Great shop near Asheville!

[CAROLINA SHAKER]

Im new to the MB world but recently had wonderful experience with independent MB only repair facility near Asheville called Gary's Automotive.

[IronWalt]

Hi there,

I have been in Asheville for 7 years now. Gary is good. I have used his services in the past.

But the absolute BEST Benz only shop here is EuroSpec. Hands down. Without a doubt. Ethical, competant, dealer trained mechanics AND the best part is that they actually TRY TO SAVE YOU MONEY while getting the job done right.

[Don Buchanan]

I have dealt with Gary's Automotive for several years now and he has treated me great. BTW--He has moved to The Candler area now.

[engatwork]

Is Gary's the one where Todd works (Gary's son)? My neice lives in Asheville and is the proud owner of a new to her '87 300D. I have directed her to the shop where Todd works for her needs.

[Don Buchanan]

Yep, Todd is Gary's son----You got the right shop---Gary worked at the localMB dealer for years before deciding to go out on his own. Great guy,and honest

[BigRed0803]

I have used both shops before(Euro-spec and Gary's Automotive.) Different shops fit different people. For me, I continue to use Gary's, he and his son run a great shop and take good care of me. Highly Recommended!

[Smokiesman]

If I can't fix it myself ! Eurospec is the place I go!! They are very fair and when I leave I KNOW the job is done RIGHT!!

Smokie

[Bowie]

Asheville Bio heads especially. Don't go to Organic Mechanic unless you have Charlie working on your car. Todd and Gary @ Gary's automotive are nice, haven't been completely happy there though. They were supposed to tune my tranny and it was a joke. Asked them to trouble-shoot a couple of things and got me no where. They were way too busy then. Someone today said they had to get their brakes done 4 times out there. Although, they were very courteous and did help well with a couple of things. Gary seems very knowledgeable. Trying Eurospec next. There is an alignment spot on Merrimon that tons of people have had good experience with. I'm going to visit tomorrow to see what they know about my chassis. PM me if your curious and I don't update.

[BigRed0803]

I can't help myself I have to reply to the last post. I personally know this guy and he has no business degrading other people because he is a couple tools short of a full tool shed if you know what I mean. I am not sure about the Organic Mechanic but I can guarantee you that Gary could do a brake job in his sleep he has only been working on these cars for 30 years. And if it is true and this kid is going to Eurospec next I would tell George to lock his doors when he sees him coming because making alittle cash off him isn't enough reward to having to put up with him.

[Bowie]

yeah ok Big Red. I have a right to my opinion and the right to voice my experiences with a particular product or service. It's not my fault that service I received was sub-par. You have the right to express your opinion just as well, and I'm happy that you have had good experiences with the shop. For you to direct a malicious statement at me for expressing my experiences with a particular shop in this forum, of all places, is plain rude and unnecessary.

I don't doubt Gary's knowledge and or ability. I have been there a good number of times and have been mainly pleased. I brought my car there to have my transmission tuned. I did not deal with Gary directly.

"I asked them how they checked the system and if the transmission fluid needed to be warm. They replied no. Just turn it on when it's cold and check the fluid."

My transmission fluid had been over level since it was at level only when cold. I never had problems with transmission leaks before and it leaks now. I asked them to tune my transmission and they did not. If they attempted to my car was not driving normal. After viewing resources on line and figuring out how to do things myself, my vac modulator was way off, I had to drive my car like it was a manual tranny for months. I tuned the vacuum system myself and well I can finally drive my car like a normal car.

It just so happened that I wrote my post the same day I met a woman who said she bought a w123 from them. It looked great, and she was happy with it, but continued to say that her brakes were really loud to the point of being obnoxious and her daughter doesn't even like driving the car because of it. I asked if it was grinding or if they didn't work work well she said no It squeeks really loud and that she had brought it back 4 times because of this. I proceeded to tell her that there probably isn't much wrong with the brakes functioning and that the back of the pads likely needed some grease. full stop.

There are different mechanics at different shops and no one place is impeccable. I'm sorry that I had to be the one to have negative experiences somewhere, but it has been frustrating trying to get my vehicle worked on by others so far. and BigRed0803 please do call EuroSpec and tell them that I'm coming because if they want my business I expect quality service.

[rugby2]

I think Gary is the best I live in Michigan and try and have him do service when visiting friends. in Asheville only wish we had one like him here in Mi.

[Don Buchanan]

Well Bowie, as fate would have it I just returned from Gary's shop. Matter of fact I spent most of the day there. He has been doing my service for probably longer than you have owned a Benz and I have yet to drive away less than 100 percent happy. His shop is about an hours drive for me but I driver over from time to time just to hang out. I have seen first hand what extremes he and Todd go to in order to maked people happy. It seems to me you showed up with a long list of things you wanted done but were long short of the cash required for such work. I suppose you know the MB dealership is right near there. Possibly you should go there next. WARNING: be prepared to spend more than a couple hundred bucks just to get some minor things done. There is also a Jiffy Lube near you. Are they "bio" enough for you? Just a close observers opinion.

[Bowie]

Don Buchanan,
Wow, short on cash huh? That was the reason they didn't tune my transmission properly when I paid them to do so? Maybe that's the reason Todd told me I could check the transmission fluid level when the transmission was cold.

Maybe me asking them what they might charge for a particular service implies that I don't have the cash to spare. Did you also ask them how much I spent at their shop. Maybe they forgot to mention that I was interested at looking at a total rebuild. Maybe they told you how I couldn't drive for 2 weeks because of preventive measures that they recommended that I paid to have done.

However irrelevant, how very observative of you to notice that I have the word bio-diesel in my screen name.

When all's said and done. I have nothing against Gary and Todd. They are very nice people. Was I unlucky with a couple of things there? possibly yes. Gary and Todd did their best to help me. Was I upset when I learned about how my transmission was handled? Absolutely. I did not post here to knock them. The more people that criticize me for explaining some unfortunate sequences of events the more I'm going to go into detail of how my particular situation was handled however good or bad. I cannot change what happened.

Don, I'm glad that you are happy with your service and Gary's. I'm now also happy that I have an official shop manual to work on my vehicle myself. I enjoy it, albeit difficult to fit into my 70+ hour a week very well compensated career.

[Bowie]

Anyone else care to comment on my opinions?

I don't doubt that Gary could school almost anyone in the region on Mercedes. I'll say again it probably wasn't him who worked on my vehicle. They could very well be the best shop in the region. Had some folks tell me some not all too great stories concerning some of the other shops around here. If you are looking at this post, I'd say come to your own conclusion. Some people are obviously very happy with Gary's.

[BigRed0803]

Another great dealing with Gary today. I was traveling back home had car trouble in Knoxville, I had my Mercedes wreckered back to Asheville to Gary's and still came out cheaper than having the dealer fix it in TN. I can't say enough good things about Gary's Automotive!