Free waters and coffee for paying customers. Restrooms clean and in working order. Staff brought out and extra chair for me to sit in while I wait, that was very thoughtful and nice. Knocking a star off because there are cheaper options for an oil change for my car. A newer model (2024) and I paid around $100* for an oil and filter change (plus labor) at this location. read more

Automotive Alternative - 22 minute wait on a Friday morning for an oil change. With appointment. - Auto Repair Near Me - Pensacola, Florida

Brought my Nissan Sentra with CVT transmission issues here for a full diagnostic. I clearly put in writing that I wanted both ECM & TCM codes read and transmission fluid pressure sensor data pulled. Instead, I was charged $125 for what felt like a basic OBD scan (same P0846 code I had already gotten for free at O'Reilly Auto Parts). I called for an update and the call was disconnected, would not be shocked if they hung up on me since I was very firm on the he call. They had told me they would call me back, but never did. No way should they have needed to keep my car overnight; I dropped it off in the morning and was told I'd get an estimate later that day, yet I only got the same vague "you need a new transmission" answer the next day. They quoted $4k-$6k for a replacement CVT without providing the live data, freeze-frame data, or proof I requested. I was shown a jar of dark fluid with metal debris, but there was no confirmation it was from my car. Overall, I left feeling underwhelmed to put it mildly. This was more about selling a transmission replacement than giving me the thorough CVT diagnostic I paid for. I would not recommend this shop. read more

Amazing staff, awesome service,military affiliated quick and reliable service and very affordable

I bought a used vehicle from a local car lot. There were issues from day 2. It ended up needing a new engine due to bad cells. It was a know Ford issue. AUTOMOTIVE ALTERNATIVE replaced the engine, which took over 2 weeks, the engine was delivered from Virginia l, so somewhat understandable. After that the car was returned, there were several warning lights that came on, the blinkers wouldn't work and the wipers would only work on high. After the back and forth with them and 3 1/2 months!!!!! Later. My car was taken to the FORD dealership. AA lied to me and never made my car a priority. I will never use them again and would strongly advise against anyone else using them UNLESS it's for something really minor, I.e. oil change. I constantly had to call them to check the status. Always, we're working on it" DONE WITH THAT NIGHTMARE. read more

Excellent service and repair shop. Honest and friendly. Highly recommend it Austin is very knowledgeable... read more

They couldn't do the A/C repair because Endurance wouldn't pay them "enough" for labor. After 10 days, I picked up my vehicle and the glove box was apart with the heater core laying on the passenger seat. I went into the office and told them. The tech came out and just put the heater core back in, he did not plug it back in and now my vehicle is overheating extremely fast. Now it's the weekend and I can't get in touch with anyone. Do not recommend this company. read more

I had my car repaired at Automotive Alternative ($1500 rear end assembly). I took it home after they repaired my Jeep but it still sounded like it was broken so I took it back to them (twice in first 3 months). He insisted it was fixed properly and that the noise was normal. He continued to say there was nothing wrong with it until the (6mo) warranty expired. Couple of months later, the car broke and he said too bad the warranty has expired. When I confronted him about what he did and the dishonesty, he said okay he'd fix it after he found the parts and then kept telling me he can't find parts. Then he ghosted me. Buyer beware. Update: Automotive Alternative reimbursed us. rating bump to 3 stars. Thank You. read more

Great service overall, no nonsense. The team is very informative, polite and friendly.

I'm from out of town and bought a car at a nearby used car dealership. I asked the dealership if we could get an inspection from a nearby certified mechanic. They chose this shop so I was naturally skeptical. The guys did a thorough inspection and saved me some money on the car as a result. Very happy with the result read more

My transmission went out on my 2013 Nissan Sentra and I got it towed to automotive alternative and had them look at it. Got an accurate quote and diagnosis really fast and they ordered and replaced my transmission at a fair price and had me on the road again in less than a week! Followed up afterwards to make sure I was satisfied with the new transmission. I felt like everyone was honest and made me feel like I was in good hands. I was really happy with the service I got here and I will be taking my car to them for anything else I need in the future! read more

A rubber Steering Link Coupler was disintegrated. Did not know this was the problem at first. Took to Allen Turner Hyundai since I have a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe. Told the part was unserviceable and I would have to buy a completely new steering column, wanted to charge me almost $2,000. I then searched on internet for same issue. Found that I could buy a $10 part and replace it myself. I didn't have the time nor maybe the tools so I researched for local shops and decided on Automotive Alternative. In a nutshell, took it by, they knew the issue, made appt. the next day, repaired issue with the part I already purchased in less than a day and at a cost of little less than $400! I didn't get any other hype or upsell. They did a coolant change for me at the same time. I was impressed with honesty and upfront pricing. I will make them my go-to shop from here on unless something happens to make me change my mind. read more

