Precision Tune Auto Care

Sometimes I learn a lesson again and it’s a total drag. The lesson I re-​learned here is: call before purchasing a groupon. I don’t buy a lot of groupons as they’re a a double edged sword for businesses — especially if they sell too many or aren’t clear in their fine print. In this instance, based on the repeated loud exclamations, the Groupon was opted into by «corporate» and it’s really «screwing their business.»
I spent four hours waiting for an oil change and an alignment check. Four hours out of the middle of my day. The expectation set was for two hours (which I still thought was too long.) Had I known it would be four hours, I would have found something else to do. Go home? Buy too much stuff at half price books? Learn a language?
What you should know:
+ You cannot make an appt with your groupon here unless it’s the first oil change of the day at 8am. They’re currently accepting reservations for January 28^th onward.
+ The groupon is actually more expensive than the actual price of their oil change by $ 1.
+ The «premium» oil change does not include synthetic oil so your bargain ends up costing $ 53
+ They only have one alignment bay and that will cause a delay for the service. Alignment checks are always free here but you have to wait for them.
+ They do have wifi and water and a place for you to sit and a bathroom.
+ The people there seem quite nice and somewhat overwhelmed.
+ If you get a groupon, you’re put on a separate list (like the B-​list) for wait times.
If you decide to go forward with a routine oil change here, obviously skip the groupon and be prepared to wait for a long damn time. With the number of places around town doing specials or simply reasonably priced work, you can pretty safely avoid this spot.

Groupon customers, beware of the $ 29 headlight restoration deal. The regular price for this service is $ 20. Business practices like this erode trust. If you have not viewed your voucher yet, cancel it for the refund.
The service was fine and my headlights look good, but I am turned off by this shady pricing tactic.

While I was an undergrad at UT, I would come to this shop to get all my car needs met. Kerry is a fantastic guy with a very relaxed and carefree outlook on life. He makes you feel very reassured and gets all of your car needs met.
As a girl, I never felt like I was getting taken advantage of and was always offered the best advice when it came to the care of my car. I always appreciated the honesty and will definitely miss getting my car serviced here!

Haven’t had any bad experiences or token «everything is broken and it’ll cost $ 500 to fix» moments here.
There was another review which claimed they were lying to them about their brake pads wearing out. Well, they told me the same, I opened it up at home, and oh hey, they’re worn to the bone. I know it probably seems benign for a while, but stuff like that causes bigger problems over time.
Anyway, my point being that they’ve been reliable and the negative reviews are making mountains out of molehills. One of the good options if you don’t want to go downtown to the super-​popular mechanics.

They cracked my canister filter cap in half on a routine oil change, costing me $ 50 now that the next mechanic has found it. They didn’t tell me they had broken a part, just sent me on down the road. They also convinced me to put in an oil weight that is against the manufacturer specifications, which seems shady at the time. The new mechanic new the exact manufacturer specs better than I did after reading the manual (two possible engine types) and explained them to me in detail as to what my oil options were. Do not trust this place.

Took my car there for a routine oil change. It took them about an hour (I went to lunch while they worked on it). Friendly service, fair prices, no complaints. They included a list of recommended services and the prices for each service. Judging from the reviews, several people have had not so great experiences there, so I’m wary of getting any real work done there. But it was perfectly fine for an oil change.

What a terrible experience. If you feel like spending far too much for nothing being done, while also getting no information unless you check in, then by all means, please waste your time here. My car’s check engine light had come on and I needed to take it in over the weekend. We had been here before and had no problems, but this time will be our last time. We dropped off my car about 30 minutes after they opened, had heard nothing by 1 pm, so WE followed up. They had «just started» checking my car. After TWO-​AND-​A-​HALF HOURS, WE followed up again, were told what was wrong but that they would follow up in «just a minute» to let us know what next steps would be. After 45 minutes of waiting for them to follow up, we knew if we didn’t get to the shop soon it would close before I could get my car. No attempt at contact was made by the time we arrived at the shop. When we arrived there was no apology for the lack of contact, one of the problems had fixed itself, and the other part wouldn’t be available until Monday. When my husband asked if there was anything they could do about the poor communication, he was told they could waive the charge for the problem that fixed itself. We were still charged full price for an over-​priced diagnostic check and told that was «all they could do.» Seriously, a waste of time, money, and we still have to take my car in to our regular place that is only open on week days. AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

