Groovy Automotive

Ignored me standing at the counter for so long, that I was seriously going to walk back out. The conversation that I was in earshot of wasn’t pressing, and wasn’t important. I had what I though was a loose oil filter (it was a loose drain plug). I was at home alone with my little girl and it was much easier to have someone put it on a lift than for me to try and tackle it. Don’t try and charge someone $ 50 for tightening a nut and wiping some oil off a skid plate when an entire oil change costs $ 50. Come on dude. That is crappy service.

Awesome service here! They fixed my car for me for free and carefully explained what I need to do in the future to avoid happening it, all in a very short period of time!

My 2001 Miata started the day with a dead battery. I dropped it off, got a clear, courteous, and reasonable estimate for the replacement, then picked it up again a few hours later.

This issue is about SAFETY. Bottom line.
I took my vehicle in for a rear bearing replacement. I called back midday to ask for a tire rotation and an issue with a short in the electrical system. In their defense this is what I requested.
I spoke with the mechanic while my $ 491.83 bill was being processed. He mentioned something about a hydraulic leak in the brakes. I noticed a little play but nothing that I ever thought would be an issue. Things go after awhile in a used car. But these brakes were great going into the shop. I shook hands and thanked them. I left the parking lot and drove off. If it wasn’t for the oncoming lane being clear, I would have slammed into the car in front of me. It took me close to 50 yards to stop going the speed limit (35mph) I pulled the emergency brake and almost threw it into park while rolling. If there were pedestrians, they would be in the hospital. The brakes were not the same coming out of the shop as going in. Definitely not. In fact they are completely shot.
Went back immediately to talk about the situation. As I mentioned earlier, they seemed to have completed what I asked.
My real issue with the situation is the guy behind the counter and the customer service. They were nice when they took my money, but, when I mentioned my car was an unsafe vehicle, the excuses flew out of his mouth. One being that I didn’t request a vehicle diagnostic. No I did not. But when the mechanic came out and mentioned the hydraulic system was leaking, he obviously self diagnosed an issue. Something happened to my brakes when the bearing was replaced. He said it was a fine line where they get paid to do what they do. But to my friend behind the counter and Josh (technician) –this issue is about safety. You knowingly let a car out of the parking lot that was a hazard. I will never understand this. And I don’t trust this shop. There are plenty of other shops out there. You deem a car unsafe to drive until it gets fixed. You have me sign off saying I refused service. You even give me an estimate on getting it fixed. But you tried to protect yourself and your mechanic. I will say that if SAFETY IS NOT YOUR TOP PRIORITY, SOMEONE WILL GET HURT. Now my brakes are worse than they were before and have to get them fixed. Don’t go here.

This place was great. I had my alternator go out and destroy my battery on my way to work. Got someone to jump the battery for me and drove straight there as I was on my way to school at UT.
They were fast and courteous. The price of the alternator was relatively high, but the manager was VERY patient in telling me the situation (hard to locate part). He also didn’t get upset when I called the auto parts place myself to verify. He is an honest guy running a legitimate business and has no issue with you checking up on him. He doesn’t get offended because he knows he’s not trying to pull one over on you.
Great work, courteous, quick, and HONEST!
Also, they were cool enough to believe that I am a student despite not having my ID and being older (grad student). He gave me the student discount (yes, I am a grad student!) and it was definitely appreciated.

This place is fantastic. They are consistently the best price on major repairs (I’ve had my A/​C system go out on each of my last two cars) and are always surprisingly fast. Their location isn’t bad either — you can head across the street to the coffee shop or any number of restaurants while you wait. I’ve even gotten my grocery shopping done while they’ve changed my oil.

I’m really pleased with my experience at Groovy Auto. Chris was super helpful– I very much appreciated the guys dealing with the insurance company & calling me back with updates and information about my vehicles situation. They were friendly, helpful, efficient, informative– my car is running so much better now, it’s such a relief. Plus they like dogs. :) Thank you Chris and the rest of the team at Groovy!

I had two cars in one day at groovy on 41 and red river. I needed them both to get checked out so that I feel safe driving them long distance. They hooked me up! I had great customer service and they even shuttled me back and forth for each car. They did an awesome job! Thanks groovy automotive!

