Brownie’s Automotive

Brownie’s is THE BEST! Honest and reliable, reasonable– The car was washed inside and out — looked better than the day I bought it. These people care and it shows– can not recommend them highly enough! thank you for the best service ever!!!

Without question, the most honest, reasonably priced, friendly auto mechanic you will ever meet. I have had four different vehicles serviced here for over 9 years and I have never been anything but impressed, satisfied, and appreciative.

I’m not sure if the people who rave about this guy know anything about cars …
1. I’m irked he put oil in my car without asking my permission, wrong oil buddy.
2. Told me _​_​_​_​_​needs to be replaced. So no its fine I had a new one not too many miles ago the part just needed a new cap it’s not broken or leaking etc. $ 20 fix not a $ 500 fix. Silly rabbit trix are for kids.
3. Said the part that’s actually broken wasn’t but should be fixed anyways.
4. This one REALLY GETS ME. He said labor for this part is $xxx PLUS $xxx for the second part. I understand charging if you need to remove this part today and that tomorrow or maybe umm this part is located here and that’s way over. HAHA but to remove the supposedly broken part you need to remove the actual broken part so hey guess what? There should not be a separate charge for labor when you need to remove one part to get to the other. No logic there.
5. Im peeved my check engine light when on when I got my car back, that’s just strange to say the least. It wasn’t before. That’s what made me think hrm did he do something?
I ended up at a mechanic that’s a good friend of one of my friends… should have just waited. Now I’m worried if this guy broke a thing or two while checking.
You sir are a crook.
Really honest mechanic? In my opinion, keep looking.

BROWNIE IS THE BEST!!! I won’t take my car anywhere else! I know nothing about cars so as a young woman I highly appreciate that I never feel taken advantage of. One time I wasn’t even charged because something just needed to be reset! Who does that!!! I will be sad if I ever move cause I will miss this! I love love love brownies automotive!

Brownie is an honest automotive shop owner that stands behind his shop’s work. I’ve taken my 2005 Dodge Caravan and 1998 Toyota 4Runner for major repairs and was completely satisfied.

We’ve been taking our van to Brownie’s for five years or more. Every experience has been five star. Just picked up our van today. Excellent service as always. Trustworthy and quality. We’ll never go anywhere else!

One of the scary things about moving to a new city is having to find trusted vendors, especially an auto mechanic. A friend told me about Brownie and I’ve brought three cars to him over the past year. Two of them were older, hitting that age where every «fix» is weighed as to whether the investment is worth it given the age of the vehicle. That’s where Brownie’s skill at accurately diagnosing the problem really counts. He’s earned my trust in his ability by hitting the nail on the head every time. His prices are fair too. If you’re looking for an honest mechanic, you’ve found one. I just wish he was open on Saturdays!

Brownie is incredibly honest and does excellent work! I would recommend him to anyone. I needed to get my brakes serviced, so I brought my truck in on Wednesday morning. Brownie called me with a timely quote that was over $ 800 less than two other quotes I had received, and finished the work in the same day. I couldn’t have been happier with the quality of the service, and my overall experience.

I’ve been taking my cars to Brownie for about five years and he has really earned my trust and has proven to even better than the dealer at diagnosing problems (and WAY cheaper). I had a Volvo and the dealer would often over-​diagnose the problem recommending replacing numerous things. Brownie would usually narrow it down to the true problem and repair if possible. I also usually call to make an appointment and has always cranked out my car on the same day if all necessary parts were available.

Brownie is honest and extremely fair in his pricing. He gets things done in the time frame he tells you and he keeps you updated. He is very congenial and I trust him. What more can I tell you. Much better service then you will get from the dealership and much, much more affordable. He does have a night drop now as well. He works on my vehicle as well as my son’s and his girlfriend’s vehicle and none of us have had a complaint!

Best mechanic I have ever encountered; EXTREMELY honest, good/​fair prices. Numerous times I have taken my cars to dealerships to have them tell me I needed «xyz» done only to take them back to Brownie where he communicated the «fixes» were not necessary. He will never upsell you or talk you into doing something that is not needed.
When fixes were needed Brownie has been the lowest bid evey time. I dont go anywhere else.

Brownie is an extremely trustworthy mechanic. He’ll do what he needs to do to get your car fixed. Won’t overcharge. Explains charges. Let’s you know if a job can be put off for a bit. He kept my old beat up van running for much longer than I was entitled to expect it to run.

This is the only place I would ever consider taking my car. Brownie is honest and with all the cars I’ve taken there, he has never tried to talk me into more work than was needed.

I went there for the first time after reading reviews from Unilocal.I have been trying for a very long time to find a mechanic that I can trust and I think that I have found him. Great work so far, didn’t try to up sell me on anything, and he was very affordable. I’m very happy so far!

