Christian Brothers Automotive Hill Country Village

Reviews 3

HE

Heather elizondo

I took my Highlander in to Christian Brothers to replace the intermittent steering column on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I picked it up at 4:30, ran some errands, and went home. Around 9 that night my husband and I left the house in my car. When we got in to the vehicle in a parking lot around 10:30, as my husband was turning the wheel to exit the parking space, the steering popped and stopped working. We called a tow truck and had the vehicle towed back to Christian Brothers, but since it was the night before Thanksgiving I knew not to expect contact until Friday morning. We also called and left a voice message and wrote a note on an envelope that contained the key to the car which I slipped in the slot in the door of the business. Friday morning we did not receive a call. My husband finally called them at 10:30 to see what was going on. They said theyd look at it and they were sorry. Around 1:30 we got a call back saying theyd fixed it. We returned to pick up the car at around 4 and were told the mechanic had neglected to tighten a bolt correctly. Every assurance was given to us that they had fixed the problem and that it wouldnt happen again. Needless to say, we were skeptical. They refunded the cost of the tow truck and eventually refunded the labor cost. If that was the end of it Id be ok. Mistakes happen, and they seemed very regretful and eager to fix their mistake. Alas... By the following Monday there was a noise occurring when I turned the wheel. After the experience with the steering going out, I became very anxious that theyd once again botched the repair. The sound got worse as the days went on, so on Thursday I finally called them again. After much conversation (me telling them they needed to fix it at their cost) they finally decided to concede. Friday morning they called again and, after another heated talk on the phone in which I told them I wasnt going to be inconvenienced having to leave work, arrange for another car, etc, they begrudgingly agreed to come get my car. They took it to the shop, and I caught a ride after it was supposedly fixed again around 4 that afternoon. The manager of the location, Ed, dealt with me this time (prior to this point Id only been allowed to talk to Eric) and told me they replaced the same part again, but there was still a noise. He told me theyd decided the noise was in a different part of the steering column, so they werent going to fix it. I would have been happy to leave the place with my fixed vehicle, never to think of the experience again, except that now, two weeks later, I find that my steering not only makes more sounds than ever, but it also knocks, crunches, and feels as though its jumping and slipping. None of these issues were what prompted me to seek a repair in the first place. So now Im going on a month dealing with this shotty repair. I fear driving my vehicle. I find myself looking for places to pull off in case I lose steering as I drive. And I have no time to be without a car as I am a working mother of two very busy children. I know that they wont fix this mess since they blamed the remaining noises on a different component. THOSE NOISES WERENT HAPPENING WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN TO BEGIN WITH! So either their repair caused the mess, or the "pop" when the steering failed caused it. In any case, I dont ever want to see this business again, and I am VERY unhappy with the repair and resultant worse condition of my car.

AM

Amanda Spiva

DO NOT GO HERE!! CAUSED DAMAGE TO MY CAR! On Monday September 5th 2016 I took my car to them so that i could have my power steering pressure hose replaced. I had the part all I needed was the labor done. Took it to them they were in touch with my father in law because i was at work and they told him they were trying everything they could to remove the hose but if they could not be successful they would have to take out my rack and pinion Oh and I brought my car in at 8 in the morning called at 1 and they did not even start on it yet....Left work early that day to go pick up my car and called us back as me and my father in law were on our way to pick it up. Just to go in and be told we could not fix your power steering hose gave me my keys and that was that. Which was fine at the time I was like ok. BUT I took it to another Place and i made it aware that someone else tried to remove my power steering hose Got a call back from mechanic saying who ever you took this too did more DAMAGE THEN GOOD a screw and bolt were missing to the original part and NOT ONLY THAT VICE GRIPS WERE TIGHTLY secure on the bolt were they were attempting to remove my power steering hose and yes i drove it to a mechanic that way! So after i heard that from them I called christian brothers to tell them what was going on. I had to speak to the owner after so many attempts to reach him I finally got a hold of him and told him the issues calmly and to call the mechanic at the other place about it because he was telling me NO SERVICE was done on my car..and i told him VICE grips were left inside my car..and fitting damage and vice grips left on lower fitting that is what the mechanic told me.. I was originally going to pay 145 for labor at other place BUT since there was damage for them using the vice grips and gosh knows what else! it was going to cost me 275 and i felt christian brothers owner should have payed the extra for the damage they put on my car! After him talking to the mechanic I called them the next Morning and spoke with the owner Basically he told me yeah the vice grips were left in the car and you would think yeah that would me service done to my car...when the other day you said NO SERVICE was done.. all this did not end well I told him before talking to you i did call corporate and they said you could help me...and he flat out told me Well im not...and i said ok i will call them back and make sure to give them your name and TELL THEM you will not help me! and of course corporate took his side...BUT GOOD NEWS my car was fixed by PROFESSIONALS . I WILL NEVER GO TO THEM AGAIN. Christian Brothers quoted me $800 for additional labor after informing me they could not complete the original repair, suggesting that I had no other options. I took it to another shop for a second opinion who was able to complete the full repair for a total of $275.

ST

Stephen M

Not happy with the service. My wife went in for an oil change ($37) and tire rotation ($60). The customer service representative was friendly and advised a “fuel induction/injection flush for $180,” a “frigi-clean A/C front evaporator service $148,” a “power steering system flush $90,” and spark plug replacement ($500). My wife declined the spark plug replacement as she was unsure if that was needed. She agreed to the other services, but was also distracted with our energetic children. The injection cleaning and power steering service are of dubious value, and I believe they are a quick way to pad an invoice with extra charges. Neither service is recommended by the manufacturer. The car has no evident problems and receives the services required in the manual. The spark plug recommendation was odd as the plugs were replaced 10,000 miles and about 6 months prior to this check-up. The evaporator service is also of dubious value. From the description it sounds like they flushed it with some type of cleaner. The car has a cabin air filter, which I change regularly, and is designed to keep the air system clean. The condenser is difficult to reach, so it is not likely they did anything significant to it for the $98 worth of labor they billed. Oil change & tire rotation appear to have been performed correctly. The invoice lists 2 grades of oil “5W20/5W30”; I find that strange since those are different types of oil. Only 5W20 is recommended by the manufacturer. From the invoice, I can’t tell if they used the correct one. However, it is unlikely they made an error as the oil weight is printed clearly on the oil filler cap. I returned two days later and requested a refund from the manager for the unnecessary services. He declined and defended the value of the injection and power steering services. Based on my experience with other shops, these prices range from average to high. The service took two hours, which was unexpected given that only the oil and tires needed work. I’m not a mechanic by trade, but I do keep careful records and perform some car maintenance myself. I do not think the extra services were needed.

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