GI Motorsports LA

These people get a negative 5 star rating from me.
Incredibly long story short: back in 2009 I owned a VW Passat and was in a pretty major car accident. I looked around for the «best» German body shops in LA and came across this awful place. Upon my first visit everyone seemed nice, knowledgeable and attentive. What came next were the most stressful 2 – 3 months ever.
I left my car with them for some major body/​engine work bc my whole front end was smashed in. They were supposed to work with my insurance to fix the car and I was supposed to have my car back asap. After a few days of dropping my car off with them, I started getting calls from my insurance company saying that the people at the shop weren’t returning any of their calls. When I called the shop, they said that every time they tried to call my insurance, they couldn’t reach them. Mind you, every single time I called the insurance company I was able to get someone on the line immediately. This went on for a week or so. Then finally I got a call from the shop stating that they had started to work on my vehicle so I figured they had figured everything out with my insurance company. WRONG. They started work on my vehicle and threw away the old parts BEFORE the insurance adjuster had ever even seen the car. So, obviously, my insurance refused to pay for the work because they never even got to see the car in its original state before the repairs started. They had no way of knowing whether the work GI was doing was legitimately required or as a result of the accident I was in. They ended up keeping my car hostage for 2 months and were trying to stick me with the $ 15,000 bill even though it was THEIR fault that my insurance company was now refusing to pay for the work. Not to mention that I NEVER signed any paperwork allowing them to break down my vehicle. I had to get lawyers involved as well as the local Better Business Bureau automotive branch and they finally forced the owner (Amber) to give me back my car — without paying a dime. She tried to get me to sign some paperwork signing away my rights but my lawyer told me that not only was I not required to sign it, they needed to give me my car in perfect working condition and would be held responsible if it wasn’t. Thank God I didn’t sign that because the saga didn’t end there. As I was driving my car home and exited the freeway, all of a sudden my car started smoking and just stopped. I called AAA and it turned out that they had fucked something up with the hoses and my car had overheated. So, I had to get it towed back to them and they fixed that final piece. Even after all of this, Amber tried to guilt me into «at least paying for the parts». Um, no. Why don’t you learn to run a business better and follow the rules that are set in place. The worst experience ever having to deal with any business in my entire life.

Thanks again Amber and crew”!! Wow, im never left wondering why the universe led me down an empty path filled with loss, regret, failure and pain. To my surprise there was tickle or even a silent moment of satisfaction after my transaction with this shop. Huge floor plan fyi and rare Brooklyn brick interior walls which have become a favorite back drop for many high roller car collectors and enthusiasts. The managment and staff have rotated over the years and the crew currently on the floor is better than ever. Ive brought them everything from a classic s500 to modern Bentley GT. Most recently brought in my DeTomaso Pantera GT3. Amber is hot yeS, theres no shortage on sexy appeal there. A real gem only to be dedcribed as GORGEOUS.
5*

These guys rock! GI has always provided great service to me, and i’m that guy no one likes to deal with. Im picky, impatient, and point out flaws in anything. they do great body work, there service is awesome, and i recently had them tune my car, and some other upgrades, and Its night and day!!! they do it all, no need to go anywhere else for anything!!! I could not have found a better spot. TALK TO AMBER. she is the best.

Call Helen Keller, I found me a miracle worker. Brought in my 996 and they were able to locate hard to find parts, fabricate and fix my damaged Targa roof. I can’t begin to praise them enough for the great prices and professionalism

When I first dropped my car off, Rene was amazing an friendly. He made me want to recommend this place to everyone. Price was fair and work was completed quickly.
When I picked up the car was when the problems started.
I received a call from Amber telling me she would be at the shop between 1:30 an 3:30 for me to pick up my car. Rene had also texted me asking when I would pick it up. I responded that I would be there «around 2».
I arrived at 1:35 since Amber had said she would be there at 1:30. No one was there. I waited outside till 1:52 and then called her. She said she was running late and would be there in fifteen minutes. She arrived at 2:15.
I brushed it off, paid the $ 4500 for the work, and went to leave. As I was leaving, Amber told me they do details too, and suggested I get one soon.
That surprised me. This was the first mechanic I’ve ever been too where I’ve spent over $ 500 and they haven’t washed the car. Whatever though.
I get in the car to drive away and see that the display computer is not functioning. I ask her about it and she says it is a «mechanical fact that nothing her crew has done could have caused it.» She also says she doesn’t have the computer available to fix it till Monday. When I say it wasn’t like this before I came in, she says she can’t clarify that cause she didn’t see it.
My car was not finished when they said it was. I do not have the time to come back on Monday to «see» what the issue is. I will find time for them to fix this small issue, then take my business elsewhere. Too bad too cause when I met Rene, I thought I was going to be a customer for life.

