249 Drive Train Service / Houston, Texas
Rating: ★★★
8 years in Business
Auto Repair & Service
Address: 11700 State Highway 249, Houston
Postal code: 77086
Phone: (281) 999-6592
Service is our best part.
It is the Mission of Advance Auto Parts to provide personal vehicle owners and enthusiasts with the vehicle related products and knowledge that fulfill their wants and needs at the right price. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff will help inspire, educate and problem-solve for our customers.
This will assist them in obtaining the appropriate accessories, diagnosing their vehicle operational problems and accomplishing their repair projects. And as a result, customers will love to shop at Advance Auto Parts Stores.
Categories:
Auto Repair & Service
Neighborhoods:
Yale Street Gardens
Open hours:
No info
Reviews:
Won`t schedule warranty work. Very unprofessional shop.
Replaced gear set and bearings on my Camaro, $800 total. The work didn`t take. After a few hundred miles the rear end is howling and dripping fluid. Work came with a warranty and now the shop won`t see me. I tried coming up there and was told to come back in a week. They wouldn`t even let me leave my car there. I had to drive home with the rear howling the whole way. A week later I called before I drove out and was t... view moreold they`re busy and was pushed back AGAIN. Good thing I didn`t just drive out there like he told me to. I should have paid with credit card. Now I can`t even charge back. Taking it to Pyle Brothers on Friday to get it done right.
****EDIT****: Took my car to Pyle Brothers today. Same day turn around time and a super professional shop. They were even cheaper than 249 Drivetrain. Had them do my axles too since their pricing was even better on those! Why did 249 Drivetrains work fail? The crush sleeve was not properly set causing the pinion to to come loose. This ruined my gear set and bearings! I had to have Pyle Brothers redo all of the work 249 drivetrain did. Shame on you 249 Drivetrain and I want my money back Allen.
oes / 3/14/2011
Think twice...
Went in to get new gears for my Jeep JK.
The Good - The work was fast, (3.5 hours start to finish), less expensive than all other shops I checked out, ($850 vs $1600, worth the drive over from Austin), 2 year / 24k mile warranty.
The Bad - carrier bolts were re-used and shortened with a grinder to make them fit instead of using new appropriate length bolts. A hammer was used to set the Crush Sleeve instead of ... view morethe proper tool. Upon completion, lugnuts were only hand tightened. Coming back from a quick lunch/test drive, that tire came off, tore off the back half of the fender, denting in the body between the door and fender, and went across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. Towed back to the shop. The rotor was replaced with a new one, the rest of the hub assembly was replaced with used parts he had laying around.
He handed me back my check, but....
Fast forward a few months.
Called to let him know I was moving, and to see if I could bring it over for a check-up. ""No need, I`ve been doing this for 20 years, your gears are fine! etc."" I move. A few months later, I take it in to a local shop for some work, they show me that the front pinion seal is leaking, and upon further inspection of the oil coming out, see metal flakes in it. (diffs were changed at 500 and 3k after the gears were installed with No metal. Appx 8k on the gears at this point. 4wheel drive was not used initially, but was used several times just prior to finding the metal )
The Ugly -
I changed the oil for the 3rd time since the install, and emailed 249 pics of the significant amount of metal in the drain pan. He replies:
""Bring it by and I will replace them no charge thks"".
I indicate that it is now a 14 hour drive one way to get back there, and reminded him that I had called informing him of the move and asking to bring it in for a check-up. He replies:
""I will send some to you and help pay for install let ne know how much""
I email back with my phone number and address, and say that that is great customer service!!
-Fast forward 2 months.
No package from 249, no replies to emails, my calls are not answered (caller ID), and no replies to voice mails in this time. I even sent an email to the effect of ""if you have decided not to send the package/payment, at least give me the courtesy of a reply so I can make other arrangements"". Nothing.
I call again, and he actually picks up. (on his way to lunch and didn`t see who was calling...) He gives a song and dance about how he did not have any gears the past two months, but had just received a shipment with $5k worth of new gears, and would be sending front gears and a check for the install in the next few days.