Bought a car from frontier motors & was told to take it to "Mike" when the car started making a noise upon acceleration. After driving it & punching it past the worst sounding part he says, "All I can say is it isn't motor-related". Really? Duh. It's coming from the wheel area He barely looked under the hood & said "it's a Hyundai not a cadillac". His condescending attitude was evident when they sent me to him a week later with the same complaint. He was rude to me and said he didn't hear anything (which is BS, it's knocking louder daily). Then I was told he called Frontier and didn't have anything nice to say about me. Ok. I'm a lady. I'm new to the area and concerned about a major purchase I just made. I don't deserve this treatment from anyone, especially someone whom I was referred to. Bad call Frontier. And ladies, if you want someone to make you feel stupid about your vehicle, go see Mike. read more

It is the best repair shop in Pensacola. Mike Custer knows his vehicles and can tell you what is wrong in matter of a few minutes

My car was brought to this shop by a towing service and conveniently left unlocked overnight and 'just out of view' of the surveillance camera. No apology offered, just a denial of accountability and no follow up whatsoever. Staff first placed blame on me as a customer and then when I mentioned it was brought in by a towing company they supposedly knew well I was told it would not have been their responsibility to lock it. Was told that never happens and yet after filing a police report was told by officer that they'd had another theft reported there same day. I'd be very wary of taking your vehicle to this shop if you have to surrender your keys overnight. Not a secure location and no staff accountability. Very unfortunate experience as someone wanting to establish a continuing business/customer relationship for my automotive needs. read more

Great service & great shop & great people! Hands down the best around! Speedy, precise and fair! read more

I'm sure when they read this they will know who it is. I was visiting the town and didn't know who to visit. On my trip up, I happen to hit a pothole on the Florida Turnpike. From that point on, I was fighting my wheel it wanted to go right. I'm giving my arm a nice workout. I googled Auto mechanics and this place popped up. I called them and explained what happened. I told them the car was pulling hard right. They told me to bring it in and they would check on it. As promised as soon as I got there they started working on it. They put it on one lift that they drive on, they said we need to put it on another lift so the wheels hang down and we can see what the problem is. They couldn't tell from the other lift. 20 minutes later the other lift became free. The mgr soon calls me over and says here is your problem the rim is bent. You'll need another rim. I said OK, so can you get me a rim and put the tire on it? He said no, we don't do any tire work. We don't do any front-end alignments either. I was like so what am I doing here? Couldn't he tell me that on the phone? Couldn't he of said well, if it needs the front alignment or if you bent the rim we can't help you? He's the mechanic I am sure he had a pretty good idea what my problem was. He said I'll make sure you're taken care of before you leave. He said there is a tire place and junkyard right around the corner. So he called and waited for the return call. Then he proceeded to tell me the guy has the exact rim and a tire he was going to go check on it and call him back. I said does he install tires? He said I don't know. Well, I'm thinking if he sells tires and is an auto salvage place, of course, he would. So I just go over there before the call back as told. The guy didn't know what I was talking about and had to call the mgr back. He gets off the phone, looks on his computer and tells me Nope, he doesn't have any rims or tires 17" which is the size I need. He's got a 16" that would work. The tire would cost $40. I said if I find the rim can u put the tire and rim on? He says nope, we dont do that kind of work. Really??????????? This guy gives this tire place lots of business yet doesn't know if he put on the tires??? Please. Now, the place I'm as calls a auto salvage place. He says yes they got your rim. The exact one. I head over and bam they got it. $100 later. They sent me over to a tire store that would put it on. I ended up buying a new tire....everything is good. read more

We bought an older model Jeep Wrangler. It was loud and sounded like something was loose. We took it to Automotive Alternative where the previous owner took it too for maintenance with Mike. He not only found the problem quickly but also showed my son where it was and what to look for. Mike was nice and gave us a few pointers about older jeeps. Price was fair and the problem didn't take too long to fix. read more

The most amazing customer service I have ever experienced at an automotive shop. They were expedient, courtesy and very professional. I was from out of town and in a time crunch and these gentlemen did everything right to get me back on the road ASAP. Well deserved praise from this cross country traveler with many experiences of this sort. Give them your business, you will be happy. LindaO Atlanta, Ga read more

Outside cant say nothing bad about this place they are the only place I take my truck too.

They fixed my car really quick. Amazing customer service and the business is GREATTTTTT :)) I would highly recommend them!!

They always make me feel welcome and that they are interested in my concerns, especially since I am a Vet. Never had a problem with the repairs. read more

If it's just regular maintenance they are great. My 98 Buick has a problem with the security system, if the security warning is up the car won't start after a few minutes when the security warning light goes off it starts. Their mechanic took a short cut to save me money by cutting a wire from the ignition and installing a diode at the end. I was told it was fixed. For awhile it seemed to work, but after returning the Buick at least 6 times the problem still exists. I asked for a refund and was denied because "we took proper action and it should be fixed now". I wouldn't trust Automotive Alternative for technical problems out of the ordinary. Now I will take the car to the Buick dealer with an estimate of $540 they guarantee their work. read more