Great Hills Automotive Inc

05/21/10

Got my car back with more problems.

by Kick Ass at Citysearch

I brought my car in for a problem with the convertible top. Prior to brining the car in, I hadn't had any other trouble with it.

The mechanic called me to tell me that the repair for the top would be about $1,000. I declined work on it and he also asked me if I have had to jump my car any time recently, I told him I hadn't, he also asked if I had noticed any noise coming from my hood after I shut off the car. I told him I had not. He told me that my power steering pump was constantly draining the battery. He gave me an estimate of about $1,000 to fix that as well.

I declided all work on the vehicle and when I got there to pick up my car, the battery was dead. Now, I have to jump the car every single time I want to drive it and the car won't hold any charge whatsoever. Additionally, I can now hear a whirring when the car is shut off and it doesn't drive as well.

They were originally going to charge me about $266 for diagnostics but decided to charge me $133 instead.

Basically, I took the car in with a minor problem with the convertible top and I left with a car that doesn't work anymore.

I was told it was just coincidence that my power steering pump decided to go out at the exact same time that I brought in the car and was also told they didn't touch it or do anything to it.

But the basic fact is I paid $133 to pick up my car in much worse condition than when I dropped it off.

• Pros: Clean
• Cons: made it worse

06/09/09

All the right moves

by bartbarton at Citysearch

Great Hills Auto recently did a new engine in my '71 GMC truck. Their knowledge of classic cars is second to none. What I really like is that they are proactive in their approach. They know what works best and gave me several options based on my budget, as well as did repairs while the engine was out on items that were wearing, this saved me future repairs which would have cost much more. They also did a few minor things dirt cheap to get me on the road to keep in line with their original estimate. Ken and the other guys have a sophisticated knowledge of mechanics and I know I can trust these guys to do superior work on budget.

• Pros: Efficient, Fast and Knowledgeable

04/10/08

Great Hills Automotive...the rabbit's foot of auto service shops.

by BTQ14 at Citysearch

Finding an independent auto service repair shop you can trust is one of life?s great challenges and accomplishments.

More often than not you go through your existence and it never happens.

On the other hand, sometimes you get lucky.

I did.

I had been taking my F-150 for service all the way out to Munday Ford in Bastrop. Don?t get me wrong?they have a great service department out there?but?it?s, well, like out there. Way out there. In Bastrop. I needed something that wasn?t in another town.

I?d been seeing this place ? this Great Hills Automotive ? for years and decided on a whim to give ?em a shot with an oil change.

Sounds simple, right? It?s not?see, I use Mobil One exclusively. Have been forever. So, I bring my own oil when I come in for an oil change. I asked the owner ? Ken ? if that was OK. ?No problem?, he said. I liked him immediately. You?d be surprised at the number of places I?ve been that looked at me funny when I asked them that same question.

As I looked around the shop I noted it was scrupulously clean and had all the latest car magazines arranged neatly on a table. I also took in the fact that they had some incredibly cool classic cars in various states of restoration. I decided right then that if they can restore some fine old cars to perfection they could work on my vehicles.

Make a long story short this was over five years ago and I?ve been using them ever since. I know when I bring a vehicle in Ken and his crew will take good care of my F-150 and my Sienna minivan.

I trust them.

Like I said, I got lucky

03/17/08

Quality AutoCare

by Mikeaustin20 at Citysearch

Quality Autocare. If you want work done right- these are your guys. Finding a good mechanic you can TRUST is not easy. My car is no longer under warranty and I asked a buddy who works at a dealership for a good mechanic, and I'm more than happy with his advise.

02/25/08

Excellent Customer Service

by LongtimeAustinite at Citysearch

After being told that my 8-year-old Chevrolet truck needed a new water pump to resolve a cooling system leak (and being quoted $680) by a local Goodyear shop, I decided to call around for better prices. A friend at work recommended Great Hills Automotive. I drove over there at lunch, expecting to see your typical old-time central Texas out-of-the-way car repair shop (junk cars, unpaved lot, small facility). Instead, I saw a large, modern building with a bunch of beautiful restored muscle cars (belonging to various customers) parked outside. The price they quoted for the same work/same parts was $150 less, and they could do it in a day. I scheduled my repairs for the next week. I dropped my truck off at 7:30 a.m., prepared to walk the mile or so to my office (Arboretum area). Rick, the front desk service manager, offered and gave me a ride to my office. When he called later that afternoon to tell me the truck was ready, he volunteered to pick me up and bring me to the shop to get my truck. He explained when we got there that actual labor charges came out a little lower than estimated, so he installed a new serpentine belt to make sure that I wouldn't need to come back soon to get that replaced as well, and stayed exactly at the estimated repair price. My truck was clean (no greasy handprints on the door handles or hood, nice neat work in the engine compartment) when I picked it up. In addition (at no extra charge), their mechanics checked the truck over and noticed that a slight hesitation in my truck's acceleration could be due to spark plugs and plug wires (90K mile originals). Rick suggested that I replace them and the fuel filter (relatively easy do-it-yourself jobs). Two days later, Rick called me at work to make sure that everything was operating correctly - and it was! I will go back there for my future automotive service needs.