The shop is excellent and the staff is of significantly higher quality than comparable businesses. Pricing is higher but I think it's a very clear case of "you get what you pay for" and I think you're paying for quality work and TRUST. All that said one single thing instantly converted me to a loyal customer: they perform a RIGOROUS inspection on all vehicles and they deliver the results via a website. The website contains a health report that highlights required areas of attention using a straightforward color system (green, yellow, red). The kicker? Each issue is backed up with clear photo evidence and all issues are filterable by severity. Let me tell ya, these gentlemen (and presumably ladies) go beyond any other shop to ensure transparency. That's why when met with undeniably higher service costs, there's total confidence your hard earned dollar is being earned equally hard by this team. read more

We were unsatisfied with the service of our vehicle. Had several things that they would say they fixed. Like our lights had popped out and they attempted 4 times to fix we gave them all those chances & they still pop out . That was just one incident. There were many many overcharging the customer going on not just with me. The surrounding neighborhood was talking about southside repair i heard it from some of the local businesses also. I would highly. When it came to fixing the car again for the same issue. It was a struggle the way we were spoke to, which said it all. We felt bad but I'm thinking years later why did we feel bad. It was Southside Repair responsibility to fix it right the first time. I am understandable if it breaks again within the warranty that they fix it. I'm all about 2nd chances. Can you imagine taking your car back n forth for months just to get it fixed. Then having to wait days , week to get it back?or that the warranty was out 2 days ago when it wasn't. It was inconvenient for us. Not my choice. read more

DO NOT GO HERE. Im a college student and got quoted for over $5,000 on repairs to my car. Ended up taking it to a different place and they fixed it for $1,400. The fine gentleman at this establishment tried to scam a 21 year old out of over $3,000. This place is a rip off.. read more

I ended up just getting the inspection here, which was fine, I needed that anyway. They tell you that the inspection is X amount, but they don't tell you that doesn't include a percentage they charge as a service fee (any rags, solutions, chemicals, etc.). They apply this to any work they do and it was not disclosed up front. The inspection was thorough, I don't have any qualms with that, but they definitely are on the higher end price-wise. I just didn't like the lack of transparency so I went elsewhere for the actual work I needed on my car. Something about it just didn't seem right. read more

I'm 68 years old and this was the worst auto repair experience I ever had. I dropped my vehicle with a written list of what I wanted checked and in what order. 1. Check the alternator. Did they check the alternator? No. They proceeded to ring up a bunch charges for inspections I did not ask for. Sent me a list of work they wanted to add... still no alternator check. So, after hours and days waiting, turns out the alternator was bad. Instead of agreeing they should have started there - they became belligerent and too busy to talk. The guy I started with was not allowed to talk with me further. So if you like being ignored and talked down to, this is your place. My $2,800 alternator cost $5,000.00 in the end. read more

please do not use this shop under any circumstances. Their only goal is to make as much money off the client as possible with no regard for customer service. quoted 2.5 hours labor ($650) to remove four bolts on a 30 minute job. I wound up doing it myself in 30 minutes. quoted $1,000 to clean up a fuel leak from two injectors claiming their was fuel all over the engine bay. There was not. They do not stand by their service although they will try to convince you otherwise. First time I have used them and just wasted $175 on a diagnostic fee. they are truly the worst shop I have ever dealt with. read more

