I have had very good luck with Import Auto in Santa Barbara. A Mercedes master mechanics shop... Gary Semeridjian. Races Corrados/GTI's. Really really bright guy when pushed.

Bill (Hanlen?) is a suspension master at the dealership.

Scott Palmer
1987 2.3-16 190e
1991 AMG 2.3 190e

I've been bringing my 1986 2.3-16V to ******** Los Gatos (in Los Gatos, obviously ). They are VERY knowledgeable, trustworthy and ONLY work on Mercedes. You can contact Tony (owner) or Al at 408-370-2612. Check out their website at

When I got my first MB 1 1/2 years ago, I asked every MB owner I knew about where to get service, and the name that usually came up was Bob Dallape at Camino Import Auto Service in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Bob has done all my routine maintenance, as well as the Sportline Conversion on my 300E described on the Featured Car page. So far he has always been spot on with his diagnosis, and very fair on pricing and recommendations on alternative repair routes. He has put in his years at MB dealerships before becoming co-owner/Tech in this MB/Volvo shop. Great service!

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

Edit:
camino import auto service near San Juan Capistrano, CA
32861 Camino Capistrano # 2, San Juan Cpstrno, 92675
(949) 661-3522

What exit is it off of? It is by Wesloe Honda and all the other dealerships?
Mike

Travel south on I-5 past the Ortega Hiway off ramp to the next off ramp "Camino Capistrano/San Juan Creek road". Left (south)on Camino Cap as if you heading to the Honda dealership. Take the first right before you get to the Honda entrance in the driveway where the car wash is being rebuilt. A group of businesses share the north side of the building between the car wash and the Honda dealership: "Beveled Edge" stained glass is at the front, "Brothers Toyota/Honda repair" in the middle, and "Camino Imports" is back towards the Amtrack tracks.

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JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver

Hi All,

I've been taking my newer mercedes to the local dealer (Oakland) which has good customer service, but may be lacking in technical expertise. Plus they won't work on any HotRod mod's for me. Can anyone recommend a good service shop/tech within the area?

Thanks,
Eric

Franz Mercedes Service and Repair in Temecula did a prepurchase on my '72 280SEL 4.5 and then put in the Timing Chain as a precaution, since it was time. He provided a loaner car, quick turn, and reasonable procing. I drove the car about 1000 miles to Salt Lake City and had no problems. He provided advice on the plastic guide rails and saved me money, when he could have increased his billing considerably. He seems very knowledgeable, but is a little "intense" to talk to. Don't expect him to talk about the weather to get to know you. Nuts, bolts, yes, no, lets go!

Conact him at Franz Huber, 27585 Commerce Center Dr, Temecula, CA 92590, Ph 909.676.0060 or 9180.




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Deezel
87 300TD, 160,000 miles
72 280SEL 4.5, 250,000 miles

Eric:

Try Import Motors @ 40th and Telegraph. There a couple of nice benefits to this shop: For older cars, they are very good, since the have "old timers" who like working on and have experience with the older stuff; they don't mind working on cars with non-factory mods or installing the mods for you; they seem to be generally nice people. I should mention that I don't have a ton of experience with them but they, for example, between three shops (including European Motors in Oakland) found a solution to a wierdo problem with my AC/blower control unit on my 16v. And Oscar at European Motors recommends them for my 6.9, for instance (I once asked Oscar what the techs do when an older car, like a 450 SEL or 6.9 pulls into the the shop. His response? "they cringe". Mostly this is because, I guess, they don't have older techs and need to keep up on the newest benzs and let knowledge of the older cars lag).

My general strategy is to figure out the strengths and weakness of the shops and use them accordingly. I don't think that any one shop will do everything right all the time. But it is important, if the get it wrong, how they approach resolving/fixing the problem. I can generally get satisfaction between these two shops.

There are a couple of other shops worth mentioning: Auto Pro at Claremont and Telegraph. This is a two person shop. As far as I can tell, he works primarily on older benzs ('80s and before). In my experience with him (only with 16v and 6.9) he is not so great solving elusive electrical problems but pretty good on the gross stuff. He also does a mean 4 wheel alignment. He can also be dreadfully slow. This shop is generally my last choice or a choice for things which I consider to be relatively simple and that I don't have time to do myself.

European Motors in San Fransisco: This shop seems too busy for their own good and I think the techs rush through jobs. For instance, they replaced a radiator hose on my 16v (along with installing a new radiator) but installed it so that it touched the fan blade on the alternator(?) air pump(?) which promptly chewed through it. I could have toasted my engine. That was two years ago. I haven't been back since. And don't plan any future trips (European motors in Oakland –– Oscar –– gave me no flak in replacing the hose and installing it correctly (and couldn't believe the stupidity of the tech that installed it incorrectly). No charge, of course. I'm sure that they were glad they didn't have to buy me a new engine!)

Hacienda Motors in Pleasanton: I generally buy all my self-installed parts (that I don't buy through mail order) from these guys. The brains of the operation is a woman named Dannika (very patient and good at finding that obscure part with the superceded part number). They are almost always a little cheaper than European Motors (SF or Oakland) or A&F. However, I haven't had much tech work done there. Though techs have come out to talk to me about installation/problem solving when I have picked up a part. Another big benefit: the parts department is open on Saturdays!!! They also have some limited service on Saturdays, as well. Besides, its a nice ride to Pleasanton on a sunny Saturday morning.

Hopefully, there is something useful in all this.

John

If anyone knows any good tech for 190E 16V specialist in the Los Angeles would be appreciated! thanx, and have a good one.

Thanks John,

Those were all the usual suspects, except for Hacienda. I'll remember that one. Have you ever used the shop at All Mercedes or Nicks in Walnut Creek? There is also a priavteer named (i think) hugh kilroy that I've heard about in Oakland.

Haven't used either one, though Nicks handled my 6.9 before I bought it. There is another call "Easy Mercedes" located somewhere in emeryville or berkeley, I think. Haven't used that one either, but they handled my 16v before I bought it.

John

Does anyone know of any good shops in the Sacramento area?

Originally posted by shekhon:
If anyone knows any good tech for 190E 16V specialist in the Los Angeles would be appreciated! thanx, and have a good one.

I take my 190e 16v to European Motors in North Hollywood. Mike is the owner/machanic. He rebuilt my engine and specialize in MB.
Eddie
1986 Smoke Silver 190e 16V

I'm looking for a good shop in the San Jose area. Thanks for any leads!

Forget the dealers, they are so busy and dizzy. Thanks
Primarily for '95 C280
but my other cars also.

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1979 300D
133K miles
1989 300SE
1995 C280