Silvio’s Autohouse

I would highly recommend Silvio’s to anyone with a German make vehicle. I have gone to two other German mechanic shops but Silvio’s always goes the extra mile! I’ve had my BMW serviced by them many times and had two repairs by them. They take extended warranties and are very honest. Arguably the best German service center in Houston. Their hours make it a little tough to get your car in to be seen but it is well worth it!

A great place to take your German car for mechanic work. The staff is honest and was very helpful with all my questions. Prices are not the cheapest in a town but you can be assured you will get the best service.
Will continue to take my car here to get work done.

Silvio and his team are excellent mechanics… Silvio is a straight shooter… He works on my 1983 MB CDT… Not too many mechanics work or want to work on a vintage Mercedes !!

Silvio’s is a very honest, trustworthy mechanic shop. The prices are extremely reasonable and the staff always goes the extra mile to provide excellent service.

I have been their customer at least five years, not because of their service, but its convenient location. Every time, I mean every time, they failed to complete the work 100%. In 2010, I sent my car for oil change. When they told me that job was done, I found that the engine oil lid were lost after I drove home. I went to the auto house again. They gave me a used one. No sorry said. In 2011, I sent the car for engine temperature warning. They said radiator was broken and replaced it by a new one. However, engine light was still on. It took three days to figure out that the fans didn’t work. Can I say the old radiator may still work and they made wrong diagnose? In 2012, I found steering fluid leaking. After they fixed it, I found the steering fluid lid lost. I repair my car by myself when I have time. I am very familiar with it. I sent the car for oil change again. I found the engine oil drop to the floor a lot during couple hours. They didn’t put engine oil drain plug gasket, so I drove the car to ask them fix it. When I drove car home, I found that the bottom plastic body cover was lost. And they said «there was no cover for this car». They also said, «You may make it off and we don’t want to fix your car any more.» I was totally shocked by their ridiculous assumption. Come on, this is my car and I know that it absolutely has a cover. I will never ever waste time there. I hope this review can help the current and future customers. They won’t never recognize their fault. If you have business with them, you’d better check the work when you pick up the car. They will charge $ 400 to fix the old problem and their repairing will cause another new problem. That’s how they run the business.

My wife and I have been bringing her 2003 C240 here for 10 years. Trustworthy, honest, and competitively priced. Silvio and Ralph are the only honest mechanics I have met to this day. Highly recommend.

I’ve never felt more at ease working with a mechanic. Very honest, timely, and superb quality work. A+ would recommend highly.

Great prices, quality work, no frills, this place is a gem for your European car needs.
Highly recommended.

Silvio is a straight forward guy! It takes a while to warm up to him but only because he trust his own experience not yours! This makes sense considering if you know the part and issue you’ll fix it yourself! Price of-​course will be cheaper on the internet, and the labor might be free if you perform it yourself… However do consider Silvio autohaus is a business, and his employees, property tax and operations maintenance has to also get paid, this is why estimates seems that of a surcharge! Silvio has kept his words in all the warrantees — that is honesty! He might not be a Saint, but he is a good man.
Christian Tan

Do excellent work at fair prices and don’t nickle and dime you over little things.

Folks:
Not sure why there are any negative reviews here. Over the last several years I have regularly taken my three volkswagens here for service and repairs. What I have found is good service for a fair price. When you are talking about german cars, not everyone can work on them. Both Silvio and Ralf have always been straightforward and direct in their dealings with me. They have advised me of how I can save money a number of times and have always been sensitive to cost. They call me when something unexpected shows up. They explain things well. So, my only guess for any negative reviews is that the people who have a bone to pick are indeed the problem themself. I now drive an Audi and I will still use them when my car is out of warranty at 100K miles.

I’ve now been bringing my 02 vw jetta 1.8t here for a few years. I’m not sure really what these recent reviews are about as Silvio has always been extremely easy to work with (Probably karma looking over the users reviews…) Often times when I bring it in he’ll find other issues I wasn’t aware of, however he never forces work on you as these other people suggest, more often then not telling you to leave it and check on it again next visit. I think that’s pretty fair.

