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December 2025 by Nate Guinn II
This review is hard to write because the owner is such a pleasant man, but people need to be aware. The team is shockingly incompetent, and the customer service is atrocious—rude, unresponsive, and dismissive. My vehicle stayed there far too long, only to come back with new issues they caused. Worse, the problems they claimed to fix were still broken. I took it to another shop, and in just one day, they repaired everything—including the work this shop supposedly completed. This was an absolute waste of time and money. Avoid this place at all costs.
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November 2025 by Daniel V
This shop has been operating in Helotes for many years and has a reputation for great work, friendly service, and fair prices.
I started taking my vehicles here several years ago and I have seen all those things first hand with every interaction.
Recently I had oil leaking from the engine of my truck and I was concerned I was going to be looking at some major repairs with an outrageous bill but I took it in hoping for the best but planning for the worst.
They told me that thier diagnostic fee was $150 / hour and I asked them to please provide me with an estimate before starting any repairs (assuming it was going to be too expensive to have the work done there and thinking I may have to bring the truck home and repair it myself).
A little later that same day Bob called to tell me the vehicle was fixed and ready to be picked up. When I asked what the diagnosis was he said it was a faulty oil filter and told me not only had they diagnosed it but they had replaced it for me and that they weren't going to charge me anything!
Wow! I'm certain most places would've charged thier diagnostic fee and at least little for parts and labor but he literally said it was no charge!
This place is truly amazing. In a world where many companies are shady, employees are lazy, customer service is non existent, and people want to do the least and charge the most, Mander Automotive is a breath of fresh air!
Because of experiences like this I will not take my vehicles anywhere else and I highly recommend them!
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September 2025 by Ashley Diamond
They insisted I have my vehicle towed in the following morning. It sat 8 days in a parking lot across the street and did not move- they never looked at it. I have a handicap placard and two small babies... I really needed my van and had I waited on them I'd continue to suffer trying to use my husband's truck or spend 2-3 weeks worth of funds on a van to rent.
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July 2025 by Vico
Had been dealing with persistent ABS issues after a previous vendor failed to come through. Fortunately, this shop came through when I needed it most. The staff was extremely helpful and quickly sourced a replacement part. They got everything taken care of fast and had me back on the road in no time. Excellent service and great customer support
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July 2025 by Mallory West
I recently picked up my car from this shop on Tuesday, July 15th, and unfortunately, the customer service experience was extremely disappointing.
When I arrived, I stated that I was there to pick up the vehicle under my father’s name. The woman at the front desk didn’t ask any clarifying questions or confirm which car it was. She simply pulled out a stack of papers and said, “That’ll be $915.49,” without providing any breakdown or explanation of the charges.
I informed her that I’d be paying $500 in cash and the remaining balance on card. After handing her the cash, she looked at me and asked, “Are you okay?” — a question that felt completely out of place and unnecessarily condescending. My mom, who was with me, responded that I had just had an issue with the ATM, to which the employee visibly rolled her eyes. That reaction felt dismissive and unprofessional.
She then informed me there would be an upcharge for paying with a card but didn’t specify how much or what it was for until I asked. She did not tell me how much the upcharge was only what my grand total now is. The entire interaction lacked basic communication — there was no clear explanation of the charges or what I was signing.
When it came time to finalize the paperwork, she placed documents on the counter and asked me to sign, without explaining what they were or offering a pen. I took a photo of one of the forms simply because I wasn’t told what I was authorizing. The only documents I received were my invoice and receipt, which listed the ABS module replacement, hydraulic fluid flush, labor, and taxes. There was no mention of warranty or coverage information.
I had to ask about the warranty myself. She told me she wasn’t sure and went to ask a technician. When she returned, she said it would be a one-year warranty on parts and labor, but again — no written documentation was provided, and the information wasn’t volunteered without my asking.
To make matters worse, after completing the transaction, she simply said, “Keys are in your car,” with no further instruction. She didn’t tell me where the vehicle was parked, so I had to walk around the property searching for it. When I finally found it, the car was completely unlocked, and the keys were left sitting on the driver’s seat in plain sight. I’m not sure what their standard procedure is if a customer doesn’t pick up their vehicle immediately, but this felt incredibly irresponsible. There were no visible security cameras in the area, and had I not picked it up at that moment, anyone could have accessed the car or stolen personal belongings. Leaving a vehicle unsecured like that shows a complete lack of responsibility and respect for the customer.
Once I returned to my car, I noticed that my Progressive plug-in tracker had been unplugged, my belongings (which had been neatly stored in the door) were scattered across the floor, and my tire pressure light, which had not been on before, was now lit. I also noticed the odometer reading listed on my paperwork was exactly the same for both check-in and check-out, despite the fact that they had to test drive and move my car.
While the quality of the repair work may have been adequate, the complete lack of professionalism and communication at the front desk made the entire experience frustrating and uncomfortable. For a $900+ service, I expected clear explanations, basic courtesy, and respectful interaction. Unfortunately, none of that was provided.
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September 2024 by Gene Ramos
Local...great customer service and quick trailer inspection.
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August 2024 by Kelley Fryar
Great friendly, professional, and timely service......
A town fixture...
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August 2024 by Chris Hiatt
Honest! Simply put, in a day where it’s hard to impossible to find a fair, professional, nice mechanic, that’s what you get with Mander Automotive. My vehicles will never go anywhere else.
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August 2024 by Carolina A. Welch
Great service
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June 2024 by Mike M
Alex was very helpful with getting my elderly mothers car inspected even through it was right at the end of the day (we had tried at four other shops with no luck). The ladies in the front office were also nice and helpful. We will be back.
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May 2024 by Justin Moody
I dropped my classic car off at this mechanic shop to have the breaks fixed because they came recommended to me from a different shop. My car ended up sitting and never getting touched for 6 months. I finally told them I’m just going to have it picked up and taken somewhere else and that’s when they act like they’re finally going to do the work. No thanks. Once I get it to a new shop, I find out that someone stole 2 relays from the car, intentionally broke both headlights (yes it was obvious that it was intentional), and the seat belts were missing. All of this set me back over a thousand dollars to replace. All I can say was that everything was working before it went to this shop. I will never recommend this shop to anyone. I’m actually surprised to the number of positive reviews they have. My experience was the exact opposite.
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May 2024 by Jaime A
I had a brief interaction to check on my car, turned out to be just a battery issue. The team there was super quick, attentive and helpful. I'd definitely recommend you guys visit them for any car concerns.
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April 2024 by Harley Davidson
Mander built my hotrod! Mander has been my trusted mechanic for some time now. When I have a problem, they won’t stop until they’ve worked out the cause and as others have said, they give honest assessments and charge fair prices. So, when I came up with the crazy idea to build a Mustang basically from scratch, I asked Bob if he’d be willing to take on the project. He liked the idea and said they could do it, so after months of work and planning, I’m now driving my built Mustang. There are a lot of things that can go wrong when you build a car from the ground up like this, but Mander did a great job. The car drives like a stock car with no issues. I couldn’t be happier with their work and can recommend them highly.
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April 2024 by Laurel Kail
My family has been going to Bob's since 1999 and he was nice enough/a sucker to buy some silly fundraising stuff from me as a kid.
He is busy, good auto mechanics usually are, so try to make an appointment.
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April 2024 by roberto carasas
Good man, tells you upfront what is needed. Great estimates, top of the line parts, overall outstanding business..
