The Auto Depot

I was told my car would be ready by a certain date and I still dont have it. Jim knoew how important timely delivery was to me. He asked me for money up front. That was a big mistake to give it to him because now I see my car on the back burner for him. So far the body work looks very poor and I am worried. \r I am not one to try to ruin somebody's reputation, but my experience has been very unsettling, to say the least. This is not the way to treat customers! Pros: exciting sales pitches Cons: waiting, parking, quality more

I was looking for a trustworthy auto shop in Austin. After researching, I found that Auto Depot won the Austin Chronicle's 'Reader's Poll Best of Austin' award for many years, so that's where I went. And I wasn't disappointed. They were fast, and straight-up about my car problem. I recommend them to anyone looking for good, honest, and knowledgeable service. Pros: great, honest service Cons: location more

i bought a car from the auto depot about a month ago and i absolutely love it. i got an amazing feal. the car is in perfect condition and jim (the owner) went out of his way to make the transaction pain-free. he even offered my friend a free oil change for driving me over there. i have to say this was my best car buying experience. i highly recommend it. more

I bought a toyota echo from jim at auto depot. I was a little freaked out about giving him most of the money for my car before driving it (he was buying it at auction that day), but he assured me that it had some hood damage from a wreck and that would be fixed. He gave me the car fax on it and let me look at pictures and I asked lots of questions. He told me my car would be ready the next week, however it took a little longer than that. It seems like they have alot going on there and that was a bit frustrating, but meanwhile they gave me a decent loaner car (no radio, but who needs that?). I finally picked up my car and I have been driving for about a week now. I couldn't be more happy with my purchase. I love my car, I think it was money well spent. A bit time consuming but I'm really happy about my purchase overall. Pros: cars at an affordable price, guarantee their work for a year Cons: seems like they have alot on their plate more

I really wish I had done more research before buying my Toyota Truck from Jim (the owner of Auto Depot). He has great incentives and discounts (i.e. he will ""pay the title and taxes on the vehicle""), especially if you can make a decision ""today"". The deal may seem hard to pass on, it was in my case.\r \r My recommendation is don't buy anything right away, and do your homework. I'm sure great deals can be had with Jim, but you can and should not simply take his word for it. In hind-sight, this is the approach I should have taken when buying my car from Jim (and any other used-car dealer for that matter). \r 1) I would have asked Jim the history of the car and what work he put into the car.\r 2) Research the history of the car by looking up the VIN#. I learneded that when a buying a salvage vehicle it is worth every penny (~$10, really not that much) to know the vehicle history!!\r 3) I would have then made sure the vehicle history jived with what Jim told me.\r 4) If everything is still good, take the vehicle to a auto mechanic to inspect the car, and the quality of work and/or repair done the dealership I was buying the car from (in this case AutoDepot).\r \r \r Here was my situation. I needed a car asap, and I made the mistake of researching based soley on Auto Depot being a six-time ""Best of Austin"" award winner. The vehiclle I bought from Jim at Auto Depot had a salvage title. After it was too late to do anything about it, I had a another auto repair shop look at it . My truck had apparently been totalled in a rear-end and front-end collision, and AutoDepot did the repair work. The mechanic at the shop quickly pointed out the bondo and additional mounting holes that they drilled in order to make my bumper appear to be straight.\r \r Any mechanic would have noticed these problems, but I did not. If you do not know how to tell the extent of previous damage, have someone else that you trust look at it. I made a mistake, and AutoDepot was not about to point it out to me. Pros: Jim is a good... business man Cons: Used cars with salvage titles more

After getting hitt by someone else, I just wanted to get my car fixed and move on. After looking around online, I found the Auto Depot, and I'm glad I did. Not only were they able to fix my car hassle-free, but when the inevitable battles with the insurance company (and in this case even the rental car company) came up, it became clear that the staff here was on my side. They did everything they reasonably could, and I couldn't ask for more. The biggest reason to go here? Because they care as much about the customer as they do about the bottom line. That's rare these days. Thanks Jim! Pros: Honesty, they're on your side. Cons: Location more

