Christian Brothers Automotive

Do Not take your vehicle to Christian Brothers located on Austin Highway in San Antonio, TX. They overcharge for their parts. They charged me a retail price of $ 501.55 for an AC Delco fuel pump module Part # MU1005. That part retails for $ 268.99 at Auto Zone. This is unfair and dishonest. Their retail price can not be almost 100% higher than another national retailer. They have the Rotarian four way test hanging on the wall in the office: 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? I think Christian Brothers needs to read this before they overcharge a fellow Rotarian or any customer again. Shameful.

This is my «go-​to» place for my car needs. Waiting area is very clean & professional. Customer service is satisfying. Overall, a great place for automotive needs! (The Christian Brothers Auto in New Braunfels is very similar in service, professionalism and overall value!) Keep it up, y’all!!! :)

Called shop last Monday around 12PM concerning a check engine light that came on, followed by my temperature gauge starting on cold side instead of in the middle (needle always stayed in middle) and heater did not work. Asked man on the phone if they work on European cars (BMW specifically) to ensure proper care was sought due to the fact foreign cars require specific tools/​machines etc for proper maintenance. He confirmed they did and told me to bring it in. After arriving at the establishment I find out they weren’t going to be able to work on car until the next day, but insisted I leave it there bc they had a free taxi service. I said okay, after 2 days had passed I went ahead and gave shop a call to check the status on my vehicle. The lady informed me they have had a few different techs look at it and still couldn’t figure out what is wrong with it and that she would give me a call the next day. Towards close and still no call i went ahead and gave them a call back, the lady told me I needed a oil censor and that was my problem. I told her to go ahead with the service and fix it. She then stated it wouldn’t be able to get fixed until that following Monday. Come Tuesday I finally picked up my vehicle and after almost $ 400 later she claimed everything to be fixed. As I was driving home I noticed the needle still on the cold side and the heater not blowing hot air. Due to my schedule I was not able to bring vehicle back so now I am sitting here $ 400 later with only a code read diagnosis performed and a new oil censor oh along with a regular oil change performed even though I just had a fully synthetic oil changed performed 2000 miles prior. I will not be bringing my car back to this place. Christian Brothers you let me down…

Outstanding customer service, excellent work, honest and fair prices. I trust CBA with all of my car care needs.

I would rate this a zero or negative if allowed.
Customer be aware. I was in town on a business trip when my truck had issues. I had used a Christian Brothers close to where I live before, so I looked up the closest one to where I was in San Antonio.
Employees were very friendly and they were able to get my truck worked into their shop after an hour or so wait.
Here’s where the problems started. The issue with my truck was correctly diagnosed as the air intake pump/​valve assembly. They quoted me just over $ 1K to repair it. They also informed me that the water pump was going out and that would be an additional $ 900 to replace.
All this happened on the Friday before Veterans Day and the part needed to fix my truck was in Houston (where I live), and would not be available until Tuesday. This turned out to be a blessing. My wife called around to some Toyota dealers looking for the part. The first dealer she called informed her that this repair was covered under an extended warranty and that Toyota would fix it for free. When I told the person behind the desk about this they tried to talk me out of it, saying they were not aware of this being covered by any extended warranty. They took their sweet time getting my truck back together for the tow truck to pick up.
When I got to the Toyota dealer they took my info and quoted me a price for the water pump replacement at $ 450. My total repair cost at Toyota with rental car for the weekend was $ 0. Turns out that nothing was wrong with the water pump. Christian Brothers was trying to «take advantage» of me. Practices like this is what give auto shops bad reputations.
On a side note, while I was waiting at Christian Brothers, another customer came in and told them to give him his vehicle back so he could take it to the dealer to get it repaired. Apparently the dealer had quoted him $ 400 for a repair that Christian Brothers was going to charge $ 900 for. After arguing for a while with the customer about how the dealer was lying to him, they finally came down to $ 500 on their repair costs and the gentlemen told them to fix it.
The other thing I noticed was when anyone challenged costs or getting repairs done by dealers, their standard response was «there is a service bulletin on that, but it is not covered by any warranty».
You have been warned. This place needs to go out of business or correct it’s deceptive practices.

Not the best service. I went there to have my alternator repaired and it cost over $ 900. While speaking with guy at the desk about my vehicle (96 Honda), an older gentlemen driving a E class walked in and the guy at the desk rudely cut me off and began talking with him. I guess they have preferred customers… I don’t think I’ll be taking my BMW here…

I was sitting in the lobby, trying not to bite my nails while the mechanics looked over my car; finally, the lady behind the counter called me over and the first thing she said was, «We are going to save you a bunch of money.»
«Wait, WHAT?» screeched my brain, spasming from the whiplash. See, my brain and I brought the car in, fully expecting to have a fairly expensive piece of car surgery performed; we had been told it needed to be done by another mechanic shop, and we had braced ourselves for an increase of the initial estimate, or a hearty belly laugh from the mechanic as he set fire to our car, or pretty much anything other than saving money.
But that’s what happened; Jennifer told us that the power steering pump was not, in fact, in need of replacing. She outlined what needed to be done, which came out to about a third of what we were expecting.
So, obviously, we turned our car keys over and asked them to take a look at the (completely non-​functional) air conditioning as well. The office kept in touch with us throughout the whole process, providing estimates and clear explanations of what needed to be done. Jennifer worked hard to keep the price down on the A/​C repairs, going above and beyond what I expected.
The car was finished a day early, and when we picked it up the mechanic talked to my husband about a few things they thought might need work eventually; we will definitely be bringing it back to Christian Brothers when the time comes.
I’ve been driving it around for a little over a week; the steering works great, the A/​C is going like a champ, and I could not be happier.
The office is clean and beautiful, but the people that work there are the real reason we’ll be back. All in all, it was more amazing than I ever imagined major car trouble could be.

