The Auto Depot

Good: NOTHING.. Bad: Jim Ernst the owner, is incredibly unprofessional, unfriendly, unwilling to work with anyone, hangs up on you, rude, has no etiquette, LIES THROUGH HIS TEETH ABOUT WHEN THE VEHICLE WILL BE DONE AND LIES ABOUT WHAT WORK HE WILL AND WON'T DO. Improvements: Politeness, timeliness, not being an absolute CROOK, getting a car that's in good condition without beat up tires, missing parts, and problems. He's unwilling to fix anything on this car and we're stuck with a jalopy.. Other: Jim Ernst is the most dishonest "mechanic" I have ever met. If there was a way to give this 0 stars, trust me: I would. My fiance and I have had the most frustrating and horrible experience getting a car through Jim & Auto Depot. Let me start by saying that my fiance's father paid for the car and it took literally over TWO MONTHS to get a car that was promised to us within 2 weeks. My fiance has called him daily for almost 3 weeks straight, trying to get an explanation, only to get hung up on by the owner. more

This should be a rating of NEGATIVE 5 stars...paid CASH IN FULL for a car in Dec 2009 (included on the itemized bill of sale was tax, title transfer and licensing fees). To this day, (5/23/11) I STILL do NOT have the title. Absolutely no excuse. Was told at time of purchase, I should get title in mail within 90 days. If for some reason the title could not be obtained, owner (Jim Ernst) should have offered my money back. The transmission (according to 2 different reputable shops) went out in Nov 2010. Jim had put a 1 yr warranty on the car so I took it to him to fix (without a title, I was not about to pay $4K to take it elsewhere). Jim still has posession of my car - he has not fixed it, not given me money back, or exchanged it for another car. Rather than post slanderous comments, I will let the facts speak for themselves. more

Too bad there's no negative rating because Auto Depot/Jim Ernst would deserve it. We paid him cash,in full, for a vehicle to be delivered in two weeks, After multiple excuses and over three months we're forced to take him to court. He refused to deliver the car, offering only excuses, and refused to return our money saying he "couldn't afford it"! I regret that I didn't do more research into his business practices as he's had a Cease and Desist Order placed against him by the Texas State Securities Board Emergency Cease and Desist order ENF-04-CDO-1574, and been thrown out of the Better Business Bureau's rating system with an "F" rating. more

If there was a way to give this 0 stars, trust me: I would. My fiance and I have had the most frustrating and horrible experience getting a car through Jim & Auto Depot. Let me start by saying that we paid for the car over a month ago, and we still do not have the car he promised. My fiance has called him daily for almost 3 weeks now, trying to get an explanation. Jim is incredibly unprofessional and RUDE. He rushes you, answers other phone calls during your call, and hangs up on you constantly. It is a complete nightmare dealing with this unprofessional man. Originally, he told us the car would be ready within 1 week. It is now 3 weeks later than the date he originally told us. 4 weeks since we agreed on and paid for the car. We have repeatedly called, trying to find out the story. First, he blames not working on the car on weather. The bad weather Austin had was over 2 weeks ago, and was literally for 2-3 days max. He now is telling us that he ordered the wrong parts for the vehicle and we will be unable to get the vehicle for another week. Now he claims that he "ordered the wrong parts for the car." I completely do not buy this. I bet anything that he is working on other customers cars, and putting us on the back burner since we have already paid. The current car my fiance has through Jim is old, and now is unreliable, it does not start and we explained this to Jim, telling him we need the car as soon as possible. Since we have already paid for the "new" car, he has put us on the back burner since day one. The worst part about this company and Jim is the "service." Jim is incredibly rude, cuts you off when you speak, and answers other phone calls in the middle of your call. I have never in my life dealt with someone so incompetant and rude. In addition, he lies and will tell you your car will be ready, and then continually puts it off. DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR IN HERE FOR SERVICE UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR CAR GONE A VERY LONG TIME. IN ADDITION: NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER BUY ANY CARS HERE. more