Absolutely fantastic customer service. I had to take my truck in for electrical work and it was done quickly and correctly. I also greatly appreciate Chris giving me constant updates about the status of the repair. Will definitely go back if I ever need more repairs!

Stopped in to see if they could pull a code because my check engine light went on. Being the weekend, I stopped in at the shop that was open, rather than the place I usually go for oil changes. The guy at the counter told me it would be $ 104 for diagnosis. To pull a code. I appreciate the upfrontness and being open on the weekend, but that’s ridiculous pricing. Plus, the guy at the counter talked down to me. I ended up walking out and going elsewhere.
Finally, there’s a sign on the counter offering $ 50 off if you rate 4 stars or higher. So take the reviews with a grain of salt.

I am glad I ran into one of the managers while eating lunch today as this reminded me I needed to write a long overdue review. *Warning– this will be long!
I have been a Groovy customer since 2002. When I started at UT, my roommate and I came here for our oil changes. My car, a 2003 Mazda, was purchased new in January of 2004. I have been the sole owner. My car has ONLY had the oil changed at the dealership (once) and by Groovy lube on campus or the Slaughter location for all of my other oil changes. I have always been happy with the service, pricing and quality of work, thus being a customer for 10+ years.
In February I got my oil changed as usual at the campus location. Enjoyed my LaTazza Fresca lunch with my boyfriend, they gave me my keys back, no upselling attempts or anything on this trip. I even tipped the guys with some boxes of Girl Scout cookies! Fast forward 3 weeks later, I’m on my way to work at 4am on a bitter cold day (10 minute commute, all highway). My oil light was blinking as I was almost to work, then turned solid within a couple minutes, then as I exited my exit, my car died on the 35 frontage road. I pushed it into a parking lot and left it, called AAA at a reasonable hour and had it towed. AAA convinced me to go to a «AAA approved» shop, so I went to Galaxy Automotive (who were great) and they told me my engine was ruined. I was shocked and beyond upset. I couldn’t afford a new engine or a new car. They told me the oil filter had been put on incorrectly, which is what caused the issue. I couldn’t believe that a $ 30 routine procedure was about to cost me thousands of dollars. The Galaxy guys got my car «driveable» but were adamant about not driving it for long. I took it straight to Groovy Auto and explained the situation.
It didn’t take long for them to look at it for Tim, the manager with brown hair (I hope I don’t mix up their names), to tell me they were getting the owner to come see the car and they were going to take us home. We scrambled to secure a rental car as this is our only vehicle, while also trying to figure out how in the world we were going to buy a new car. Later that evening, Tim calls me to tell me they are going to replace my engine. I was again in shock as I couldn’t believe they actually owned their error and were going to make it right. They said it would be ready Wednesday (this was Friday night). Wow.
Thursday night after being told the car would be ready they were just tightening up some stuff (read: how a dumb girl interpreted what they said) we returned our rental, had a friend drop us off at groovy, I paid for the additional work they did for me while they were in the car anyway, only for the new engine to not work. Poor Chris, the blonde manager with glasses, was stuck having to break the terrible news to me, as I instantly started bawling out of frustration. He took us home, assured me they would make this right.
Long story short, the next 3 weeks everything that could have gone wrong for these guys did– parts arriving late, not working, etc. But in the end, they stayed true to their word and my vehicle is fine now. My poor car was away in the car hospital for an entire month, but she’s a trooper and is doing as well as an 11 year old 155k mile car can be! All thanks to these guys.
The only thing I wish had gone differently was I was typically the one to reach out to them for updates, rather than them call me to tell me what was going on. I felt like I was bothering them when I would call, but that was my own anxiety, not really anything they did to make me feel that way.
I can’t thank Chris enough for always being so kind to me. These guys inherited this problem at no fault of their own and Chris was so understanding and genuine at every interaction. I felt awful whenever I had to tell him something else was wrong, but every time I had an issue he was accomodating. Tim is a bit more gruff in his personality, so given my emotions around all this Chris was better for me to deal with, but Tim was helpful as well. Chris really turned the whole situation around for me. Had he not been as great, I’m not sure I would ever return to Groovy. However, knowing these guys have my back, I will continue to give them my business. Although, I’m pretty sure they are super tired of my little white Mazda– they’re still stuck with me! I know there was a lot of time and money that went into fixing my old car, but she’s mine, and she’s all I have, and I’m glad she’s ok!
So thanks Tim, all the foreman that worked on my car, the super cool driver that took us home that first stressful day, and most importantly Chris, for taking care of us! We are very grateful. I wish more businesses (and people) had this much integrity.

