Mechanic in San Francisco, CA
 

as you may know MB does not service vehicule over 20 years old... (at least in san fran).

so for a 79 450sl, w 20,000 miles where are the experts.... need ignition switch/tumbler replaced, and make the A/C works. Even North or South of the city will do.

I do the work on the Jeeps.... but this ignition is a real PITA.... just came back from the junkyards to take a peek at the setup....

thank you

Michel
79 450sl

SF Mechanic no (Walnut Creek)yes
 

Sorry cannot help you with one is SF. However I have a 86 300SDL and my independent mechanic is top draw located in Walnut Creek. Not cheap, but very good and knows his stuff. It is a bit of a drive for you, but the service is good.
Ron

Moved to the correct forum for better answers.
 

Moved to the correct forum for better answers.

You should find what you need here.
ShopForum > General Discussion > Good MB Shops > California >




Have a great day.

There's a Vietnamese cat in Oakland, not far from the Bay Bridge, who's pretty good -- MB specialist -- and reasonble.

Dave @ 510 - 813 - 2456

Sals ******** is a great indie in San Francisco. This shop is located on San Jose Ave.. its just off of the SFSU exit on 280 south. Look for it on the right hand side as soon as you exit.

I used Sals ******** when I live in this city, his prices are relative to the area HOWEVER he is a very experienced tech and knows the older models like the back of his hand. In addition, his shop is small and very friendly. Service is prompt and he explains everything thoroughly.

I dont know his number off hand, but look him up and give him a try.

I use and reccomend Silver Star auto but it is in San Jose, so it is a bit of a drive. He is a lot cheaper then all the other local indies in the south bay and he does a great job. He works on all mercedes, old to new with some old sl's and pontons in his lot. He was a tech at Smythe (the san jose mercedes dealership) for some time and opened his shop in the early 90s, so he has lots of experience. Anyways good luck finding your guy.

I was very happy with Sals ********- he performed some work on my 300DT while I was living on Potrero Hill in SF. I tried him after reading good words about him on this forum, which I then added to :)

His rates are reasonable for San Francisco- most MB repair shops tend to get pretty pricey in the city.At the time he had the best rate I could find after shopping around in the area- For example, Petes Inc. was WAY high, and while his shop is much more attractive, word on the street about his service reputation isnt so hot.

Vel.3DT - Thanks for the recommendation!

San Francisco shop
 

You should also try Octane, Mercedes Benz Specialist, located on 10th Street, near Costco. The number is: 415.863.5555.

Randy Kuwatani, a long time MBZ man, runs this shop. As I've posted before, Randy is experienced, honest and a true gentleman. He has well-trained techs working with him.

Regards,
Bob
P.S. For full disclosure purposes, I am the secretary to Octane, Inc., and also a satisfied customer!

I'll have to chime in here too.

8 years living in San Francisco, I felt like Diogenes with his lamp trying to find a good tech for the Benz (Ironically, found a great one for the Volvo immediately, and never left him)

Pete's Independent MB does a good job, and will give you a ride to work when you drop off your car there, and they can do the really big rebuild jobs,
but they are almost a white glove shop, and are just across from Pacific Heights, so they charge HIGH prices, you will get sharp stabbing pains in the wallet for sure when you get out. This is the DOWNTOWN convenient shop off Van Ness Avenue.

Only been to Sal's just once. Real PITA to get to or from from most parts of San Francisco, and don't go looking for a waiting lounge with biscotti and fine Italian roast.....or a Barnes & Noble or a Thai Restaurant around the corner,
in this neighborhood, hey, its San Jose Avenue, and....WTF neighborhood IS that anyway?

But who cares, their service is fine, if you can get there without too much trouble, you should be there. I would certainly trust a 300D to them.
Some customers LOVE them.

That help?

Sal's ******** is the Only place I trust with my two MB's, and my wallet. Sal is an honest down to earth guy. He has always come through for me and has always taken great care of my cars. His prices are very fair, and if Sal say's you need it...you need it! He will not replace it just for the sake of replacing it. Sal's experience with MB is Phenomenal. Say Mark (the Englishman) sent you!

Sal's ******** 2942 San jose Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112. Phone: 415 334-6221

I need a PPI done on a '73 450 SE, so I plan to call Sal based on this great feedback on him.

I've used Randy at Octane a few times and received good service and honest accurate work.

I've also used Pete's Mercedes a few times and found Mario to be honest and they do good work as well.

In general, I would recommend either shop, but Octane seems a little more flexible in what they will do for you, as Pete's will want to go through their own fault isolation procedures. So, you won't be able to go to Pete's and tell them you want x, y, z done on your car, they will want some customer input and then they take it from there.

Figured I'd add to this thread as well. I'm also looking for service in or near SF for my '85 190D. I ran across this:

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Mercedes+Diesel&find_loc=San+Francisco%2C+CA

Sal's is definitely high on the list but I was wondering how he compared to Datona and Hans Art. Perhaps Sal is more MB is more likely to be familiar with the old models?

I'd love to hear thoughts. I'm really trying to avoid driving to the east/south Bay!

Thanks.

Edit: Just called Sal's and the guy I spoke with was nice and helpful on the phone. I'll most likely be taking my car there Friday but would still love to hear about the other shops.

I can highly recommend MB Garage.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/mb-garage-san-mateo#query:Mercedes%20Diesel

Their head tech, Marty has been servicing MB for close to 45 years. When it comes to diesels, there isn't a more experienced skilled tech out there still working today! Janet is wonderful.