Soco Service Center

This is a very friendly place, I was happy to support a local business, tiny little shop.

DO NOT GO HERE! THEY TRY TO RIP YOU OFF! I have a 2011 Dodge Caliber that I brought in for squeaky brakes and was told that I needed to replace all 4 brakes, shoes, and drums for a grand total of $ 650! I found this very unusual as the car was only 4 years old and my car before this one was a 2007 Dodge Caliber and I never had any major problems with it. I got a 2^nd opinion from Brakes To Go and they said my brakes were fine functionally. One shoe had a chip in it that was causing the squeaking but if I could deal with the noise then I didn’t need to do anything. I am reporting Soco to the Better Business Bureau, they are just greedy and trying to take advantage of people!

Found this place on Unilocal and ended up being a score! Friendly staff, honest, hard working owner, speedy service, what’s not to like? I live south and you bet your biscuits I’ll be back! Thanks again fellas.

I had an amazing experience at SOCO Service Center yesterday. My fiancé and I test drive a car and made an offer that was accepted. However there was a part that needed to be replaced before we drive it off the lot. The man at the front desk, Felix (a very nice and attentive person) ordered the part immediately and it was delivered in mere minutes after that. Victor, the owner and Junior, another employee, dropped what they were currently working on to replace the part on the vehicle we bought. After replacing the part, they discovered that it was faulty and stayed later than their shifts to work on the car further to ensure that we would drive off the lot safely. I will be recommending this service center to ALL my friends and family in the future. Thank you guys for being so attentive and truly going above and beyond for us. We really appreciate it.

Changed out the wiper switch on my F150 cheaper and faster than Ford could. Nice job. Will return.

FIVE STAR ALL THE WAY !!!
if you are like me and don’t trust anyone with your baby, then you need to take your vehicle here! I have been all over the place checking review after review and even after other places told me one thing… these guys told me different… and not only fixed the problem but did it cheaper then all the rest. saved me tons of money to go ahead and do the other things i wanted to do !!
Ask for RONNY and tell him your problem and he will say … «NO PROBLEM» !!! He has guys all over that shop taking care of Austin’s auto needs…
thanks again guys !!

These guys were great. Speedy service, honest, not over priced, got me in and out in a day. Also they have a food truck on the lot if you want to hang out while you wait!

I had my brakes replaced by these guys. They were friendly, courteous and did a great job. I would recommend them to anyone.

These guys may slightly hard to get a hold of and a little tough to find, but they are very impressive!
I was able to get through to them on the phone a little before 10am and they were able to take care of my car immediately. I needed a few standard things — oil change and fluid top off — but also wanted to get an estimate on an alignment as well as prepare my car for state inspections. As it turns out they are able to do inspections on site! Two birds, one stone.
I had mentioned that I would need my car back around 4 due to my work schedule and they said it wouldn’t be a problem. Around 330 they called apologizing that it wasn’t ready. Instead of leaving me stranded, they provided me with transportation to and from work while they completed my alignment. I really appreciated that and think it went totally above and beyond.
While I did spend more than I had set out to, I didn’t feel scammed in any way and was grateful for their thoroughness. I highly recommend. Thanks Felix and Vic!

Boy do I have a story about these guys. I gave them a 5 out of 5 but I left giving them a 1!!!
Story: I passed the place once, because it was slightly hard to find. I turned around and easily spotted the second time, so that was one strike. Next I showed up, with no real place to park just walking around asking people who I needed to talk to, then had to wait on one man to talk to, to get my car inspected, strike two. Then I walked into their little waiting room which made everything feel a lot better. It was nice, clean and they gave me the wifi password and I was able to connect and surf for free. It took about 25 mins to get it all done, there was only one person ahead of me. I dont know how long this usually takes but it was fine.
After this it was pretty cheap and I was going home, so it all kinda evened out at this point. Until I realized. THEY NEVER INSPECTED MY VEHICLE (I was ultimately wrong) but I thought they never inspected my vehicle. Then I realized that my vehicle iddnt need an ispection it actually needed to be registred, I felt stupid, but then I started to think. I actually JUST got it inspected two months ago, why on earth would they inspect my vehicle if I didnt need it inspected. So I was furious, thinking they pulled a fast one over on me.
I got home and called and started complaining. I asked why they did it and they said that they actually often do this because people sell the car to other people and this happens. I told them, well they need to talk to the customers before assuming this. VICTOR the owner was who answered and he said, «You know what? I will take care of you the next time with a free oil change, does that help» Since the oil change actually costs more than then the inspection I agreed.
They really turned my opinion around and they were super nice to me. I would suggest going to them, and I will go to them again.

