1 /5 Chris Nikolaou: Updated Google Review:
I initially left a brief review, but after being contacted by the shops owner Tony and questioned about it, I feel it’s important to explain in full detail why I had such a negative experience.
My BMW wouldn’t start, and the owner suggested it was the starter. I agreed to have a new one installed and paid for both the part and labor. After this failed to fix the issue, I had the starter independently tested—turns out there was nothing wrong with the original starter in the first place. Instead of addressing this, the shop rigged up an external “starter button” on my dash as a workaround. Not only did this not resolve the issue, it caused further complications. Despite the failed repair, I was charged $1,200.
The car never actually started reliably while it was in his care. Eventually, I had to have it towed to Eurotech in Rockford (a shop I highly recommend) where I paid another $2,700 to finally get things resolved the right way.
That wasn’t the end of the problems. He also helped source used tires for me, which I initially appreciated—until I realized he installed the wrong size, causing them to rub against the wheel wells during turns. Eurotech immediately noticed this error.
Before the car wouldn’t start, I had also asked this shop to replace my air suspension with standard shocks and springs. The job was done so poorly that the car was left sitting dangerously low. When I brought it up, I was told, “There’s nothing I can do,” after he consulted with a mechanic next to him. That’s not an acceptable response when someone is paying you for professional work.
All in all, I spent over $2,600 at this shop for incomplete and improper repairs. On top of that, during my final visit—when I was towing the car away—I noticed he had charged me $170 for a tow I never used. I went back and he did refund the amount, but the fact that it happened in the first place was incredibly disappointing and felt dishonest.
To be completely fair, the owner is a very nice person. He even gave me rides home when my car was in the shop, which I truly appreciated. But that doesn’t excuse the series of costly, avoidable mistakes. If you don’t know how to properly work on foreign cars—especially BMWs—please just say so. I would have much rather been told, “I can’t fix this,” than be led through months of failed work, expenses, and inconvenience.