If you can help it, never willingly give any of your business to Southside Auto Repair. After a breakdown in Frankfort on Black Friday, AAA towed me to Lexington, to Southside specifically. I should've paid out the nose to be towed all the way back to Louisville. At least then me & my car would have been in the same city & the resultant run-around wouldn't have been *AS* incredibly inconvenient. But anyway, it turns out a shoddy oil change about a month prior to this incident had my car running too long on too little oil and...catastrophe ensues. A couple hours after arriving at Southside, they informed me that I would need a total engine replacement. Other than this troublesome incident, the body of the car is in decent condition & with a new engine should get another 100k miles. If I were to get a new car, I'd have put down the same amount of money as the repair was going to cost, and also have a monthly payment after that. So after a discussion with my parents, I decided to move forward with the repair. Plus they told me that there was a decent warranty that covered the engine. This was all initiated on November 29th. They told me my car should be finished the following Friday, December 6th. I received a call on Tuesday, telling me my car would be completed the next day. Lexington is a 90 minute drive away & they close at 6pm, so I told them I had already arranged to have Friday off in order to come pick up my car, could it be held until then. They said yes. Friday morning, before leaving Louisville, I called to make sure it was all going to be ready. They informed me that my car would be done & ready by close. So...it wasn't finished being repaired yet, even though they told me on Tuesday it would be completed on Wednesday. Ok so, no rush to get to Lexington by lunch, as we arranged to get there closer to close. My angel of a sister drove me to Lexington, & we got to Southside around 4:30pm. They still *assured* me that my car would be completed by 6pm, so I sent my sister home. She didn't need to hang around if I was going to be able to get myself home that night. Well, 6pm comes and goes. And my car was still up in the air in the back of the shop. Apparently when they put everything back in & connected it all, it wasn't right & the ground wires from the battery kept shorting out. They had to go through each ground wire, find out which one was shorting out and fix it. We all ended up staying there until 8:45pm. They weren't happy about having to stay, & neither was I. But you know what else also closes at 6pm? Car rental places. So what other choice did I have?! If they'd told me that they needed a few more days, I wouldn't have come in that day. I'd have driven home with my sister. I don't know then if they rushed the job to get out of there. Because then...6 DAYS LATER...my engine light came on AGAIN. I called them immediately, left a message asking what to do. They called me the next morning to tell me to call the warranty company on the paperwork they gave me. Well they didn't give me ANY paperwork regarding any warranty. And as it turns out...there are two different warranties I was sold? I don't know. I called them back, they gave me the number to TechNet, the warranty I bought through them with my repair. Because there HAD to be somewhere I could take it in town, rather than 80-90 miles away, unsure if my car was safe enough to drive that far. TechNet informed me that they could recommend a couple shops in Louisville to take my car to, but also informed me that they, as a company, DO NOT COVER engines. I was/am baffled that I was sold a warranty that doesn't cover the work that was done! My receipt told me that the engine has a warranty. But that is somehow different than the one Southside directed me to. I don't understand. Anyway, I took my car to a local spot and they brought me back to see my car immediately once it was up in the air. It was literally dripping so much oil all over the bottom of the car. They performed an engine de-grease & found where the leak was coming from. A seal on the crankshaft was old, painted, & falling apart. The Louisville shop advised I contact Southside, have them tow the car back to Lexington, that they should perform the repair for free, as this seal should have been new with the engine replacement. Many, many phone calls later and Southside refused to admit that they were responsible for any issue resulting after the repair, they said that nothing on the crankshaft was their responsibility, that they were only responsible for the engine (*ahem* the crankshaft is PART of the engine). Also...along with not covering engines, the warranty does not cover seals. I had to pay another $900 for a repair less than 1 WEEK after they replaced the engine. I feel like I was scammed, taken advantage of, and still don't know how many warranties I paid for or what they actually cover. read more

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They did a great job with our car, thorough and didn't try to upsell. Very clear about everything and was quick and kept in contact well. We're from out of town and didn't know where to go so I looked up reviews and this place was highly recommended and we were not disappointed! 100% recommend read more

Horrible. Brought my car in to get headlight replaced, told me that it was a saftey hazard to replace my headlight bulb due to a valve cover gasket leak. I'm not sure what replacing the bulb of my headlight has to do with a gasket leak. I specfically told the front desk to only change my headlight and nothing else- I ended up leaving with no headlights fixed and paying $138 for running a car diagonstic for my headlights. On top of that when I got to the shop to pick up my car, someone had left with my car keys in their pocket. Extremely disapointed. read more

