best place for service in SE Michigan?

[JonE39]

which independent shop has the best reliability & honest pricing? nikolas? munks?

[salaniukm]

Nikolas motorsport is a ripoff!! munks you might be better off really.

[Scent of Gasoline]

nokolas used to be ok. Some years back he brought in his brother and they adopted a different business model resulting in a substantially increased cost to the customer. I'd venture to say he charges more than the sealer.

munks is proficient in the customer schmoozing department as they employ service reps that used to wirk at the bmw dealer.
Before they start working on your car they insist on cleaning yor car @ $90 per hr.They don't want your car to mess up their super clean garage. True though, their garage is cleaner than many people's family rooms.

[6gun]

Took my car there wanted the service lights turned off. $400. They were gonna do a stem to stern check, not bad, just not what I wanted. I just wanted the lights out.....bought a reset tool $15. Know guys who love Munks. Gonna try them next.

[Ben H]

Satish and his brother in law Sachen(?) are nice people who do great work. You guys should drop by just to see their place. They've got the Hunter tire mounting machine and they can also recode your Lowbeam light if you've performed the Halogen to Xenon upgrade. Satish really knows his way around BMWs and Mercedes and Audis. He currently is sticking a V12 in a Mercedes where a V8 used to be.

Erhard BMW's service shop is the one to go to for in-warranty repairs. I would imagine this is what Lexus service centers are like. But yeah, stop by Motorwerks first if not just to gawk at the cars in the shop. Take M5 all the way up to Pontiac Trail and hang a right. Hang another right at Walnut Lake Drive and you're there.

Ben H

[pbowler]

15 miles in Troy. VERY near my house

[topgear996]

shockingly, Ann Arbor BMW charges LESS than eurotec or nikolas. Plus I'm not gonna drive 40-50 min each way to save $20-30.

The question is, does ann arbor bmw do a competent job in service & maintenance?


----------------
2003 S2000 Sebring/Red
1999 BMW 540 Sport Black/Black

[Bob Denyer]

I've had great luck with Nikolas working with David and Bob. Been going there since '97 with my 325iC and more recently with my '74 Tii (although they prefer to work on newer models). Immaculate shop and capable technicians.

Not sure about Munk's. My brother has some issues when he went there with his '86 Porsche. They seemed to "pad" the estimate with lots of unnecessary stuff.

Regards,

Bob Denyer
Howell, Michigan

1992 E30
1974 Tii

[gofast88635]

Been to many shops and dealerships. I have always had difficulty trusting anyone with any past/present BMWs I have owned, so now I gladly drive, from across the state, to Nikolas with my 88 6 series. The peace of mind is worth it to me and if I wanted to save money I should be in a Dodge Neon. I like walking back while my car is on the rack and talking with the mechanic while watching, and learning the things I don't know because my mechanical ability is limited to a garage..limited tools and very limited time these days. I like the fact their experience and knowledge on older BMWs is right on. They did my 100k inspection, which cost some bucks because I had everything done in keeping with "an ounce of prevention is worth..." They know the inside info I thought was only available on Roadfly.
Like I mentioned, I don't mind paying money for the luxury of....lack of stress, lack of grief, peace of mind, quality work, honesty, and smiles.
Now my winter beater Bronco, thats a differen't story...

[Futza]

[eatworksleepdie]

I've always had good luck with Steve's European Automotive. 248-674-2770
http://www.steveseuropeanauto.com

They've always treated me right with a fair price. The work has always been good too.
A word on the other shops mentioned...
German Motorwerks (GMW, or whatever they're called) gave me a complete mis-quote, and I decided they were not worth taking my car to. I've had friends who have taken their car to them, and turn-around-times are pretty far fetched.
Munks broke my lug off on my car, and tryed to tell me it was my fault that I had aftermarket wheels plus wanted to charge me extra on the job.

It's Steve's all the way for me.

[Kevin Phillips]

I've had my 1999 A4Q serviced @ Eurotec for years now. They are very professional and I never have any concerns with how they'll treat my car. They come right within their estimates every time.
I brought my car in for a recurring ABS light one time and it turned out to be the ABS module. A $1,200 dealer only part... They offered me a rebuild servive instead which fixed the problem permanantly and cost me less than half of that out the door!!! The dealer would have never offered me that option.
Super happy with Eurotec and would recommend anyone give them a try.

Kevin
99 A4Q 1.8T

[Phil]

Don't go to Eurotech! unless you want to trash your money

They wanted to charge me over 3 thousand in repairs (like 200 hundred for a one minute fix $5 part

[autojank]

BMW of Ann Arbor is the best from my experience. Don't try to push unnecessary service (not in my experience), and will install parts if you buy them from the internet, no problems.

[autojank]

I have a 2001 E39 BMW 530i which I absolutely dote on.

Always get estimates from both the dealer AND independent mechanic (parts and labor) before going to either one. You'll be surprised that the indys may quote you a HIGHER labor time unnecessarily and may ask you to get stuff done that doesn't need to (I've had this experience at Eurot***, and knew only when I double checked at the dealer in Ann Arbor).

My advice is to get multiple estimates (parts + labor) and preferably order OEM (not Genuine BMW parts) from the internet and have the one who quotes you lower (preferably dealer even if its a little more expensive) to do the install. The reason I prefer the dealer is that I trust them more, from some "questionable" experiences I have had at other "reputed" European only car mechanics, like tossing out good parts from your car and saying they need to be replaced.

Don't be scared to order parts online, OEM parts are 0.5 times cost of Genuine BMW, for the same level of quality and probably the exact same component. Don't worry about warranties, I have had no problems so far with stuff like brakes, filters etc etc ordered online from a reputable Porsche/BMW parts supplier.