This place is a pure scam. They tried to charge me $ 1200 for what the dealer would have done for free. They of course knew that those items were recall items covered by the dealer but they tried to cover it up and cheat me. Watch out for that girl Amber. She doesn’t know jack about Audis.

Mismanaged the insurance paperwork and screwed us out of $ 1000 or more dollars. Amber (the owner/​manager) seems helpful when she’s trying to get your business and then feigns incompetence — she has never once returned the messages I have left trying to get 1 form for insurance reimbursement. Didn’t work with our insurance company when they sent out the estimator (who had to be sent out twice). Not worth spending your money here.

Brought my BMW for prepurchase inspection here before I bought it. Spent $ 150. They were too lazy to give a written report of the status of the car. They did not tell me that the convertible top was an after market replacement, not BMW original and not correctly done. (I would not have bought the car.) A year later I have problems with it and anyone who looks at the top says it is obviously an aftermarket replacement. I paid them handsomely to inspect the car — they should have warned me about a simple and obvious thing like the Convertible top. Also a written inspection report would have been useful.
They did notice an issue with the frame of the car that was subsequently fixed.

Stay away from this place. It was recommended to me by a friend who used to take his car here when Rene ran the place. Well I guess Rene is gone and this place went down the tubes. They replaced my timing belt, but didn’t set the timing properly after installing the new belt. So my car left worse than when I brought it in. Unfortunately I didn’t find this out until months later. The last time I went in I was met by a new manager who gave off a distinctly douche baggy vibe. He started talking me up prepping me for a massive repair bill before they’d even looked under the hood. I got the hell out of there and haven’t been back.

Worst customer service experience ever. Back in 2008 I took my car here after an accident. A day or two before Christmas Eve, they said it was ready. I picked it up during my lunch break and all looked fine. I drove it back to work, then when I went to drive home well after the sun had set I learned my lights weren’t working. When I finally got home-​driving slowly and very nervously down the brightest streets I could find-​I asked a neighbor of mine who was a mechanic to let me know what was up with my car. We popped the hood and he said, «there’s your problem. You don’t have lights.»
When I returned to the shop the next day the owner, Rene, I believe was his name, was amazingly rude to me. No apologies for inconveniencing me-​I was supposed to drive to Sonoma on Christmas Eve for Christmas-​no concern at all about getting the work done in a timely fashion. Instead he looked at me like I was the one swindling him. When I returned to check on my car one of his head mechanics complained that he and his team wanted to get home to their families because it was the holiday season. This felt really good, seeing as how I had a full work day and now I couldn’t drive north to spend the holidays with my family. Needless to say, I didn’t make it north until well after Christmas, because of their sterling service and attention to detail.
As damage control the wife of the owner called me. She didn’t ask at all about how GI had inconvenienced me. All she talked about was her problems and about having to deal with customers who were trying to take advantage of them (which I’m sure is true, but is asking for a car to be returned with its light’s installed, an unreasonable expectation?) She offered to pay for a rent-​a-​car so that I could go north. Mind you, this would have been a very generous offer had it come on Christmas Eve or Christmas, but it was several days after the fact. I told her, no, all I wanted was my car back, with lights, and soon. The whole conversation was super frustrating because she wasn’t even pretending to care about anything but a negative review on Unilocal.No concern for the customer. Zero.
ugh… I can’t stand writing reviews like this. long story short, these people have no sense of how to run a business. There are beter mechanics. If you live on the East side, check out C and C collision.

