Thanks, I've seen both shops favorably mentioned in this forum in older posts. Just wanted to see if there were any others, or any that are better than others for electrical.

Friends,

Soon I will be leaving beloved Richmond and moving to Charleston, West Virginia. Law School is over and I have a great job doing what I wanted to do forever - I will be starting as an associate in the Environmental Litigation department of my firm in the fall.
Before I go, I want anyone who cares about their M-B in Richmond, Virginia to consider switching to Sam Haboush and the fine folks at World Foreign Car on Three Chopt Road. 804-282-1900.
I will be driving my cars 4 hours to have routine maintenances done on them by Sam once I've moved.

I have 2 stories I want to share about Sam and Joe, respectively the owner and shop foreman.
First, I had the unpleasant experience of having my alternator die while I was on a day trip to the mountains near Lexington, Va. As my car was dying on the interstate at 1pm, I called Sam in Richmond and he explained to me how the voltage regulator works and how much I should expect to pay for that repair.
When 3 different shops in the area failed to agree to fix my car (2 of them, dealers, told me it would take 3 days to get a voltage regulator shipped in), I called Sam to discuss the possibility of having the car towed the whole 3 hours back to Richmond for him to fix. He was frustrated over the dealers' responses and so he called a friend in Charlottesville, called the towing company who had my car hooked up and 45 minutes later, my car was en route to an indy shop in Charlottesville, Va. By 5pm, I was back on the road.

Second, I was again travelling in Mississippi, when I left the lights on in my 190E and killed the battery. After installing a new battery, the car wouldnt run properly. I called Joe after trying my other options and 25 mintues later, I replaced the 10amp fuse in my Overvoltage protection relay and the car was back to where it needed to be. This was an easy fix that I should have thought of...but a call to the guys at WFC made it clear to me that they respect me and my business.

In the course of my history with them (3 years), I had a valve job done on my 190E (never any more oil leaks); a new tranny on my 190E; a new timing chain and rails on my 420SEL and 2 new camshafts on my 420SEL. In addition to all my other scheduled maintenances, Sam and Joe are the kind of guys who see you in your car, waiting at a stoplight near their shop and walk over to ask you how is she running today.
Sam will allow you to bring in your own parts (though, I have stopped doing this...since I had some part problems a couple of times); Sam is flexible about working on emergencies. Sam routinely has cars from 1960-2003 sitting in his yard, being serviced. If I bought a new Benz tomorrow and stayed in Richmond, I would forego the dealer and let Sam service the car from day 1. If I bought my dream, a '59 220S Cabriolet, I would also take it to him from Day 1.

Sam is honest, fair, and a straight shooter. When he tells me to replace something; he means it. I trust him.

So, anyhow, I cant say enough good things about World Foreign Car, and unless someone can recommend a shop in Charleston, WVa where they are gonna really take care of me...I'll keep my business with Sam.

Best,

John Meadows

'87 420SEL 135k
'85 190E 2.3 155k (and sitting in a junkyard, thanks to an idiot driver)
'83 300D 298k

I'm looking for a good shop in the tidewater va. area. I live about 40 miles south of Suffolk va. and I visit the chesapeake, norfolk,va.beach, hampton area very frequently.

Try here. www.larrysimportcenter.com There was a thread on them a year or two back.

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Tjohn

82 300 SD
77 450 SL (gone)

If you can get to the Yorktown area, I highly recommend the ******** on Highway 17. They've done great work on all my old Mercs and I've been happy with the integrity of the place. The owner, Klaus, is a German certified master mechanic and the guys he's got working for him seem to be good to. They've gotten quite a bit bigger since when I first started using them, but so far so good. Not cheap, but a load better than the local dealers.
Good Luck,
Jack

South Eastern Mercedes in Virginia Beach

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http://www.benzworld.org/forums/imag...e_steering.gif
1998 C43 ///AMG
1999 C230 Custom 5-Speed Manual

I use a great MB shop in the Fredericksburg region. If you need an honest great mechanic try Eurotech in Falmouth, Virginia. Tel: 540-657-1007. The owner Rick really knows his stuff.

Can anybody recommend a good radiator shop in Northern Virginia??

