Need mechanic for Honda - SW (Austin: house, maintenance, live)

[atlanta hope]

My car is having an issue starting -- we're assuming its the starter. DH went to a mechanic near our house and they claim that we have a cracked radiator and some other problem with a spark plug and oil. Sounds fishy to me and I want a second opinion. Who has a good reputable mechanic, preferably in the SW, that they can recommend?

Also if the radiator was cracked, wouldn't we know? The temp gauge, steam, water on the ground?

I hate car problems...

Thanks for any info!

[atlanta hope]

So they're charging us $219 for the starter using a rebuilt one. The radiator job is $519 and some other misc. spark plug wiring oil issue around $200. Does this sound right? I hate not knowing about cars... I'm always paranoid that I'm getting ripped off.

[atxcio]

This might be too late, but..

There is a good Honda place (other than the dealer, Howdy Honda, which has been great for our newer car) called Honda-Acura Specialists on Buell Rd. in North Austin (near Steck). You may be able to just call them and talk about what the other shop is saying -- whether it sounds right or not. The guy there is called Kevin, I think, and when we lived nearby we only went to his shop.

As far as S/SW.. Rising Sun auto on South Lamar is reputable, but they aren't cheap. I used them once several years ago, and was pleased with their work.

I'm sorry I don't know anything about your radiator problem, but it seems like it would be unrelated to the starting problem anyway. Perhaps you can just get them to fix the starter and see what happens. I'd suspect you'd see overheating or some other symptom if they were correct about the radiator, and if that doesn't happen, I would probably not worry about it until the next scheduled maintenance. I mean it is a Honda.

[atlanta hope]

There was some drama with the part for the starter and somehow we ended up paying $400. Ugh! We told them to hold on the other work and plan to take it elsewhere this week to have a second opinion. Thanks for the referral!

[texastrigirl]

I always took my Hondas to Jimmy's on South First. He used to work for First Texas Honda back in the day and then for a HondaAcura repair shop that was started by him and two others he worked with at First Texas. The three eventually split up and went their own way but all were Honda certified at one time.