The Foreign Aid

I took my BMW to get a couple things fixed and they did a decent job. But the one major thing that i needed to really get fixed they did not even fix.

My ’09 BMW 535 broke down on me while driving from Phoenix, AZ to Steamboat Springs… in Grand Junction… on a Friday night at 10:00 PM. Fortunately, I was picking up a friend at the airport when it happened and so I was able to grab a rental car just before closing. Still, I needed to get my car repaired ASAP and there didn’t appear to be a lot of European auto mechanic talent in GJ, much less a BMW dealer. The gal at the rental counter suggested The Foreign Aid, but I was naturally concerned about several of the existing Unilocal reviews. On the other hand, it didn’t appear that I had many choices for a place to have the car towed with the hope that the mechanic was 1) very good, 2) reasonably priced and 3) willing to jump right on getting it fixed on Monday morning given that I had to be back on Phoenix on Tuesday night.
I’m happy to report that the service I received and the interaction that I had with Jack, the organizer and scheduler, and Steve, the owner, were entirely positive. Jack contacted me on Monday morning and stayed in communication throughout the process, providing status updates and arranging to prioritize the replacement of my alternator (which had to be delivered overnight from out of state) and battery. Despite some other challenges that Steve was having to deal with which made it difficult to get my car repaired, he took extra measures to make it happen. Moreover, I had a pretty good idea of what the issue was and what it might cost by discussing it with my very trusted mechanic in Phoenix (Ray at Scott’s Motor Werks). Both came to the same conclusion of what was required, and nearly identical in their cost estimation. Ray was especially pleased to hear that The Foreign Aid had all of the expensive and specialized equipment (Autologic, etc.) required to work on BMW’s.
On top of all that, one of the girls in the back office even made a call to her friend, a manager at the hotel I was staying at, to ask that he allow me a late check out while they continued to wrestle with the car. Everyone is apparently customer focused in this business.
If I had another issue with my BMW in Grand Junction, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to The Foreign Aid to get it resolved. Thanks guys for the extra effort to help me get back on the road again!

I got stranded in Moab with my ’10 VW GTI squealing engine and got sent to The Foreign Aid after the Arches Repair Center determined that it was an internal engine issue which they couldn’t fix. To my relief, when we arrived at the lot, the place was filled with VW’s, Saab’s, Benz’s, and a variety of other European cars.
Steve was able to squeeze us in early and within a half hour of looking at the symptoms diagnosed my faulty oil separator valve. They were able to quickly install the new valve and got the car up and running in no time.

It’s been a few years since I had work done on my VW by this place, and the details might not be entirely accurate, but the bad taste in my mouth still lingers and I feel the need to chip in.
My car was struggling to hold on to life for a while so I had it towed to Foreign Aid. I was told I needed a battery, fuel pump and some other miscellaneous things. I can replace the battery myself, so I said to go ahead just with the fuel pump. Took several days to get the pump in, and when it was installed I got a call saying they did the battery and the pump I told them I had asked not to have the battery done, and they insisted that what was done was done and I had to pay for it.
Skip to a week later, and my car died, leaving me stranded yet again. Took it back to Foreign Aid, had some more supposed work done to the car, and after about $ 2000, he says my car should be fine. To this day it still dies whenever I reach a half a tank of gas. I suspect the fuel pump never actually got replaced.
Whenever I mention this ordeal, I am usually met with similar stories of woe and wrongdoing by Foreign Aid.

Please by all means, stay away from this man. He is the lowest form of a human being there is. I dealt with him and ended up taking him to court over it. He drops a lot of names of people he knows at the court house. But he is all talk.
You can’t even call his work shoddy. It is far worse than that.

