Southwest Automotive

I truly appreciate the hard work of the guys at Southwest. No matter how busy, they always try to get me in and back on the road as soon as possible. It's hard to find a shop that cares about what you have going on...definitely recommend! more

I will not take my vehicles any where else! Rick, Bob and everyone at Southwest Automotive are awesome. With all the advanced technology on cars today, its good to know that I have someone I can trust with our cars. I have taken cars in for what turned out to be minor repairs that I either was not charged for or paid very little for them to fix. They have never tried to upsell me for anything and when they fix something, its fixed! Repairs are always completed on time. Seriously, if you are in the Oak Hill area, this is where you need to be taking your cars! more

I have been a customer of Southwest Automotive Repair for over 25 years, since about 1984. Other than taking a new vehicle back to the dealer for warranty work, Southwest Automotive is the only auto repair shop that I will take my vehicles to for any and all repairs. The staff at Southwest Automotive (Rick, Bob and Aaron) are not only knowledgeable and competent, but they also genuinely care about repairing your vehicle right and for a fair and honest price. In the 25 plus years that I have taken my various vehicles (over 10 different vehicles) to Southwest Automotive, they have done the repair right the first time and I don?t ever recall having to take a vehicle back to them because the repair wasn?t done right the first time. The other positive thing I like about Southwest Automotive is that when I take my vehicle in for repair in the morning, they get it back to me on the same day just about 99.9% of the time. Only on a rare occasion have I ever had to leave a vehicle overnight more

I would not take my car here again. They over charge significantly. I used to take my car to a place in Houston that wasn't the cheapest, but was fair. I don't mind paying a little more to know my car is in good hands. However, Southwest Automotive quoted me an extremely high price for what should have been around $700. When I expressed my discernment with the total we decided to not do some of what they were saying needed to be done. They warned me that they may encounter problems when they were working. When I heard nothing, I thought, "No news is good news." But when they called to tell me the car was done and give me the total, it was back up to $1100. I was told that two parts had broken totaling around $200 in parts. They will rip you off here no matter what. I had expected a call if anything had happened and when I asked why I wasn't called to approve the fixes, they told me that they had warned that unexpected things can happen. For the $400 difference I wish I had more

Another repair shop told me I needed to replace a window motor and regulator. Calling around I heard that it's usually one or the other that need replaced, not both, so I took it to Southwest Automotive because of their good reviews. They were able to salvage the regulator so that we only had to replace the motor. The price to get my window working was half of what the other company was going to charge. more

The air conditioning recently stopped working in my VW. Under normal circumstances, I usually take the car to a well known Austin VW mechanic. However, my father (who has taken his Dodge there) swears by Southwest Automotive and suggested I give them a try. Much like the fantastic service I have heard so much about, my experience in auto repair with these guys was excellent! Bob is so kind and was amazingly patient throughout a rather difficult process with an extended warranty company. I cannot thank him enough for his understanding. Rick is devoted to supreme customer satisfaction, and is an owner who truly believes in providing outstanding service to his community. In addition, he is a great conversationalist which adds to the overall experience. When signing out, the technician who worked on my car came in ? he was also very kind and seemed to really enjoy working for this establishment. There are no mundane aspects to speak of when it comes to this repair shop. Not to mention, t more

I have taken our vehicles to Southwest Automotive Repair for more than 15 years. I will not go anywhere else. Always excellent, competent, reliable, and customer friendly. I know our family is safer on the road because or Rick, Bob, and the guys. Take your vehicle to them if you want the best. more

We have been taking both of our vehicles to Southwest Automotive now for over 2 years and every time we go, we find they fix the problem and are very honest. They have a GREAT online tracking system for their customers to look into records and see what was fixed, when, costs, etc. and we have seen the things done over 2 years to 'align' with the car's needs/timeline, etc. Prices are reasonable - not cheap but not overpriced/outrageous, their service is QUICK if you let them know you really depend on the car and need it done quickly. Very easy to work with! Pros: Customer Service, Communication more

I found this shop by using Google to search on (sans <> brackets). After investigating the most pertinent hits, it was the reviews from this site that led me to Southwest Automotive Repair (SAR). I'm somewhat new to Austin, and very new to this neighborhood.\r \r From the moment I walked in the door I had a good feeling about the place. I've owned mostly old vehicles, and moved around a lot, so I'm very familiar with the process of trying to find a reliable mechanic (which can be a very trying experience).\r \r I first dealt with Rick, the current owner. I had a diagnosis (and estimate, which I did not mention) from a dealer, so he was able to give me an immediate estimate. (I've been getting my service at 1st Texas Honda, another excellent shop, but they were unable to do the work due to them not being able to get the necessary parts through their approved suppliers, due to the advanced age of my car.) I watched Rick look up the parts and time for the job. (If y more

After reading the excellent reviews I referred my husband to your shop when he noticed a clunking noise when shifting from reverse into drive in our Honda. Worried about what type of repairs we might face as this was our only form of transportation I went ahead and provided your shop name & number. But our concerns were put to rest when he was told there was no problem at all. The gentleman he spoke with on the phone he said was very helpful and said he would do his best to get to the vehicle when he brought it in. When arriving he was greeted by a man named Rick who took him back right away to overlook the vehicle. After test driving and getting a second look by his technician they told him every looked good. He mentioned to my husband that it didn't seem to have a problem when he was shifting. He then asked my husband if there was any recent paving that was being done in our area. My husband confirmed yes and Rick quickly singled out the problem. Apparently gravel rocks from the pavi more

my dad owns this shop, and I've heard nothing but great things since i was little. i know a lot of the customers that come here and all are really great! thank you soooo much for posting such good things. i would really love to grow up and handle people the same way my father does. he's never lied to anyone, and will help anyone who asks. so thanks again. and he can fix transmissions, but there might have been something more complex about the situation you had that he couldn't fix. sorry (; more

I have used SW Auto for 16 years. I've used a few other auto shops in my 25 years in Austin but these guys are the best in my opinion. They are not necessarily the cheapest, but they are honest, they don't try to sell unnecessary parts or repairs and they guarantee their work. My only complaint is that they are not open on weekends! more

I took my car here after being referred by a friend. Having taken my car to another mechanic who had no idea what the problem was, the owner and lead mechanic at Southwest diagnosed the problem immediately and fixed it promptly. Prices were good too. There was one problem he couldn't fix (transmission), so he sent me to another reliable garage. Pros: Convenient Southwest location, trustworthy, owner operated Cons: Not able to fix transmissions more

Our family van recently broke down and was having multilple problems. I took the van to several shops for estimates of what it would cost to get the work done. I found a few places that were a little cheaper, but they just did not seem as knowledgeable as this shop. These guys really seemed honest, were very friendly, and their prices were pretty good. They had our van fixed in a suprisingly fast time, without any extra expenses being tacked on. I will be going back here the next time we need work done. more

This is by far the best auto repair center I have found in South Austin. I am a bit spoiled as my entire family (in NJ) are auto mechanics. Finding a reliable, honest auto repair shop is very difficult. Although my knowledge of cars in minimal, they have never treated me as "dumb" and have never tried to sell me unneeded services or parts. (The reason I know this, is because any diagnosis has been relayed to my brother in NJ for verification - he has even called then and talked to them as manager to manager. My brother manages a auto repair shop in NJ.) Actually I don't do this anymore as I completely trust the shop now.\r \r Rick, the general manager is friendly and helpful. They always drive me back home when I have to drop my car off. They are quick to get back to me with the diagnosis and cost of any problem or regular maintenance work. Their prices are far better than the Dealer's shops! As a member of a mechanic family, I know that fixing cars is expensive, but Southwest more