Salem’s Auto Center

I love these guys!
They won’t judge you for what you may consider a silly question, honest, timely and quite versed in customer service they have never let me down or turned me away.
Not being the best client, I can often be known to call in for a car check up the day before a road trip. They always fit me into their day and work with the fact I have to pay over the phone and pick my car up after they close. I have been abused by many a car care or oil change spot but upon discovering this little gem, I will never take my car or refer anyone anywhere else in the city. Ask forTony, the admiral of car care. Gotta love Salems Auto!

I’ve got to Salem’s several times, and always been happy with the work, the prices and the customer service. I decided to write a review today, because earlier in the month, I brought my car in for inspection and talked with Tony about my starter. I described the symptoms, and he agreed that it sounded like the starter was going out and needed to be replaced before it stranded me. I decided to put it off until next month, but the other night, I left my dome light on, and with the weakened battery, my starter just couldn’t crank the engine over. I took it in to get the starter replaced, and a few hours later Tony called to tell me that the battery was actually shot, and that with a new battery, there’d be no need to replace my starter any time soon. I asked a couple of questions, and he said that if I really wanted, he’d replace the starter, but the battery was much cheaper, and he just didn’t see a need to replace the starter at this point. I was totally prepared to pay for the new starter, so he could have easily made a quick buck off me, but instead he just put a new battery in and saved me a bunch of money.

I have been taking my car to Salem’s for several years now. He and his team are very professional and friendly. I always leave Salem’s with the utmost confidence that my car has been taken care of and that I won’t have any problems. They will never advise you to get service that you don’t need. If you are in search for a reliable auto shop, look no further.

I’ve gone to Salem’s on two occasions: to get an oil/​battery change, and to fix an issue that was causing my car to stall on the road. The second visit was what blew me away. I ended up needing to pick up my car early, and so Salem and his staff had not had enough time to fully check out the car. However, they did find a busted hose and replaced it – no charge for the parts or labor. It’s been a month since that visit, and the hose must’ve been the issue — the car has run fine since. Other auto shops would have charged ~$ 50 for this.

I found out about Salem’s from my neighborhood list-​serve and I am so glad that I took the advice! The Toyota dealership had told me that I needed to replace a bunch of fluids for a total of $ 411, which made me choke. I called Salem’s for a quote and they said $ 269. But after I dropped off my car, Tommy called and said that two of the fluids looked like they were brand new and he didn’t want to charge me for services I didn’t need. So refreshing to find an honest mechanic!

My car break’s started to make this terrifying sound, so I took the car to a shop. After assessment, the guy told me in a grave, worried, voice, that «we have a more serious problem», and, in addition to the brakes, they need to replace the calipers and the lug nuts, for a total close to $ 900. Since I wasn’t willing to pay that much, I decided to go to a different shop, which happened to be Salem’s.
Here they were very professional, did everything that was needed in only a few hours, and, on my specific request, checked the calipers and the lug nuts and confirmed that everything was ok there. And the bill was under half of what I was about to pay at the other place. Note that I am an absolute moron when it comes to cars, and it shows, so they could sell me whatever.
Besides, English is not my first language, and I don’t understand auto mechanics even in my native language, which is Romanian. The person who took care of my car was extremely nice, patient, and willing to understand whatever I was mumbling, so he could meet my needs. It was particularly funny when I insisted to call the lug nuts «bolts» on the phone, so he asked me to describe them (I have no idea what they are), and all I was able to say — but it worked! — was: «well, I have 16 of them».

I went here a few years ago to get an oil change after seeing a deal on Unilocal.The woman who was working the front desk is the reason for the lackluster experience. She had Fox News on full blast, making uncomfortable comments and even asking me for my thoughts. I believe a business is allowed to display their political beliefs, but asking a customer about theirs is inappropriate.
When I told her about the Unilocal deal, she said that they were no longer accepting it since it’s not on the website anymore, but she’d make an exception. Their page was absolutely still showing the coupon — I had printed it the same day. The oil change itself wasn’t that cheap after the discount.
I understand that the review is a little dated, but I felt compelled to share my experience. I’ll never go back. The management must have had a say in hiring that woman and it just shows their lack of judgment.

I can’t say enough great things about Salem’s Auto Center, if only I could give these guys more stars!
After having a good experience with them when they replaced my worn out clutch on my ’97 Nissan pick up 4 months ago, I went back to have a number of other items serviced (belts, valve cover gasket, A.C. diagnostic and repair, etc). From start to finish Salem and Tony were professional, courteous, extremely knowledgeable and detail oriented. They took the time to go over every issue and explain the work that would be performed and estimates on each service. In fact, when I brought it in the second time they had notes on my account on what follow up services they had recommended and the prices they had quoted, saving us both time and explanation.
I just picked up my truck and it is now purring like new, A.C. is cold and they even cleaned it up for me. And the final bill… well thank you guys soo much! Being a native Austinite with an old truck, I’ve been to numerous mechanics in town. Not anymore. Salem’s has my business from here on out.
Seriously, check them out next time you need auto repair, you won’t regret it.

