Performance Motors

I have used PM for nearly a decade for a variety of care including Audis and Volvos. Their expertise is always well executed and they stand by their work and parts warranties. I have taken vehicles back when new parts fail (yes that happens) and they re-​repair without a blink. Labor costs are competitive and are typically well within expected completion times. Very competent and comprehensive service for European vehicles.

Every experience I have with Mike and performance motors is a positive one, they are experts and know the industry and vehicles so well. I would recommend them to anyone looking for honest, straight up work. They get you your car back as soon as possible and at your lowest cost. I take my a4 there every single time and plan to continue to.

This shop is worth your business. I’ve been here twice and was dealt with honestly and fairly both times. The amount and level of communication was very good. The first time in was for an AC service and the price was reasonable – much less than the dealer quoted me. The second was to have them check several noises that had recently popped up. I was convinced those sounds meant several problems and was dreading a quote of thousands of dollars to repair. Instead, they said they didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. I was very embarrassed about it but, at the same time, extremely relieved and left better educated for it. They demonstrated great familiarity with my car (Mini Cooper) and advised me of some vehicle-​specific issues that would most likey come up in the future. Performance Motors is highly recommended.

I was very nervous about finding a good service provider for my Bimmer. Finding honest, competent and quality work for a German car has been a challenge.
So far, just an oil change on my ’04 330 CiC and I must say these guys did a great job. Fair pricing, pleasant staff and good service in a timely fashion. What’s not to like? We’ll see where it goes from here, but I am a happy camper at this point!

These guys are top notch. I called two shops in the Lynnwood area for a starter replacement after having a bad experience with the BMW dealership in Bellevue on my recent water pump replacement. I’m generally an impatient person so I don’t like to wait around for things. I called Northwest German Car Repair first up on 99 and waited about an hour, then called Performance. Performance got back to me in about an hour with a quote — whereas NWGCR took about 6 hours to get me a quote, so Performance had my business.
Communication was excellent, prices were awesome and their work was superb. After being robbed by the dealership I will be going back here for all of my repair needs as finding an honest, no bullshit shop isn’t an easy task these days.
Thanks Performance Motors!

So this is how a great review goes so bad. When first working with these guys everything was great. Service, honesty and pricing! But since my first review last year in May they have fallen off completely. It first started when about 8 months ago I went in to performance motors with a trunk issue. My trunk was not opening properly and seemed like gas shocks or something was going out. I went in, told them of the problem and left my car. When returning to pick up my vehicle they told me they fixed part of the problem but did not fix the entire issue as it would be very expensive. So your telling me you don’t call or notify me of the issue at hand, rather assume I want you to half ass it and fix part of the issue then charge me but the trunk still doesn’t work completely. LOL! Ok, i let this one go thinking that these guys had my best intension at hand (not wanting to spend a ton of money) but now looking back at it I believe it was a strategic play on there part. Let me explain. My car is 2001 model and them thinking this guy probably won’t drop $ 1000 to fix the trunk, lets fix part of the problem for $ 300 or $ 400 w/​out asking. Yeah, that happened.
Now lets talk about the next visit. I went in this past summer to fix my sunroof as I was having troubles with it, they were able to «fix» the problem apparently. Well it lasted about 6 months and I started hearing a loud clanking sound when it opened and closed. Thinking that this would be under guarantee cause it hasn’t even been 7 months since it was fixed I took it in. Dropped it off and got a call back from Mike the glorified secretary telling me that a part had broken that they didn’t touch when fixing my sunroof when they did. Not going to lie I was pretty frustrated and felt like they were just nickel and dime’n me. I couldn’t quite grasp why this piece wasn’t replaced when I had gone in the first time, but I guess they didn’t do a thorough check and fixed something else. Fine.
This is going to be a 2 part review since I’m limited on characters. Please see previous review for the grand finale of this review.

Brought my 2005 325ci BMW in here after a dealership suggested this place. I called the dealership ahead of time and it was my understanding that Performance was willing to see me. A mechanic came out, turned the light off of my «service engine soon» sign, and said there’s probably air in my gas. Then repeated himself verbatim, with no further explanation. I said thank you and that I will make an appointment if the light turns back on. He didn’t give a rip, and walked away. The light turned back on the same day, but I wasn’t about to try to come back here.

I don’t recommend this place. It seems like they have enough business so they don’t look into car problems carefully. I took my car to get a new brake and told them my car started jerking sometimes and also it has some acceleration problem. They said they will look in to that. When I picked up my car Mike told me they drove it and they didn’t experience what I was telling them. I said sometimes, not always. When I asked him, do you have to experience it to fix it? Then Mike told me the engine light is not on and we can’t tell what is wrong with your car, bring it when the engine light turns on. After about a week the engine light turned on and I took my car to this place again. They scanned it and came up with a few problems. The older guy who was there said we reset the engine light and told me to come back when the light comes on again. I have tried to ask him why did he reset the engine light instead of fixing the problem? He gave me some confusing explanation. Nothing he said made sense and I said thanks and left.
Today in the middle of the free way my car went from 65mph to 40mph. I was so lucky there was no car behind me. What a danger with sudden reduction of speed with no brake light. I have called and talk to Mike again. He said the last time you brought your car the engine light was not on. I kept telling him I came back again and he was not listening. What a customer service! Listen to your customers before talking over them. Finally, after so many times repeating myself, he asked me to tell him what was the list of the problem when they scanned it? I wish I memorized all the list of the problems. I am not a mechanic. I told him I don’t have the paper with me, he said you can maybe bring the paper so I can look at it. They should have done that in the beginning. He also said I might need to take it to the dealer. Really? I am so disappointed with this place. I don’t mind paying the dealer.