I love this shop! I won’t trust my cars with anyone else. The guys here are courteous and remember me & the prior work they have done. The prices are the best in town. I come here for general upkeep, inspections & any repairs. Their new location is a little difficult to find since they moved from north of Ben White. They are just a little south of Little Texas Lane, east side of the road on South Congress. Come here for all your car needs!

The engine area has been sounding like it’s about to die and I had moved 20 miles away from the mechanic that I trusted so I started doing a Unilocal search for a new mechanic. With Soco’s great reviews, I gave them a call (hard to get a hold of them via phone) and asked about bringing my car in.
Based on the reviews, I expected to hear a very cheerful «Hello» of some sort but instead I got a pretty average mechanic sounding greeting (lacking cheer). I explained my concerns and was told I could drop off and it’d be checked out within 4 hours. I asked if I could make an appointment instead and was told I could bring it in the next day. So I asked how long it’d be to get it checked out with an appointment, and was told it’d be 3 – 4 hours… (in my head, I’m asking «so what’s the point of an appointment?».
Seeing as how there was no difference in time, I dropped off my car around 1PM that day. I got a call about 4 hours later and was told that my alternator needed to be replaced and it would be $ 515 or so to replace. He did a good job explaining what was wrong with it and I feel pretty confident that I was told the truth.
But $ 515 to replace an alternator sounded too expensive to me as well as everyone else I talked to. I called another mechanic and was quoted $ 420 (I did not tell them how much I was looking to beat). I called another mechanic and they said $ 395. I finally cracked and called my original mechanic, 20 miles away, and will be getting it done for $ 300.
Also, maybe I should have known this, but when I picked up my car I was surprised there was a $ 30 diagnostics test. It would have been nice to be advised of this when I called though as not all mechanics charge for a diagnostics test.
I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this shop. I’ve tried to get a hold of them to see why their price difference is so large but no one answers the phone. Which I’m sure they’re busy and all, but doesn’t help that I can’t communicate. Which then leaves me wondering why they’re charging $ 100-​$ 200 more than other mechanics.

Fantastic! The service was fast, friendly and so reasonably priced. I love this place!

They just moved down South Congress to (approx) 6201 S. Congress (just north of William Cannon (next to South Side Tire), since I just picked up my Mini Van from there (yes, i have small children… dont be a hater with the Mini van !!) haha !
These guys are the BEST thing on the planet (as you can see from all the positive reviews). I have been a customer of their since 2009 and have been happy every single time. EVEN WHEN I think that there might be other issues to check, they check it out without question and go ABOVE and BEYOND. I have had many different cars of mine in the last 5 years and they have worked on each of them (various issues) and each time, they have done an EXCELLENT job.
IF you are reading this and not sure where to take your car… TAKE IT HERE. Give them a chance… they work hard /​long hours (and Saturdays) and are never crabby (which is impressive). Heck, I have even seen them there on Sundays (trying to get cars fixed and back to customers by Monday)!
They are MUCH CHEAPER than the dealer and they can work on every car on the market (more than once i have seen Mercedes and BMW’s in the bay getting fixed).
Some of the few items that they have done for my family…(as we tend to buy older cars /​vans that have high mileage to save money… so they tend to need more maintenance)
replaced door handles (we bought them online and they replaced them for us)
fixed hinges /​hood latches
CAR INSPECTIONS
brakes /​rotors
timing belt /​water pump /​etc…
AIR CONDITIONING
alternator
radiator
etc
etc
etc
I cant stress enough how great these guys are… so, again… if you are in doubt, call around and get a quote from other people and then get quote from these guys. They dont have a lot of «overhead» costs…(like the BIG shops do or the DEALER)., BUT THEY ALSO DONT TAKE 4 DAYS to fix your car… they get it done in a day or so and you go pick it up !! (Dealers CHARGE you waaaay too much and take FOREVER!)

