Joe Angell’s Automotive Service

After being my «go to» place for years, my last experience left me very disappointed and untrusting — not sure what changed but two other mechanics independently asked «who did this work» and not in a good way — they are probably okay for small things but definitely not anything larger

I just stopped in to see if they could help me put in a new headlight bulb. My car is an older Mazda 6 and the bulbs are difficult to get to. One of the employees changed it out in about five minutes, free of charge! Of course, I had to give him something because I was so grateful! I had already gotten pulled over and I don’t need any tickets.
I am definitely going back there next time I need some real work done.

I’ve been coming to Joe Angell’s Automotive for better that 15 years. During that time, Jimmy and his crew have taken care of multiple types of cars for our family. Quality service and a true sense of caring about the customer has always been their trade mark. For me, this is invaluable.

First time here, and they did a great job fixing two unrelated problems. Explained what was wrong and how they fixed it. Same day service and the price couldn’t be beat.

Their motto is «Honest Repair Work» and at least this visit, this time, they came through on that promise for me. This is the first time I have taken my Toyota Camry here; I just moved into town. I am very happy with their work and their ability to get to my car immediately and deliver it when promised. I will definitely take my vehicle here again if and when it needs repairs.
The ONE issue I have with them — the owner smokes inside the shop office. So, when you walk in the front door you are hit with the strong smell of cigarette smoke. For very sensitive people, this can be a problem. I just breathed very deeply once I was back outside to clear my lungs of the foulness of second-​hand smoke.
They do charge a minimum diagnostics fee of $ 47.50 which I think for seasoned mechanics, they should be able to troubleshoot most problems the old-​fashioned way –by ear and sight. The computer diagnostics takes away the guess work, I suppose, and the computer does the diagnosing — which can be an advantage — the computer should get it right the first time.
Last but not least, I work one block away, and can walk to and from work when I leave my car here in the a.m. and pick it up after work in the p.m. Now, that is convenience!
Anyway, bottom line — I will take my car here again if it needs work done. Jimmy is a great guy.

–Addendum
My transmission just sucked up the reverse gear. I have taken it to two places and both have stated that the seals are bad, and the clutch now needs to be replaced due to fluid seepage. The clutch is probably about 18 months old if that.
I won’t be downgrading as %66 of the work I have had done there was great, and Jimmy told me that the reverse was an issue. However, I am now buying a new clutch because someone dropped the ball!
–D
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This has been my to go to shop for a bit. They are on my way to work, and even if I have to take a day, throw my bike in the car to get back to my apt with, the requested service has always been finished the same day.
I must state, before I get to the «but…», that I have had a clutch/​clutch cable, timing chain, and 02 senors replaced there.
I will also say that all were done timely, and reasonable on the price.
But… The bad; when I got my clutch/​clutch cable replaced I realized it was really touchy. I took it for the fact that it was new, and it would self-​adjust. Yes, my bad, but almost a year later, and along with the fact it was touchy, it started to squeal like a stuck pig between shifts. I, again, I must state that I bought the clutch off of e-​bay for ¹⁄₃ of the price of a new one, and Jimmy was fine with installing.
I have had no issues with the timing chain, and even saw a little boost on the peddle when it was switched out.
I took my older than dirt Jetta back to them, yes again, with O2 sensors that I had bought for a DIY weekend project after it failed inspection, but had got called out of town. So I took it in on Friday at like 8:00, and by 11:30, Jimmy gave me a call and let me know it was a good thing I didn’t do the DIY thing, ’cause they had to rethread the O2 sensor holes as they were very rusted. No worries, and I appreciated the honesty, and didn’t really mind paying the bill.
However, not a but… I didn’t know that Oxygen Senors need some driving time before the computer will reset, so I took it back to the initial inspection station, and was laughing of the bucking bronco that was my car when the inspector tried to get in the stall… until he called me out and showed me that the engine light was on, and told me to take it back to the shop and have the ECL reset, and drive it like ~50−70 miles for the computer to catch up. Little did he know that i had an ODBII reader and hooked it up when I got home.
I did a Google search on the code I was getting and came to find out that it was most likely the throttle body that had build up. So, I took upon myself to do more Googling, and got the low down on how to clean it. So, I spent $ 13 at a local auto parts store for cleaner, a gasket and some rags. I took my time, so three hours later my throttle body was clean, back on the car, and made a crazy difference…
The biggest was that my clutch is now way easy and not making a squeal every time I change gears.. I don’t have to set the parking break on hills anymore so I don’t stall it or back into someone.
I took it out to drive the crap of it last night, and put 100 miles on it, and used only a lil more than ¹⁄₈^th of a tank of gas.
My issue is… Why in the world, supposing that the tech drove it after my clutch was replaced, wouldn’t have suggested that I need to look into more work. I’m not even saying that he needed to know what it was, but doing the bucking bronco if he test drove it, he should have known something was up.
Overall, I think Jimmy and the shop is straight up and do a great job with pretty low prices. However, if you have a VW, maybe not the best place for you.
P. S. After my weekend mechanechin, my car passed inspection with flying colors!

These guys are no joke! I went there to have my engine belt replaced, and had to go back because there was more wrong with it than meets the eye. They were able to fix it the same day, and it was fairly cheap too. They told me exactly what was wrong, and what they did to fix it. Rather than charge me for all sorts of new parts (and labor for putting them in), they actually *fixed* what was wrong. Every other place I’ve ever been to always comes up with something else to sell you, and will try to sell you warranties and other junk as well. They just give you a warranty on whatever they did as part of what they do. And they noticed other things that were completely unrelated, and gave me tips on how to fix them as well, and they worked, my car is perfect again. Also, they know how to do *everything*. I’ve run into so many mechanics that only do certain things. «Oh, the engine guy isn’t here today». «Oh, none of our techs are certified to work on your AC.» None of that here, they’re all actually real mechanics, and real people. Broken cars beware, your days are numbered!

well, sadly I have to dock a few stars from here with my last experience. it left me feeling a little upset considering I put a lot of trust in them from before. my car was making a weird sound one morning so I stopped in to ask them to check it out. they said they would and to leave the key, they would call me with an update.
well, a few hours later they call and say it’s a belt that’s loose and it needs replaced. they also said a few other things that needed to be done — mostly stuff that seemed it could wait. we finally got them to change just the belt, but they did charge us a «diagnostic fee» for just looking at it — which peeved me he never mentioned up front.
needless to say, the next day, the car was still making the noise. my husband had to call the dealer and was able to find out just by describing to them the noise — which they explained what it was (not the belt) and said it was an easy fix he could do and to come get the part (it was a $ 2 part). lesson learned by me, next time have them come out to listen to the noise and ask them up front what the fee will be just to look at it.
the guys here are friendly and I would maybe still come here for oil changes but would need to rely on someone else for bigger car issues.

This garage was recommended by some folks in an online Austin community.
I was overdue for maintenance on my car, and they found exactly what it needed, didn’t fix what wasn’t broken, and charged an honest, fair price.
I was impressed by their friendliness and professionalism.
Highly recommended.