Lamb’s Tire & Automotive

I’ve been to this Lamb’s location quite a few times now, and have not had a bad experience. I always try to get in early and the service is always quick. I never feel pressured to purchase anything additional, but always get good and helpful advice on what should be of priority to keep my car in good running condition. Also, the staff has always been pleasant and easy to work with. Most of the time I talk with Alan who is just wonderful. He is knowledgeable and always a pleasure to work with!

I’ve used Lamb’s for servicing my oil changes for my last couple of cars. As a student, it has always been a great value because of the services they provide in addition to a coupon you can find for an additional discount on oil changes. I always bring my own oil and filter because they do not offer the kind of oil lei like to use. The last time I went in for the same service I’ve received for years, the gentleman at the desk refused to allow me to use my coupon for $ 10 off. I explained that this was exactly what I’ve used many times in the past, under the same circumstances. Also, there are no stipulations on the coupon to indicate that you must purchase their oil. This explanation did not matter. I don’t like the inconsistency of the the quality of service I received with this location.

I went in to have my tires rotated after having an alignment done at an alignment shop. Even though I have been getting my tires rotated for free at this specific location for approximately two years, I was suddenly told that the records of my car tires being purchased there weren’t on file. Again, this is after two years of having my tires rotated there. The manager was only interested in selling me new tires, even though I hadn’t hit the wear indicators on mine and clearly wasn’t interested.

Brought my SMART ForTwo in for a tire rotation and alignment. After waiting 30 minutes and then being told the alignment wouldn’t happen I agreed to forgo the alignment and come back another day. Upon returning to my car I thought something looked a bit weird. For those that don’t know SMART cars have smaller tires on the front than back. Well they managed to put the small tires from the from on the back axel. Upon questioning them about it their response was that they haven’t ever worked on a SMART and didn’t know SMART cars had different sized tires. I was then informed that since they are different sizes they don’t need to be rotated. So I wasted an hour and a half of my day basically having nothing done to my car. I bought the tires here so they should have seen in the computer that the tires were different sizes and they should have researched the rotation pattern for my car at which point they would have seen that no rotation was needed saving me 2 hours of wasted time.

As a lot of the reviews say… I really want to like Lamb’s…nice people, convenient to my house. I just always feel like I’m getting over sold, and when I get a second opinion find out that, indeed, what Lamb’s recommended is not really necessary. I guess if you are the «spare no expense» type, then maybe this is the shop for you.
I want to give more stars b/​c the upstairs waiting room is sweet, feels like a living room, and they have good coffee. And they’ve done good work on our cars.

I’ve come here a few times for oil changes and other routine maintenance because it’s close to my house and the longer hours are very convenient, but after my recent experience with their horrible business practices, I won’t be back. I recently took my car in again for an oil change and tire rotation, during which Lamb’s offered to do an inspection. After completing the inspection the technician came out and told me I needed the timing belt and water pump changed because «the water pump was leaking on it (the timing belt),» that the drive belts were «badly cracked» and needed to be replaced, and a few other things, all for a total of about $ 1400 worth of work.
I was shocked because we’d just had the timing belt and water pump replaced about 20,000 miles ago, and when I told him so he suggested I call the place I’d had it done at because it may be covered by their warranty since they’d failed so soon after replacement. I called that place and took the car to two other places for a second opinion (since this was so unexpected), and both places told me Lamb’s had blatantly lied to me about several of the «badly needed» repairs. Both places found a small leak from the water pump and recommended it be replaced — but the leak was nowhere near the timing belt. In fact, both places said the timing belt looked «beautiful.» Additionally, they didn’t see anything wrong with the supposedly badly cracked drive belts. Some of the other things Lamb’s suggested they said were mechanic dependent and could go either way, but that $ 800 of Lamb’s suggested work was completely unnecessary.
Additionally, the technician from Lamb’s called back about a week after I hadn’t brought the car back to them to ask if I was «satisfied with their service.» When I relayed what the other shops had said the technician noted «well, we didn’t take off the plates to look at the timing belt, but with the water pump so close…» They never even looked at the timing belt that they’d supposedly seen the water pump leaking on! I’d stay far away from this Lamb’s. We had the water pump fixed at a different place, and I definitely will not be coming back here.