This is a great business model. If there is one area in which most city-​dweller are at the complete mercy of experts it is automotive maintenance. This produces high demand for services, and, in return, awfully sketchy services.
Christian Brothers are upfront about their morals and aim to guide their business by these principles. The average customer can tell. The attendants are friendly and straightforward. You just get the feeling that they won’t rip you off.
I went in with wobbly tires and they diagnosed the problem and also checked for other potential problems. While they couldn’t fix the tires, they recommended Discount Tires, which is a block away and awesome as well, and were able to fix my brakes, which needed replacement anyway.
Their service is solid, with online appointment registration and fairly quick turnaround times (I got a diagnosis and brakes replaced in 4 hours), though their time estimates were low. A clean waiting room with AC is available, as is a Bible.

The folks at Christian Brothers are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. They were more than happy to give me a ride wherever I needed to go after I rolled in with my skeeter killer last fall. Just this past week, they quickly diagnosed and fixed two separate problems that had been causing my car to overheat and not start – and things are working great now.
We have a mechanic friend out of state, and we actually ran the pricing and diagnosis by her, just to see if Christian Brothers was offering reasonable service. Our friend confirmed that the price was fair and the assessment was pretty realistic. The one thing that’s a bummer is that they charge separately to diagnose and fix the problem, so you’re not getting a rebate if you go forward with the repairs at their shop. I guess that is probably standard in many places, but I’ve definitely been able to cut a deal at other shops.
If you want a solid, by-​the-​book, no-​haggling, fair-​priced, polite, clean auto shop, this is a great choice.
If you want to negotiate a little more, bargain-​hunt, or get some crazy genius to bring your car back to life, you will probably find a more adventurous auto shop elsewhere.

I’m a big fan of «show and tell». So when I come to get a routine oil change and I’m told I may have some serious issues to address I appreciate being showed the issue. While I’m not too keen on spending more money repairing a car than what its worth I was given several options and was basically told I could wait and see how long the unresolved issue would last before causing further damage.
The staff was helpful and friendly enough. The facility was nice and clean enough. My $ 35 oil change didn’t come with a complimentary window wash or vacuum. My ac was blasting and my seat was squished up to my steering wheel after everything was said and done.
I will give Christian Brothers the benefit of the doubt points for their regular customers. They all seemed very happy, almost like family with the members behind the counter, so they must be doing something right.

I’m new in town, and saw the Christian Brothers business just down the street where I live. I thought I’d give them a try, and was thoroughly pleased. The staff were courteous and professional. My air conditioning didn’t work, and I was pleased at the efficiency of the diagnosis of the problem, as well as the price of the service. They also «car pooled» me to and from my residence while my car was being serviced. I would highly recommend Christian Brothers for anything from the routine oil change to the more complicated maintenance problem. You’ll be in good hands.

One of the most daunting challenges to settling in a new city is finding a competent and honest mechanic; and — having been bilked and lied to by a far northside shop used and recommended by relatives — I was doubly dubious of this new business being built on Austin Highway, near Harry Wurzbach.
Finally, however, I decided to give them a chance — since we were both the new kids on the block, so to speak — and since maintenance issues with my 1994 vehicle became pressing… and am I ever happy that I did!
First, the Christian Brothers team checked everything out and wrote up an estimate for me, very clearly explaining the charge for each line item; second, they did the work quickly and well (actually coming in slightly UNDER the cost they’d quoted); third, they treated me honestly and fairly –and weren’t condescending. And finally — and I realize this is very shallow of me — but I also have to give them high marks for choosing to design and build a functional and pretty building, with a comfortable and tastefully decorated customer waiting area.
This aforementioned waiting area was pretty busy when I went to pick up my vehicle, and I was impressed with the way ALL of the customers were being treated. One customer, a beautifully dressed woman picking up a late-​model BMW, was informed that the shop had (among other things) replaced a bulb on her vehicle, and that there would be no additional charge to her. While I realize that’s a relatively small gesture, to me it’s significant — I’ve known countless mechanics who’d have taken advantage of the fact that the customer was not merely a woman, but was also (apparently) pretty well off, and could AFFORD to pay for a bulb.
There’s an old saying that you can learn a lot about a person’s character by seeing how they behave toward those who are at their mercy. I think the same is true for businesses; and I’d like to say that Christian Brothers are not merely good mechanics, but are also good and honorable people!
UPDATE 1÷20÷2011: I still can’t say enough great things about these folks! The best part? They don’t fix what isn’t broken!
Today, I picked up my vehicle — apparently just the victim of a bad tank of gasoline. The charge? Ten dollars, which was the amount of gasoline they’d pumped into the tank!