I would like to recommend Frank's Automotive at 5220 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento; (916) 452-0917 (Frank Lettini). He is definitely a German car expert, and seems very interested in keeping the older cars on the road. On the recommendation of other Porsche owners, I started going to him years ago for maintenance on my 356B, and he has done great work on it over the years. All the Sacramento-area Porsche owners go to him, but he's really good with all German cars. Now that I have an '87 420SEL, he's doing a great job of maintaining that, too. He is extremely honest and reasonable in price. I can't recommend him highly enough.

Here's an example of Frank's "old-world" thoroughness: Years ago, I owned a Volvo that I took to Frank for service. At one point I had the front seats re-upholstered, and the upholstery shop loosened up the seat bolsters all the way and then forgot to tighten them back up again. I drove the car for several months, and realized that the seats felt a little uncomfortable, but didn't figure out why. Then I took the Volvo into Frank's for a 7,500 mile service. As soon as he sat down in the driver's seat, he exclaimed, "Your seat bolsters are totally loose!" and he got out and correctly adjusted the bolsters of both seats. That is just one example.

My son and his friends, who are trying to do their Mercedes on the cheap, have told me a lot of good things about Ernie in Orangevale, too. Post Script: I took my car to Ernie, and found his work to be quite satisfactory and reasonable to moderate in price.