My dashboard «check engine» light went on. Took it to several auto parts stores to have it read for free. The code showed an evaporation/​emmisions leak. Did some research and found it was a common issue for my car. Checked the internet for prices for the parts and how to replace it myself. Parts were not cheap and it would have been difficult to do the labor myself.
Took my beast to Soco and they diagnosed the problem consistently with my research and what others had told me. They charged me basically what it would have cost to buy the parts from the internet and $ 165 to diagnose and install the parts. They also did an inspection and oil change with no up selling.
They get 5 stars for staying way past closing on a Saturday to finish the job as promised. I’ll be back!

I actually picked this place because of all the great reviews. These guys took my car on a very busy saturday and stayed late just to get my car done for me. (Ok, I am sure they had a ton of other cars too, but I love that they made it a point to get my brakes fixed.)
When I showed up to pay for my car, they asked me if I wanted to see the old rotors. They never talked down to me like so many other places have done in the past. When I was leaving, one of the guys told me that my front hubcap was loose and he wanted to know if I wanted him to order a spacer for it so it didn’t rattle. I really felt great about this place. It was like if you were take your car to your dad’s garage and he wouldn’t let you leave until he knew you were happy with everything.
I will definitely return here, no doubt.!!
Sarah

I know there’s already a bunch of 5 star reviews on here, but after several great visits, I felt I needed to write them another one. I went in to get my brakes checked out, after hearing an occasional high pitched squeal. I was all prepared to get my brake pads replaced, but he actually talked me OUT of it, and said that I could stand to wait 6 months to a year to get them replaced, so that I could replace the pads and the rotor all at once. He gave me a quote up front, for what it would cost to get them fixed, and even said he would deduct the cost of this service from the quote if I came back to them to do the job.
I would say that I would never take my car anywhere else, except there have been several occasions where he’s told me up front when I need a service that they don’t provide, and has referred me somewhere else.
Can’t recommend this place enough.

I went in for an oil change. I got an oil change.
What I didn’t get:
* questioned about what oil I wanted with heavy emphasis on more expensive engine saving bullshit.
* bait and switch «but look how dirty your air filter is» upgrade persuasion.
* signed up for a buy 6 get one free oil change program with an accompanying email marketing subscription.
* a bill twice what I expected including fees services charges and *asterisks.

I would never take my car anywhere else if I didn’t have to. The guys are so, so nice and helpful. Especially J.R., who has talked to my Dad on the phone many times instead of having me relay car-​related messages that I would likely get wrong.
The best thing about Soco is that, even as a woman, the employees always address ME instead of my boyfriend when my car is being worked on. I always feel respected and they never talk down to me. When I bring my car in for something I don’t understand, they explain it in layman’s terms. If there is something else up with my car (besides what I came in for), they let me know and give me a timeline of how long I can leave it, but never pressure me to get it fixed right then.
Soco always knows what’s wrong with my car and, if they don’t, they spend the time to figure it out without charging me for it.
I would (and do!) recommend Soco to anyone. I never want to live so far away that I couldn’t get there if I needed to.

I usually change my own oil but am unable to these days because I live in an apartment. So instead I typically buy whatever full synthetic is on sale at O’Reilly’s and get a local mechanic to do the change. I arrived here at 2:50pm on a Saturday, filled out some paperwork, wrote this review while I sat in their lobby, was out of there by 3:15, and they charged me $ 15 flat for the trouble.
Can’t beat that!