I really wanted to call Lamb’s my *IT* place for oil changes, tire rotations, general tire issues, and yearly inspections — but I can’t and WON’T.
Every time I go there it seems there’s a 2 hour wait for oil changes.
I blocked out time and suffered the wait and go the oil change & a tire rotation. When the guy walked me through the notes of what they had done, he went on and on about how my husband was putting my family at risk b/​c he plugged up a nail hole that was «too close to the sidewall.» «Did I value my children’s lives» etc.
When I recently needed my inspection, a guy told me on the phone that they were working on one car and that there wasn’t anyone behind him, so I went straight there (took 3 minutes). When I got there, another man checked me in. Took my keys, my insurance, wrote on his paper, and had me sit down. 15 minutes later, he comes back and says that there’s one car ahead of me, the guy doing inspections is AT LUNCH, and my car won’t be ready for over an hour!!! I called my husband and openly conversed with him and told him about the «bait & switch» line of B.S. I got… and he told me to leave. When I approached the man to get my keys and insurance, he MAGICALLY was able to pull my car and have it done in 30 minutes.
And now, 2 years later that plugged tire needs to be replaced. It’s a replacement for the tires that came with the car when we purchased it brand new. I called Lamb’s FIRST, because again, I WANT them to be my Go To Place. I was told that it’s not a standard size, not one they have in stock, and due to this, «It’s gunna run you about $ 350.» WHAT!!!
I immediately called NTB down the road. The guy says, «Not only is it a normal size tire, but it’s part of our regular inventory. Including tax & installation, you’re looking at about $ 250.» Costco said that they’d have to order it, but that they price was the same $ 250.
WHAT A BUNCH OF SCAMMERS. I AM OVER IT.

1hr25min for oil change in the early weekday. Not worth the coupon discount. Guy running the front was very nice, friendly. Told me there were «a couple» of cars ahead of me. Decent magazines. An overall OK experience, but not if you are short on time.

I totally get the poor reviews. Luckily, my folks were in town and dropped the car off so i wasn’t tethered to the area. Thank goodness because at 9a on a Saturday morning, it took nearly 4hrs to get an oil change done. Maybe it’s because I used the coupon and they pushed me to the end of the line? Idk.
anywho, I normally go to Groovy and am suuuuper comfortable with their work because i’ve been going there forever and this place is decent, it’s just not Groovy.
also, I bought the lightbulbs to replace my brake lights and asked the guy how much it’d be to install them, «$ 30.» TO INSTALL?! That’s more than the oil change! Uh, pass. So dad installed them FO FREE.
meh.

Lamb’s oh how I trusted you. I had been going to their Slaughter location for years and moved further north so this was my closest spot. I had a nail in one of my tires which I noticed when taking to a friends auto-​shop for some other routine maintenance. My pal doesn’t service tires so he couldn’t fix it but he was 100% confident this was fixable. My Goodyear tires came with a lifetime warranty that Lamb’s has almost always honored.
Fast forward … they come to me in the waiting room and say I’m going to need to buy a new tire, the nail was too close to the side wall to safely put a patch and repair. I asked them to show me which they did. The nail was halfway between the sidewall and the center. I disagreed but since they already pulled the nail I couldn’t go somewhere else for a 2^nd opinion. This was the 2^nd time Lamb’s had given me this line in less than 6 months. I know that there is a liability issue and I’m not an expert but it felt VERY shady and because of this I won’t be going back.
That being said, the waiting room is nice and clean although the TV was blasting some crappy reality show like Storage Wars or something awful. They had coffee and WiFi so I was able to get some work done and my time wasn’t totally wasted. The staff is friendly and all but in the end I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of so enter at your own risk.

Had an oil leak and took my car over to Lamb’s to get them to check it out. First time I took it in they cleaned up the oil pan and told me to take it home and if it was still leaking to bring it back in and they’d be able to get a better look at it. It continued to leak so I took it back and they fixed me up. Even found another problem that I was unaware of that was an even more serious problem. I felt really good letting them fix my car and didn’t feel like they were trying to pull one over on me. It was expensive but car repairs can be. I plan on taking my car back for oil changes from now on instead of using Kwik Kar on William Cannon some of the workers there rubbed me the wrong way. Always trying to up sell the heck out of my oil changes.

I recently went to Lamb’s Auto for a inspection sticker. I arrived early on a Saturday morning and there were about 3 people ahead of me. The staff was friendly, courteous and very expedient in the process. There was a free instant coffee machine for customers having to wait (various k-​cup flavors), a really nice concept. I definitely enjoyed a cup of french vanilla coffee while I waited. I figured I would be there at least an hour, but it was extremely fast service. I was in and out within 45 minutes.
I also made the mistake of leaving my debit card on the counter while checking out. WIthin 5 minutes of leaving the store, the technician that helped me had notified me about my card and was holding it for me at the front. I thought that was pretty great customer service, especially given how busy they were.
Overall–
Great customer service
Fast service
Nice waiting area with free coffee

Over priced and will try too sale you things you do not need!

