When I first bought my '82 Mercedes 300D from a nice older couple up near Monrovia I brought it to Classic German Motors to have them take a look at it.  The guy quoted me a whole list of problems with the car, many of which turned out not to be true.  He estimated it would all cost over $5,000 then in nearly the same breath told me to let him know first if I planned on selling it.  Seriously?  I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, but that seemed pretty conniving to me.  And of course for them to open the hood of my car, pretend to look at it, invent some "problems" for it and try to get me to sell it to them cost me $90.  Love it.  I have yet to find a decent place in the San Gabriel area to take the old Benz and so am unfortunately driving way the heck out to Inglewood to take it to my old mechanic, Solomon.  His shop is called Soza's, it's on Centinela just east of La Cienega.

  I had used this shop for years, until I found out I couldn't rely on them. When I had an accident in '08 they replaced the engine which was close to $10000 job. But a year later "Check Engine light" kept coming on. When I brought the car in they said "If the car runs fine, don't worry" and programmed the light off. But it kept coming back on. Every time I brought my car for oil change, brakes, changing tires, I brought up the "Check Engine light" issue, but they simply turned it off. They told me if I really want to find out what's the problem with the engine, I have to pay for the computer software for them which is several hundred dollars. Being in a budget, I had to trust their words when they said no worries if the car runs fine.

Last year my car couldn't pass the smog test due to that light. The mechanic who did the smog test didn't have a computer software either but diagnosed my car simply by trials and errors taking time. He finally told me the engine needs cylinder head gaskets to be replaced. It's not just to pass the smog test, but I felt sense of betrayal to learn that I had been driving around with a damaged engine for over a year. When I called back to discuss this engine problem with Classic German Motors owner, he simply denied any reponsibility. I was hoping they would fix the problem gracefully and honored the fact that they're ones who replaced the engine. But he blamed me for keep driving the car. They didn't remember that I kept bringing the Check Engine light issue to them many times whenever I brought the car in....

It cost me $1530 to fix the engine which had been replaced NEW two years ago by Classic German Motors.

  I have been coming to this shop for about 5 years. Although it is more expensive than my prior mercedes mechanic in Santa Monica,  I do find I receive prompt and good service and once you continue going for awhile you become part of their repertoire of clients and are well-treated with good service. To date I have not had any problems with any of the services received and the car runs well.  The ride to and from work is also a big help.  Fees for service are much, much less than the dealer.