Honest and reasonably priced. They do what they say they’re going to do and don’t try to upsell.
I had originally taken my car to the Lexus dealer for a recall issue that they needed to resolve for free, and while they had the car they ‘discovered’ several other issues, including one that they told me would prevent me from passing my state inspection. Well I turned down all the dealer’s recommendations and instead took it to Groovy, where they performed the inspection without problems and the car passed with flying colors. And Groovy didn’t try to create other repairs while they had the car. Would definitely recommend. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is that on previous occasions they had run out of inspection stickers so I would call first to make sure they have them!

These guys are actually pretty groovy. Not only did they fix my husband’s car in less than half a day, they were reasonably priced and super friendly. Chris explained the problem with the power steering and the mistake done by another mechanic.

Have previously felt ripped off at the Red River location when they didn’t fix the problem at all. But decided to write this after today, for some reason, I called them to see how much it would cost to have the oil pan gasket replaced. They quoted 700 dollars, because it would take over 6 hours of labor. I’m not even a car guy and I knew that was ridiculous. 6 hours to unscrew bolts and replace the oil pan gasket? When I told the guy changing my oil later that day at a different place, he laughed and basically showed me all that had to be done. Pep boys quoted me 219 dollars. Which is still probably too high but literally 500 dollars difference? Groovy automotive is nothing but sleaze balls ripping people off in my opinion. They try to pull the whole «we are laid back austin folk, because look at our name.» But over 6 hours to replace an oil pan gasket? Busch league

Groovy automotive helped me with a leak that I have in my freon tank. I went to groovy automotive on red river because my neighbor recommended them and they definitely lived up to his review! Nice, honest people. No hassle and no wait – I definitely recommend them!

Fair’s fair — they did my light replacement like I asked.
Unfortunately, I picked them because on the phone they said $ 70 for labor as an estimate to take off the bumper, which was about 30 below what Firestone was going to charge me, so I said hell yeah, let’s go up the street to Groovy.
I get there, and tell me the price will likely be higher; by this time, I just want the shit street-​legal so I agree, and sure enough, price comes don at over 100/​hr for labor, which put them smack dab where Firestone was at in estimates. I relied on the oral representation to get my ass in the room and then boom, got it turned around on me.
The blinker works, though, so that makes me happy.

I put my review for this place on the Guadalupe location Unilocal.Not sure how to move it or change it. So, I’ll do it again.
March of last year I took my car to the Red River location. They «fixed» the O2 sensor. I paid their manager, Roland cash. That was around $ 508. The car was never really fixed, and the service engine soon light came back on a week later. I took it to Auto Zone to get a sensor report. They inform me that whatever Groovy did, didn’t fix the problem. I didn’t want to go back.
Fast forward to this morning. I receive a phone call from their new manager, Tim. He states that I have a past due balance of $ 508. I inform him I don’t. I suggested maybe the previous manager pocketed the money. I know from being a car owner for several years, that no automotive place will let you drive off their property without paying, in full. He says if I don’t have a receipt, then I still owe them money. I don’t have the car anymore. So, why would I need a receipt?
So, why wait almost a full year to come after me? I will be sure to let all of my friends know of this. After reading all the other reviews they have, I’m really shocked you have any business. Maybe that’s why you are trying to scam money out of someone who has already paid.

Too pricey and reluctant to explain the issue just to make you accept useless changes.
The guy that works on Saturdays, I think his name is Steven is GREAT.
Peace

They are quick and very nice. They will discount when able to. They also will tell what is really wrong and what can wait or needs done asap. No gaming going on. They also let me bring in my cats into waiting area due to they were with me because I had just got into texas from Alaska. I will be coming back to Groovy.

This is my go-​to for servicing my 2000 Ford Expedition. A star could be subtracted for the overly-​optimistic estimated completion time, but the pricing, especially for parts, and evaluation were good. The service was fine.
TIP: The estimated delivery time was overly optimistic, so I missed an appointment.
BONUS: The Coffee Bean across the street makes for a good waiting room. There’s also a Freebirds, and some other places to get sustenance while you wait.