I recently had a timing belt break on my car, and went to Auto Depot on the recommendation of a friend. From my first conversation with Jim on the phone, I received excellent customer service. These guys bent over backwards to save me money and get me my car back as quickly as possible. They made sure that I thoroughly understood my options, and went the extra mile to make sure that I could afford the repairs. I got my car back less than 24 hours after dropping it off. They even stayed late to make sure that I was taken care of when I couldn't get there until a few minutes after they closed, and gave me a lift home after dropping off my car with them. They went above and beyond. I would highly recommend these guys to anyone and everyone, and any work I need done in the future will definitely be brought to them. Pros: Friendly service, honest mechanics, super fast turn-around more

It's been about a year since I bought a 1995 Jeep Cherokee from Jim at the Auto Depot, and I couldn't be more happy with it. It's an old car, but I haven't had a single problem with it. It runs great for a 15 year old car! A serious amount of thanks goes out to Jim for his honesty, kindness, and desire to do the right thing for his costumors. Thanks a million, Jim- I continue to love the heck out of that Jeep.\r \r -Patrick O. Pros: Honest, Loyal, Kind, Honorable Cons: n/a more

Jim and the folks at Auto Depot did me right. When I needed a durable car with great mileage, Jim found me a fine Corolla. I bought it with the 30 day guarantee that I could get full trade-in value for my money if I wasn't satisfied. I was satisfied, but what I really wanted was a Matrix. They found one for me and gave me full value for the Corolla. I love everything about this car 6 mos later! They were willing to fix any little problem that came up free of charge, just as they had said. Sometimes it took more of my time than I had counted on, but I would definitely use them again and have happily recommended them to friends. Pros: They bent over backwards in customer service Cons: Can be time consuming more

I took my older vehicle in because of a grinding problem, as well as some basic maintenance. Ron and Paul took great care of me - because it was an older vehicle, they knew I did not want to do any crazy repairs, so they worked to fix smaller components of my compressor rather than replacing it. They ran into problems with the smaller components (because of a different compressor that had been installed previously) and worked extra to try and make it happen. Once we realized that the compressor did in fact need replacement, they split the labor cost with me and got the smaller components credited. Every step along the way, Paul and Ron kept me informed, and when I picked up the vehicle, they insisted that I bring it back before I move out of town (and do an extended drive) in a few weeks so that they can check the engine and all my belts, fluids, etc for free. I went here because of a recommendation from a friend, and they were great! Pros: Affordable, Friendly, Reliable, Go the xtra mile Cons: Busy more

Make sure you show up right when they open up so they finish the work that needs to be done quickly. Ron will keep you up to date on the progress of your troubleshooting and maintenance throughout your visit, and Jim will give you a good deal. Pros: Great service, nice people, good communication more

These reviews are a joke. It must be the owner writting them to hype their page. This place is most choatic, disorganized place I have ever seen. Nothing went smoothly or promised as soon as I was asked to write a review. Good thing I chose to wait until AFTER work was completed. I chose them because of the shuttle service offered on the web site. Shuttle!?!?! It is some stupid guy named Joker in a beat up car who drove me to work. I couldnt believe the misrepresentation. I expected a shuttle, not be drowned in useless conversation with an idiot. And the check engine light was on the whole time and it drove like junk. They even tried to sell me that car! Pros: misrepresentation Cons: liars more

I purchased a car from Auto Depot in early June. It had been damaged from a hail storm, so the windows needed to be replaced and there are alot of dents on the body. When I purchased the car, I made an agreement with Jim that I would be back to pick it up in two weeks, so he could replace the windows and complete some other needed work.\r When I came by to pick the car up, it was not yet ready. Jim made every effort to work with me. He gave me a loaner to use until mine was ready.\r I had an overheating problem with it and took it back; they worked on it right away and the problem appeared to be fixed. It is overheating again, so I will need to take it back in, and still expect great service!\r I am very happy with my car and the service offered so far.\r \r Update: I took the car back in, and once again, Auto Depot gave me super service. The car is still under warranty so they took care of the problem (faulty water pump) and did some additional work as a preventative measure. Everyone there was helpful and they definitely took care of the problem.\r \r Yet another update: These guys are TERRIFIC. I had another overheat problem and I took the car back in. Turns out one of the cooling fans stopped working. They fixed that same day and gave me a ride to the rental car place so I could take of things during the day. Now my car is running fine and it is due to their good work, and their dynamite warranty. No charge for these repairs and they did it all with a smile. Pros: Good service more

