Don's Automotive

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Don's only works by appointment, so I called to check their price and make an appointment.  They quoted me $622.00, and I made the appointment.  On the day of service, I arrived in the morning, dropped off the vehicle, and returned about 5:00.  It wasn't ready when I arrived, but it was a short wait.  The good, and the great:  Good -- They were very straightforward with me about what it needed, how much it would be, and they performed the service as well as could be expected.   Great: -- When I picked up the car, they told me that they mis-quoted me the price on the phone, and they honored the price, even though I offered to pay the difference.  They also gave me a referral to an alignment shop that they have good experience with.  All in all, I was very pleased with my first experience with Don's.  I will most definitely return.

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I made an appointment thinking that the original problem was daytime running lamp modue was the issue reason being both  headlights were out, and after googling the issue that what was coming back on my search, I explained that to Don and he stated he would let me know after they looked into it,
After Dons service team had looked into problem found it not to be the DTRL, but one side headlight was out and one side had a failed relay,
Was really happy on price for this service work.

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After replacing the charcoal canister the problem has gone away and I have finally passed the state inspection (8 months overdue).

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OK, this price sounds rather high for oil change + odds & ends.  But I keep bringing the car back to Don's because he keeps it running and running and he has saved me HUGE amounts in the past--usually when a chain place has diagnosed problems that they say will cost a fortune to fix, and I bring the car to Don who gives a different diagnosis and charges me 1/3 or 1/2 the amount.  Or says it doesn't need to be fixed at all.  This has happened with both of our cars.  Don is clear and forthright and I don't care if people call him grouchy or grumpy.  He doesn't do work that doesn't need to be done, he almost always does work within a day if I make an appointment and bring the car in early in the AM, and I like him!

Although the cost was much higher than I had hoped for Don explained in detail the process and the rationale behind the costs. The work was done efficiently and on time.

Well, let me just say, never again. Too expensive and the guy IS more than just grumpy. Ended up taking the vehicle to a nearby shop on S. Congress to have a bunch of other work done for LESS than half of Don's estimate. Very Happy with SoCo Muffler/Repairs.


Update: That's too bad Don, but that is what happens when it is a family vehicle. Angie's called me and I was able to give them more details for confirmation. I also confirmed your attitude and confirmed our rating. We had great AND friendly service elsewhere.

They looked at my car's overheating problem. I thought they were very good, they were very favorably priced and they told me what was going on every step of the way. I was very happy with them.

Provided service, got it done in one day. Had talked to them before making appointment to make sure they could get the parts they needed. The car has a California emission system. They are friendly and seem to be straight talkers, no trying to get you to do more services than you need. We've had them work on both our cars, now. We had been with another shop for many years but they closed. We chose Don's from the good reviews we found from several sources, including Angie's List.

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Everything well done, as usual with Don and his team. We've used them for several years, very happily. Don even tracked us down one time on vacation because he was concerned that the quality of oil had been compromised (due to his supplier, not the shop) and paid for us to get an oil-change ASAP. There had been no issue and the oil that came out seemed fine, but he wanted to do the right thing!

They were fantastic. Three other places had quoted me at a much more expensive cost and said there was an additional issue. I would definitely use them again. I have referred them to all of my friends. The car is running beautifully.

Monday morning and my car does not work. It starts ok but only runs a few seconds. I did my homework online and thought my problem was likely a fuel pump gone goofy. I arranged a tow to Don's after talking with him on the phone about my car woes. He said it would be unlikely to be a fuel pump with my accord but could be an ignition switch issue. The tow happened and don called later that afternoon to tell me the news. My car had been sabotaged by a spider which had built a web inside the mass air flow sensor. I was only out a labor charge and the tow add on. Don is great and I have relied on him for years.

Excellent. Professional! Quoted me over the phone estimate, stayed in contact the whole time they had my vehicle. Got approval before doing and work after diagnosis. Will use again.  Great shop.

Great; finished in time frame and at cost promised.

We have been going to Don for about 14 years. I wrote a review about a year ago, and i want to again express my appreciation. I took my car in yesterday and got it back today. Right front hub bearing had to be replaced. Tony seems to be Don's right hand man, and he was in charge of the work on my car. As always, I was called right away with an explanation of what they found, what would be needed, and what the cost options would be depending upon possible complications. Tony explained that if a new hub was needed, he had only been able to locate one from the dealer but that he would continue to look for an after-market one. As it turned out, the hub did not have to be replaced. The fee for this work was very reasonable at $200. When I went to pick my car up, I asked Tony what the hub bearing looked like. He took me into the shop and showed me the old part from my car, what was wrong with it, and even showed me the new tool that they had recently purchased to facilitate work on hub bearings.
Don has advised us truthfully when work was not needed, when an old car was no longer worth repairing, and when work could safely be postponed. It is wonderful to have the peace of mind that accompanies trust in your auto mechanics.

Very happy with the overall work and service performed.
I had already done my research on the issue so knew what needed to be replaced. (which they confirmed) Though I dropped the car a couple hours late, they were able to do the work the same day. Only downside is that they don't have a shuttle to take customers to and from shop so I had to take a taxi back to my office. 
They also provided me a quote on the 90k service for our RX350. At ~$70-$100 was significantly cheaper than I had been quoted by Lexus (~$700) or Beardon Automotive ($280) since Don said the service consisted primarily of an oil change and a number of visual inspections (Lexus of Austin was proposing doing a number of things beyond what's outlined in the manual). 
In future will be taking both of our Lexus' there even though they aren't a Lexus specialist per se (service Japanese cars in general)