I went here to
oil change. The guy asked me about oil types and what my coupon pertains too. He never told me the wait for a 10 minute job would be 2 hours!
After 30 min I started watching what was going on and it seemed nobody was working at all. There were 5 people working there doing nothing!
If I was the owner I would be livid and concerned to be out of business soon. They saw me pacing around and said nothing. After an hour I asked how much longer and he said another hour! I left and will never be back.

I had a great experience with this location on Friday 5÷27÷11. My 06 Ford F150 was making tire noise (a loud humming /​vibration) and when I walked in and talked with Adrian he immediately went outside with me to do a test drive. We both agreed it was most likely the wheel bearings. This was at 10am and I told him I needed the truck back by noon and he said that it would be possible. They ordered the parts, had them delivered and by 11:45 I was back in my truck.
It helped that I had an idea of the problem already and that the mechanic had just finished a job and could immediately start working on my problem. They did ask me if I wanted a brake job while the wheels were apart even though I did not need new brakes. This is common, you simply have to go out there and look at your brakes and see if you want to change them. The service was great, everything went smooth and quickly. I was very surprised as this is not a typical experience I have with mechanics. This is the first time I visited Lamb’s, but I’d certainly go there again.
Tip: I am mechanically inclined so I generally know what is wrong with my vehicle before I bring it in, but many people don’t. You are at a disadvantage if you haven’t a clue why it’s doing whatever it’s doing, so when you bring a car into a shop ask them to tell you what is wrong with the car and to give you an estimate BEFORE they start working on it. Once you get that info, tell them to hold on and make a call or two to other mechanic shops in the area. Tell them what the issue is and ask them how much they’d charge to repair the vehicle at their shop. Ask them how much they charge an hour for labor, get part prices, how long it would take them to fix it (they might be able to do the same job for the same price much quicker). This way you are getting a second /​third opinion, can understand your problem better and can make sure you are getting the deal you are comfortable with.

I don’t know what everyone is so upset about. I have been going to this location four about 10 years. Yes, it sometimes takes a while and yes, it might not be as cheap as some places, but I’ve never had any problems with them.
The only questionable thing (and the reason I’m not giving them 5 stars) is that I was told once over the phone they would match a tire price, no questions. So they ordered the tires and when they arrived, I went in. When I got there, I was told by a manager (not the same manager I had talked to on the phone) that they wouldn’t match it because with the mail in rebate, they were lower. I thought that was kind of BS but whatever. They still gave me a discount, but it was not as much as I was expecting.
Anyway, they have taken the time to check my tires and put air in them on more than one occasion when I thought I had a leak and it ended up being nothing. They have fixed tire leaks for free. They filled my car completely up with oil once when an oil hose on my Toyota failed (surprise) and all of the oil leaked out. It turned out to be a recalled item, and they encouraged me to go to the dealership to have it fixed for free, even though I said I would rather pay them to do it than deal with shady Champion Toyota. I even had a problem once that Champion Toyota couldn’t diagnose and they told me to bring my car in and they would diagnose the problem and then tell Champion what was wrong with it so I could get it fixed under warranty.
I also know someone whose transmission got ruined because they forgot to fill it back up with transmission fluid or replace the cap or something like that … normally that would be a strike against them, but they acknowledged their error and repaired the vehicle and made it right again. They could have argued and tried to weasel their way out of it, but they didn’t.
Anyway, I like them and until they do something to lose my confidence, I will continue to go there. Sorry that everyone else seems to have had such a bad experience, but I think this might be a case of only the bad experiences giving reviews.

Sad how writing a review for one bad auto maintenance business can remind you of the other’s. Lamb’s was an attempt to find a replacement for my previous company I used for not only my personal vehicles, but also my companies vehicles. Took my car here after a suggestion and never used them again. The guy seemed nice enough, I was really expecting/​hoping for a positive experience. Once his sales pitch started I became suspicious. He then tried to sell me right down the same road as the previous guys. I was able to get away with just an, EXPENSIVE, oil change and barely the shirt on my back. Will not recommend or use them ever again.