Take your car to this place and ditch your dealership!
They are always honest, fast, and most importantly demonstrates a genuine desire to take care of you and your car. This past visit required my car to be towed to their shop. My car had completely died and a jump start didn’t do the trick. I was prepared for the worst. Was it the starter? Was it the alternator? Was it an electrical problem that was going to cost me a mortgage payment? Nope. Mike called me up and told me that they ran my car through a number of tests and test drove it several times and that there was nothing wrong that they could find. I didn’t believe it but more importantly I wasn’t «sold» to do anything else on my car. I will faithfully take my car to Performance Motors again and trust my car and my money to the good people here. Thank you!

Had a great experience at this place. The staff, especially Mike was courteous, helpful and knowledgeable. Ill be going back there again if I need to.

Mixed:
Ive had good service BELOW $ 1,000.00 and have had marginal service –very recently, above $ 1,000.00
My biggest complaint is the marginal customer service. Its spotty, and inconsistent.
words of advice:
1.) Dont frighten your clients into expensive repairs if you dont HAVE to.
2.) Always handle your customers with the utmost care and concern.
3.) Never assume that your clients arent always shopping for bargains. If you slap them with a huge profit margin on parts, they will go elsewhere.
For the record: owning a higher-​end luxury vehicle comes at a cost, intrinsic to the purchase itself. I am learning this the Hard way.
Once the warranty is gone, it all goes to crap on greased rails.
PM covered me when my Idler Cam follower failed. Great work!
to show my appreciation: I didnt practice good vehicle husbandry, as a result caused some engine damage which was a stressful situation.
I do a LOT of research in my line of work, including construction budgets /​estimating. I know the process and I know who to call when i need stuff.
The service pricing is on-​par with similar shops.
Beware of the cost you pay for parts. That applies to EVERYTHING, not just automotive repairs

This is my go to car repair! I love these guys. They actually know me by voice now when I call them.
Their oil change prices for full synthetic are very reasonable compared to what other places charge, their repair costs are also fair and they’re always honest with me. They get the job done fast and they’re all pretty nice, except for when they make fun of me for not getting repairs done in a timely fashion ;).
My family has been taking their cars here for years, and I will never go to another place again.

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!!!
I was very happy to find this cool independent garage, where the staff is really good at what they do. I can’t take my Land Rover just anywhere for repairs. But they have qualified, experienced people and their fees are very reasonable. Plus, they have a lot of knowledge about my particular model of Land Rover, so they know what to expect. Having this garage available gives me a great feeling of reassurance.

I’ve been very happy with this place.
I have performed all my maintenance and other stuff. Good service good prices.

When my Toyota T-​100 failed the DMV emission test, I researched repair stations on the list DMV provided… and cross-​checked their list against Unilocal reviews. Performance Motors jumped to the top of my short list… and I was not disappointed. Pete quickly researched the emission codes over the phone and scheduled an appointment. Within a hour or two after delivering my T-​100 to Pete, it was ready to be picked up. Cost was less than I anticipated. Performance Motors gets my vote.

I’m a fan!
I have always taken my 08 Land Rover to the dealer for service but decided to try Performance Motors recently when I got a dashboard warning that something was wrong with my vehicle accompanied by rough idling and a strong gasoline smell. I spoke to Pete initially and had my car towed-​in per his recommendation. Then I dealt with Mike/​Michael (I hope I have the name right) via telephone as he attempted to find out what was wrong with my car. I was nervous about taking my car to a shop I wasn’t familiar with but I was very impressed with both the customer service and the price. I KNOW that I would have spent ‘at least’ 4-​times as much if I had gone to the dealer. …but…the money savings would be a non-​issue if my car wasn’t properly taken care of. Lucky for me I got excellent customer service, excellent repair service AND a reasonable final bill. Thanks guys! I will definitely be coming back in the future.

In my opinion, there are a few things for which there is no substitute… one of them is an honest mechanic. I HIGHLY trust these guys. The person I work with most often, is Mike… he never forgets anything, and always offers good information and advice. I can’t think of trusting my car to anyone else. They’ve taken care of my BMW, and now my Audi is in their hands, as well. Wouldn’t even consider another place.

Pete has been my mechanic since 2002 and he’s worked on BMW and Volvo. If you want an honest mechanic, he and his team are the best. I always feel confident I’m not getting overcharged and/​or misdiagnosed.

I brought my ML500 to performance motors and got a mobile 1 oil change and tire rotation instead of going to the dealership. PM did a great job and was roughly half the price as the dealer, plus the staff and owner are quite helpful and knowledgeable. Highly recommended!

I was in the market for a BMW 325i for my girlfriend. When we found a good deal on one from a private seller, I needed a knowledgeable mechanic to perform the buyer’s inspection on short notice. A car forum I frequent referred me to this place and I have been going back for all my BMW maintenance needs ever since.
Pete Sowl is the owner of the shop and he’s always honest and straight to the point. Their buyer’s inspection found some issues that the seller didn’t disclose/​know about and helped me avoid $ 1500 in repairs. They can usually fit you in for an appointment with 2 days notice, sometimes sooner if it’s just an oil change.
His labor rates are inline with the average hourly rate in Washington State and he doesn’t overcharge on parts. I’ve called around to some other reputable indie BMW shops in Western Washington and his quotes are always the most reasonable one. In fact, if you’d prefer to save some money and purchase your own parts online and bring them to his shop he’ll just charge the labor portion and happily install them for you.
Overall, I highly recommend these guys for your car needs. At the very least, give them a call for a quote when you need some car work done.