Radiator & Muffler King

Anyone know the full name of the owner? I got my catalytic converter replaced in January only for it to go bad 3 months later. Went to the shop and it’s closed. No warranty papers on the receipt. $ 400 dollars later and I still have a bum car. Any help finding him would be great so I can find out the manufacturer of the part and maybe save some $

I’m from NYC, with NY plates. On route back to NYC from CA I hung out in Austin for a bit to check it out last December. Round about Las Cruses NM, I noticed a coolant leak, coming from somewhere round the engine of my 1991 Nissan PU truck. Thankfully I got to Austin and started to look for a mechanic. Naturally, I was concerned about finding a honest one.
These guys were great. They did a simple pressure test, located the issue, which was my water pump and fixed it pronto. But what was really great about them was I had a few other issues that required a different set of diagnostic tools outside of their arena. They were honest with me about it, and they weren’t offended, competitive or weird when I decided to go elsewhere to solve a separate set of issues. They fixed what they specialize in, cooling systems, did a really good job and shared the love with others in their profession. They even asked me to call them when I found out what was up to share the info, which I did. This scenario of their open and chill attitude is very professional: do what you do really well and shoot straight about it. Attitude isn’t everything, but having a healthy one adds up to about 95% of it.

Ok so this guy was either A) totally clueless about what he was talking about or B) a TOTAL scam artists and I’m leaning toward B on this one. Either way I’d say bring your car to SOCO muffler and radiator: muffler king told me they couldn’t repair my radiator without first thing it apart which was going to be an extra $ 300 just to find the correct part or I could just buy a brand new radiator at double the price and get it done today. I asked him what part I needed so I could look around the city for another garage who had it in stock. He refused to tell me which piece it was and proceeded to tell me it wouldn’t matter because there are only two shops in ALL of Austin that fix radiators. Ooookkkaaaaay buddy so I take a 3 day course on how to fix radiators open a shop 2 miles from u and I’m rich? Cmon man. Thank god for Unilocal I looked found three other guys in the area and the first one I called SOCO muffler had me come down they took one glance at it knew EXACTLY what prt it was and fixed it for literally less than half the muffler kings quoted price and before I even needed it for work the next day. Good luck!
And I’m adding this side note a month after I wrote the top paragraph. The loser that owns this place saw my bad review knew who I was and went on Unilocal and wrote a bad review about my business which he has never been a customer of. Get a life.

Great customer service and auto repair shop seem almost like an oxymoron anymore, but these guys really set a new and higher standard. Dropped off my hot rod’s leaky radiator one Wednesday morning on the way to work. Easy parking and a super friendly, efficient front desk rep (Jeremy? Justin? Sorry…) jumped right up to suggest they might could repair instead of replace the radiator and save me some cash. He called me with test results and a cost estimate even before I got to work (ok, S. Lamar traffic) and said they could repair it SAME DAY. I gave them the go ahead and, sure enough, he called back mid-​afternoon to say it was done and I could pick it up. Once again in S. Lamar traffic, I was running late and called J in panic as they closed at 5 pm. He waited the extra few minutes for me after 5 pm and… wait for it… the cost was even LESS than they estimated!
The radiator repair guy, he told me, has over 25 years experience. Super friendly, helpful and did all they promised and more. Two thumbs up.

I’m not finding my earlier review for these guys which is unfortunate, but It said they were pretty great and I didn’t feel the weird gender thing that is so typical for women to experience in car shops. That alone is worth a few stars. Ladies, you know what I mean? Ps. They do all mechanic work as well. And they did a couple of little extra things to help me out like bend my gas door back into place without charging me for a repair. That’s what you get at locally own businesses. Relationship-​building service.
They have car now for the 3^rd time (new work. It’s an older car) and their prices are reasonable, fair and straight forward. Sam is great – laid back, knows his stuff, easy to talk to (which is part of why I left my last mechanic). Jeremy often answers the phone and he’s gotta be the happiest guy in a mechanic shop I’ve seen. Easy to talk to and double checked he understood what I was concerned about.
They worked with my schedule on repair #2, and now I’m stoked to discover they are open on Sat for half a day as well for repair #3! Like I said it’s an old car.
Thanks, Sam, Jeremy, Sam’s brother (I can’t remember his name, sry) and the rest of your staff!

