Precision Motors

Took in my somewhat obscure French car on very short notice: diagnosed and fixed the problem quickly. All at a reasonable price with friendly service. What more do you want?

Awesome service. Quick, honest, and affordable. Like the other posters mentioned, Erich checked my car out and prioritized what needed to be fixed to keep the car running. By comparison, the dealer wanted to charge me for all sorts of unnecessary work. Erich broke down their estimate and explained how it was wrong in a very logical and educational manner. I am very happy and highly recommend Precision Motors.

This place is amazing. Hard to find a honest person who repairs cars. Took my car here because Berkeley BMW told me I needed almost $ 6,000 worth of work done on my car due to mileage. Erich looked over my car and test drove it and said I don’t need all the work done that they BMW Told me I needed. I will need to do the front bushings and soon replace front and back brakes. I will need to replace water pump in the future but not now. If you need a honest person for car repairs I highly recommend Erich at precision motors in Oakland.
Erich if you are reading this thanks again for your honesty.
Jeff Oakland

Was looking for a new mechanic for my Mercedes and came across Precision Motors. I needed to have the check engine light cleared for my car to be smog tested. I also had some minor maintenance I knew I needed taken care. Erich was fantastic. He is very upfront and knowledgeable. He inspected my car and gave me a list of what he suggested needed to be immediately fixed (new break pad) and things I didn’t need to but may come up in the future. He is very pragmatic. Erich actually arranged for my car to pass the smog test with a company next door so when I picked up my car that was taken car of as well. Great service. Knows his stuff. Pragmatic. This is what you need in a mechanic for your German car.

Erich isn’t a Californian. His sensibilities are very German. He will tell you when you have made a poor decision, like buying a bad car, driving a car in instead of having it towed, or botching your own maintenance work. It’s not personal, but many of his reviews have taken it that way. Like any good mechanic, Erich will not sugar coat what he tells you. It’s his job to fix your car, not your feelings.
That said, Erich is one of the most fair and reasonable mechanics you’ll ever meet. He won’t waste hours fixing things that are essentially cosmetic, he will inspect your car and let you know if he sees any safety issues, and he will give his honest opinion on what work you need, and an honest price for doing it. This is especially true for older BMWs, which I’ve brought to Erich for basic work on more than one occasion. He also always seems to have a pre-​1980 Benz on a lift somewhere, so I suspect he’s good with those as well.
Finally, for whatever reason he will always set your cars clock to the correct time. Within seconds of perfect. If you set your clock five minutes fast like I do, you may notice this.

I can add to the chorus of praise for Erich. He is honest and direct. It’s clear he approaches his career with the mind of an engineer who appreciates the cars he works on. I’ve had a couple small issues that he could not diagnose. Rather than give me the run around or try to sell me an unneeded repair, he let me know that he couldn’t fix it and gave me a couple alternatives. That shows his high degree of integrity.

Erich has been looking after my cars since he took over Precision Motors. Very knowledgeable on many makes and models, always convincing me *not* to spend money until I absolutely have to. Plus, I call him at a moment’s notice and he ready to inspect and advise. I have expensive cars and the dealer kills me on service costs; Erich laughs and does the work for less than half the cost and zero hassle.
Oh yeah … he’s a cool dude … a total motor head with eclectic taste in vintage autos and motorcycles.

Just moved here from Portland and needed a sharp mechanic to service my M3. After reading the Unilocal reviews I took my car to Precision Motors because I thought the car was running rough. When I arrived I told Erich what I thought the care needed a tune up and he listened momentarily to the engine running and kindly said «I don’t think so». I was immediately sold. Why?
Firstly an M3 is a particular beast and to have a mechanic listen to the engine and tell the customer flight out that it didn’t need a tune up was ballsy and overwhelmingly honest. He could have seized the moment and done a 500 – 600 tune up on the car but he simply suggest a light inspection and an oil change. Done!
When I came back to pick up the car Erich informed me that the car indeed didn’t have any problems and everything checked out fine. I’m super happy to find a trusted and knowledgeable mechanic to take care of my car. If you have a BMW do yourself a favor and skip the dealership.

2 stars because I have also had good experiences here. Last time here however Erich replaced the crankshaft sensor on my 2000 Mercedes and charged $ 372 labor. I had the car towed to his shop and had to rent a car for a day so I could have Erich do this repair, I trusted him that much. I paid the bill, then stopped at a mechanic 2 blocks from where I live in Albany who specialized in Mercedes and BMW, and he correctly diagnosed the problem. told me the part was around $ 130 (Erich charged $ 155 but that would be OK, not enough of a difference to bother me) and the labor including diagnosing would be about an hour. Erich charged me $ 372 for labor, maybe to be in line with the Mercedes dealer prices across the street. I would pay more than a normal labor charge for service I can trust, but this seemed ridiculous. Sorry I cannot trust Erich anymore (he did not return my e-​mail about this issue), at least I have an excuse to take my car to a mechanic I can walk home from.

Really glad to have found this repair shop. Erich is patient, prompt, knowledgeable, and educates you on what he is going to do/​what he would recommend to do. I don’t know a lot about cars, so it’s nice to feel like I’m not being taken advantage of.
Love the fact that I can just drop in and leave my car, and pick it up same-​day, or the following day. Great prices and great attitude.
This is now my go-​to place for my Mercedes wagon. Thanks Erich!

Erich is a good mechanic who is honest. We had a vehicle that was turning into a money pit (Volvo XC90) and he gave us sound advice that actually meant he wasn’t going to charge us a ton of money for a car that was going to have more issues… other repair shops said they would fix it but it will need regular upkeep that they were happy to provide… honest and up front… Maintains the vehicles we have now and does a great job

Erich is a pleasure to work with. He is knowledgeable, and will not do unnecessary work. Unlike the dealer, he does not charge for every little item or to do simple diagnostics. I trust Erich to do what is necessary and no more.