Poor customer service, will not work with your insurance company, marks up parts over 28% (standard is 20%), finds what they consider "unsafe" things and then tells you they won't fix approved insurance repairs unless you pay to fix those also. I've talked with multiple other repair shops in the general vicinity and no one marks parts up that much nor will they hold other unwanted repairs over your head. Save yourself time, money and serious headache and go elsewhere! I would have given them zero stars if that was an option! read more

Fast friendly service and reasonable prices. Went in with a problem with my Land Rover Discovery and got immediate friendly service. Definitely recommend! read more

My 24 year old daughter, Zoe, broke down in Lexington and had to call AAA to be towed to the nearest repair shop, Southside Auto Repair. After charging her $145 to assess the problem they came back with an estimate of $1400 for a new alternator and battery. Luckily Zoe was smart enough to get a second opinion and called a shop in Northern Kentucky who agreed to do the same work for under half the price. Obviously the fine gentlemen at Southside Auto Repair in Lexington saw a young, stranded female and decided to try to take advantage of her and price gouge her for all they possibly could. Please share this so that word gets around about Southside Auto Repairs shady business practices. read more

Brought my car in because it was making a scraping noise. I was then charged $150 for them to tell me that it would cost $3600 to fix my car and that I "needed" to repair everything for it to be drivable. Decided to take it Tony's Auto on Angliana and he fixed it up for $350. Save your time and money. Southside auto has friendly workers and a nice garage, but its prices are predatory. read more

My husband had a screw in the sidewall of one tire. Took it to Southside because the tire was leaking fast. He goes in to get a new tire and they tell him that they will have to inspect the entire vehicle before working o what we needed. My husband said ok bc he had just had radiator parts and other seals replaced and car was in good shape. Left car overnight. Call about it next day, told that they would have to clean the radiator and around oil tank because oil had leaked everywhere under the hood. I asked if they could just replace the tire and I would take it back to the mechanic who did the prior work. They said no, that they would need to do the cleaning under the hood as well bc it was a safety hazard. I told them no thank you we will take car over to prior mechanic to be checked out and have tire replaced there. Went to get the car next day and checked underneath the hood and did not see the mess that was described to me. Could not find any leaks either. read more

I left my car at Southside to have part of the brake system replaced. They had trouble getting the part so my car sat at their garage for two weeks. I finally demanded that they put the car back together without the repairs and took it to the dealership. The dealer got the part and fixed the car in one day even though Southside had incompetently or deliberately done a very bad job of putting my car back together. Not a problem for me, but the dealership's mechanic was pretty unhappy about the extra work. I wouldn't trust any garage that would damage a car and give another mechanic grief just because they were pissed at a customer. And the dealership charged me less than Southside's estimated bill at that. read more

I would NOT take my car there. PERIOD !!! They conned me that my sons car was not safe to drive unless I would put over $2800 in the car. They said my option it's time to retire the car and sell it to a junk yard. I drove down to to meet a junk yard man but the owner was there. Told me I owe them $200 for all the estimates for the car and could not move the car until I paid the $200 for the estimates. But the car is retired we will junk it for u Forget about the $200. You u guess what happen to the car , they fix it up or sold it. They are a bunch of cons. My son saw his car being driving in Lexington. It was not junked. Liked they promised. DO NOT get you car fix there. CON Artist read more

Nice attention to detail. Easy to read receipts detailing the work accomplished. Family like setting. Would recommend to all my family and friends. Very accommodating to customer needs and request. Look no further to find a professional, honest repair shop. read more

Southside Auto Repair - 2001 Mustang Bullitt - Auto Repair Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

1. There was a 100 dollar "courtesy" diagnostic on the vehicle. 2. The price for repair was outrageous 3. You can't just go there and get something specific repaired. They said for me to get my spark plugs replaced I would also have to replace my tire, my ball joints, and all this other stuff that was not needed. 2000 dollar repairs when I took it to another place and got my repair for 300. I wouldn't recommend this place if you don't have 2000 dollars to pull out of your butt. read more

