Austin Automotive Specialists

Too slow and lazy says he doesnt have time to work on car im sorry if someone comes in before closing time let me rephrase that someone comes in at 9 a.m. for a radiator repair should take between 1 hour they are stating that it might not be done today is bullshit i know u have other cars ahead of me but it might not be done today is bullshit

I am new to Austin and I just recently purchased a vehicle. I realized it needed some additional work after I purchased it (which I was not very happy about) and I was referred to Austin’s Automotive Specialists. I called and spoke with Jason about scheduling a time for me to bring my car in. Jason is very friendly and has great customer service skills. When I dropped the car off, Mike greeted that morning when I dropped it off. I explained to him the issue I was having and assured me that he and the guys would take care of it for me. I called later that morning to check on the issue and was given the estimate. I picked my car up that afternoon and it was running beautifully. The car was clean, the seat was still in the same location that I sit in, and the radio was on the same station, the mirrors in the same place and plastic on the driver’s seat.
The entire process of dealing with Austin’s Automotive was painless and seamless. Checking in and checking out was simple. The guys were friendly and professional, the waiting room is clean, the lot and work space is neat and picked up.
I would recommend calling Mike and Jason for any repairs for your vehicle. I will be taking both of my cars back to them for all the service in the future. Thanks!

Mike Riley, Manager, was very helpful. After getting tires rotated at Discount Tire, they referred me to Austin’s Automotive Specialists for an alignment. I had been hearing road noise and hoped this would be the solution. With Mikes assistance, it was determined that a hub assembly would need to be replaced and this was a warranty item. He could have continued to do the alignment but recommended I first get the hub at Chevrolet and then bring it back for the alignment. I did exactly that. I could have never come back and simply had the dealer do the alignment but felt like I owed it to Mike. The noise is fixed. I’d recommend Austin’s Automotive Specialists and Mike and would go back again.
Cheers

I was driving down the road and my check engine light come on so I just pulled in. Mike and his crew checked it out, fixed it and charged me almost nothing! These guys were super nice and honest. I found a new shop for life.

One word — terrible! I never use these fit-​it-​all shops but my trusted (awesome) mechanic’s alignment machine was down and I was in a rush to get this done before a long road trip. I decided to try a new, local, small business so I took a chance with Austin’s Automotive Specialist on something so automated and easy — burned again.
Mike the manager was able to get my car on the alignment machine and aligned w/​in about an hour — «great» I thought. However not so «great» when I drove off of the property. I immediately noticed that my steering wheel was not properly set (off center) and that my vehicle still pulled to one side — more so than before I dropped it off (this vehicle has less that 40,000 miles, suspension and steering box are in excellent condition, four brand new shocks, balanced rims and tires, and it pre-​dates more modern vehicles that have that low speed/​slight right pull, built in safety feature). I immediately returned it to Mike and explained the issue. Mike was combative and started arguing with me stating that the «machine» was correct and that the crown of the road makes every car pull to one side AND that I should have told him that the car was pulling to one side when I dropped it off (which I in fact did and isn’t the modern «machine» supposed to indicate the problem!!!). Also, if the car pulls to the opposite side of the road crown would that not indicate that there is something very wrong with alignment?. He put it back on the rack and in very smug manner, he «allowed» me to set my own steering wheel to center… the mechanic gave a few obligatory turns of the wrench and I was sent on my way… again the car still pulled.
Every mile it pulled during my trip made me realize that a negative review of this place needed to be posted — not sorry small business — your terrible work and service warrant a bad review.
I’m not bothering to try and get a refund for the terrible work and service. I would rather warn all who consider this place to avoid Austin’s Automotive Specialist. I don’t mind posting such a negative review because I’m tired of seeing hard working people get ripped off by these types of greedy automotive shops and their shady managers and mechanics.
Ask around and find a good, honest, respectable mechanic. Remove Austin’s Automotive Specialist from your search!

Mike was are amazing. We are very impressed with the level of customer service. We only paid for things that needed to be fixed. We had recently had a bad experience with trying to get our vehicles fixed where we had paid money and it was the same or worse when we had got it back. It’s nice to be able to trust a mechanic and put your complete faith in a company. We will be taking our vehicles there whenever something comes up. Mike is the best! I recommend them hands down the best.

I walked in and was pleasantly greeted by Mike who is the manager.
I needed a wheel alignment and he was more than helpful. There was one car ahead of me and He suggested where to go for my state inspection while I was waiting.
I was the next car to be serviced. I went a few blocks down, received my inspection in 10 minutes and returned to Mike’s shop and my alignment was done in 30 minutes.
I highly recommend Austin’s Automotive for car maintenance!!!
He even called later that afternoon to see how the car was driving and that he was off the next day and if I had any issues (which I didn’t) to feel free to call him.
Thumbs up all around!

They really helped me out one day. I forgot to retorque my lugnuts, and one wheel was dangerously loose. It was early morning before work and they figured it out quick and got me going for a somewhat fair price. I’m giving 4 stars because I think $ 40 is too much to tighten wheel lugs, but they were friendly enough!

