Flamingo Automotive

Came here over lunch on a weekday for a state inspection and they tried to tell me I needed a new timing belt and new tires immediately. My car doesn’t even have a timing belt — it has a timing chain. Not sure if they misspoke and meant something else, but they also told me I needed new tires immediately. Went to my mechanic’s down the street more recently for an oil change. They said everything under the hood looked great, and that my tires were fine for at least another 10,000 miles.
Oh, they also left the key to another car in my vehicle, which I discovered later that evening and went back later to drop off.
I guess I’ll give them credit for being friendly and not pushy about things, but the experience left a sour taste in my mouth.

Said they «usually charge 25 dollars to have the rear-​view mirror reinstalled». Then they charged me 64 dollars. They said the mirror glue kit cost 12 dollars. I know that «man hours» were involved but it was an hour long job. I doubt that’s 50 dollars worth of time to glue a mirror back on. Needless to say, I won’t ever be coming back here! I’ll stick to groovy automotive for the good deals not this rip-​off of a place! I’d give no stars if possible

Flamingo correctly diagnosed my engine trouble, gave me good feedback when I asked for it, and charged me a reasonable fee. I had a good experience here; the gentleman I worked with was very knowledgeable about Hondas. Recommended.

I could not have had a better experience getting my car fixed. It needed some major repairs (belts replaced, the radiator was cracked, and my brakes were messed up), but I walked out feeling like they weren’t doing anything unnecessary, and that the price was entirely reasonable. All of that fixed up for under $ 2000. Joe even went the extra mile to call my grandfather in California (he’s the car wizard/​my business manager) to make sure that he knew what was going on and to approve the work. I was so impressed. The work was done quickly, and my car was running wonderfully. My MPG even increased.
Unfortunately a crazy man from out of town totaled my car almost a month later, so I can’t take my little Honda baby back :/​but go see the guys at Flamingo. I recommend them to everyone with an imported car.

You know it’s a good place when you can just pull up, interrupt their day and have them take care of you. I had to get new license plates cause the front one was either stolen or fell off. I no longer had the plate holder and the holes in the license plate didn’t match the holes on the bumper. Joe was happy to help me get the front plate on. For no charge. He just did it. That is old-​fashioned, kind service. Thank you Joe!

I’ve taken all my cars to Flamingo for more than 15 years and wouldn’t take them anywhere else. They are great at diagnosing problems and only do the work that needs to be done. They don’t try to oversell services you don’t need. The owner Joe Lamping is the best.

These guys are great! They were super busy but fit me in to fix my window rotator, as I was having to drive around all over town with the window stuck down. At my last minute request they also did my overdue state inspection and upon noticing nails in two of my tires, they patched them and only charged me for one. They were so so friendly and even offered a ride back to work (which I didn’t need because there’s a bus stop right outside the shop). Definitely will use them again, just hopefully won’t need to anytime soon. Highly recommended!

Joe and his crew are the best! Down to earth, friendly and honest service. This is the only place I will go.

Absolutely excellent customer service. Joe was around to meet me and explain things when I dropped my car off and picked it up. He comes off as a really down to earth, honest guy. A good ol firm handshake kind of guy. The Flamingo team is also great– they put cardboard in my trunk before packing my tires in so it wouldn’t scruff up my car. Small details, but made the experience great.
There’s also a lot of walkable places in the area in case you are waiting for your car. I don’t know much about cars so I researched how much I should expect to pay beforehand for the service. Ended up paying what I expected, so no complaints there.

Great service, very fast, daily updates, and great ELI5 descriptions of work. I took in my 99′ BMW 323i for a check up as I’m about to drive across the country. Ben gave me a detailed list of problems ranging from broken brake lights to a failed A/​C compressor. They never once tried to upsell me, and told me straight up which repairs were urgent and those that could wait. Definitely the best value and quality service for imports in Austin, and after living here for 6 years I have dealt with many BMW auto shops, including the dealership, and this one simply can’t be beat. A+ all around, will certainly be back. Thanks to Joe and Ben.

I have a Jetta and taking my car to other mechanics have been like a wild goose chase because people do not always know how to work on German cars.
At the recommendation of my uncle I decided to take my car here a few months ago and haven’t gone anywhere since. These guys are loyal, fair, and quick. My only issue is they’re not come and go as places like jiffy lube— it’s best to make a reservation here if you don’t want to leave your car overnight etc.
But this is the real deal when it comes to mechanics. Plus for an oil change you can walk down to zen or Amy’s so the location is prime. If you have a German car these guys need to be your new best friend!

