Reliable Automotive

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Elandra Osborn
3 days ago
I absolutely LOVE the folks here!! I've been screwed by mechanics so many times, and when I spoke to Anna on the phone she immediately made me feel confident that this place knows what they're doing. The amazing friendliness of a small business, plus the professional, inviting, got-it-together-ness of a brand with a reputation to uphold. I have an older vehicle that a lot of places don't even know what to do with, but within 15 minutes they had an incredibly comprehensive report sent to my phone that explained everything and even included pictures of the issues. They were technically closed by the time the owner explained everything and an estimate was written up, but I didn't feel rushed, and the owner, Jesse, STILL gave me a ride home! My car was good to go the NEXT DAY and has been running like butter ever since.Conclusion: Go here.

  Barbara Rodriguez
a week ago
Please beware of this mechanic shop! We had my son s truck towed to this mechanic shop last year in September. Because of all the wonderful reviews we thought we would get honest auto work done. Fast forward to now March 2024, we brought my son s truck back to Houston to be looked at because Honest Automotive did not complete the work as they were asking for more money. The mechanic shop in Houston told us that the part Honest Automotive replaced was not properly installed. TIP: hire competent mechanics! I am beyond infuriated with Honest Automotive as we dumped $5000 on my son s truck and 6 months later it is still not working! Just a bunch of crooks over at San Marcos Honest Automotive!

  Sarika Bhakta
a month ago
Ms. Anna was very polite on the phone when I called and when I came in to the shop. The waiting area is clean with a refreshment area. I just needed a state inspection and they checked more than what is required and then topped of the engine coolant b/c it was low. That was very thoughtful :) I also love that they are a small business. I know I will be coming back for all my other car needs.

  Helen Traweek
2 months ago
I m new to the area and found Reliable online and saw their service ratings were excellent. They, luckily, are located close to my apartment, offer State Inspections and my car s was due. Reliable s office is clean, well lit, offers comfortable seating, and staffed by three friendly individuals. I was waited on immediately by Anna who provided knowledgeable, efficient and very gracious service. The Inspection was accomplished in a short period of time, no problems. I definitely will be back for future auto needs.

  Monty Cline #8112
a month ago
I brought my vehicle to Reliable to get my state inspection completed. I was told that the third brake light bulb was out and needed replacing. When I asked what the cost of that would be i was quoted $105.00!! I told the service writer, it is literally two easily accessible screws and a bulb. I was very mater-of-factly told, "the book says it is a 30 min job and we charge what the book says"! So I said I will do it my self. Well, they obviously failed my inspection for the bulb being out. I left there and went to Auto-Zone and bought the bulb for $3.00 and changed it in the parking lot in about 3 minutes. Then had to take it back to the shop so they could look at it and pass my state inspection. The only reason I am giving 2 stars on this experience instead of 1 is because the initial inspection was completed in a timely manner.they really need to train their crew on more friendly customer service and offer quick reasonable repairs on minor inspection related issues to be able to complete the inspection in one trip.

  Texas Ed
a month ago
The folks at Reliable Automotive that I have personally dealt with have been friendly and helpful. They are punctual in doing their best to meet their scheduled completion of automotive work. The location is convenient for those living in San Marcos. I will return to Reliable for my automotive needs.

  Sam Dilbeck
2 weeks ago
Needed a motorcycle inspection. They were fast even though I went around 11:30 during the lunch rush. They had me do blinkers and such so the didn t even touch my bike. I m okay with people touching the bike so it wouldn t have bothered me if they did it all, but I know some people are particular about that so it was good to see they respected guys who wouldn t want them to touch their ride. The bike passed. I was in and out in about 15 minutes because there were a few inspections ahead of me. Thanks guys.

  Clark Galloway
a month ago
Vintage 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham needed power steering pump. Went through three other repair places and numerous parts resellers with no success. Reliable Automotive went above and beyond procuring another pump and rebuilding the old pump. This company worked through supply chain issues and rebuilt my power steering pump and did some other repairs. Highly commend Reliable Automotive for can do attitude , thinking outside the box and attention to detail. Highly recommend Reliable Automotive to anyone.

