Klingemann Car Care

I took my car here to get checked up before a trip. Didn’t hear back that day, the next morning I got a call with a laundry list of problems including «your battery is dead, we can’t move the car.» Which seemed insane to me considering that I’d never had any battery issues. I told them not to touch the car, and when I came back to pick it up I magically drove it away with my dead battery. The funny thing is that some of the stuff they told me was wrong really did need to be looked at (they were correct that timing belt needed to be replaced, for example), but by telling me that my battery was «completely dead» they steered me out the door to someone else who did a reasonable job. Very weird experience, I guess hugely exaggerating problems must work for them often enough to try it on me but it was pretty icky.

A couple of days after my previous (bad) review was published, I received a phone call from Raymond Klingemann, owner of KCCC. He was calling to follow up, to apologize and assure me that the competence of his staff and their care of us customers are very important to him. He was respectful, concise and I hung up feeling impressed. He offered me an oil change (with the proper number of quarts) at no charge on my next visit.
Conclusion: They’ve swung me back into the «Maybe» category.

Really wanted to like this shop as the location is very convenient for me. Unfortunately they’re just another in it for the money garage. They are on the expensive end for services but I was willing to pay a premium for a good shop that isn’t trying to up sell on every opportunity and who actually cares about the quality of work they do. I found neither of these to be true.
Main complaints:
Last oil change they put at least a quart too much oil in my SUV. The oil level gauge was pegged high and checking the dipstick, it’s completely off the scale. They also tried the oil /​fuel treatment sell because I had gone 5,000 miles without an oil change, never mind that’s what my manual suggests and never mind we had just finished a 4,000 mile road trip so almost all of the miles were driven on the highway.
Was charged almost double the quoted amount for a fairly simple service. No explanation, they just completely misquoted me on the estimate and it end up costing about $ 250 more than what I was expecting.
Was told I could bring in my own shocks for my SUV to have them replace. I wanted specific offoad ones that they did not offer. I checked first and was assured they would install my shocks that I brought in which were brand new bilsteins in the retail packages even. When I picked up my SUV, which had the other mentioned mis-​quoted service completed at the same time, they told me they wouldn’t install the shocks I brought in. When I explained that I previously checked with them, they told me too bad I was out of luck. So now I have several hundred dollars in shocks that I wouldn’t have purchased without a confirmed shop that would install them, sitting in the back of my car.
Last, which confirmed they have no idea how to perform an estimate, is that I needed the clutch replaced in my infiniti g35. This is probably the most expensive clutch to replace in any normal production car because it requires a proprietary mechanical flywheel, which cannot be resurfaced, and is extremely expensive. Replacing with a normal solid flywheel will result in the car sounding like a dump truck when shifting and in lower gears. They have no idea how to service these clutches and even after discussion they couldn’t get an accurate quote on oem parts for it. If you have nissan 350z or g35 or later model of these cars (g37, q50, 370z, etc.), avoid doing any clutch service here. They don’t understand the drive system in these and you’ll end up with a noisy mess, at best, if you replace them here. Go to austin z clinic if you need service on these or probably any other post 2005 nissan or infiniti.

Lived in Austin 8 years and this is hands down the best car care place I have ever been to. Super nice guys, but very serious and don’t take anything lightly. They get backed up a lot because they are very meticulous with each car and spend a good deal of time with diagnostics and communicating with the owner.
I always come here for any car issue including oil changes because they are not the type to upsell. They get what you need done the way you want it done and don’t ever push you on sales. I just had a check engine light problem solved by them and they gave me a quick rundown on the fact I need my tires swapped out soon, but were never pushy or sales-​y. Easily the most honest group of car experts I have worked with. Loyal customer here.

Awesome service and extremely helpful from the moment I walked though the door. Klingemann patched up my tire and I was in my way in less thank 45 minutes. I will be returning for any other auto needs in the future. I’m happy to have found this auto shop after poor customer service somewhere else.