My experience with Auto Depot has been very positive. I was forced into buying a used car with little time to shop due to a new job opportunity. My trusty old Bonneville died a sudden death and I had no real opportunity to shop around. Ended up buying a clean high mileage 2000 Toyota Camry and am well satisfied so far. Jim and Mark fixed it up, new timing belt, water pump, etc. and got it in good running shape. Price was below blue book value by $500. Best experience I have had buying a used car. Haven't had to test the one year/12,000 mile warranty so I can't comment on that aspect. Five months later I am still pleased with the car and have recommended them to several people. Do your research, shop around, know what to ask and you won't be disappointed with these guys. I'm not surprised they have won the Austin Chronicle award time after time. We need to support businesses that stand behind their promises and give good customer service because they are few and far between. Pros: Highly recommended more

I took my car in to get the engine service light checked out. They ran it through a battery of tests and drove it around for half an hour and concluded it was an error as far as they could tell, but they said they'd fix it right up if it came on again. Sure enough, it came back on so I took it back. Jim, the owner, personally took a thorough look at the car and found the problem. He offered to repair it for a fraction of what the dealer would have charged (I checked; his price was 60% of the dealer price!!!). On top of that, he also took care of a brake light that was out for just the cost of the light ($2). What a deal! Needless to say, I'll be returning any time I have car trouble again. Thanks Jim and all the folks at the Auto Depot! Pros: Great work - they strive for customer satisfaction more

At the Auto Depot, there were friendly people willing to help me find the car i was looking for. We gave them a price range and they gave me a really good deal on a '96 Infiniti. It came out to a total of 5K, and that included all the taxes and everything. It also included a new windshield and warranties. The car came with a nice BOSE sound system as well. Since they sell used cars you are able to find cars in good condition that they've had brought in because of hail damage. This is our second car that we've bought from the Auto Depot and we're very happy with both of them. It's a great place to get fairly priced good condition vehicles. The owner, Jim, is a really friendly guy to and he'll work with you to get you a car you'll really like for the price you want. You may not get exactly the car you want, but that's simply because all the cars they have are used and so they come in at random times. Even so, when you do find a car you like (which you will, because their selection is constantly changing), Jim will hold the car for you until you decide to buy it (within reason of course). All in all it's a good place to look for your first car, like mine, or your fiftieth car. Pros: Nice people, affordable priced cars more

Auto Depot has always been to me an HONEST BUSINESS and kept me and my family with:\r \r ""RELIABLE WHEELS for 15+ YEARS!!!""\r Pros: Reliable Honda's and Toyota's in all price ranges! more

The Auto Depot was able to repair the side of my Ford\r Taurus where a deer dented and scratched the door.\r The matching paint was perfect and it only was in the shop a few days. Thanks Auto Depot Pros: Easy to do business with more

Six months ago I was looking for a Lexus SC400 when my Google search ended up at The Auto Depot. While I live in San Jose, my Applied Materials job takes me to Austin often. I saw one on The Auto Depot's site, and called Jim Ernst. He described the car to me to the point where the following Tuesday I stopped by to look at it. It scared me how much I liked the car, but hired an independent person to write a report on it. He told me that if I decided not to buy the car, he would for his daughter - everything Jim told me about on it, had been done.\r \r Now, six months - and 8,000 miles - later, it is running like a watch and has needed nothing but a couple of oil changes. I am 43, and have been deluded many times by people trying to sell me a car. Jim Ernst is the only person who shot it straight to me, and I love my car - and The Auto Depot.\r \r They deserve every five star rating they get, and none lower than that. Thanks Pros: nice used cars, nice work Cons: none that I could see more

I have purchased 4 cars in the past four years from Jim at Auto Depot. My family and I have had two Honda Accords, a Camray, and a Lexus purchased and serviced at Auto Depot. I have had hail damage repaired there and an assortment of repairs, most of which were covered by Jim's warranty. Every car was priced at less than market value. I am very satisfied with the quality of cars and service at Auto Depot. Pros: Best deal with warranty on used Honda and Toyota Cons: The place is busy more