  Alec Dives
a week ago
I took my truck to the shop in October 2023. They told me what was wrong with the truck, however they were charging an arm and a leg. Ended up still paying that just for them to tell me that there were more problems and wanted more money. Luckily I said no, and took it to a shop in Houston, but that shop has said that Reliable Auto used the wrong part to replace the broken part. Which in turn caused more damage to my truck than actually fixing it.

  Benjamin Sanchez
3 weeks ago
Service was friendly and reasonably priced. I would recommend you guys have a private office for customers to talk about high cost repairs/payment plans. I think asking someone what they can afford in front of all customers in waiting area is kind of embarrassing. I got to listen into this going on while waiting for my oil change. I felt pretty bad for the guy. Just my opinion. I would hate to have been in hospital shoes.

  A C
2 months ago
Reliable has done my routine maintenance (oil changes, etc.) and inspections to make sure everything is good with the car. They discovered an oil leak. Rather than do the repair themselves, they let me know the repair was covered under my Powertrain Warranty and could be done at the dealer for no cost. I really appreciated the honesty, as they could have kept the business for themselves. Everyone is very helpful and good with explaining what was done and what's needed.

  Zane Liston
a month ago
Annie at Reliable Auto is amazing. I got an extraordinarily detailed pdf of what I could fix on my vehicle and great communication about options related to cost and whether to hold on keep working on it. I m really grateful for the openness and clarity, and I highly recommend Reliable to anyone. I ll certainly be back.

  Erich Beck
3 months ago
Damaged my hood while replacing a radiator, manager said I brought it in that way. I have pictures of before and when I picked it up. He didn't care and said they would not take responsibility. Pretty much calling me a liar. You lost my business, look at my history of repairs. I will not be spending 3 to 4 thousand dollars a year for the last 4 years to help keep your doors open.Good luck with the manager of the year, I'm going to your competition

  Karen Serafino
3 months ago
My car started making grinding sounds. I called before 8am when I got to work and Robert offered to pick up my car and diagnose the problem. They sent me a detailed report and reasonable quote. They completed the brake/rotor replacement and brought my car back before I left work. This was the best customer service experience I have ever had.

  Lisa
4 weeks ago
Great experience! The staff here are very knowledgeable and helpful. I love the ride service they provide as well. I ll come back here for all my vehicle service needs.

  Trevor Marshall
4 months ago
Reliable Auto in San Marcos did an awesome job getting me in and out of quickly. While there I witnessed Anna help out an elderly customer who had became stranded. She was very patient and sat and talked with the customer until someone could come pick her up.

  Stephen Dicks
5 months ago
Courteous and professional from start tofinish. I began with the mindset it was going to be me against the shops attempts to get the most money possible from me. I am happy to say the reality of my experience was they made me feel like a part of the team working towards the best possible solution to my vehicles issue. I highly recommend this incredible team.Service: General repairs & maintenance

  weldon long
a month ago
I needed an inspection and Reliable was down the street. I walked in and was greeted by a service rider named Anna. Gave her my necessary documents and 20 minutes later I was off to the races.

  Tia Patterson
2 months ago
2009 Toyota Corolla with loss of power, rough idle and flashing check engine light (4th cylinder misfire). -This is the info. I provided to the shop.Upon initial contact , over the phone, I questioned their diagnostic procedure and stated that I did not want a shop that would try to throw parts at the problem in order to diagnose the issue.The service associate Anna explained that they had veteran Toyota mechanics on staff who knew the cars well and very confidently promised a diagnosis for approximately $100.When I arrived with the car, she asked how attached I was to the car and how likely I was to have work performed to keep it. I found the conversation to be a bit unprofessional and odd.Anna called later the same day to nervously tell me that the engine needed to be replaced and quoted the job at $10,000.The vehicle condition report stated that they "swapped out all outside components on the engine and still missing on 4. We determined that the compression is low on all four cylinders #4 being the lowest, that's why 4 is misfiring all the time. The engine will need replacement in order to fix this issue".This is not a diagnosis of my engine problem. Parts were thrown at the car in order to conclude what I had already told them.Since paying them and picking up the car, we have discovered that we have a blown head gasket between the 3rd and 4th cylinder.These guys will take you for all you're worth if you allow it.They were very quick.