Buyer beware. Klingemann’s was once a great company. Not so anymore. Two months ago after a brake job, I got a few miles down the road and yikes, virtually no brakes. Took it back, they had it a half day, corrected it and sent me on down the road. No explanation, no apology. Today I sit here, my car has been there 24 hours and I’ve not received any communication. I called a couple of hours ago just to know how to plan my afternoon and weekend, and I apparently irritated the young guy. He couldn’t hide his disdain as he curtly said, «I can give you no guarantees!» Wow, I didn’t ask for one, and all I was wanting was some sort of update. It’s been a good run, but I’m taking my four vehicles elsewhere. Be careful folks… good things can come to an end.

Very disappointed, i took my car for a oil change, never had any oil leaks next day i notice oil in the garage and smoke coming out, i went back again to tell them that my car didnt leak before, they checked it said we need to clean ($ 50 for doing the cleaning) to see where the leaks is coming from, i said no, my car wasnt leaking yesterday when i brought it, and also you never said about any leaking problem.
Till today leaks! I never, never, never bring my car again to this klingemann business!

The xenon headlight on my Prius went out. I needed it fixed ASAP cuz I have to drive to work before dawn. I did my homework and knew the bulbs would be expensive. They are about $ 45 – 50 on Amazon. One mechanic said he’d charge me about $ 90, but he didn’t have time to get to it today. I also know that the install is a relatively easy job, though the prius manual says you must remove the bumper, leading to a higher than necessary labor charge. I didn’t have time to order the bulb from Amazon (it’s not carried at local auto parts stores so the dealers can jack up the price). I spoke with Jonathan on the phone and said I’d be right over. He was friendly and professional. There was a CROWD of people waiting for their cars, so it took over an hour for them to get to my car. Jonathan neglected to tell me they were swamped before I drove over. In the end, I was GOUGED $ 150 for the bulb plus $ 120 to install it!!! What a rip off! You won’t see me back at Klingemann again.

Dismissive and condescending.
Had my wife’s van serviced here. They fixed a few things without an issue. When they returned the van, the keyless entry did not work. I asked them if they could take a look at it and they said that they didn’t touch it and that it was my problem. Wtf. So I googled it and it turns out it was their fault. When they were working on the master switch in the door, they reset some functions including the keyless entry. All it took was a simple reprogramming, but they were too busy to help.
I would have been a long term customer as they fixed everything else without an issue and were fairly priced for the work done. Unfortunately their customer service needs some serious help… and is somewhat misogynistic according to some of the other reviews here… be wary

We dropped off our car at 10:30 for an alignment. We we’re promised that it would be completed by closing time at 5:30 and that we would receive a call when it was ready. Since we did not receive a call all day we went back at 5:25 to pick the car up. It had not been moved, or received any work. The staff was very surly and gave no reason for this unprofessional treatment. We had gone here several times before but never again.

Would have been five stars until the most recent issue. Brought my wife’s van in for a couple of things. When I got the car back my keyless entry was no longer working. I brought the car back in for them to take a look and they said that there was nothing they could do. They told me that nothing they did had any impact on the keyless entry. I looked at the issue myself and it turned out that they reset the terminal and I had to reprogram my keyless entry. They had worked on a few electrical parts and it had to reset. It wasn’t a big deal to fix but instead of trying to help me diagnose the situation, they just told me it was my problem. I will not be going back here.