-Fast forward 4 more weeks.
No package from 249, no replies to emails, my calls are not answered (caller ID), and no replies to voice mails.
--I post a review about the whole experience with him - and he contacts me two days later. Screamed and yelled about the review, saying that since I had posted it, he no longer had a reason to send anything. (not that it wasn`t already obvious...) A week and a half later, the gears showed up.
Make your own conclusions about getting work done at this shop...
Tim 0101 / 8/20/2010
EXPERT MECHANIC
I do most of the work on my own trucks, so when I dropped off a friend to leave his vehicle, I took time to look over the shop and talk to the owner. Allen is an expert in the field and does a lot of custom work. You can`t get any better than that. I`ve never seen a cleaner shop, I examined the trucks that were already on the racks and in the process of having work done. I also looked at the bearings, rings and p... view moreinions that had been removed from other trucks and could see the damage on each part. I`m hooked on this shop. My work van is approaching 170,000 miles, so I`m saving my money to have him take a look at the differential. I also found his website at 249differential if you want to look at it.
kctools / 7/10/2009
Awesome Shop, Owner, and Workmanship
Go straight to 249 DRIVETRAIN SERVICE when you have problems with your differential, driveshaft, or wheel bearings. Go to the best and don`t mess around with the rest.
I`m very finicky when it comes to letting someone else work on my vehicles, but when I started hearing a roaring noise from the rear end of my truck, I knew I needed a specialist to take care of the problem. My research led me to three different... view more shops, so I read all the reviews I could find and talked to previous customers as well. Needless to say, 249 Drivetrain came out on top with all 5-star reviews , both here and on Yahoo. So I gave him a call and went by his shop to check it out. When I talked with Allen, the owner, I immediately liked his attitude and his shop was very clean. You didn`t have to watch where you stepped to avoid puddles of oil and grease.
He was very thorough in explaining the process, answered all of my questions, and gave me an estimate. I knew I didn`t have to look any further. Since the 4th of July holiday was approaching, he suggested that I wait until Monday to bring in my truck. He called me three times while he was working on my truck. (Now how many shops would do that?) The first call was to let me know he had started the job; the second call was to tell me what he had found and to give me some options; and during our next conversation, instead of simply telling me my truck was ready, he explained everything that he had done.
Realizing how thorough and professional he was, I then asked if he would go ahead and take a look at my front brakes. I knew the pads were getting thin and suspected a warped disc because I had begun to notice a steering wheel shimmy when I applied the brakes. Although this is a job I would normally do myself, I trusted Allen so completely, I turned the job over to him.
A couple of days later, I couldn`t help but smile as I drove off his lot, because my truck sounded and felt like it did when it was new. It`s great to find a specialist like Allen who takes pride in his work and in his shop, plus he`s a expert in the field. His initial estimate was competitive with the other drivetrain shops, but I found I got more for my money after he was done. He performed additional tasks that the other shops were not going to do without extra charges.
The day after I picked up my truck, Allen called me again to see if my truck was ok. Again, how many shops would do that?
Can you tell that I am pleased? Some of my friends laughed at me for taking so much time to find someone to work on my truck, but I definitely have the last laugh here. I`ve already got 2 people lined up to go see Allen at 249 DRIVETRAIN.
kodabear99 / 7/10/2009
Did a great job
I called several Ford dealers about a griding sound coming from the rear wheels of my Ford Explorer and they gave various quotes for all kinds of things. A friend recommended Allen at 249 Drivetrain and I can not thank them or Allen enough.
Allen knew just what the problem was, he replaced the rear bearings and that fixed up the noise right away.
MrMazz / 11/31/2008
Best place around for custom rear end work
Allen was quick to identify the problem with my setup, and he recommended different gearing. Wow! Was he right... he was super friendly to deal with, and he did a fantastic job getting the gearing correct on my rock crawler, not to mention - he swapped out the drum brakes for disc brakes, too. Now I can move and stop perfectly! No more burning up clutches.
69Bronco / 10/23/2008