STAY AWAY!!!
As another Unilocaler notes, Lamb’s has this incredible reputation around Austin for being a bargain shop that shoots you straight and throws in little extras like a tire rotation with every oil change. But just look at EVERY SINGLE REVIEW for this location! The only person giving it more than 1 star, gave it 2 stars because she couldn’t independently judge the quality of the work performed. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
So, I leave work early and take my Truck in at 3:30 for an oil change and to see if I need new tires.
(My front left tire had this balding ring which was either created by an alignment issue or because I make a thousand right turns everyday as I go up and down the many levels of my parking garage and the truck leans out on that left front tire. I had just taken my Truck to the dealership to get a recall handled and, after measuring the tread depth with an instrument, they said that the tires could just be rotated and realigned and that the general tread level was holding up nicely.)
Without measuring anything, the Lamb’s guy immediately said «Yep, these are done. I mean, you COULD drive more on these but, you know. .. .» So we go inside and he immediately recommends the Goodyear tire on the wall that has Kevlar built into it and is designed to be semi-​offroad, which I mentioned having no use for. I ask how much. $ 1183. And I know decent tires are expensive, but he was representing that this was their most popular tire. Any moron knows that MOST people aren’t buying $ 1183 tires. Anything else? $ 838. OK, that’s more reasonable, what are they like? «Oh, they’re the same ones you have on there right now.». .. . Oh, yeah, so maybe, just maybe I might be interested in the tires that are EXACTLY like the ones I already have and are $ 300 cheaper than the bulletproof tires you’re pushing this month. So, I tell him to hold off on that and to just do the oil change. «Do I get the free tire rotation with that oil change?» (Seeing the sign on the counter that says I do.) «No, sir. We would never rotate tires in that condition.» (Remember the Toyota dealer had just said rotation was exactly what they needed and the tread was fine. And they sell tires there too.) So, magically I’m not getting the Lamb’s handout tire rotation after I passed on the bulletproof tires.
«OK, so about how long will it be? Should I walk around at the Wal-​Mart across the parking lot or stay put?» «It’ll be about an hour to an hour-​and-​a-​half.» This seemed odd given that it was still only 3:45 and most people had not gotten off work, but whatever. I set out to Wal-​mart thinking that I should be able to pick up my wife by 5:30. I get back to Lamb’s and hangout in the lobby until 5:05 (1:20 later) and I notice that my truck hasn’t moved. The manager sees me looking at my truck and asks the jack ass that’s been «helping» me what’s going on with my oil change. «Yeah, my truck hasn’t moved», I say. «It hasn’t moved?» he says. «No.» He walks around in the garage, presumably cracking some afternoon shift-​skulls, and then reappears and tells me I’ll be up next. «So, about how long?» «Maybe about 45 minutes.» So, my car is next but it takes them 45 minutes to get through a simple oil change for a customer they have clearly forgotten about?
Whatever. I didn’t have 45 minutes at that point, so I got my keys. «Sorry Bro.» Yeah, no shit.
Pros:
— If they want to, they probably know how to fix your car.
Cons:
— They put on a good show, oversell you, take too long, and secretly try to screw you if you don’t but their bulletproof tires.

Wow. Why, oh why didn’t I discover Unilocal BEFORE I went to Lamb’s? I would have known by the crappy reviews here to RUN QUICKLY AWAY.
There was a clanking noise in my undercarriage that needed to be addressed. I was pressed for time, and didn’t follow my cardinal rule for auto repairs — get a second opinion… I will never ever ever do that again.
They said I needed my struts replaced. I had the incredibly expensive repair done. I drove out of the driveway and… SAME DAMN NOISE. I turned around and went right back.
Do you know what he told me?
Can you even venture a guess?
THEY DIDN’T TEST-​DRIVE THE VEHICLE AFTER FIXING IT
What. the. hell.
Who does that?
They looked at it again, and quoted my a price over $ 600 to have my arm control bushings replaced. Of course, I have no intention of letting them do the work for this repair, so I leave, feeling soiled and lied to. I planned to call around for quotes, but was waiting until I had more money, because I didn’t think the difference would be so incredibly vast that I could get the repair done immediately.
My window mechanism went out, and I had the repair done at the Kwik Kar at Brodie & Wm. Cannon. (Don’t worry, I called around for quotes first. They won because their price was on par with everyone else I called, they are incredibly nice, and half-​owned by a woman) While they had my car, I asked about the clanking noise.
Do you know what price they quoted me for the same repair?
Just fathom a guess.
$ 150.
Lamb’s can go to hell.

Wow talk about a rip off.
$ 200 for a Mobil 1 oil change, new cabin air filter and a K&N engine air filter. This was after I had to play hard ball and the pricing on things magically dropped when I hesitated being interested.
They also tried to sell me twenty-​five hundred dollars more parts and services while I was there.
Twenty. Five. Hundred.
The lady sitting next to me was being hounded every five or ten minutes by her sales person for another four– or five-​hundred in services and parts for her car.
Jump off a building, guys. Seriously.