How often do you get charged less than the quote for car repairs? It happened to me at the N. Lamar PrecisionTune this week. This business is run honestly and their work is first-​rate. Can a reduced rate be expected often? No, because they are excellent diagnosticians and usually get it right from the get-​go, but if a repair quote comes in lower for some reason, expect to benefit from it. Repair on older cars can be difficult and no one can be expected to get it right 100% of the time, but in my experience the performance of this shop is impressive. Highly recommended.

I like that this company doesn’t try to tell you everything that’s «wrong» with your car like most places do, but this specific store is disgusting. Extremely dirty, toilet doesn’t flush and no water from sink. Parking lot was full of cars from construction workers even before the store opened so there was zero parking.

Great shop with a very amiable frontman, Kerry. Only drawback was waiting longer than was estimated, but that’s not unusual.

Kerry Kerry Kerry!!! He is awesome, been a customer with him for ages, and love working with him. In our house, what Kerry says about the cars, goes.

Amazing! When the place next door didn’t have the spark plug I needed, Kerry made a call and 15 minutes later, the plug was there. And it is fair to say that this is the funniest, most entertaining wait for a car repair: there was a guy hanging out in the waiting room who is like Kramer to Kerry’s Seinfeld.

I’ve been coming here for almost 5 years now and couldn’t be happier with the service. Kerry is a straight-​shooter and treats his customers right. Never get the feeling that I’m paying more than I should for parts or service (which is a first for me in dealing with other repair shops or dealers in the past.) Mechanics do excellent work — only reason I’ve had to come back on the same issue has been for a bad battery and struts that were replaced free of charge under warranty. Service is usually very fast (like to get there when they open at 8.) Surprised by the negative reviews. Been a gold mine for me in Austin and highly recommend this place to others.

Even though I’ve read several bad reviews. I would like to say that we have taken the car to a couple of other shops and this has been the only shop that has been helpful and honest with us. We will keep bringing our car here. Great customer service and always satisfied with the work they do on the car.

I can’t say I trust these guys, which is imperative when you are putting your safety and the maintenance of one of your biggest investments in their hands. I went in the day before my birthday for an oil change. I told them that I was driving to New Orleans the next day for a long weekend. After changing my oil, they told me that I needed new brakepads, «they were at 10%,» and there was no way I would make it to Nola without destroying my rotors and having to replace both on the way there. I told them that I didn’t hear them squeaking, and he said that many of the new break pads do not squeak when they need to be replaced. How does that make sense? Inventors thought, «hey, let’s get rid of the safety features on this item?» They said it would be like $ 250 to replace the brakepads. After they tried to scare me some more, I explained that I didn’t have $ 250, they gave up and let me go.
Let’s just say, I made it to Nola and back, and it has been two more months. I still hear no squeaking and no scraping of any kind. I guess it must have been those inventors doing away with the wear indicators… More likely it was a bunch of slimy men trying to take advantage of me because I’m a woman. I will not be back.

I have been going to Precision Tune Auto Care since I got my car in 2009 my junior year of college. Kerry and his team have always been great with prices and servicing my car. I had one issue with my car the other day that was a few days out of warranty and he still fixed it, free of charge.
Basically, I will be going to Precision Tune as long as I live in Austin.

What a mess. This place is around the corner from me so I went after having a few not so positive experiences when I was in a hurry to get an alignment done. I was told it would take an hour. After an hour and a half, here are a list of things that did happen– the only other person in the waiting room left with an apology and a free oil change because of some mistake that was made on his car that he was there to have fixed, the guy behind the counter spent a good long while on the phone apologizing to a customer for a mistake that was made on their car, I asked if he could check on my car to make sure I was still on schedule to get to my next appointment– then when he returned to the waiting room, the guy behind the counter proceeded to flirt with the young lady who had apparently been ripped off by the battery shop she went to and give her advice on what to do– which did not include doing business at his establishment– before me asking again if he checked on my car, which he didn’t.
Things that did not happen: my car getting an alignment. When he came back with my status update, after over an hour had passed, he told me that they hadn’t started yet, that the car before mine had taken a long time and they’d be starting my car any time now. So, that was when I asked for my keys and left, going to my next appointment having wasted and hour of my time and not having gotten anything done. I feel like with so few people in the waiting room, he should have let me know they hadn’t gotten to my car once he knew the time line was off and I wouldn’t be leaving in the amount of time he promised. Instead he was too busy flirting with young women and apologizing for mistakes made in his shop. I won’t be back and I recommend you don’t waste your time or put your car at risk.