Awesome, simply awesome! Sam was helpful, kind, professional and totally in sync with what I needed to get done on my Mercedes. We removed the entirely too loud (albeit sexy) straight pipes and installed a super sweet stainless steel Magnaflow straight-​thru muffler. Totally quieted things down and made the 6.3 liter beast purr (and, when needed, roar) like a lion, not the angry hungry hippo like it was before. Excellent pipe welds, great fitment, good price and thorough inspection for leaks. Was in and out in a couple of hours — can’t recommend Sam and his team enough !! Old school courteous customer service with that personal neighborhood touch. Will be bringing more of my vehicles here soon !! Thanks and happy motoring :)

Sam was so helpful and willing to stick around a little after closing to take a look at my Jeep Grand Cherokee on a Saturday no less. They immediately found the problem and quoted me right there. They had lots of vehicles waiting to be serviced but are getting me in and should have me taken care of by Monday. It’s great to find a shop with honest professional people. Thank you!!!
I picked up my car and it’s running fantastic! I would recommend these guys to anyone!
Thanks again!!!

My apologies to Radiator & Muffler for not doing this sooner. As I has thought I did. Directly after my review I received a call concerning the repairs. They made it right and its evident that I have given them repeat business and referrals. Thanks guys at Radiator King!

This place is awesome. They fixed my exhaust leak and didn’t try to sell me on anything that I didn’t obviously need/​want. They seem very honest and straight forward. Absolutely no complaints from my experience and everyone I spoke with was friendly and experienced. I would definitely take my vehicle there again if the new arose!

Wonderful service! I came here originally in July because my AC wasn’t cooling anymore and a larger chain garage quoted me a ridiculous sum and treated me like an idiot because I don’t know much about cars. I came here for a second opinion and they checked the system right on the spot. Turned out they had to order a few parts so I took my car back at a later date and they were able to take care of everything. They were so friendly about the whole process and explained step by step what my car needed/​what they did and broke down each cost for me. My car is a European make pain in the butt but their shop knew exactly what to do. I was treated excellently and got the work done for half the price.
I came later in November for an oil change and inspection and they took care of everything so quickly!
Would recommend to anyone, especially if you’re not so car savvy, they’ll help you out without pulling one over on you like those chain garages!

Guys refurbished the radiator from my ’72 Buick. Did a very good job and I’m really happy with it. Radiator took a day more to complete than promised, but that was due to extra unforeseen work required. The parking is a little tight, but don’t let that bother you. I’ll use them again.

Quick service, good prices. All work was explained before hand. I’ve used these guys twice for issues on two different cars and I’ve been happy with their work both times. Great job!

They were nice. But they ripped me off.
Correction, the younger brother was nice. However, still ripped me off.
He gave me an estimate for a catalytic converter for $ 700. He told me I should get this other thing fixed, too, and it would be an extra $ 100, but he’d do it for $ 75 for a total of $ 775 plus tax. I agreed.
Got my car back the same day and the older brother said they fixed the catalytic converter and my total bill was $ 775 plus tax, as estimated. I asked if they fixed the other thing the younger brother said I needed to do, and he said no, it wasn’t necessary. I then asked why I was still being charged for it. But rather than saying, «Oops. We’ll take that off,» the older brother just started becoming a dick. He said the his brother made a mistake and gave me a low estimate anyway, so I was lucky just to be paying that price for just the repair I had gotten and that I just need to accept it. Then he just made a phone call while he ran my credit card to avoid continuing the conversation with me.
I asked the younger brother about it and he said, «Oh, I’m still learning things and estimated wrong.» I told him the problem with that is that I went with them because of the estimate. One that we agreed to, with everything to be done that needed to be. That’s how estimates work. I said, «If I sold pizzas and you came in and ordered a pizza for $ 10 and I told you that you could add bread sticks for $ 2 more, and so you paid $ 12 but then only got the pizza, and when you said, ‘Hey, where are my breadsticks?» and I said, «We don’t have anymore. But that’s good pizza. You’re lucky to get it for $ 12. I should’ve charged you $ 15′, WOULDN’T YOU BE PISSED?» He said, «Yeah. I’ll make it right.»
But he never did.
You would think that after spending $ 700 with them, they’d be fine with just returning the $ 75, so that I would be a returning customer. But they got greedy and apparently don’t care.
So with that said, they did a quick and fast job on my car. But they did a quick and fast number on my wallet, too. I wouldn’t trust them if I were you.

Well, I really liked the guys at Radiator King. They got my radiator repaired and flushed the engine so that my car was running better than ever. I really appreciated the good service and friendly atmosphere. Keep up the good work Radiator King!

Honestly, after the first visit, the guys were great.
I had them replace my radiator and hoses, then returned for my state inspection. They made everything painless and they were fairly efficient.
I won’t hold my first visit against them, as I did show up toward the end of their work day.
They even helped me put on my license plates after I got my car registered in Texas.
I would recommend them. Don’t let the name deter you.