This place is simply awesome. I made no appointment. Walked in and in mere hours… they were done.
Great prices. Great people. Clean shop. What more can you ask for. Seriously, this place is great! I highly recommend them if you love your ride as much as I do. In fact, I’m going back this week to let them fix everything else they can find wrong with the car!

I was referred to these guys for service on my BMW. I was reluctant to go given the history of the previous management. I’m glad I went because Trevor and Amber could not have been nicer. I am EXTREMELY dependent on my 95 318 and can not justify buying a new car right now so price is a huge issue. Not only did they quicky diagnose the problem, they were very reasonable with the price AND threw in a complimentary oil change. My car is running great and would highly recommend them to everyone.

These guys are serious about cars… i read a few complaints here but most seem about communication i.e. customer service, but sometimes people go in and want to tell the chef how to cook, then get upset if they don’t make it their way.
Also, with cars, sometimes it’s like weather, and you need a good weatherman, but he/​she doesn’t MAKE the weather, they just help you roll with it.
Anyway, my experience was just fine here, and I recommend ‘em!

Beware. If you love rude customer service and overpaying then by all means take your car here.
I took my Audi A4 to German Independent to look at a problem. When I got an estimate (which was nearly double what another shop wanted), I decided to get the repair done elsewhere. I was forced to pay $ 150 as inspection fee to get possession of my car. I was not informed in advance nor did I ever consent to this fee. If I had been informed in advance, I would have gone elsewhere.
I don’t know what people here think, but I think it is sneaky to charge a fee without clearly informing a customer about it in advance, and then refusing to give possession of the vehicle crosses all limits of decency. Renee was all sugar and honey when I dropped off the car, but his demeanor changed dramatically when I asked him for a refund of the inspection fee, and he just cut the phone.
And all this after I have spent more than 3 grand getting work at this place over the last 4 years. If this is how Renee treats existing customers, draw your own conclusions. There are cheaper places all over town. You just have to shop around. Take my advice and spare yourself some frustration and hard earned dollars by taking your business elsewhere.

I hate my car. No it is not the way it looks, or the way it drives, it is not the way I feel in it or the way it sounds. I hate it’s sad and pathetic car immune system. Not that there is really such a thing, but seriously if my car was a person, it would have a dangerously low white blood cell count. It seems to get sick all the damn time, I want to put it in a plastic bubble and not let it interact with other cars on the road. When I take it to a parking lot, I see all the other cars there, lined up, just waiting to give my car something that will cost me wads of cash.
Most recently it was a thermostat, and temperature sensor switch thingamajig, and some hoses. So it had a fever, or well I don’t know if it had a fever because it stopped telling me if it had a fever, and it was having trouble with it’s circulation… Hmmmm sick again. Last time it was ill, I took it to the dealership because it had been sick for a while, and I needed a 4^th opinion because opinions 1 – 3 didn’t work out. In fact, my car just got sicker and sicker. So I went to a specialist. They fixed the main problem to the tune of «OMG how the hell am I going to pay rent now?». It was taken of life support, allowed to go home, but with a few warnings… the thermostat was broken and the temperature sensor switch needed to be replaced. It is not critical now, but needs to be fixed in the future. The costs for both, «Much more than I have to spend right now».
So, flash forward to last week when my car check engine light comes on, and the temperature light starts flashing red. Great… now I gotta get it fixed, it has to go to the emergency room. I already know I cannot afford the specialist, so I am going elsewhere. Unilocal steered me in the direction of a guy named Fred at German Independent Automotive. He too was a specialist, but his hospital wasn’t as fancy. Nice, but not as fancy. That of course meant, my bill would not be so «fancy». Since I knew what the problem was I asked «How much would it be to fix this? He said, «$ 200 less than more than I have to spend right now». Awesome. I will be right there.
I drove to see Fred, my car holding on tight as we tried to get there. We pulled up and noticed, this place is nice. Not too fancy, but hey it’s pretty nice. Fred was great. Helpful. Great bedside manner. He said don’t worry, we will give you a call and let you know what is going on. When he called with a patient update, it was exactly what I thought it would be, but also, there was a hose problem. Fred said the work could be done for «A really fair amount that in the end was several hundred dollars less than what the other specialist wanted to charge me». I said go ahead.
Later that day, he gave me a call to say they were staying late, but not to fear, they would finish the exam and treatments by the end of the day. That I would not have to take the bus to work tomorrow. I came and picked it up, and my car has been healthy ever since. Thanks Fred, I will be back to see you next time my car is feeling a bit under the weather.