  Melissa Perez
a month ago
Worst customer service I have ever encountered!!!! The girl in front with short hair didn't even ask me if I needed help as a matter of fact the girl in the front was too busy on the phone she even turned her back on me. So I just walked out and left. Will never return here again. They are rude and very unprofessional even the men. Smh

  Gracie Given
6 months ago
Robert and his guys went completely above and beyond for me, things have been hard lately and my car completely broke down. They helped me with a tow, had my car running in 2 days, were incredibly fair on pricing, and even did a few extra things free of charge. I cannot recommend them enough, they have a new life long customer!

  Dirt� Dan
3 months ago
This was the longest I ve ever had to wait for an oil change. I was the first person there and waited 4hrs for my truck to be done. Terrible customer service as it seemed like Mike hated his job and life. Then they tried to get my break fluid replaced for $400 plus. Which is like telling someone to change their blinker fluid. Terrible experience overall

  Anthony Cortez
2 months ago
Was worried about this company when taken over by lambs a few yrs ago. Between being misled yesterday,being lied to today,then being challenged to a fight from an employee today. My worries were right.i am looking to find his name but being blocked by everyone there.

  terri lyn Stevens
6 months ago
I needed my car worked on and could not drive it to any auto repair place but these guys sent a tow truck to pick up my car. Joe , the mechanic that worked on my car got back to me with prompt response and gave me a detailed report on what was all wrong with my car. It was extensive and I new it was. I figured I would be without my car for at least a month. But in less than a week my car was ready. The mechanic showed me the damages on my car if I had any questions about it. Joe was very efficient, friendly, and thorough. I will continue to take my car here for any maintenance or repairs.

  Big Sandy Baggett
7 months ago
Limped into the shop a little after 8 am on Labor Day Saturday, with a flat tire. Every employee I encountered, from the nice young guy rolling trash can back from dumpster to front desk man to shop manager were very respectful, helpful and efficient. I was fortunate in timing so that they were able to patch my tire (which had picked up a mail ) and get me ( and my good Schnauzer) back on the road in a reasonable time. At Age 81, sometimes my efforts to keep my 12 year old car in good shape are frustrating, but I must say Lamb Tires took very good care of this elder and it is greatly appreciated. You can be sure I will recommend them to my friends, family and neighbors.Service: Tires

  Larry Gilbert
5 months ago
Not so reliable, was my experience. They replaced my car s battery, which had corroded terminals, too. Picked up the car and my wife drove to Green Guy and shut off the car to unload. Car wouldn t restart, completely dead, no electricity. I went to rescue her and found the negative terminal not tightened at all. Got the car started and drove back to them, told them to make sure everything was tight.Fast forward about ten days. My wife and I go out for the day and the car lost all electricity twice. Got it started by jiggling the positive cable. The next day I found they had replaced a regular nut with a wingnut and the wingnut couldn t be tightened completely due to mechanical interference. No tightness led to bad connection which led to intermittent loss of power. Also, the wingnut had no washer, which leads to a loose nut. I fixed it myself by replacing the wingnut with the proper nut and washer.

  Luckyboy Collins
a week ago
I just came in for an oil change ready to go back home to Houston, but they checked my car and everything to let me know what I should fix, customer service is 10/10 I forgot their names tho but I will for sure be back to have improvements on my car.

  mike mainello
2 months ago
Can never say enough good things about this shop, Jessie the manager treats it as if he owned the store. Customer service has always been top notch and Jessie and team listens to customer diagnoses the problem and gives great feedback and offers solutions as well as recommendations with options and let s the customer decide what they can do and afford. I drive past 3 other locations to go to this one because the customer service is still number one with Jessie and his team.

  Karl Haas
2 months ago
Great customer service. Super clean shop shows high attention to detail. And the job was done right.

  Shell Storer
6 months ago
Robert was able to take the car in immediately to look at the check engine light (dealers have delays). I gave them the error code and they confirmed P0106. They replaced the manifold absolute pressure sensor that night. And I got the car back the next day. (Dealer wanted to keep the car three days to diagnose.) excellent service. The only complaint I have is that they charged for diagnostics and didn't apply it to the cost of repair as the dealer does. The $472 repair cost seemed a bit high compared to the national average for replacing the sensor. It's a very clean shop.Services: General repairs & maintenance, Auto engine diagnostic