I initially came to these guys with a radiator leak. They sealed it up as best as they could do, after showing me a handful of gunk that came out of the radiator. No upsale, reasonable price.
Within 4 – 5 months I came back to completely replace the radiator. Quick price and quick service. My truck was ready later that day and it has not even come close to overheating again. Good job.

The nutshell: I would definitely take my car here again.
My dad’s 1994 Honda needed a muffler repair.
On the phone, Sam, who runs the shop (and owns it with his father), was professional, informative and indicated the muffler or associated pipe repair could be done the same day, a Friday no less.
At my request upon dropping the car off, he gave me a quick estimate and illustrated for me the specific diagnosis and needed repair, along with giving me a couple of options. He also gave me a ride back home.
The shop completed the repair at the promised time (within two hours) and price; car runs great.
I would have given a fifth star except I did have to remind the shop about completing a state inspection and then that could not be completed as their diagnostic machine went on the fritz.
Also, I can see why other reviewers observed a less professional (but still friendly) experience with others at the front desk. Ask for Sam, ask for what you want — an honest and quick auto job, which is what I feel I received, is not always so easily found.

I’m going to rate this place on three different things. Shop atmosphere, customer service and quality of work.
The shop is your typical self runned business facility. There’s a very small waiting area so make sure you have a ride home if you know your car will be there for awhile. I learned this the hard way after my radiator repair took 3 hrs. It’s not the nicest place but what really defines it is its employees. Which is next.
The workers here seemed like they weren’t really motivated to work or be there. This of course applies to everyone except the owner, son and mother who all work there. They were friendly and sweet and I have no complaints about them. Anyway to continue the regular staff wears whatever clothes they want to in the shop. Although most people would say this doesn’t matter; you lose the «professional» look as a business when everyone isn’t in uniform. I personally don’t care what you wear as long as you fix my car right. Just my 2 cents for potential customers in the future. Now, the guy at the front desk who initially «greets» people… he could use some improvement. He is brief with his answers, doesn’t go into detail and makes you feel like he has other things to do when asking a question. At least this is how I felt. Of course he has things to do but I am your potential long term customer. You can drop whatever you’re doing for 2 mins and explain things to me so I understand what’s going to happen. No everyone has great car knowledge.
I came in to get my radiator fixed. It has about a half inch crack which was leaking antifreeze. After explaining what was wrong with my vehicle the guy gave me an upfront quote. The car mind you hasn’t even been looked at. I asked him «so you’re not even going to have it looked at before quoting me?» and he responded with «if it’s a small leak like you said then it’ll be X amount of dollars. I said fine I’ll do it. For all I know it could’ve been worse but I was going to hold him up to his quote. Once the mechanic went out there he told me it shouldn’t be much of a problem. I felt a little better.
Finally the quality of work. Aside from everything I said the work that was done on my car was great. I drove off with no problems. While observing the progress of my car I did notice times when my car was just sitting there untouched for maybe 1 hr. I figured maybe they’re flushing out the radiator and working on other cars in the mean time. However, no one ever came and updated me or anything until the very last 30 mins I was there. «We’ll have that right out for you sir» or «we’re currently doing this to it it should take X amount of time just sit tight». NOTHING. The son of the owner did come to me eventually and say «it’ll be another ten mins and we’ll have you ready to go» so at least there was that.
All in all, great work, subpar customer service, but I would come back again if I needed to. ³⁄₅ stars for A-​ok rating. I feel like that’s a fair rating.

Amazing experience with these guys short notice today. I failed inspection due to a P0240 code (Catalytic Converter or o2 sensor failure usually I guess?). Called 3 local places before thinking to check Unilocal,GLAD I DID.
Everyone else wanted around $ 90 just to do diagnostics — Vic @ Radiator King said we’ll check it out for free, come right in. I was there about 15 minutes later, and less than 90 minutes before the end of their work day. Not only did they do free diagnostics, he quickly showed me what was wrong (yeah, showed me), explained what needed to be done and said he could do it right away for $ 275.
Holy ridiculous low price! I did it, and was back on the road with no more check engine light about an hour later! The next best quote I got for this job today was $ 1300 from Precision Autotune on William Cannon. Highly recommend Radiator King!

I woke up on 12−20−10 to discover that in the wee hours of the morning someone used a hack-​saw to remove the catalyic converter from my SUV. I called around all over town and got a quote from Muffler King that was SO much cheaper than the Toyota dealership or anyone else. Took it in at lunch and it was ready by 3:30…the GRINCH did not ruin my Christmas thanks to Muffler King.
Ron Urias 448‑0844