Honestly this shop is awesome. Been trying to get my Lexus fixed and ready to sell for my buddy. Took it to a few shops and they weren't able to find problem but after taking my car here they were able to figure out the problem immediately and I don't mind spending a little more for quality work. The front desk people were very responsive and kept me up to date on what was going on. Highly suggest going here well worth it. read more

I did not allow Southside to service my vehicle after their initial inspection. Despite having scheduled my service, they were going to take 3 days to complete the maintenance/repairs. Their recommended services were "over zealous," unnecessary, and costly beyond the market value according to the mechanic who serviced the vehicle and Kelly Bluebook. Additionally I was not informed that Southside would report my vehicle's condition to Carfax, which was clearly retaliation to devalue my car. They are unreliable and dishonest. read more

I read through the reviews. The older reviews are quite a bit better than the newer ones. Of the new reviews, most are 1 star with two or three five star reviews. Very curious. I don't have a horror tale that is anywhere near as awful as some of these stories, but still I was NOT pleased. In the past, if I needed to air up a tire or if a head light burned out, I'd go to Kermit's place just up the street. Always fair, actually more than fair. Unfortunately, that service garage is gone and I had a burned out light. I took it to this place thinking it would be a 10 minute job, and probably around $30. I don't know what they were doing, but I sat and waited for over an hour and they charged me $158.09 for changing my low beam bulbs! Wow. read more

If I could give it a 0 I would. Never take your car here! It's a shame that AAA recommends this place. They are crooks! Save your money and time. Go somewhere else! read more

These people are crooks! I live two hours away but my son lives in Lexington and he face timed me so I could hear the noise his car was making. It was "chirping & whining" and sounded like a pulley or possible water pump going bad and without looking at it personally I told him to take it to a mechanic to see what they said. So he took it to Southside Auto Repair in Lexington, KY, and a day later, they looked it over and took & sent (txt) several photos (which cost me $135), that had a long list of things that the Southside Auto Repair "technician", said needed repaired, totaling $1,300 dollars. NONE of which, would have taken care of the chirping and whining sound it was making, that he took it in for them to look at to begin with. So I told Southside Auto Repair, "No thanks, do not do anything to it", and the next morning I drove two hours and picked it up from them and diagnosed it for myself and with a stethoscope. I listened to each pulley that the serpentine belt is wrapped around and sure enough, it was the Tensioner Pulley, which cost me $35, and very little of my time to replace. Stay away from Southside Auto Repair, Lexington, KY If I could give negative stars I would. read more

They charge way too much. Spent $1,300 on a new thermostat. Yelp won't let me stop there. Had some personal issues with an employee, but he isn't there anymore. Others warned me they overcharge. read more

Crooks who will over charge you, not fix the problem correctly and then try to lure you back into the shop to fix the issue that they caused. A battery swap and tow cost nearly $600 and then they told me my key fob needed to be reprogrammed. They then told me if I could get the car back to them they would take a look at it and call me with any charges before they fixed the issue. Call me ignorant, but, I kind of expect a fob reprogramming to be included in the ridiculously priced service they provided. Not to mention that replacing a battery shouldn't require a reprogramming of the fob. Consumer beware, they will try to screw you in any way possible. read more

Got my tires aired up there, got some advice and was treated respectfully. Definitely coming back next time

This garage took advantage of my son who is in college at UK. I called the garage, which I should have done in the first place. The brake lines were rusted, but not leaking and my son said they were working fine. They replaced two brake lines for $832.90 and bled them/replaced the fluid for $171.60. They said a valve cover gasket was cracked but not leaking. This cost $399.74. The car would have been fine if they had just cleared the transmission line which was $67, but they told Jesse they "couldn't" fix that until they fixed the others. When I challenged this, the lady said they didn't want to be liable for any customer driving a car that wasn't safe. Never heard so much crap in my life. So they could have sent him on his way here to our mechanic for $67. Instead, he paid $1794.47 total for a 2006 Ford Taurus that blue books around $2000. Crooks. Thank you for reading this. read more