This evening I had the worst experience I’ve ever had with an automotive company, flamingo automotive. I went there because of the many glowing reviews it has received on Unilocal,but now I’m left scratching my head in disbelief.
I had a simple problem, my brake light was out and needed to be replaced. I park in front and am greeted by a friendly employee named Sam who says they don’t usually do Kia rios but they can sometimes make an exception, especially since brake light replacement isn’t particularly challenging. It took him and two other employees 45 minutes to figure out how to change the bulb. In the middle of this process he tells me that this deal is under the table and I have to pay him in cash… Uhhhh. Kind of sketchy. And then he says he’ll give me a great deal of 30 dollars to replace it. Despite the high cost relative to other places (I later found out jiffy lube does it for 12.99), I was kind of desperate. I had been pulled over for it earlier and wanted no more headaches or potential tickets. When Sam finally figured out how to remove the back fixture, he tells me they don’t have the light in stock, would I mind waiting a few minutes for him to go grab one from a nearby store… Uhhhh, again kind of weird, but I say okay. After all, the back of my car is in pieces. He comes back and tells me the light cost $ 15, so we’re at $ 45… I don’t know how much a light costs, but suddenly it’s getting more expensive. He finishes installing the light, and tells me we’ll just round up the price of a half hour of labor and light to $ 60… Uhhhhh, are we still talking about the same car? Fixing break light? I press the brakes and he tells me everything is working great!!! Fantastic right? Wrong! I find out after driving off of the property of flamingo automotive that it doesn’t work. I almost have to laugh at how scammed I got by flamingo automotive and Sam. I don’t know much about cars though… So it was an expensive, and time consuming lesson. I know Sam was an employee because he had on the same uniform as the other employees which gave me confidence initially. However I was fully scammed.
At this point you maybe thinking, «this is only one review, and one bad experience, what about the others». All I can say is: that’s what I thought. Think twice before coming to this incompetent and criminally overpriced establishment at which employees conduct under the table business at the expense of that business and the customer. Unless you like being taken advantage of and find it to be a pleasing sensation, I would seriously take 30 seconds to find another one of the hundreds of mechanics shops in Austin on Unilocal,and go there instead.

Excellent. I have been going to Flamingo for about 12 years. They do quality work, stand behind whatever they do, have fair prices, and are honest, good people. They will tell you what you need to fix near term, longer term, and preventative so you can decide when to have the work done. They also do custom work, and have loaner cars or give rides (there is a fee normally for the loaners but you will make up for it as all the work is fairly priced). My 2004 bmw runs better than it did ten years ago as Joe and his team have maintained the car so well, and we have upgraded the sport suspension to be more responsive and stable.

Absolutely no complaints. Honest, friendly service that was relatively timely– for what I’ve had done. Come here for your inspection, oil change, etc. and I promise you will not be disappointed. As a German car owner, I’m very loyal to Flamingo!

There’s no spectacular story here: I didn’t have a complicated vehicular problem, my car battery didn’t die on Guadalupe, nor did my engine didn’t go out in a fiery blaze. I just needed a car inspection, man. I only had time to go on Saturdays and Flamingo operates on a first-​come, first-​served that day. My only encounter with the famous Joe was coming in the week before and him telling me that they didn’t have any openings left for an inspection. Pretty nice guy! Drove by in my 2012 Mazda2 around 2:30 pm, and was relieved when they had an opening for a quick inspection.
I’m not that knowledgeable about cars, but you never realize how attached you are to your vehicle until you hand over your keys and see it disappear into the shop out of your view.
The waiting area was pretty small and minimalistic: a couple sofa chairs, a giant plant, and table with magazines. There isn’t a lot of fancy stuff here to entertain yourself with, but this is a automotive shop, not a resort. The Amy’s down the block was pretty attractive on a hot summer day though. This was my first time getting a car inspection on my own without the help of my dad, so feeling the need to look deceptively mature and adult-​like, I picked up a copy of The New Yorker and perused a couple articles to pass the time. Spoiler alert: I didn’t absorb much.
45 minutes passed, and my car inspection came back clean. $ 18.50, such a good price! My visit didn’t really test their customer service or knowledge, but this place gave me a good vibe and a good sense of hospitality. I’ll be entrusting them with my car again.

