Einstein’s Auto Repair

After owning my BMW 325i for about a year, I at last discovered these guys. Goodbye being charged thousands of dollars for everything that goes wrong and feeling like I can’t trust what mechanics say is and isn’t «essential». The gents at Einstein radiate honesty and competence and charge a fair price. If you live anywhere around the beltway it’s worth the drive over to do business here.

Gary and his team have been the best experience i have ever had with a mechanic. Honesty is the key word, professionalism and friendliness are a quick summary of the shop. I left the area a few months ago and I know i won’t find better service anywhere else.

Whenever I’ve had a light come on the dash, I bring it to these guys. They are more like a friend that will tell you what’s wrong with your car, than an auto shop. They’ve never charged me for diagnosing problems. They tell you what’s wrong before beginning any work and prices here are very fair and beat pretty much all other BMW shops in the DC area. Very honest people. My E60 will be getting serviced here for the rest of its life. Thanks Gary!

This place is a complete rip off that consistently tries to scam people into paying much more for services that should not cost much at all. I originally went there to get my window regulator replaced. They quoted me at $ 300. This is something I fixed myself for $ 25 and 3 – 5 hours of online research/​actually working on my car at e46fanatics. I would have paid $ 100, no problem. The guy tried to convince me that my motor was faulty, I know it wasn’t.
I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and try them another time. I had got a flat tire and wanted to just replace all 4 tires. (Note I had an airbag warning light on from when I did my window regulator* but I didn’t tell them that). They tried to tell me that my head curtain airbag went off when I hit that pot hole (it didn’t) and they had to replace all of that and quoted me at an absurd $ 800. Afterwards I did some research and found that airbag online varying from $ 35(ebay) to $ 90 (OEM, various). The installation procedure takes about an hour. Who charged $ 700/​hr labor? And that is IF the airbag was indeed set off. but it wasn’t because I know I set it of while fixing my window. -.-
A third time I went there was after someone hit and run on my car. My hood was indented and my radiator was pushed into the engine but the car ran perfectly. I know a little bit about cars and I figured I would need a new radiator, fans, etc. That total would be about $ 800 plus labor which I figured was going to be no more than $ 1200, so I had $ 2,000 total ready to pay them. Before I went over there and I had already opened the hood 20 different times post accident to assess the damages and amazingly the hood latch and everything was working fine, despite being indented a little bit. When I got there they asked me to pop the hood, which I did myself, no problem. Later I closed it and they asked to see something again, so I went into the car to hit the hood release and the guy fucking grabs the hood and makes a show out of being unable to lift the hood and then FUCKING RIPS OUT MY CHROME GRILL breaking it. And laughs with his buddy about «oh told you it was broken, har har har». are you fucking kidding me? I opened it myself 2 second later without a problem. I think he thinks I didn’t see him break it because I was in the drivers seat hitting the hood release. Fuck these guys. Oh and they are in cahoots with the meinike body shop across the way. The two of them work together so they tell you the same thing is wrong and they can both jack up prices on you.
Anyways, these guys tried to convince me that my BMW was totaled! $ 5,000+ in damages plus labor (Does this look TOTALED to you? Everything works, drove it back from DC like this, headlights and everything —
). Hmm, I’ve fixed my car myself in about 3 days of work (look up radiator replacement DIY) and $ 750 in parts and $ 250 in shipping and paid my friend who is a mechanic to help me $ 250 for one part (~3 hours) I needed a second set of hands for (offered $ 500 but he wouldn’t take it). So total $ 1,250. Please Einstein explain to me how this would have cost you $ 5,000+? Fucking scam artists.
* –for that procedure you have to disconnect an airbag while the battery is off to access/​replace the regulator. I plugged the battery back in before reconnecting the airbag to test the window – it worked– but the airbag light came on for a missing airbag. The only way to remove the light is with a special tool to flash it that most BMW shops have).

Smart, little, honest BMW shop. Who could ask for more?

This repair shop is by far the best place to have your BMW serviced. My grandfather has had a relationship with Einstein Auto for at least 20 years where he had his classic Bmw’s serviced and maintained. They are highly knowledgeable and even the actual BMW dealer recommends them! If you want excellent service at a fair price, this is your place!

I purchased a second hand BMW a few months ago and I wasn’t looking forward to the potential maintenance costs. A friend recommend Einstein’s to me and I called them yesterday to make an appointment for my first oil change.
They were able to take me this morning at 8am and they changed the oil while I waited. I was back on 495 by 9 am. The cost was a third what the dealer wanted. A great experience so far.
I met two people this morning, I believe one was the owner. Both were easy to work with and extremely knowledgeable about all things BMW. And we shared some non-​car related interests, so I enjoyed our conversation. I will be back, hopefully just for scheduled oil changes.

My first experiemce was not as positive, but the 2^nd made me feel better. I had an emergency repair come up, and needed some place close. This shop came through with fair price, quick service, and a great referall for towing that was both cheap and professional. I think the 1^st time I went I was not being fair in my evaluation. A solid, professional independent shop.