My car was actually ready when it was promised, and the work was done correctly. More often than not, this has not been my experience with other shops. I will be back to this one.

It still cost $ 39 (tax included) for a general oil change after coupon applied. Doesn’t seem a good deal. Don’t understand why someone’s review says their oil change price is unbeatable…

Having just moved here I didnt have an auto repair place i trusted. I wanted to find a place that could get my car fixed up and in and out in a decent time. Salem’s did that. they fixed it up, explained everything to me, were fair on pricing and were pleasant to be around. I will be headed back there if i need to for sure!

I literally just picked my car up from Salem’s and had to write a review immediately!
My car just needed to be checked out. Something wasn’t working with the wiper fluid, it was up for inspection, the tires needed air (shut up, I hate doing this myself) and I’m about to take it on a road trip so I just wanted to make sure everything was in proper working order.
I chose Salem’s because they’re within walking distance from my house and now I’m so happy to know that there’s such a great place so close by! The guy who helped me was super nice, they called me to give me an update and it was even done 30 minutes earlier than I thought it would be! Best of all, the price came out to $ 40. Yes, that’s right, $ 40 for an inspection, fixing the wiper fluid situation, putting air in the tires and doing an all around check of everything. Are you kidding me?!
I will definitely be coming back here for any future car needs.

Took my car back in because the check engine light was on, they had my car fixed up in 3 days, and it wasn’t over priced, yeah I finally found an auto repair shop I can trust!

Absolutely wonderful service.
I freaked out when my car wouldn’t start this morning and looked up the closest auto repair shop (with good Unilocal reviews) to my apartment — luckily it was Salem’s.
They recommended Tiger Trux Towing who came by my apartment building after about an hour wait. Unfortunately, the tow truck couldn’t fit in my apartment’s parking garage, but the Tiger’s guy waited at my apartment until Salem could come by himself to look at my car.
After giving it a jump, I drove to the shop where I was in and out in 15 minutes — turns out my car needed a new battery.
Communication was constant throughout the entire ordeal, and multiple times during my meltdown I was told, «Don’t worry. We will make sure this is taken care of.»
Salem and affiliates are really lovely people that go above and beyond when it comes to car troubles. I will definitely be returning for any other auto repairs.

After my last review of poor service at Salem’s, Salem contacted me himself and apologized sincerely and has gone out of his way to make up for the issues I dealt with previously. I can tell he truly cares about the customer service and he’s changed my mind about the way that shop is run. Thanks Salem! I’ll be taking my car in for it’s next auto repair, knowing they will give me great service. I’m glad to keep it local.

Salem Jr.‘s a great guy. He has the church-​pastor vibe to him, which I’m not sure makes him a good mechanic or not. I had several bad breakdowns and I went to Salem because I knew that I could trust him with my car. He gave some important recommendations, but unfortunately I couldn’t afford it.
He is not cheap. Labor and parts run high, but if you have the money, go with him. He’ll do a fantastic job and you can trust him. He even fixed my door for free because it was just a matter of putting the bolt in right.

I came by the shop on a Saturday when Salem was doing some work on his car. Salem took the time to stop working on his car and talk to me about my concern with my car. I went back on the following Monday and he was super kind and helpful. It’s been a while since I’ve had a mechanic that I feel comfortable with. I got a great feeling from Salem and all the employees that I spoke with. I will most assuredly go into this shop again the next time my car needs to be worked on.
Also 5 bucks off an oil change for checking in on Unilocal can’t be beat

I was a little overdue on my state inspection and oil change, so I took my baby Honda to Salem’s. I arrived as a walk-​in, and when I got there, the man behind the counter (who I think was Salem himself?) said that the state inspector left but would be back in an hour. But he was super apologetic and gave me a card to call ahead and make sure the inspector was there before I came back.
When I came back again about an hour and a half later, they took my car in right away. Everyone was SUPER nice to me, I had my car done in a half an hour, and they even gave me the remote control to the TV so I could watch whatever I wanted while my car was being taken care of. I mentioned Unilocal,and I got $ 5 off my oil change… AND after your fourth oil change, you get a free one!
I had always gone to Lamb’s on Far West for my oil changes, and I thought they were good, but Salem’s totally blew them out of the water. Friendly, comfortable, easy location, and offers savings. You just can’t beat that!

I consistently get great service from Salem’s. They go out of their way to make my experience pleasant and always pleasant. I will continue to give them my business.
Best VW service I’ve gotten in Austin. Been to Revolution Motors, Maund, and Kenny Hill Autowerks.

This place is awesome and it just keeps getting better. I stopped into this place for a state inspection about a year ago (hey…I guess its time for that again) and Salem was so nice, that I made a point to come back.
Just to list a few nice things– has his dad drive me home after I drop my car off, matched the price of a rude competitor so I didn’t have to go there, has told me to call him if I find my battery dead on a cold morning, popped a headlight in for free, and today– his employee popped a huge dent out of my car just because!
I don’t know a lot about the type of work I had done, but I can say that I haven’t had any problems with it. I always feel like he is being honest about what I need done, and he helps me balance quality and budget.
Overall, its sorta like if my dad was a nearby auto mechanic.