fluid, the tech just got in my car and took off toward the shop. I felt really weird about this, but thought well, they’re the «experts».
Later, I heard that the pan (that they charged me for!) had to be replaced because it had a hole. After some explanation, they realized that the tech «forgot» to put on the new pan (again, that I’d already paid for), and they replaced the pan. I picked up my car a little later and there was no charge (for their mistake — how sweet).
I drove directly home.
The next morning — fresh fluid on the driveway. And lots of it. Seriously? Again?
I was done w/​Arbor. 2 chances to fix something is plenty.
I took my car to Yost (which I should’ve done in the 1^st place!), and they said the «new» pan had been over-​torqued when it was put on and had cracked. So another hole in my pan.
Yost put on a new pan and a factory gasket (Arbor used a cheapy generic one that didn’t fit correctly, hence the over-​torquing), and sent me on my way in no time.
Moral — I will not let anyone else touch my car, and will not ever use Arbor again. The service I received was lazy and could’ve caused a great deal of damage (new transmission!), and no one likes being without their car when they don’t have to be.

I have a less than reliable car and am pretty new to Austin. So, when I came sputtering into the Arbor Auto Works shop 5 months ago, I was delighted to see a shiny «They Love Us On Unilocal» sticker affixed to their front door.
They offer great service in a respectable amount of time. Their prices are comparable and they never put pressure on you to make additional repairs. If they do catch something extra, they’ll show you the issue and discuss a recommended timeframe, if any, of when to make the fix.
Arbor values repeat business and because of that, they are anxious to know their customers. Most recently, and most notably, I was stranded in Houston with engine trouble. The shop my sister took me to diagnosed the problem and quoted a large block of service time. Because it was an expensive repair, I called Winn at Arbor to discuss my options (Do I make the repair or sell?). He remembered me, my car and noted the current issue. He talked me through the proposed quote and researched whether or not it was valid. His attention helped me better understand the issue and gave me negotiating power.
I am anxious to meet people I can refer to Arbor. I’ve never in my life had such a consistent and attentive auto shop.