They show no respect for your vehicle, scratch the paint dirty the interior, they don't care. They treat you like an adversary rather than a customer. When you have to bring your vehicle back for the third time, they could care less. But when you're paying them they're all smiles. No more smiles now! I will say this, they're better than the Firestone garage across the street, those guys are out and out thieves. These crooks would have had me paying for needless repairs left and right. Someone needs to put muckraking 60Min on these people. read more

DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR TO SOUTHSIDE AUTO REPAIR IN LEXINGTON, KY! I wish I could give them zero stars. My Honda Odyssey broke down in Lexington last week. I live 90 minutes away so I had AAA tow it to one of their "recommended repair sites" which happened to be Southside Auto Repair. I wish that I had looked up the reviews before I agreed to have it towed there because obviously I'm not the first person they've tried to rip off, there reviews are horrible. When the tow truck driver arrived, he connected his battery charger to my vehicle and the charging system tester showed that the alternator was not charging the battery. I figured this was the case because I had just replaced the battery a few months earlier. When we arrived at Southside Auto Repair I told them that I wanted the alternator replaced and that the battery was new, and if the battery was bad it was still under warranty and that I would get a replacement. I borrowed my daughter's car to get back home, she's a college student in Lexington. The next day I received a text from Southside Auto Repair saying that the alternator and battery needed to be replaced, but before they could do those repairs an oil leak from the valve covers would have to be repaired first because it was a safety issue. I called Southside Auto Repair on the phone and they informed me that it would cost $2800 for those repairs. That's when I realized my mistake. I knew that I was getting ripped off because I just had the van at a dealership 4 weeks earlier to get the timing belt replaced and if that oil leak was a safety issue they would not have let me leave there with that van. I told Southside to not touch anything and that I would come and get the vehicle. I still had to pay a $115 ransom fee, for a diagnosis that was not needed and didn't ask for, to get my vehicle back. Luckily, the van ran long enough for me to get it to a Honda dealership less than a mile away and they replaced the alternator with a Honda alternator, not an aftermarket alternator, for $794 and had it done in a little over an hour. I will never allow Southside Auto Repair to even look at one of my vehicles ever again! read more

If you make an appointment for 8am, do not under any circumstances interpret that to mean you actually have an appointment to get you car serviced at that time. I dropped my car at my 8am appointment for an oil change and tire rotation and was still waiting for my car at 5:45 that afternoon. I was also quoted a price of $158 for a new cabin air filter and other questionable repairs at questionable prices. To top it all off, no one had on a mask in the customer service area. I have used this business for many years, but no more. read more

(Less than one star) HIGHLY DON'T RECOMMEND. My daughter called AAA when her car broke down in Lexington. Being on the south side of town, the tow-truck driver recommended Southside Automotive. (? is he getting kickbacks??) It was terrible. They advised she needed an alternator and new battery. The cost of the inspection was $100! Then, when they emailed the work estimate to her it was over $1400. Well, I told her to call and have them stop work immediately. Called the Lexus dealer for parts pricing ($400 for alt and $150 for battery). Then called another shop and had it towed there. All it needed was the battery. DON'T GO TO THIS PLACE! They simply want to rip off the people who have emergencies. Should be run out of town! read more

Probably not the cheapest place around, but they guarantee their work. I have a 2007 CRV that was eating rear brakes, they fixed it right and the issue is gone. I had to wait for my car last time, and it's pretty obvious they care for their customers. They were advising some poor woman whose car was not worth fixing about her best options, even though there was nothing in it for them. I went because they were recommended by AAA, and I'm glad I did. You can probably find somebody cheaper, but if you want it fixed right, I'd recommend them. read more