First and foremost, Flamingo Automotive are totally standup people. Their repair repertoire ranges from super old BMWs and Hondas to Lotus’ and GTRs. They once pointed out a project car in their shop, which was outfitting a van with a souped up engine to take to the track.
I always get a skeevy feeling from going to repair shops, but I definitely did not have that at all. They’re extremely fair in their pricing and will tell you what your car needs and when it might need it (they will never tell you to do something that isn’t immediately needed).
I specifically have a 2006 Honda S2000. I have always felt comfortable taking my car in the shop and giving them the generic, «do whatever you think my car might need,» and they’ve never taken advantage of that. They just give me a list of what needs to be done and what will be needed a few months down the line. I’ve had all my major service checkpoints there, rebuilt the master clutch, normal maintenance, as well as getting engine retuned. They also kindly replaced my windshield wipers once, since it looked like it was on its last legs.
They also offer to give you rides, which is super nice.
And a small anecdote for people who are into KUT/​NPR. I was in the lobby and noted another woman wearing the same NPR shirt I was from a fall drive, and we thought how that was neat. The owner later came in and said, «Hey, great shirts! I love KUT/​NPR. We’re business donors.» Honestly, that interaction was enough for me to consider them «my» repair shop. Them actually fixing things and being superbly nice were just icing on the cake.

This was my first time buying tires so I was a little nervous, but
and Flamingo made the process so easy!
I ordered my tires on Monday, they were delivered to Flamingo on Wednesday, and Thursday morning I made an appointment to bring my car in the same day. When I dropped it off, the guy asked if I needed a ride anywhere while I waited. I live within walking distance so I declined, but the gesture was very unexpected and courteous. (Note: the waiting area is very small, so I wouldn’t plan on hanging out up there. But! There is a park and a couple of great coffee shops – including a Starbucks – within walking distance if you don’t want to go too far.)
About 2 hours later I picked up the car to find that they’d taken the time to wipe down the dash/​clean the windshield. Those little extra steps confer huge bonus points in my book! I found the final cost, $ 118 to mount and balance four tires and dispose of the old four, to be extremely reasonable. In fact, using
and Flamingo saved me over $ 100 over the quoted price at Discount Tires! (Note: I know prices do vary depending on tire size and who knows what else.)
I love keeping my business local, especially when it doesn’t cost me any more than a corporate chain, the services are done well, and the folks are friendly. Flamingo definitely fits this bill and has my business for the rest of my time in Austin.

My car is a frequent visitor of Flamingo Automotive. I think my car secretly hates me. Anywho, a colleague recommended this place a while back when I was desperate for anywhere but Honda to take my CR-​V for repairs. I had been burned one too many times by Honda and had enough.
She told me that Joe is a very honest mechanic and will tell you when things actually need to be fixed and when they can wait. And over the years he has done exactly that. I’ve always been happy with how I’ve been treated.
I do think that $ 50 is a little high for an oil change but they’ve taken such good care of me and know my car and it’s quirks so I don’t want to take it anywhere else.
If you have a Japanese or German car — Flamingo is where you should go for your repairs.

Why 5 stars:
I was in and out in less than 20 mins.
They were more than fair, they were generous.
Honest advise without pressure.
Quality work.
The whole story:
The oil light came on in the middle of my typical busy week. Audi Service wasn’t even answering their phone and I didn’t really want to go wait there all day anyway. With direction from Unilocal reviews I ended up at Flamingo.
The owner Jo, got me immediately assessed the engine. Then he directed a mechanic to add fresh oil (and all the other fluids too, that I didn’t ask for). The mechanic noticed my tire pressure light was on, so he checked all of them and reset the computer to ack the correct pressure.
They suggested the radator overflow appeared to have been leaking. He pointed out to me the splash marks from the leak, there were a lot. Then he explained to me how it works and how we determine the speed of the leak. There was no pressure to do more work, no pressure to book a second apt to look at the other issues. Just honest assistance and suggestions, he said when you are ready to address these, we will be here for you.
Jo didn’t charge me, not even charge me for the oil and fluid top off. He said it was only a little low, just enough to trigger the light and commended my quick action. He said this first time is free.
I will go back. I highly recommend Flamingo Automotive.

Yesterday, my friend suddenly got a nail stuck into her tire, and her tire was losing pressure quite quickly.
Even though we knew that Flamingo Automotive was going to close soon, we thought we might give it a shot since it was a little after 5:30PM. When we arrived, they told us that they were closing. However, they were kind of enough to give us directions to a tire shop a few blocks up. My friend and I then thanked them and headed out to check out.
Our other friends arrived when we got to the car, and they started to check out our tire. While we thought about using the car’s spare, one of the workers came by and told us that they can check the tire anyway.
Immediately, he took the car and popped off the tire. He showed us the nail and said that he could patch it up. We waited about 10 minutes, and then the tire was good as new. He was very courteous, and we truly appreciated his service!
Overall, the service was great and the people were friendly. I would definitely check this place out if you are in need of any car maintenance.