Mark C.

Austin Regional Clinic

I needed to find a new primary physician after the doctor I had seen for seven years closed up shop, and a co-worker recommended David Weeks at the Austin Regional Clinic.

This is just about the most comprehensive medical facility (outside of a hospital) I've ever seen: the doctor, any x-rays, blood work, etc. can all be done inside one building.

The staff are really excellent at providing results and follow-up information for blood work, x-rays, and other tests.

Dr. Weeks is incredibly thorough -- and has an excellent beside manner. Even during the first visit, I felt like I'd known him for years! Even more, he's very pro-active about checking for things which could go wrong relative to the patient's medical and family history.

As an aside: I missed an appointment while we were moving, and when I realized what had happened Dr. Weeks got me in -- that afternoon!

I am very pleased with my experience with ARC and Dr. Weeks. I recommend them enthusiastically.

Rising Sun Japanese

Rising Sun Japanese Auto Repair continues to reign among the top WORST auto repair and customer service experiences I've had in the quarter-century I've lived in Austin.

When we brought our Nissan Altima in to have the engine rebuilt, we were promised a two-week turnaround for replacement parts and re-assembly and given an estimate of $2500 for parts and labor.

NINE WEEKS LATER, after we'd spent $5100 for the engine (parts and labor) and another $1100 on a rental car, we got our car back. The day after we got our car back, the engine began reeking of gasoline and I returned the car for repair. It turned out the repair people had used the same fuel injectors from the previous engine, which were worn and spraying gasoline all over the engine. We paid for new fuel injectors and got our car back in a week.

Within three days, the very same thing happened. I complained to the owner about the quality of the repair and the delay in receiving the car, who simply backed up the manager of the repair center.

Eventually, I took the car to the Nissan dealer and ended up spending another $1400 to repair items on a new engine (including mis-seating the engine on the frame of the car) which Rising Sun had either overlooked, not repaired, or mis-repaired.

That "$2500 estimate" ended up costing us nearly $8,000 and I will NEVER, EVER set foot inside Rising Sun Japanese Auto Repair. In fact, this experience was so bad that it influenced me to purchase a German car when I bought a new vehicle.

PROS: Helped me decide to buy a German car
CONS: Too many to list