TIA,
D Stang

Greetings,
Just wanted to report on the very excellent service I received on my recenly purchased 95 e300d. Carlos Pereira at JCP Motorsports in Alexandria, Virginia is a true craftsman who knows his business. I took my car to him after reading about his shop on this very site. I was experiencing a glow plug light problem. While it was there, I asked him to check out the car and create a list of issues. He spent a lot of time going over the steering, suspension, transmission, etc., and gave me a list in order of priority. He discovered a problem with the engine wiring harness. It was cracked in numerous places and wires were actually exposed and cracked. He checked out the codes and made notes for future reference. I was very pleased with his work and his diagnostic abilities. He could have replaced the glow plugs and or the relay, but did his homework and discovered the true problem. When I picked up the car it was cleaned - inside and out and Carlos went over everything with me in detail. I will send my car back to him for more work as soon as I can pay for it, but I won't take it anywhere else. From where I live, his location is very difficult to get to, and it takes me a lot of extra time and trouble, but so far, it has been worth it. It is without any hesitation that I recommend JCP Motorsports for MB repair. Not affiliated just grateful. (kind of like how you feel when you find a good dentist)

Do you have a feel for his pricing? Was there a need for an appointment? Does he use OEM parts?

This is a rare/wonderful review. As a born sceptic, I want more.

Thanks for any additional you would care to share.

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95 E320 Cab (46K Mi, Stock)
95 Tahoe (Rain & Snow)

88 300E 276K Mi (Donated to charity)

At the risk being accused of spamming, I thought I'd post a short note about Curry's. Even though Curry's is best known for working on BMWs, Porsches, and Audis, we also do a lot of work on MBs as well. I started bringing my wife's W140 here years ago after the warranty ran out and now bring my E55 in for regular oil changes.

We have two locations in the WDC area: One in Chantilly, VA near the intersections of Rt 50 and Rt 28, and another near Dulles off of Rt 28. I started working for Curry's at the Chantilly shop as a service writer over a year ago but I am now its Internet Representative and will be contributing regularly to this forum. If I can be of service, please send me a note at bill@currysauto.com.

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Bill Shaw
www.CurrysAuto.com

He uses oem parts. I think he said he charges $70/hr. Appointment didn't seem necessary but I did call him to arrange a time. You know, I was a skeptic too. One thing I forgot to mention in my original post is that he was more than willing to discuss things with me on the telephone and not in a hurry or rushing to hang up - not something I ever experienced before. He even drove me to Van Dorn metro while he had my car.

I am taking my car back to him on Monday for flex disk and a differential mount(s). Should be a $600 day. Also will have oil and filter changed. Email me at mcon@loc.gov if you like.

Flex disk was pretty badly cracked. Only a matter of time before it was going to fall apart and cause a catastrophy. Also replaced differential mounts. One was a little worn and one was shot. Oil and filter change with Mobil 1 Synthetic. Bill was $478. Shop rate is $78/hr. Getting there. Some steering and suspension work should hold me for a while.

Foreign Auto Center, Charlottesville, VA

Adrian and Wayne, contacts- these guys are not M-B only, but have worked on multiple cars for me. Dedicated and thoughtful problem-solving, honest and fairly-priced workmanship.

JAS

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94 E320
71 350SL

I know this forum is designed to suggest good shops but I can't resist offering a bad one as well.

DO NOT! And I mean, DO NOT!! Go to AL's BMW, MERCEDES, IMPORTS at 8413 LEE HIGHWAY, FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA 22031
703-573-2759.

I had this gentlement replace my front cailpers, bearings and fan belts. Two weeks later, on my way to work, I watched parts from my left wheel, fly off onto the road ending with the front wheel bent inward at 40 degrees and barely connected. I later discovered he/or someone at the shop forgot to secure a CRUCIAL PIN in the brake caliper system. Had I been on the interstate, God only knows what could have happened.


Now on to the good! EURO IMPORTS in Alexandria, VIRGINIA offers excellent service: 725 N. Henry Street. Peter worked at the Mercedes benz factory in Germany for several years and goes the extra mile for customer satisfaction. He even showed me all of the parts he replaced, how they work, why they failed, and his shop rates are great.