I’ve been going to this shop for over 15 years and have recommended everyone I know to this shop. I hadn’t been here in a while and on a whim I stopped in at NTB across the street to have my wheels balanced and rotated. My service advisor later called me and said the front end was out of alignment. He convinced me (though I didn’t think I needed one) and when I picked my truck up and drove it a bit I realized that it was worse than before. I took it back to let them correct the error and was assured it was corrected but it was the same so I went back a third time and got a refund and brought to the guy’s at Klingemann’s. They not only nailed the alignment that NTB screwed up but they also corrected the shimmy that was the reason I had took it to NTB to begin with. I can’t recommend these guy’s enough. Heck I’ve been to there San Marcos location and had no issues with them either.
«Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.»
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve got pretty mixed feelings about this place, but overall I think I’ve decided not to go back again.
I have used them for years, but my #1 complaint is the attitude of the guys working the front desk. They talk to their customers in a very condescending way, and really make you feel like you don’t know anything. My wife has had terrible experiences with the front desk guys being very chauvinistic (she came home and complained 2x).
I went to them with an issue that I was having with my tires vibrating/​wobbling. I mentioned that I took the car first to Discount Tire for a tire rotation. The guy at the front desk immediately said, «don’t take your car to those high-​school kids who think they know about tires.» I just think that’s unnecessary and unprofessional. I have a hard time thinking the guys at a TIRE PLACE don’t know anything about tires.
Lastly, they are just REALLY expensive. They charge more on the hourly rate ($ 95/​hour) than the Honda dealership. Their markup on parts is also a lot. Today, a part they charged me ~$ 145 for costs $ 111 at the Honda dealership (and $ 75 online). I asked them about why they charge so much more for the part, and he said that «we’re a business, gotta pay the bills.» He also said, «McDonald’s charges you a lot more for the cup of coffee than it takes them to make it.» THEN, he said, «…plus, it’s only about 3% more than what you’re quoting.» Sorry man… it’s more like 26% markup. I asked them would they install parts purchased elsewhere. He said, «sure, but we’ll raise our hourly rates to compensate, so it’s a wash…»
So, I just find them unprofessional, expensive, and chauvinistic. I’ll be searching for somewhere else to take my business.

These guys just saved me at least $ 50. I had a slow leak in a tire and called to ask if they could sell me just one tire and have the tread shaved to match or if I had to buy all four. They said they’d rather fix the tire if at all possible. Took it in and 45 minutes later the tire is fixed and I’m out the door. Thanks for looking out for the customer. I’ll be back if and when the vehicles need other service.

My car’s back tire exploded coming off of the highway. I was rushing to a meeting, trying to change my tire, and noticed Klingemann right across the street. What luck! These guys were super friendly, swapped my tire out super fast, and barely charged me anything. Awesome awesome customer service-​focused shop. Y’all are the best!

Always a great experience at Klingemann’s. The staff that works at the office on 290 West is the BEST. Always friendly, helpful and trustworthy, we take all our autos to them. AAA+++

So they sent me a coupon for an oil change and tire rotation for $ 10. Sounded like an awesome deal. So I brought in the car and the guy told me they had to use some special synthetic oil which would be more expensive, like $ 40 more expensive. Really? For a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry? I was a bit annoyed thinking they were trying to up-​sell me. Then he went on to tell me that the car didn’t need an oil change yet as they can go for up to 8000 miles before needing one. He said to come back then, they still rotated my tires at no charge and I was off. I really do appreciate their honesty. I would certainly take my cars here to be serviced when needed.

My husband came here for a state inspection just a few days after we moved to Austin. He sat in the lobby and listened, and was impressed. Hard to do considering his dad and brother are both mechanics.
When my rear brake calipers needed to be replaced on my twelve year old car, I had a few other mechanics look at it and always felt like I was being lied to because the costs varied wildly and the explanations were thin.
But when I called Klingemann’s and talked to Mike, he explained to me in great detail exactly how the brake calipers worked and reassured me that they would keep the cost down and do nothing that didn’t have to be done.
They gave me a ride home and even the shuttle driver was courteous and pleasant, we chatted the whole way. Everyone at Klingemann’s is pleasant, courteous, and honest. Integrity is everything and we’ll be coming here again.

Another great experience at Klingemann’s! I brought my car in for scheduled maintenance (transmission fluid and coolant replacement) and they called and told me I could wait another 40k miles, but pointed out a few small and inexpensive things I could do to prolong the life of my car.
They could have easily replaced everything and charged me for it and I wouldn’t have known the difference! Loyal customer for life :)

I have been taking my car to Klingemann’s in Oak Hill over a couple of years now. Services include inspections, oil changes, and most recently brake change. Their prices are very reasonable and they never try to up sell you on anything. I like to bring my car in first thing in the morning, so there is never a long wait. The service is usually pretty quick.
I always feel confident taking my car to this auto body shop.