Hey, so can anyone recommend an honest, compitent INDEPENDANT Benz shop here in SoCal, preferably Ventura County area? - I need to get a service B done & I'm not feelin' the $500 or so clams the dealers gonna ask for.

Randy

 

TWS, tell them Robert referred them to you and your looking for a Service B. Thats the only shop that has touched my car so far and probably will be the only one.

 

where is TWS at? what city? how bout any shops in orange county?

 

In Orange County, there's Automax. If you park a MBZ anywhere in Tustin/Irvine Marketplace, chances are, when you come back, you'll have a Automax $50.00 off coupon on your window. Went there once for service A. With the $50.00 coupon, they came out slightly cheaper than Fletcher Jones. Don't know how much they charge for service B though, and I probably won't go there without the $50.00 coupon.

 

With stickers that big you likely have the confidence to do your own service. Just keep the receipts as proof of the work.

Plenty of posts to help you do the work.

Sheez, I'm tempted to say, bring me a Big bottle of Tanqueray, some tonic, and I can do it in an hour.

E

 

Take it to Jiify lube, they can do the complete B service for half the price and they never even have to touch your car, they are that good. Here's an article that explains how they do it - http://www.nbc4.tv/mechanicinvestigation/index.html

 

TWS is located on Fairway Street located in Rowland Heights, those guys are mighty honest and friendly, treated me to a beer when I had my coilovers installed. The installation took longer then expected so I was there until 10:30 P.M.

 

i know of a shop in the southbay(torrance) that can do service b for less than 300, i'll look for the card and post info as soon as i find it.

 

I'll throw another option at this thread. Go see Matt at Hi-Line automotive off chapman blvd in orange. He worked for fletcher for years and finally opened his own place about 7 years ago. Very clean very honest. I haven't taken my new benz over there but everyone I've recomended appreciates their work and pricing. He completely rebuilt the top end of my 560 for under a grand. No more spy hunter smoke.

 

I didn't know they had a Star Diagnose? Do they or do you have to get your mileage indicator for service re-set from the dealership?

 

They don't have a star diagnose, not that I know of, so you'll need to get it reset from the dealership.

 

Oh, I see. So they did the Service, but the computer still needs to be re-set at the dealer. No big deal for me on the service, but if they had a Star Diagnose, I would've gone to ask them to add some programming stuff...LOL.

 

Haha yeah same here, maybe I'll try and persuade them to invest in one.

 

Hit this guy up! He's located in Northridge. He did my last tune up. Really cool guy, he charged me about $70. Don't even mention about Service B (he'll charge you extra). He'll basically do the Service B for you anyway. 818-349-5179

 

There is only one guy I used to take the 'ol hoopty too. He is in Winnetka, its called MBZ motors its off of Winnetka and Roscoe. Ask for George. He has a huge following cuz he know his stuff and doesn't try to rip you off.

 

Enri...does he have a Star Diagnose System?

 

last time i went to mbz motoring, they did not know how to install pulleys...

 

hmm...i take my benz to manhattan beach benxz. service B was only $289, thats not too bad. if i knew how to do it myself i wouldnt, but i dont :-P

 

Really the one on winnetka and roscoe?? Drex I never checked if they had that machine I used to just drop my car and pick it up, I will check though!

 

I think I'm going to stop in there, sounds like a good place for me to become a regular. I can't stand one certain tech at fletcher jones...ARGHHH!

 

Misslovell,

I'd recommend the House of Power in Huntington Beach for engine work. The Wheel Supply in Walnut is good also, if you need regular service B maintanence or rims/tires/suspension/brakes/bodywork. Josh at HOP is very knowledgable about cars of all makes and models, but specializes in Mercedes. A couple of months ago, Josh rebuilt a C43 motor for Fletcher Jones. He has a dynojet, so he can diagnose any engine troubles or performance issues. Not every shop has a dynojet; a dyno is a must IMO. I have a coupon for a free dyno with air/fuel readout at HOP, and I don't need it anymore.

BTW, do you drive a black c coupe? I remember seeing a girl with a black c coupe in Orange/Anaheim Hills. Maybe I'm just imagining things....

 

damn, I don't know any places in Ventura County...

the closest would be Lucent Motors (www.lucentmotor.com) in West LA. they're highly regarded in the P-Car and M3 communities. it's a small shop that looks kinda dirty, but they definitely know what they're doing and have excellent customer service. they are on the tad bit pricey side though.

I also go to Ef1Motorsports (www.ef1motorsports.com) in Signal Hill/Long Beach. they're also another very highly regarded shop in the M3 and even P-car communities. They have a very clean and organized shop with very reasonable and fair prices--like Lucent, they definitely know what they're doing.

I've taken both cars to both shops for various services and haven't spent much. I'll usually take the w203 to the dealer for Service A and B though and just haggle with the SA as to how much I want to spend. I was able to have DTLA motors knock-off about $100 from what they wanted to charge for service A by saying "wtf? I don't need my tires rotated, they're STAGGERED, you can't rotate them!" So, just talk em up and say you've been shopping around. Most of the time they'll give you a discount b/c they don't want to lose your business.

 

thanks so much, that helps out a lot. i do have a black c-coupe but i mean...there's a lot of girls that have the same car around here. if it was me there's a SCORE offroad international sticker on the back right side of my rear window. but i do live in that area...well around tustin ranch.

 

Hi Misslovell

Since you are a local girl. Try this guy.

After trying FJ for service and MBLN. I finally went to
Caliber in Anaheim Hills. Go see Robert Rodgers he is one of the Team
Managers. Tell him "Bill" with the SL55 and CL500 sent you.
This guy is great about servicing my cars for the right price.
And he will kick you a loaner too. That never happens at those other
dealers unless you bought there. He is really good about turnaround too.
Almost always get my car back in a few hours.
Call him at 714-777-1920

Good Luck and welcome !

 

I almost forgot about Fab at EF1. Great guy and fun to talk with. He deals with mostly BMW, not that it really matters since he's worked on my car's suspension. If you can afford to leave the car with him for the whole day and let him work around your car, then he can give you very reasonable prices.

I recently brought my car to Caliber Motors for service B, and paid about $300. I cannot say they did good work though. They were supposed to have flushed the coolant fluid, etc. Nope. Still the same fluid in there. They also made a mess when they opened the coolant reservoir cap. They were supposed to have rotated the tires. Nope. I looked at the tread pattern on all 4 tires, none of them were even touched. Brakes. They just measured the pads and rotors. I basically paid $200 more than I should have for about $100 or less in parts/service for a glorified oil/filter change. I highly doubt that they even looked at the plugs either. Loaners are not free either. If your car stays for longer than 1 day, you pay $60/day for a loaner car. I think they suck and the SA - Gary Williams wasn't very professional in communication. First thing he said to me was "I thought you got rid of your car." Only person I like over there is the parts manager who helps me order parts. From now on, I'll be the one to do the service maintenance; at least I know the stealership won't be there to screw me over by overcharging, or not performing required work. The techs get paid at least $110/hr in labor over there, obviously for doing nothing in my particular case. If you're out of warranty, don't expect to get a deal from a dealership. The smaller aformentioned shops can give better deals IMO, since the owner of those shops are usually techs themselves. No lame service managers to deal with.