My vacation was ruined after driving through miles of torrential rain and ending up in a flooded ditch. The result was a flat tire and a nonfunctioning alternator. The guys at Big Bend Automotive Repair (new owners, same location) got me on the road at a reasonable cost in terms of $$ and time. Given my circumstances, they performed the service on a Saturday! That's extraordinary. That's small town hospitality. They're good guys. read more

BAM really bailed out when we were in dire straits near Fort Davis. They helped us find a tow truck, allowed Ilya to stay in a campground (with hookups!) at the business. They looked at our vehicle and got us going again immediately. The price was very reasonable and after 800 miles it is safe to say the work was done right!! Definitely recommend this business for auto repairs read more

I posted about this place in 2019 finally sold the car that I had worked on by them to someone in need and it was a mechanic and could fix it when he looked at the car he said it had not been touched at all by Bama automotive they charged me and didn't even look at the car liars thieves!!!!! read more

Our drive shaft disconnected south of Alpine. I walked a mile or so back to Bam Automotive. The owner, Bam, immediately called his employee off break and sent him back with the wrecker to pick up my vehicle and bring it to the shop. They ordered the part, which was soon delivered, installed, and I was back on the road sooner than I could have imagined possible. Both Bam and his employee were courteous, friendly, and immensely helpful. The charges for this critical assistance was more than fair. I highly recommend Bam Automotive for their professionalism and excellent service! read more

Wish I could give less than a star. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND RUDE. NEVER GO HERE. The people that own it verbally abuse you, don't fix your car, and take your money after they overcharge you anyway. read more

BAM AUTOMOTIVE - After someone called the RECEPTIONIST out she sent them THIS trash. - Auto Repair Near Me - Alpine, Texas

They claimed I had a blown head gasket which would cost at least $1500 to repair, the car in question has been driven thousands of miles since then with no signs of a blown head gasket. This "diagnosis" had a "$100 diagnostic fee" attached to it. $100 to not do your job? These people prey on unsuspecting tourists. Do not give them your business. read more

Brakes on my Casita trailer needed adjusting. Van and Sue Neie run a great shop. Very personable couple. They were booked up...told me to come back in a couple of hours...took care of things and sent me on my way. Didn't try to up-sell me anything...price was very fair. Not sure what happened with the negative reviews here...certainly not what I experienced. Referred by Terlingua Auto Service who didn't have space in their schedule. Big thanks to them and Bam Automotive. Wouldn't hesitate to go to either shop. read more

These people are honest mechanics and anybody says different is wrong. They came in on time and cheaper than quoted. Plus what else you gonna do? They didnt rip me off and i had California plates and everything. read more

Pulling a trailer from Houston I threw a piston. First thing on the holiday week of Thanksgiving. They let me park my RV at their yard with full hookups. They sourced a new engine and put it in well within the time they promised. It was a terrible event but the folks here did everything they could to get me back on the road. Checked with my mechanics back in Houston and they confirmed the prices I paid for both engine and installation were more than fair. They obviously knew exactly what they are doing. In this whole Big Bend area, these guys are honest mechanics. read more

I cannot recommend Bam automotive. They were very friendly and got us in quickly, which was great. They unfortunately don't diagnose the root problems and replace parts the computer shows on codes. Ours, for example, had low power and had a code for a mass airflow sensor and oxygen sensor. They replaced the mass airflow and said it was good. We drove off and it was not. $289. Then they said the oxygen sensors were bad. We talked on the phone and I explained I thought it was the fuel pump, but Bam assured me it was the oxygen sensors, so I told him to proceed. $390. No fix. I called and let him know it still wasn't fixed and he told me it's probably the fuel pump then. The fuel pump going out caused a lean condition to set off the oxygen sensor code, and by a good diagnosis, we could have repaired that first instead of following the computer. So we are out an additional $680 to just throw parts at it. If you have something simple that doesn't take a mechanic diagnosis, they are probably fine, but I will not recommend using them for something that requires a true mechanic. read more

They diagnosed my diesel truck problem quickly, ordered factory parts which came the next day, and then, because we were in dire need of getting on the road the following day, they stayed until 8:30 pm to get the truck fixed. Very nice folks, fair prices and great customer service! read more

I was camping with my family at Big Bend when my Dodge Ram sputtered and stalled in the middle of the National Park on a Friday morning. With plans to pull our trailer back to San Antonio the following day, this represented a big problem. Most of the other shops in the area (Terlingua, Marathon, Ft Stockton) said they wouldn't get to us before Monday or Tuesday of the following week. We got the green light from BAM Automotive to have the truck brought to their shop and get looked at that afternoon. They promptly diagnosed the problem as a bad fuel pump and were able to get me back on the road by Friday evening. I'm thankful for their willingness to stay a full hour beyond closing in order to finish the job and keep us on schedule to return to San Antonio the next day. Because of my timeline, I was really at their mercy but the bill was reasonable and fair. I'm happy to recommend them to any future travelers in need of assistance. read more

I thought my brakes were leaking fluid. I called a couple of places and they were booked out 2 or 3 weeks. They would not even take a look. l called BAM Auto and Van said to bring it on over. He said he might not be able to do repairs today, but he would take a look. Turned out I was not leaking brake fluid. Good to go and no charge. Van was very personable and professional. read more

