After being told that my 8-year-old Chevrolet truck needed a new water pump to resolve a cooling system leak (and being quoted $680) by a local Goodyear shop, I decided to call around for better prices. A friend at work recommended Great Hills Automotive. I drove over there at lunch, expecting to see your typical old-time central Texas out-of-the-way car repair shop (junk cars, unpaved lot, small facility). Instead, I saw a large, modern building with a bunch of beautiful restored muscle cars (belonging to various customers) parked outside. The price they quoted for the same work/same parts was $150 less, and they could do it in a day. I scheduled my repairs for the next week. I dropped my truck off at 7:30 a.m., prepared to walk the mile or so to my office (Arboretum area). Rick, the front desk service manager, offered and gave me a ride to my office. When he called later that afternoon to tell me the truck was ready, he volunteered to pick me up and bring me to the shop to get my truck. He explained when we got there that actual labor charges came out a little lower than estimated, so he installed a new serpentine belt to make sure that I wouldn't need to come back soon to get that replaced as well, and stayed exactly at the estimated repair price. My truck was clean (no greasy handprints on the door handles or hood, nice neat work in the engine compartment) when I picked it up. In addition (at no extra charge), their mechanics checked the truck over and noticed that a slight hesitation in my truck's acceleration could be due to spark plugs and plug wires (90K mile originals). Rick suggested that I replace them and the fuel filter (relatively easy do-it-yourself jobs). Two days later, Rick called me at work to make sure that everything was operating correctly - and it was! I will go back there for my future automotive service needs.
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