German Car Specialists

Reviews 3

RI

ricky luu

****UPDATED AUG. 4, 2017**** As soon I posted this review, Dennis the owner called me to resolve the issue. He really wanted to talk to me, and make sure I was taken care of and leave with a happy experience. He wanted to fix this issue ASAP. He requested I go to two places to get quotes done. One shop is a well known shop who does quality work in the city. We decided what was fair and came to an agreement. Dennis took this very serious with the customer service and really cares that everyone leaves his shop happy. This truly reflects that he cares about his customers and goes above and beyond to help everyone out. I spoke with Alex who dealt with me and he took care of me. He was very informative and explained everything very well. He told me the scope of work, and what was done with pictures from the print out from the Technical Service Bulletin. We later spoke on the phone and he asked if my car ever bottomed out when I put my key in. I said its had a time it bottomed out once, but in the rears however, never upon inserting my key on startup. He then explained that my car kept bottoming out when the key was inserted and they could replicate it every time. He advised that my air suspension should be looked at because it was very dangerous and the tech almost got hurt working on my car. I thought how strange it was that it kept bottoming out once the key was inserted, and I felt worried that a tech almost got hurt. It was like a pit in my stomach as I didnt want to be held accountable for someone being hurt. When I came to pick up the car, Alex gave me the full run down on the fix of the wiring and splicing. Dennis the owner then joined in on the conversation. He explained to me what happened again with the air suspension. He was very convinced that my air suspension was installed incorrectly and was very dangerous. He also mentioned that because it kept bottoming out, during the work performed, it bottomed out and left a dent at the bottom of my door. This was caused by the hoist it was on. I was still not convinced that it was bottoming out. He then told Alex to replicate and show me it bottoming out. When he showed me, it actually didnt bottom out. It was set to the regular ride height (which is a lower ride height than usual, no different than a track car or lowered Porsche.) Accuair has 3 settings for air ride. 3 being the highest (which it was sitting at when I arrived), 2 is the set ride height, and 1 is aired out (bottomed out). You can set the height to whatever you want and take the key out and it will stay at that height. However, when you put the key in, no matter what, it will go back to the default ride height (setting number 2). I explained this to Alex when he "replicated" the situation. This was partially my fault for maybe not explaining at the start, but I figure they would test it out and see how it worked. Its quite apparent the car is modified. Dennis kept pushing it on myself and that the air suspension wasnt installed correctly causing the door to be dented and damaged on his hoist. I think maybe Dennis should have taken a minute and familiarize himself with how the air suspension management works before being so quick to judge. It never bottomed out. I believe in mistakes, and I made one with not informing right away, but it would have been nice if they admitted their mistake that the car never bottomed out on the hoist and that the air suspension is completely fine. Its just a low car and their little knowledge of air suspension that this unfortunately this unfolded. It kills me that I cant give 5 stars. It started out so great and I was confident. Theyre great people to deal with. Now I am left with a dented in door at the bottom with paint missing. Pay a pretty penny for one thing to get fixed, and end up with another thing I have to get fixed elsewhere. In the end, Im glad the tech didnt get hurt. Ill take away for next time to advise that the car is on air (not assuming people know how it works) and try another place another time...

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MI

Miller Denouden

Short version : information relayed is inaccurate, and prices are out of control. Great diagnostic. Long Version: The first conversation i actually had on the phone with German Car Specialists, I was told that it would be 150$ before they had even seen my car. I emailed asking about this 150$ and was told sorry about the confusion after ignoring the first red flag, I brought my car in and told the specialists there was a missing a clip on my car stick shift, and had some play in it as a result, and that my trunk latch was not latching. I was told i would receive a free diagnostic, and they would call me back to let me know what had to be done. Great! I left for roughly an hour and came back to find out that I actually had quite a few things wrong on my new-used vehicle. The diagnostic was fantastic, complete with photos and descriptions of the work needed, however after working out the final work estimate; it was ludicrous. Quoted at nearly $4000 i was reluctant to go ahead with any work as my car was bought for less than this, as well I am in school as of now so im tight on cash. Anyways, i decided to just get a few of the major concerns done, and left some of the aesthetics for later. So i mistakenly gave approval to go ahead with 1500$ of the work, and changing my number to 2000$ at an absolute maximum. After confirming with a friend that i was being ripped off and a closer look of the work order i saw the labour was more than the parts needed ! (2000$ labour and 1900$ parts) 32 minutes after the initial approval call, i called back and told them to continue with any work that had been started, but to not do anything else until i figured out exactly what i was going to do. They tell me "no problem and there was only the #1 major thing had already been started". Fantastic. When i go went to pick up my car i was told that they had already started taking off a few extra things aswell - during this 32 minute window - I question what the damage is and it is now over 1000$! compared to the few hundred estimated from the parts stated on the phone call to cancel work. looking at the bill, i was charged 80 for telling me i had to get a new stick shift cause there was a missing clip (which is what i originally said) and having a 200$ wheel alignment done after the call, not super impressive stuff. I was also told my car was cleaned but had leaves in the back when i put my backpack in to leave. Thank you for the free air filter though. fantastic diagnostic, is reason for 2 star > 1 star i may also add i got the other "3000$" of work completed for $1000. - Miller Denouden.

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CH

Christine Ross

I had my car into the German Car Specialists to repair a high pressure oil leak that gave them a bit of an issue. I picked up my car from the shop and proceeded to drive it home only for the car to lose all gas pressure 10 minutes later. I called and they were great. First thing they asked was if I was ok and safe. If I could drive it back please do so but if needed they would send me a tow truck. I was able to drive the car back to German Car Specialists. A few days later the car was ready to be picked up. They figured the problem was a module that they replaced with a spare used part they had on hand and would order a new one for me. Terry the mechanic test drove the car to ensure it was working properly. Unfortunately the same thing happened again. As it turns out the part they replaced for the high pressure oil leak had one faulty washer out of the many the size of your pinky fingernail. The car was fixed and it runs perfectly now. Now after telling this story I think it is equally important to tell you that this is one of those things that just happens. This is not something anyone could have foreseen or controlled. Alex and the rest of the front desk crew were absolutely amazing. Yes my car was in the shop for much longer that any of us could have anticipated but there are ways to deal with this and ways not to. I know Terry the mechanics was working very hard to find the problem and to get my car back to me, I know everyone felt horrible that this kept happening but you know the old saying "thing happen" well it is how you deal with the problem that makes it a positive or negative experience. Yes it was an inconvenience; no I was not happy about the situation and yes it was frustrating but being angry or upset at the staff of German Car Specialists was not going to get me anywhere. My positive attitude provided us both with a positive experience. The shop has been absolutely amazing to me and has even snuck me in to have a simple repair completed. I only wish more people would realize that we are all only human and can make mistakes. We wish things like this wouldn’t happen to us but they do and it is the way we handle them that brings out the person we truly are. Thanks for everything German Car Specialists. I will continue to use this shop for my little SMART car.

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