diff --git a/src/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/SimpleRepository.java b/src/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/SimpleRepository.java
index cc129d04..c4b3e170 100644
--- a/src/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/SimpleRepository.java
+++ b/src/java/com/samskivert/jdbc/SimpleRepository.java
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ public class SimpleRepository extends Repository
                 }
 
                 // turn off auto-commit
-                if (supportsTransactions) {
+                if (supportsTransactions && conn.getAutoCommit()) {
                     oldAutoCommit = conn.getAutoCommit();
                     conn.setAutoCommit(false);
                 }