My 2013 Audi S5 broke down in Montrose, CO in the middle of a cross-​country trip — all of my coolant leaked out of the auxiliary radiator. Pulled into a lube station in Montrose where they told me that there was not a single mechanic in Montrose who was qualified to look at this car. Called Foreign Aid in Junction, talked to Steve, and he hooked me up with a tow driver who towed me to Foreign Aid.
By the time my tow driver and I arrived at Foreign Aid (a mudslide closed the highway), it was after 5 on a Friday and the guys were getting ready for a party. Steve and his mechanic, whose name I didn’t catch, offered to look at my car anyway. They put it up on the lift, took off the covers, and showed me that there was no damage to the covers. They pointed out the auxiliary radiator, which was clearly leaking fluid, and showed me that there was no visible damage to the auxiliary radiator. Because nothing was damaged, Steve told me this was a warranty repair and it should be covered by Audi if performed at an Audi dealer. They were willing and able to do the work, but would have to charge me if they did it, where Audi would do it for free.
So I opted to have it towed to the nearest Audi dealer, Elk Mountain Motors in Glenwood Springs. The service department at the Audi dealer — which will be the subject of its own Unilocal review — called me and claimed that a rock hit my radiator and caused the damage. When I heard that, I called Steve to confirm that neither he nor his mechanic saw any damage to any part of the radiator or car that would be consistent with a «rock hit.» Steve agreed, and he even called the Audi dealer and went to bat for me. The «rock,» according to the Audi dealer, then became a «tiny pebble,» which made a «nearly invisible» mark on the radiator. I am still fighting it out with Audi, but really appreciate Steve’s willingness to examine the car for free and to try to talk Audi straight as they attempt to squirm out of their warranty obligations. I don’t live in the area, but would certainly take a car to Steve again for work.

From Steve Stewart, the owner, who, after charging me $ 3,500 for an absolutely horrible attempt at a repair (I had to tow the car home after over a year of broken promises and very disturbing late night calls demanding cash) lost my dipstick and replaced it with a coat hanger (I’m completely serious), and has ignored repeated requests over the last six months to replace the lost dipstick:
QUOTE:
===================================================
«Kevin, I’ll get you your dipstick!
Please take down your post’s if not I have the best attorney in town (Steve Laiche) which I have spoken with over this matter.
If you don’t I’m prepared to unleash him on you! Remember I have a signed agreement with your signature! and a time dated post from you!
Screw with me? You will see who I am! I’ve been in biz for 22 year’s, I know my biz, I was warned by both Atlas Auto and Superior Auto Body to watch out for you this why I demanded an agreement which stated „time and material“ which you signed and agree’d too, then you bash me on line!»
PS Kevin, If I don’t see your retraction bye 3:00 pm @/27/2013
I will call Steve Laiche and Angela Doehling (DA) and turn your world upside down
I expect a response if NOT I will proceed I’m done with you.
Don’t think I’m kidding All is recorded oh yes the Sherrif and I friend’s keep up your BS
I better see a response by 3:00 ??? you’ll see the inside of the court house
256 review’s on local biz get a life
MR STEVE STEWART
by the way I will get you a dipstck, dipstck
===================================================
End of Quote
Seven months after the owner sent me this disturbing message, I still don’t have my dipstick.
EDIT: Soon after this review was posted, Steve called the police on me, who arrived at my home… with the dipstick! I guess he really is friends with the local sheriff (as he states above) if he can use the police department to deliver parts. Impressive!

Just took my truck in. Steve diagnosed the problem which had confounded the dealer in 5 min. Ordered the part needed immediately. Called when it was in and had it fixed in a couple of hours. Fair price on labor and parts. Truck runs great and a three month headache with other shops is over.

I thought Steve and his crew at The Foreign Aid did a great job on my Audi and the work they did on it has worked fine for me and I’ve had no issues or complaints. It was all periodic maintenance, but very in-​depth because I was at a major service interval.
What The Foreign Aid charged for the work was a fair bit cheaper than it would have cost me to go to an Audi dealer, and I used to live somewhere else so I always had to take it to the dealer there. This shop is a relative bargain, not to mention the nearest Audi dealer is in Glenwood Springs.
Also it so happened that I needed one wiper blade replaced, and I was used to paying at least $ 75 at the dealer for these and he charged me only $ 25 for it yay!

Ouch.
It hurts to say this, but go elsewhere. The guy seems nice and all, but he’s a total rip off. Instead of genuinely inspecting the car, he insists on a $ 7000 repair, which (by the way) is totally not necessary. His quotes for work usually cost double that of a shop with a warranty. Unfortunately, even mentioning this shop while at another shop created a bustle of complaints from other customers in the waiting room who had horror stories all around.
Bottom line: Go somewhere else.