I am a mother of two and a proud Texan, and let me tell you: Gene Johnson's Automotive is without a doubt the worst car repair place I have ever seen. Gene Johnson has grown his business by overcharging the poor minority residents and UT students in the neighborhood who make the mistake of going to his establishment to get car work done. I had heard some pretty awful things about the place, but the work I needed done was not that serious and I thought ""Why not, I'll try it.""\r
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My experience was poor from the beginning. The staff was rude and dismissive, and acted like helping me with my problem was the last thing on earth they would like to do. I should have just walked out, but I stuck it out instead. Boy was I sorry.\r
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I needed to get the heater coil replaced in my '97 Ford Ranger. The truck has been owned and driven in Austin, Texas since I bought it from the dealership, and it just doesn't get very cold here. Nevertheless, the heater coil developed a leak and I needed to get it fixed.\r
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Well let me tell you, this bumbling pack of fools cannot do much more than a simple oil change, and even then they would probably screw that up. I was given an estimate of $830 for the heater coil replacement, that was parts and labor combined. Well get this: not soon after I got to work they called me on my cell to tell me that they would have to take off more of the dash than they thought, and that it would cost me ANOTHER $400 in labor costs! I said this is ridiculous--put back on whatever you've taken off and I refuse to authorize the work at that price. Well what do you know, THEY RUINED MY DASH! They cut one of the corners to shreds when they put it back on, and then denied doing anything wrong at all. Rather than admit to damaging my property, Gene Johnson himself told me to leave his shop or he would call the police! What a creep!\r
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P.S. I later went to a shop in south Austin, and the whole job--parts and labor--was done for $230. Gene Johnson is a bigtime con man!
Pros: If you like to be overcharged and treated badly, they have you covered.
Cons: You name it.
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