Keep your TDI diesels away!!! An obvious lack of knowledge. I drive an A3 TDI, and called to get a quote on a transmission fluid change– as part of scheduled maintenance.
They said they could do it, no problem. I asked for the cost, and they said I would have to book an appointment and come in (in 2 weeks), and could not quote over the phone because they didn’t know what kind of fluid it takes without looking at the transmission. I understand undiagnosed problems need in-​person quotes– but NOT a scheduled maintenance fluid change. I understand taking a few minutes even to check on the procedure if it has been a while, but, again, this shouldn’t require bringing a vehicle in.
This is laughable and a great way to rip people off. Not only does the manual contain this information, it is available all over the web or even a quick call to a dealership, and they probably should have known from working on other TDI’s. Obviously their TDI expertise is nonexistent. Or they just could have cared less about earning new business.
I opted to just quit while I was ahead, instead of educating them on what they should already know.

Found my new mechanic to work on my BMW… Great service, less then the dealership but without sacrificing quality.

I came here after seeing such high ratings here on Unilocal.From the reviews I thought Silvio would have no problem fixing my car.
I do give it that Silvio is knowledgeable about his craft, but his attitude was cocky and really stuck up.
As a good owner, I did some research online about what was causing the problems of my vehicle. Silvio got FURIOUS when I (trying to be of good help) mentioned that I had seen some people online having the same symptoms, and was wondering if it was the same problem. I was taken back wen he erupted in anger about me looking up stuff online… So I remained quiet.
Silvio fixed something but the problem was not completely fixed and so I drove the car back the next day. After spending a few more hours on the car Silvio said it «should be» another part (but he didn’t seem sure). And he wanted to charge me 400 dollars from the dealer. So I went online and saw the same part (non oem) selling for $ 30 shipped! So I called Silvio and was wondering if I could purchase this non oem part since 400 was over my budget. I guess this was a huge mistake… This is when Silvio blew up, and criticized me for thinking I knew more than him. He said I need to get off the Internet, and that he was no longer interested in fixing my car.
Wow, so I was shocked. First time I got «dumped and rejected» by my mechanic… Silvio wants his old clientele who just blindly trust him. Sorry, I just can’t blindly trust a mechanic, when resources like the Internet are available. And even if your clients are naïve and go on the Internet, that is not a warrant to get angry at your customers!

What a ripoff!
I used to trust Silvio but the man is just a cheating mechanic no better than the dealer! At least the dealer is more courteous about it!
When lowering my exhaust to get to the driveshaft he called and said both my O2 sensors were dead. Suspicious I said. He said he doesn’t lie. Too much of a coincidence if you ask me. So I said ok change them.
Then he said actually only 1 is dead. He then proceeded to charge for $ 250 for 1 o2 sensor and 2 hours of labor! BS!
I found the same part for the passenger side for $ 50 on
and changed the part myself in 15 min!
What a liar!
Now he is so rude even to returning customers! Avoid bringing your nice car here unless you are really keen to get ripped off like many of his senior citizen clients!
I just don’t trust this mechanic anymore and neither should you!

I saw all the great reviews on this auto shop so I desided to take my VW Jetta, And I’m so glad I did! Thanks Unilocal

Service B on Merc AMG completed with no drama. Price was ~$ 100 less than what the a-​holes at Greenway Mercedes (worst dealership in the country) charge.
I like the owner and staff. No bullish*t, reasonably friendly guys. They put up with all my questions (i’m an engineer/​scientist).
I will use Silvios again the future when needed.

This is the only place to take your German car. All the other reviews are spot on, Silvio is honest and knows how to take care of your car, a combination that is rare.
As an anecdote, once I had taken my GTI to the NTB downtown for an alignment and new tires. They told me I had a leaking front strut (with the hope that I’d pay them $ 800 to fix it). I asked Silvio how much to fix, he told me NTB’s diagnosis was BS, that they say it all the time, and invited me to bring it to the shop, where he put it up on the rack and showed me that the strut was fine. In fact, I have always had issues with the GTI eating tires (excessive and rapid wear on the inside edge) despite numerous alignments at NTB… once I had Silvio do the alignment, that stopped.

I race my car and, well, need things to be «just right.» Despite several recommendations, I was hesitant to take my Mini Cooper to a non-​performance garage. When I got-​back my car, I was crestfallen. It wasn’t «just right.» When I went back to pay-​off my balance, they told me to defer paying and that they’d check-​it-​out. They decided to replace a bearing and, well, it made the difference. They even dealt with the insurance company to re-​adjust the claim.
Also, he told me that the insurance paid for a new wheel (for it had been «curbed»). He showed me the damage, told me that he wouldn’t have replaced it, and said that he had lightly sanded it. He’d replace it if I wanted or just refund the money. Talk about integrity. I like his pragmatism and willingness to «make me happy.»
So, if I need a new turbo or performance mods, I’ll still trust the gearheads. For all of the «normal» stuff, I’ll go to Silvio’s.