While I waited 2 hours for the first oil-​change I got from them, subsequent visits have gone much quicker (~30−45 mins). I suppose it’s all in the timing.
The guys at the office are very knowledgeable and generally open to questions/​discussions. I feel like I’ve finally found a shop that I can trust and form a relationship with.
Side note: They have delicious free coffee from one of those little Keurig machines, so you can choose the flavor you want. :)

NO, NO, NO, NO. Turn your car around and leave right now. I went in with a car that appeared to be overheating, per the gauge. As it was 12pm on a Saturday this was my only choice. I came in and told them that I thought it was the thermostat. They told me that it was probably the fluid, that it was low and should be «ok», I told Kerry that I had checked the fluid level and it was fine but he could do whatever he wanted. I had a friend pick me up to go the lunch I was going to before this happened.
After 2 hrs had passed and hadn’t heard from them I called, Kerry said he had tried to call but it didn’t work (pretty sure that wasn’t true) he informed me that they thought it was my Thermostat. Thanks for the affirmation Kerry. He told me it would be $ 240 to replace it. I said to go ahead and replace it and asked how long it would take. He said an hr. I came back @3 and they said that the car was still showing as overheating but that when taking an external reading of my cars engine block and hoses it was reading normal. To which I replied «so it’s the sensor.» Kerry said «well, it could be that or it could be something bigger internally going on»
Annoyed and beginning to feel like I was getting «the girl in an autoshop» treatment I walked next door to the O’Reilly’s and bought the sensor, it was $ 9. After waiting at the counter to tell them to replace the sensor for a solid 30mins, Kerry, comes to me and said «we think it’s the sensor». I then slid said sensor to him and said «that one». He then said «well I don’t think it’s the right one». I replied «it is»
He went in the shop to educate me on where this sensor is located. Low and behold its right next to the engine and extremely easy to get to. No removal needed, just pop the cap off of it and voila, it is done. Kerry then told me that this «procedure» would cost $ 280. UMMMM yeah no. I told him I would take the car home.
I just finished replacing it. It took me all of 5 mins from start, looking it up on Youtube, to finish. Works like a charm. Don’t go here. Just don’t.

After 24 years, a Corolla finally stranded me. The key couldn’t turn and the ignition cylinder had to be replaced. My car was towed to Precision Tune Auto Care where Kerry and his staff took care of it.
Kerry’s an honest mechanic who won’t try to upsell you anything or find imaginary problems with your car. While I was in the waiting room, a bunch of other customers came, hung around, and chatted with Kerry. They all seemed familiar with each other like in some nice, 1950s small town – except this is North Central Austin in the year 2010. I also overheard him on the phone with other customers and he was really fair with them, often going the extra mile.
The part my car needed took several calls to find locally and I paid a hefty price for it; otherwise, this first trip to Precision Tune Auto Care was pretty fun and ended happily. The labor price was fair.
There is free coffee and a soft drink vending machine (12-​oz cans for 75 cents). There are some magazines about parenting, homes, cars, and science.
They also service Priuses!
This was my first non-​tire-​related auto repair visit in Austin and will be my future auto repair place. Their hours are better than average Austin auto repair places, too:
Mon — Fri: 8:00 — 5:30
Sat: 8 — 5
The ignition tumbler replacement job was fine. When my tow truck driver dropped us off, he recognized one of the mechanics (whose name escaped my mind) and said he was good.
Precision Tune Auto Care is easy to find. It is the north neighbor of O’Reilly Auto Parts and right across from Half-​Price Books. If you are waiting around for hours, there are some mediocre restaurants nearby.