Southside Auto Repair used to be a rock solid good auto repair shop. Now that they have the new building on Southland Drive, I would not recommend taking anything there. Staff is rude, very expensive, and they don't seem to get the car repaired in a decent time as initially told. read more

Do not go here! Scammers. Not just me, but everyone I tell my story to it seems. Even the sweet old lady who works at the laundromat across the street from them! I also live across the street and was trying to do business in the neighborhood. Ha! For starters, they offer a "courtesy inspection" then hold your car ransom after you try to pick it up after being given an astronomical amount to fix it. They went from telling me $175 down to $80 then $40 in a matter of minutes. They also told me and someone I overheard them on the phone with about "safety hazards" that they COULD be held accountable for, and those had to be addressed before they could tend to the actual problem. The girl said she was "trained to say safety hazards". Bottom line, they went from telling me that my car needed $11,000 in repairs but could "get me on the road for $2900". I got my car and took it to Tony's Auto Repair on Angliana. Always stand up guys and service. Picked up my car today for $340!!!! read more

ZERO stars!! Be Aware! Southside DOES NOT do free estimates! You WILL pay $100+ depending on their mood that day, just to walk in the door and talk to them. I called ahead of time but was not informed of this "fee" until it was too late. Note, this "fee" does NOT go toward repair costs, which are also overpriced. I've never done business this way and will not moving forward. When asked about this fee, I was told "You pay a co-pay at the doctors office don't you." WOW! Very poor customer service! I have a brand new vehicle, brand new tires, with just one slow leaking tire. $400 and 2 days later I have a new tire. If course they weren't able to fix mine. I left Southside TOTALLY uncomfortable with my purchase!! But I needed the tire fixed. Now I have daily thoughts of what they may have done to my vehicle unnecessarily, to get more $ from me :-( I was seeking service for peace of mind! I DID NOT get that from Southside! We've lived in the Southland neighborhood all my life (40+years) and was kind of excited to see this convenient location for family car repairs. My entire family (9 vehicles total) and anyone else I can tell will know DO NOT use Southside! Please drive/tow to another location! It's just not worth the stress. I have a Great Mechanic and have never been treated this way, EVER! I now see why we stick with what we know. read more

I took our car in for winterization, a few repairs, and an overall checkup. These guys did all the work promised at what I consider to be a good price. I was surprised at how quickly they got the work done and they were professional from start to finish. read more

I only gave a one Star because I could not give zero stars. This repair shop is only out to rip you off. They do not address the original issue and bring up a list of other issues and charge much more than other estimates I've received. They are not kind and didn't follow up. I had to call multiple times. I'm very upset with my service or lack of service. I looked at google ratings and checked AAA. I'm astonished at how terrible the service was especially because I tried to do my home read more

After agreeing to let me pay 1000.00 down and holding a check for 2 weeks for 200.00, they deposited the check 10 days early. Leaving me penniless... they have bad management with horrible communication period. I'll never go back even though they did good work on my car read more

Rip off. I took my 991 in to the shop for some electrical and AC issues. They ended up charging me $415 for a $225 part and they overcharged for two hours labor. This shop has a reputation around town for overcharging on labor. I wish I had known before I brought my car in. Had I known they were going to sub with another shop to flash my PASM module and then upcharge me, I would have gone to that shop in the first place. Complete waste of money and now I have to start over with my repair having already spent $1000. Do not expect a quote they can stick to- it will be that quote plus 2-3 HR diagnostics, shop fees, and whatever else they can tack on. You don't build those $1M shops, boats, and brand new F350 being ethical and fair to the customer. When I told the owner than I did not agree with the quote, he told me it is what it is and I can pay $45/day storage until I pick it up. Very professional! Lesson learned. read more

The guy working the desk obviously thought I was a idiot. He charged me double then the shop right down the road did for the same service. Not only that he seemed to hate the fact that I even walked in there. Will never go back. read more