smartbabo

Hey guys:

I am looking for a local independent repair shop (w/ Star Diag) that I can take my car to as I no longer am under warranty.

Are there any honest mechanics out there that do great work with Mercedes?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

chenry

Beach Benz in Huntington Beach

monstaloc

beach benz, is that a dealer or the name of a local shop?

Randy B

There are a few downtown and one off of Orange Blossom Trail in the red light district.

Randy B

chenry

Here:
http://www.beachmercedes.com/

ElDiabloJoe

Brother, I *highly* recommend Ruben's Imports in Dana Point http://www.rubensimports.com
They are highly competent and very reliable. Family owned. They earned my trust when I went there with a problem, and they told me that it was a $35 easy fix when it very easily could have passed for a $350 fix and charged me that much. Another time I went in to diagnose something, and they couldn't find it, so they did not even charge me the labor it took for them to diagnose and investigate. They even have free loaner cars, very rare for an independent service location.

They're on PCH in downtown Dana Point.

EDJ

steph280

Not saying any of the shops recommended above are bad, but I've experienced some problems with shops that my family have used for decades. They do excellent job on older Mercedes, but the newer ones (like our W211) has proved to be quite challenging for the older mom and pop shop. It seems like they have to relearn the car completely everytime something new comes out.

I've heard good things about Ruben's before. I'll give them a try when my warranty expires.

Double Eagle

Reuben's is near where I live and has an excellent reputation. Another very good shop is Elite Motors in Mission Viejo. Here is a link to their shop http://ocautosites.com/EliteMotors/. Many of my MB friends have used them and give them high marks. It's a bigger facilty than Reuben's and they specialize in MB's and BMW's. Let us know which you use and your experience with them.

zam2000

You can try "Thien-Tao garage" in Santa Ana. The owner is a master mechanic from one of the large Mercedes dealer in SoCal who decide to run his own business. He has Star Diag, and know EVERYTHING about Mercedes

He just finished rebuilding my 98 E320 trans for $1600 (I have receipt). His philosophy is to fix what's broke, or about to break, no make up stories. The next lowest quote I got for trans rebuild is 3500-4000. Basically, he gave me the quote for $1500-2800 for rebuilding trans, based on what's broke when he open it up. Once it's openned up, I was lucky that mine fall into the "best case" scenario.

His number is 714-554-6299, ask for Randall Mai

Seeing from his shop flies:

- Full synthetic oil change: $55
- Service A: $180
- Service B: $250 (I think).

Always use OEM parts.