These guys are awesome. Mike is so friendly, and the mechanics are very honest. They aren’t trying to rip you off, they are good business people. To be fair, I haven’t really had much work done… but I had to get my tired rotated at discount tire and it turned out that a bunch of my lug nuts and bolts had seized up, so Automotive specialist fixed it up and cleaned the old ones that didn’t need replacing for free. The next day I thought my suspension got screwed up somehow (it’s an old car so being lifted in the air can be troublesome for the struts) so I took it in to get checked out – they said no problems, topped off the fluids, and still didn’t charge me anything. Would definitely go again, and would recommend to anyone.

I don’t want to overthink this, so I’ll just tell you what happened:
1. The air conditioning in my car stopped. This ain’t gonna fly in August.
2. I make an appointment with my dealer, and get there to discover my car warranty has expired. So I pay a $ 59.50 diagnostic fee to learn my A/​C can be fixed for $ 1200. I want a second opinion.
3. I pay Brake Specialists an $ 89.95 diagnostic fee, and learn my A/​C can be fixed for $ 700. I say do it. The new blower will be delivered Saturday morning. I’ll have to bring my car in Saturday and wait a half-​hour while they replace it.
4. I bring my car in Saturday. The blower had not been delivered. I need to return Monday.
5. On Monday, the blower is there, they’re installing it, but discover some resistor controlling the blower is melted. A new one will cost $ 250, but can be delivered and installed while I’m still there waiting. I say do it.
6. It arrives within an hour. But it’s the wrong one. The right one for my car has to be overnighted from somewhere. They’ll call me when it arrives.
7. I get called Tuesday afternoon. But I just didn’t have the time to fuck with this Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
8. On Thursday I call them, everything is ready, they have a bay waiting, and I was in and out in forty-​five minutes. The air conditioning in my car now works perfectly.
So yeah, I figure I’m still about $ 200 ahead from the original dealer estimate, but I’m not feeling it’s the best $ 200 I’ve ever saved. Know what I mean? Six-​of-​one and a half-​dozen of another. We’ll just chalk this one up as another day in the life, and merrily move on with ourselves.

The Manager Mike was very honest and affordable. I had a very tough job (BMW Starter Replacement) — I was charged $ 54.00 by Firestone on Whitestone Blvd for them to look at it for 30 minutes and tell me it needed a starter replacement totaling $ 1.146.20. Mike and his crew finished the job perfectly for a quarter of that cost! I will surely go back to Brake Specialist on Research Blvd for my next repair.

The fiancé and I came in because we had coupons for half price oil changes. The manager was super helpful and didn’t try to upsell us on anything. He recommended that I get a transmission and coolant flush but didn’t push it. These were things I knew I had to get. He helped bring the price down and had my car ready in an hour. The waiting area is comfortable with lots of reading material. Overall, it was a pretty good experience.

Two stars because they were trying to fix their mistake but then they gave up…
I payed $ 300 to have 4 pads replaced and my front rotors machined.
When I left, the brakes were squeaking, which wasn’t happening before. When I returned, the manager was trying to upsell me… saying the mid grade brake pads will squeak and I should buy the higher grade! I argued they weren’t squeaking before BS touched my car. The district manager was helpful in letting me take it to another BS location where they they ended up complimentary upgrading my brake pads. But that didn’t fix the squeaking. After that they said they said they dont know why its squeaking, stated that «some brake pads just squeak and they have done what they can». What they have told me is that only their Best grade of pads are guaranteed not to squeak… yet they installed the midgrade on my car and expect me to ride around with squeaky pads. I spent $ 300 for a noisy brake job. Don’t go to Brake Specialist. They are not «specialists» at all. Just Brakes has been bad to me in the past too.

Great honest business!

I came in at 4pm on a day that they close at 530pm. The guys were cool in getting me in and out.
I told them I just wanted to get my brake fluid drained/​flushed. I wasn’t expecting it, but then they asked why — and I told them it had been awhile, my mileage as well. They said no problem and it was done.
Sometimes you expect people to try to sell you everything and an add on. I got in and out in 30 minutes. They said things looked fine. No dirty looks or anything when I used a coupon either.
They also had free wifi there while I waited.
Topping it off, it has been a week. I wasn’t think of writing a review, but Billy gave me a call just to check up on how things were doing. Talk about adding value.
You really don’t rave about these places often, but I’ve gotta give props to them for helping me out and treating me like a person — even when it’s not worth more money to them.

Aweful! The place is run by an ex-​service manager for a dealership. These guys are trained in getting max hours ($$) out of you. I understand the economy is tough and everyone’s gotta make a buck just as much as the next guy, but come on… I brought my truck in for an estimate for brakes, bearings and a squeak that I wasn’t sure about and was told the tab would nearly be a grand! I took it elsewhere and saved nearly $ 600 and have been driving for almost 4 months with no issues. P. S. Elsewhere was Just Brakes in Round Rock. You may as well go to the dealership if you go here.