When it comes to auto mechanics, I have had the worst time in the past trying to find trustworthy ones (who hasn’t?). Thanks to Unilocal,I think I found a great one, and to pay it forward, i feel the need to write a review for Brownie’s myself.
Brownie’s is run by the man himself, a super rad older dude sporting an eye patch and a thick east coast accent that for some reason puts me right at ease. The minute I met him, I wanted him to be my gramps. Outside of my own weird and immediate fondness for the guy, his garage and service are just as the other reviewers have stated.
The experience: I came in around 2pm to get my auto a/​c looked at since the fans were blowing hot air. Brownie was at the desk, and after I told him my troubles, he gave me a rundown on what the very worst case scenario could be (by my insistence), but paused to say it likely wasn’t that severe and that he would run a dye flush through the system to locate freon leaks, which was typically the problem. A couple hours later he called to tell me they did locate a small leak, but he was surprised all the coolant could have leaked out of a single crack and asked if I needed my car back that same day. He wanted to run the dye flush again overnight (no additional charge) to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. I appreciated the thoughtfulness, and he said he’d call the next morning to give me the update. As promised, the next day he reported they’d found an additional leak and that repairs would be complete by lunch. The total cost was much less than I had anticipated and researched. He sent me on my way, and said if I had any more issues with the a/​c to bring it right back, and they’d take care of it no charge.
I don’t want to jinx anything, because I haven’t met one in so long that i didn’t want to heave something heavy and pointy at, but so far, so great.

Female, young, and completely stupid when it comes to cars… all of the signs mechanics look out for when ripping someone off. Not Brownie.
Ive always been scared to go to a mechanic because I know that they know I am the perfect candidate to rip off… Thankfully I have Brownie now and wont ever have that problem again!
He only tells you what is wrong with you car, nothing more, nothing less. He won’t jump to conclusions and have you spend unnecessary amounts of money. Every time I have gone to Brownie he leaves me feeling reassured and not wondering if the problem is really fixed. He is quick, honest, and is easily accessible.

Brownie is the only Austin mechanic I trust. I’ve been in Austin since 1988 and went through several mechanics before I found him. Howdy Honda recommended him, and they use him to certify all of their non-​Honda used cars. Now all of my friends use him too.
Brownie’s honest. He’ll fix exactly what your car needs and no more. He won’t try to upsell you on anything; in fact, it’s just the opposite. He will tell you how to save money. Need Honda maintenance work done? Take it to Brownie and save $$$. Often the Honda dealership will do work just because it’s on the the list, but Brownie will check your car to see if it really needs to be done. If not, it doesn’t get done. That’s just more $$$ in my pocket.
He’ll tell you if your car is on it’s last leg and when it’s time to get rid of it without letting it become a money pit. If you need a good used car, he can tell you what’s crossed his path that’s really good.
Brownie can do anything and do it well. And he’s funny. .. but I’m not sure he knows it. ;-)

Brownie is the guy to take your vehicle when it doesn’t work.
I’ve had 3 different vehicles fixed by him. Each time he does his work fast and he does it right. He’s never tried talking me into work that was too expensive; actually he has always talked me out of the expensive stuff if it could be avoided. For instance, when an inspection station said I had to change my cat converter, Brownie replaced my O2 sensors at a fraction of the cost and said that cat converters are always blamed for problems with emissions codes but they only get blamed cause they are more expensive than O2 sensors. I appreciated him saving me 1000+ dollars.
Hes also fixed super easy stuff and has either charged me just labor or in one case didnt charge me at all. He’s told me when stuff will need to be fixed down the road so that I won’t be surprised.
I’ve only had to take a vehicle back to him once and that was because a wire came loose for my horn while they were fixing something else in my dash. He fixed it in less than an afternoon and didn’t charge me. A small inconvenience but he handled it perfectly.
Most of my friends get their cars worked on by Brownie, too. There aren’t many guys who care about the job more than the money. Save yourself some unnecessary stress and give Brownie a call.

I am pretty much in agreement with the other posters. I took my car hear a couple of years ago when I suspected that the dealership had mis-​diagnosed and air conditioning problem. Brownie’s was able to discover the actual problem (amazing that Maxwell Ford thought that replacing the perfectly good compressor cluch would fix a coolant leak in the evaporator coil). The owner was very up front about repair costs and helped me make an informed decison whether to fix the problem or get a new vehicle.
I would definitely recommend the repair shop for any older car that is out of warranty.

I have been taking my car to Brownie’s since I was a teenager. My family has used him for every car they have driven since we moved to Austin 25 years ago. He is reliable, honest, and will treat your car right. I highly recommend him! He now has a night drop if you need to drop your car off after hours so he can fix it the next morning. You can also call ahead and schedule a time to take your car in if you know you will be needing specific repairs, like brakes, oil change, etc. He will also tell you about things that could be a problem and when to bring your car back in for him to follow up and make any necessary repairs.
GOD BLESS BROWNIE!