Cvi Riverside Auto Repairs

Finding a mechanic that you can trust is always a difficult task. I’ve spent years bouncing from garage to garage being quoted unfair prices and advice to fix unnecessary things.
Ivan is the best mechanic that I have encountered and I know I can trust him to give me a fair opinion on what needs to be done to my car. His prices are competitive with any garage out there and seems to look at your car like he would his own. Whenever I need car repairs done I will give my business to Ivan; he has earned it.

Disclaimer: I have been using Jackie’s shop since 2003 in their old location, so I *may be* biased.
Jackie has been looking after 3 import vehicles for our family (318ti, 325xi, X3) since 2003. He’s always thorough and we feel like we are always well looked after. Sometimes I’ll pick up my own parts on ebay or amazon and he’ll install them without flinching — unlike other shops. Sometimes I show up with ridiculous DYI mechanic-​wannabee, «Hey I heard about this in the BMW forums» questions or requests and Jackie and Ivan always set me straight — without making me feel like an idiot. I appreciate this because it allows me to troubleshoot ahead of time and bring in the car with some leads before they start working on it.
First time there, I took the BMW 318ti for a pre-​purchase inspection with the dealer in the passenger seat. Jackie topped up the AC for something ridiculous like $ 20 and ran a few tests for me. Because the AC was not working — this was the only way for me to test the system before buying the car. I was blown away that a $ 125 top up only cost $ 20 at CVI and Jackie was so honest about it.
On my 325xi he installed a refurbished alternator that died after 16 months. Since it was refurbished by a local company (not my part) I inquired after pulling out my old receipt about the length of the warranty. He then replaced the alternator free of charge even though it was our of warranty and wanted nothing for his labour. I gave him some money anyway to cover his time and dropped off a 12 pack of microbrew beer for the boys in the shop.
Troubleshooting: I always take my car in for expert advice if there’s anything that seems weird — BMWs are prone to errors and oddities in our experience, especially when you buy used (like we always do).
When we bought the X3 I had the BMW Store do a thorough inspection for $ 375. Very useful and it helped me negotiate a better price at the dealer. One of the issues found was broken pig tails on the rear struts. A very common problem on a car that’s 8 years old and our of warranty. When I took it into CVI Ivan was like «You HAVE to fix this» so I obliged. We found some aftermarket struts for cheap and he hoisted the car up to have a final look. Lo and behold none of the pigtails were broken! (Not sure what happened at the dealer there — draw your own conclusions). So he just told me «come here have a look — do you see anything broken?». How many shops would do that? Just saved $ 1200 right there.
After buying my 325xi I was all excited and wanted to maintain it in pristine condition. I was asking Jackie about doing a Service I and Service II as is dealer recommended at regular intervals ($ 450 and $ 850 respectively) and he said :“Don’t waste your money, if something is broken, bring it in and we’ll fix it” How can you argue with that, for an out of warranty car?
Right now I’m having issues with electrical gremlins on the X3 — something that can be incredibly expensive to trouble shoot — especially at the dealer. Jackie put his best BMW computer tech on the car with two different computers and through 4 different sessions we started to narrow down the problem. It was ghastly to start! My wipers were not working, the horn was out, the heated seats didn’t heat, the rear wiper was dead, the steering wheel buttons were non functions — and then — the problem would fix itself at random !!!
Ordered a few parts and started swapping out to further diagnose. At some point I threw my hands up in the air and decided to take in the car to Brian Jessel for a more detailed analysis. Eventually between Brian Jessel and CVI I narrowed it down to the ignition switch grounding out and taking down the whole K-​Bus. I replaced the part myself although Brian Jessel wanted $ 950 to run the same fix.
I think if I went straight to Brian Jessel I would have spent way more money to trouble shoot (but it would have probably happened faster). Going to CVI first, gave me great direction when talking to Jessel and this probably helped Jessel spend less time troubleshooting. It was a really good all around experience.
tl;dr — If you want to save money, get honest car advice and talk to someone who genuinely cares about you as a customer (and not as walking wallet) go see Jackie or Ivan, Tell him Yanni sent ya ! My Dad has started using CVI for both his out of warranty AND his under warranty cars.

Jacky and Ivan are a great team that I completely trust to look after my cars, my family’s cars and my friend’s cars. I recommend them without hesitation and always have great feedback from people who turn to them for their mechanical needs. They are awesome and I’ve been a client for over 12 years now.

They might do good work, but if they hang up on you (twice) when you ask for a quote for a simple fluid flush over the phone, how am I ever suppose to find out?
Next!

Well, finally I can say I found an honest mechanic I can rely on. I took my car there since the check engine light was on. They told me to come back after 40 minutes or so. I come back and Jacky explained to me what the error code was and what he did. And surprisingly he didn’t charge me anything, he told me: «it was nothing big, so it’s free». Jacky is one honest man ! I found myself a new mechanic :)

Jackie is THE MAN. I could not tell you how many times I have brought him my poor little 2000 Subaru with a new issue, sometimes it seemed every other month! There is a reason I go to Jackie and nobody else. He is the most honest mechanic you will meet, his price is fair, and the repair work is always the best, not one complaint. Be nice and bring him and his team some donuts if you visit.

My bmw couldn’t start so I walked to Cvi Riverside Auto Reparis since it wasn’t far away. The guy Eric and his boss Ty were both friendly. Eric offered to walk to my car with a battery starter to give it a jump start before I’d call and have it towed to their shop. We first tried again without the battery, and it was actually working and so were all the following times. Even though the car was fine then, Eric still helped me try to find out the cause of the problem. He also suggested to bring the car to them if it happens again because it’d save the inspection cost for me. All of the above was FREE of charge and Eric was very professional and pleasant to deal with during the whole time. I’ve heard great things about them, and from my own experience this time, I’ll definitely go back there for my future repairs!
p. s. according to Eric, he and his boss Ty are specialized in European cars (bmw, benz, etc.). Jacky has extensive experience in all models.

Jacky is your man… He is one of the most honest mechanic I ever met. I wonder sometimes how he stays in business.
He will fix almost any car. He never charges for estimates. He is far cheaper than large dealerships.
He is friendly, straight forward, if he doesn’t know the problem he will say so. But theres no cost to get an estimate or his option on your automotive issue.
He will work with you is your budget is low, and show you how to go buy the parts cheaper and bring them to him and he will install for just the labor…
After 6years of dealing with him I have sent him about 25 – 30 friends not one problem.
Note they just moved to 35 E3rd, call first.