Lafayette German Car Repair

I’ve been taking my car here for years. Juan and his team are straight forward and willing to explain problems and provide options. When I arrive at the counter he remembers my car and my daughter’s car before looking in the system. I trust Lafayette German Car Repair and as a non-​mechanic that’s the most important thing.

Awful place, just lied to my girlfriend that Tom worked there and then held her car hostage for cash money. STAY AWAY these people need to be shut down.

This is my first post thanks to the quality customer service that I received. I needed a rear light bulb replaced on my car and Marta, the woman who helped me, said come on in and we can take care of it right away since it was such a minor fix. They did and only charged me for parts because it took less than ten minutes. Quality service is so huge, it seems like a lost art. Thanks Lafayette German Car Repair.

Well… Let’s just put it this way: Original estimate for an engine repair = $ 1200 after it was torn down. Once all of the various «needs» were fixed, the bill was over $ 5,000. (was I stunned!) This was about 8 months ago. I just sold that car for $ 600. Yup, $ 600. So, why on Earth continue ramping up my repairs when they must have KNOWN it was futile, completely not worth it. I just felt like it kept getting bigger and bigger and the only thing I could do was to continue — another few hundred over and again. It wasn’t an option to «leave the car there and walk away». In this way, I find this company somewhat… deceiving. I also had to have another shop fix their work a week later due to non-​OEM parts (cheap stuff) they installed. I did not feel they had my best interest in mind, so just be aware, that’s all I have to say.

Well, after calling several auto repair shops in Walnut Creek and getting quotes over the phone for a preventative maintenance transmission flush, I called these guys. When I told them what I wanted they said they didn’t want to give a quote without seeing the car. BINGO!!! That’s what I had been waiting to hear. (How can a shop give me an accurate quote without seeing the car?) I went in, and I’m so happy I did.
Staff was very professional and courteous. The did a quick look at gave me a quote (which was a fraction of what the other shops quoted me over the phone).
Juan and I bantered on for a little bit about German cars while he drove me home in the courtesy vehicle.
3 hours later I got a call that my car was ready and they came to pick me up. I was given my keys, told what had been done, how much ATF fluid was put in, and all my questions were answered.
Picked my Porsch up, and it drives beautifully!
Thank you Lafayette German Car Repair!!!

I had them install a new bumper valance (I provided the part), and they charged me $ 120 (one labor hour) for it. While I thought that that seemed a little on the expensive side, I figured I could use their $ 100 for $ 50 Unilocal coupon. The description said «Voucher can only be used for services, not retail products.» Should be fine, right? Nope. When paying for my SERVICE, they told me I could not apply the voucher as it was only applicable towards «check-​ups» and stuff like that. Made no sense to me, but nothing I could do.
So I ended up paying $ 120 to have a piece of plastic bolted to the front of my car. (MInd you, I had a $ 700+ job done there before for a new fuel pump, so I was a returning customer.)
I won’t be back.

I had my cooling system replaced here today, as well as the oil changed. which is a normal preventative maintenance issue. Great work and returned the car detailed. I have put 5,000 miles on her since my last service from LGCR and all is good.

This place is awesome! I’ve been taking my Lexus GS here for years and they are always able to do service at a FRACTION of what they would charge you for at the dealership.
The techs here are very knowledgable on all foreign and domestic cars (also brought in my wife’s Mercedes for a ‘Service B’) and do the exact same caliber work (if not better) than dealer work.
The only downside can be a busy parking lot (with Big-​O in the same lot) but most times you can still find a spot to park.
I have and will continue to refer people to the experts at this shop!

I went to Lafayette German Car Repair to have them inspect a used CLK 430 that I was intending to purchase. Price was $ 150.00. I got zero in terms of «hard» information on the car such as brake pad thickness, computer read outs, a checklist confirming various systems (lights, horn, other) were checked. All I got was Juan giving me a few subjective comments then trying to sell me a major service for $ 1,000. They reported the convertible roof did not work prooperly and needed a master controller for nearly $ 2,000. Turns out they were flat wrong — the roof works fine if you follow the sequence in the Mercedes owners manual — and this from a supposed «expert».
A total waste of time, wrong information, and a sales pitch for $ 3,000 worth of repairs. In a way, I’m glad I took it there as I will never go back now that I own the car.

What outstanding service and attention to detail! ! I recently had my 1999 Volvo V70 engine replaced as the old one had 200,000+ miles and had lost the 3 cylinder, etc. They watched out for the customer in cost by coming in on budget, in quality by returning the first used engine sent to them as not good enough, and by alerting us to the Turbo charger needing replacement adding a MINIMAL amount to the estimate.
The car runs beautifully and quietly with the same power it had when new!
The people are most professional, helpful and honest. They even called to see whether the back door light had been on when we brought the car in — and it had!
Again, I highly recommend this shop to anyone wanting honest, quality and timely service.

I have had my car repaired here for the past 14 years, and have had very good service. The service is excellent and prompt. I would recommend LGCR to any one

we finally found someone to help us with our 79 V W Bug. they do great work and are reasonably priced.
thank you

Although the staff is nice, I had two negative experiences. Upon picking up one of our cars after servicing there, the air conditioning didn’t work. We had to pay to get it fixed because there wasn’t «proof» they touched it, even though they did a ton of work under the hood. We took a different car there and when we went to pick it up we waited in the office for ¹⁵⁄₂₀ mins without any help. Then, the radio and interior controls didn’t work. They are lacking in quality control. It’s not likely I’ll go back a third time.

I’m very pleased with both the service and expertise of this repair facility. I’ve been bringing my BMWs, and American cars, as well, to them and I have always been treated to a fair price and and expertly repaired vehicle.
They have always told me what I really need to do, and if budget is tight, they will tell me the minimum I need to do to get back on the road.
Excellent company and personnel.