My 2017 Honda Ridgeline wouldn't turn over at the UHaul in Alpine. After 90 minutes on the phone to Honda I had it towed to Bam They had me back on the road in about an hour with a new battery at a fair price. I highly recommend this business read more

Don't do any kind of business with this company!!!! They did a good job on the car , but costumer service is beyond bad . I hope this place goes bankrupt do to lack of business. I will not go into details but they would let a young college girl stranded over a 10 dollar misunderstanding, that I would have made right plus some. A bad attitude isn't the way to do business. read more

no wait and they gave us popsicles!!! they helped a lot!!! we had a lot of clay and mud on our car and they helped get it off

You have to take things in context. Are the folks here as warm and fuzzy as some big auto shops in major cities? Probably not-- but they don't have to be. They are competent and mostly sane, and you don't find that combination a lot in this neck of the woods. But even though they're often the only game in town, their labor rates are perfectly standard, if not slightly less than average, and I haven't noticed any unreasonable markup on parts. I've always paid the same or less than I would pay for similar work in Odessa or Austin, and either the work was done quickly or they told me early on that they didn't have time for it. I think the main tip for dealing with BAM is don't show up for routine maintenance without an appointment. They get a lot of emergency work, and they'll naturally put an out-of-towner's burnt-out fuel pump ahead of your oil change. You really also ought to do a little research so you know what the most likely diagnoses are for your issue and how much the repair should cost-- I've noticed that they get a little (okay, sometimes a lot) defensive when someone criticizes their pricing. I don't entirely blame them, because it's irritating to deal with people who think things should magically cost less in a remote area, instead of the opposite. read more

Went in for an oil change on recommendation, so I was not expecting any issues. Oil was changed and car runs. However, I would have liked to have been asked first before changing me over to expensive synthetic oil from what I had been using since 2013. The explanation was it was the recommended oil for my VIN. May be, but is it not my choice? Not to mention it was twice what I normally pay. The man checking me in handed me a blank invoice to fill out, asked no questions, and walked away with no comment as I was asking about checking my tire which was recently flat. I had to ask the guy who changed the oil again, who checked the pressure, which I know how to do myself- clearly I was ignored by the first guy. At first I was fine with the idea of the synthetic oil, but it feels gross it was done without my consent. To my own car. And that there was no interest in checking tires for someone traveling in this harsh area alone. Learned my lesson. read more

Sad to report we left a vintage 1965 Nissan Patrol with Van at BAM. He was a joy to communicate with over the 8 months he had the vehicle. However, the ordeal was the worst experience I have ever had with a mechanic in 35 years of driving. The vehicle started and drove perfectly when purchased and left with BAM auto. The goal was a full mechanical & paint/body restoration. This is a two part fiasco of the first order. Part 1 - Mechanical Van was left with a long written and detailed list of requirements like pressure testing the motor, fluid exchanges...including transmission and differentials, spark plug replacement etc, all the basic stuff required to re-start a vehicle that has been setting for a long time. After charging us full for all this work we found out much later that very little of the work performed while in his shop for two months. In fact it was returned with very little rusty water in the radiator, no fluid in the transmission and no oil change let alone differential fluids. His comment was...."we put new plugs in it and it started". No use arguing, we found this out after we had reassembled the vehicle and driven it about 30 miles. In fact one radiator line was clogged and half the motor was not getting any cooling water. BAM was paid in full for the "mechanical" work prior to shipping it to their paint & body shop. Part 2 - Paint & Body The Vehicle was returned to us as worthless junk because his paint & body shop encountered "foreseen problems" according to Van. The disassembled vehicle, now with a broken windshield, was apparently left in the rain for about six months and the buckets with critical little parts were left half submerged in water during this time. Van returned the parts in the rusty water filled 5 gallon buckets and charged us for every stage of the fiasco without remorse. It all came apart for Van when after eight months of asking for progress pictures we drove the eight hours out there to see the progress for ourselves. Van could not buffalo us any longer. He asked for full payment for the disassembly, which was actually the total destruction of the vehicle, or he was keeping the vehicle. He expressed sadness for destroying our vehicle and rebated us $200 for fixing the broken front windshield, which cost $400 to actually fix. So in summary the fiasco/unprofessional work we received was on both levels. He did not perform the mechanical work we detailed in writing to him with 45 pages of documentation, which was 100% under his control nor did he tell us our disassembled vintage 4 x 4 was sitting in the rain for months. It was only when we forced his hand that he came clean. read more

The sign on their store says 'complete auto care.' We drove up and asked for air since our tire was low. They were very rude and told us they wouldn't let us use their air compressor and told us to go elsewhere. Horrible service turning away a customer in need. read more

Be very careful if you go here, it takes forever to get your car back and the owners will take advantage of you. I don't trust these people and don't want them to do to someone else what they did to us. read more

I'm not sure why this place has a bad review. Bam and Sue were extremely helpful and fair to my boyfriend and I when we had vehicle trouble in Alpine. We were on vacation and this shop did their best to get our car running again as quickly as possible. Thank you for helping us out BAM! read more