While in LA this month, I turned to Unilocal for advice and thought I’d found this great place to go near where I was staying for a very specific issue. How wrong I was. While all the details are too long for this review and specific to my 2003 325i, here’s what was really insulting to me: the service person implied that I wasn’t taking care of the vehicle and then recommended about $ 1,500 worth of service that not only wasn’t necessary based on the service history but also based on VERY CLEAR printed instructions from BMW. When I advised him of the facts, he became defensive and made a sarcastic remark about not being a mechanic. I suggest going elsewhere.

I was excited about going to German Independent since it is convenient location for me and Unilocal had great reviews.
Well, I decided to write my review to hopefully save someone else some time. I am not sure who is writing those reviews but I am guessing they did not have the service person I had.
I had a less-​than-​positive experience and feel that the person I dealt with was shady too. I am not sure if I am supposed to list his name so I won’t.
I wanted to find a shop to care for my auto for the next few years and so I stopped by after calling the day before and asking if I could buy new windshield wiper blades. They told me 21 $ each and come in next day. The Porsche dealer quoted me 52 $ and they’d snap them in.
I come in. The guy snaps them in in about 2 minutes. We then walk to my bill. 73 $.
Yes, 73 $. I reminded him he told me it was 21/​wiper blade. He said yes but disposal charge (for old ones) which I could have easily done 8 $. Labor…29 $. Seriously people. I could have snapped those on. I told him this and he said well, I’ll tell you next time. I wanted to tell him to keep his new wipers and give me mine back. That was ridiculous! But, I decided to pay, leave and just Unilocal them and let it go. Hopefully they won’t get business because of their shady tactics.
Was this because I am a woman?
Whatever. Today I needed something minor and went across the street to Porsche. They took good care of me and I didn’t feel taken advantage of.

You can’t get better service than this. I brought in my Mercedes to have some body work done and a little over a week later it came back pristine and like new!
The service was friendly all around, Rene was great! He even waved my oil change to compensate for a small hiccup that occurred.
110% satisfied!

Lets keep it simple folks. German Independent. If your car is German, they will be pleased to see you. Rene is great. He’s the owner and a really nice guy. He has helped me out a bunch of times for next to nothing on small things.
The fact of the matter is all these guys are pretty much straight forward. They will tell you what is wrong and give you a fair price. When I first got to LA I’d take my car to Santa Monica volkswagen. They overcharge the crap outta me and are then relentless is sending you emails and letters telling you to come back. for a company that makes, repairs and sells VW, they have consistently mess up my car or forgot to put certain things back. After three months I found german Independent and that is where I take my VW now. there work is consistent and the price is fair.
If you want to keep your GERMAN car in good running health take it here. If you would like to have your car messed with by VW of santa monica take it there. They will screw it up enough that you will have to buy another car in a few years.

These guys are the shit. Plain and simple. It’s as if the BMW Gods sent an angel (Rene, the Owner) down from heaven on a holy mechanic mission. It is for this reason that they were given the CitySearch 2006 Award for Best Mechanic.
I have been going to these guys for almost 2 years now to have my 98′ BMW 740IL serviced and have never been disappointed. I have had quotes from the dealerships that were more than twice what they asked. They even changed my oil for free once! They always show you the parts they replaced and on occasion don’t charge for all the small parts or services. They didn’t charge me for a new fan belt to replace the cracked one I had been putting off repairing for too long. I hadn’t even asked them to repair it, they just did it because it needed to be done. Granted, they know me well and I have brought them a few new clients but still… mechanics are supposed to be evil.
My Dad brings his 2006 Mercedes E350 for non-​warranty service and his girlfriend now brings her 97 BMW 325i for her service too.
They have only kept my car overnight one time and that was because I brought it at the end of the day. If you bring your car in before noon they are usually able to have it back by 6 pm or 7 pm the same day. They really only work on German cars but I have noticed them working on a few domestic classics.