We have known Erich for over 20 years and he takes excellent care of your car and you. He values you as a customer and carefully explains what is important to be done now and what can safely be deferred. You are working directly with the owner of the business who cares about his work and is someone you can trust. We highly recommend him and wouldn’t take our Volvo to anyone else. Joyce and Arnie Brown

We’ve had countless problems with our low-​mileage Mini Cooper. After extreme frustration with the dealer, someone referred us to Erich. He’s a no-​nonsense guy who takes care of the problem and charges a fair price. I also love that I can pick up the phone, Erich typically answers, and his availability and solutions-​approach makes me feel like I’ll get things taken care of it right! I love having a mechanic that I feel like I can trust.

3^rd BMW that Eric and his staff have serviced and I have had NO complaints. In fact, over the years, he has saved me thousands of dollars, from replacing an OEM $ 400 side mirror with an $ 80 side mirror (who needs inside lighting on a side mirror?) to extending my brake rotor life an extra 12,000 miles. I highly recommend! I saw complaints about his service, but all were from people that bought «used» cars elsewhere. Geez, no matter the model, used is used… at least get a CPO!

Erich & PM continue to provide excellent work at a reasonable price-​point. The work I got done would cost more anywhere else. They’re willing to work with you and get done what you want, you can bring in your own parts even and they will install at a reasonable charge. They can be much slower than other shops, but the savings is worth it and they show care in the customer. The job they did was quite difficult. My 540I will continue coming!

Let me start by saying Ive been a BMWCCA Member since 1996 and I have had my share of BMW M cars.
I recently bought an M5 from a gentleman who showed me a recent hefty bill from Precision Motors which made me feel warm and fuzzy that the car has been maintained.
After just driving the car for a few months, the check engine light came on. I had a friend pull the codes and it appeared the Vanos (part that was fixed) still has an issue. Granted, there are 2 sides to the vanos and only 1 was replaced by him but all I wanted to do was get more information on what was actually done. I know he ordered a rebuilt part elsewhere so perhaps we can verify it’s integrity or just talk about is how we can remedy the problem. I could be a potential new client to him.
But for some reason, he got very defensive and just said I bought a bad car and too bad. No help in thinking how we can remedy the issue, perhaps bring it in and do some new tests… but rather, just attitude and disregard. Perhaps it was a bad day… but after awhile I didnt appreciate the tone and it ended up escalating and he actually just hung up on me — very professional.
I generally do not put bad reviews but this is a business owner who is disgruntal. Perhaps some of the decent reviews here are from simple problems that are easy to remedy but it appears that if you have a complicated issue, he’d prefer to just push you away. It also appears he will not stand by his work to confirm it was done right. $ 4500 bill and 3 months later he’ll just hang up on you. Im speechless.
Hopefully I can spread the word to all my BMW friends and forum pals.
Steer clear people. Be warned…

It is a rarity that I take time to write a review, unless I have received exceptional service. I feel it is extremely important to share my experience and I hope my review helps you to choose Precision Motors…
My boyfriend took my 325xi wagon to get smog-​ed at the neighboring check station. The mechanic made mention of Erich at Precision Motors, as being an honest guy who does good work. The time had come for me to take my car in & have a few things checked. I had not met Erich being that my boyfriend took my car in for me, when we finally did meet face to face I immediately felt comfortable. His fee’s are reasonable and he took his time in explaining the importance of prioritizing specific repairs. He even wrote out a diagnostic on the poor & irresponsible work I had received from another auto repair. He encouraged me to get my money back and with his assessment, I did just that. What I valued most was him asking me, «what are your intentions with the car?». This was his way of letting me know I will probably be pouring a lot of extra $ into this all wheel drive wagon… I hope my review helps ease your fear in finding a mechanic you can trust.
Thanks again Erich… Kelly

I was having a bad experience at the dealer in Berkeley since they told me that my brakes had 18,000 miles left on them in January during a $ 500+ regular maintenance service. Then in May — just a few thousand miles later they said «oh you need brakes RIGHT away… the sensor was in the wrong place» Interesting that you do a maintenance service and heaven forbid you actually LOOK at my brake pads. That’s only 1 of 3 things at the dealer — errors and aggravation and general disregard for customer service.
So when I heard my brakes I looked on Unilocal to see where to take my 2008 328xi BMW. This place had great reviews.
The estimated cost was more than I anticipated, but the brakes were further gone than normal due to the misinformation I’d received from the dealer. BUT, the guy here did all he could to save me on labor — the parts are just something you can’t get around.
The fifth star comes from the fact that he replaced a bulb (FOR FREE) when the dealer wanted to charge me $ 70 in the midst of over $ 3,000 in other repairs (thank goodness I bought an extended warranty).
He got my car back to me the same day at the promised time, etc. Overall, I felt like he was honest and understood my dismay at the estimate and did all he could to minimize my expenses. I’ll be back.

Good personable ownership, and realistic with their expectations if you are realistic with them. If you are tired of German Car mechanics that expect you to be a monocled Austrian Baron, with a citadel full of money, but you still want it done right, this is the place for you. I have an early 90’s E30 BMW Cabriolet with some clunking and miss-​firing. They gave me a scaled and prioritized list of stuff I should do, from imperative to «you should get around to this eventually» in such a reasonable way that I thought had become extinct. In two days I was off on my merry way with a happy car. So if you aren’t the cliché bigger-​faster-​more-​expensive perfectionist trophy wife toting yuppy who HAS to have the dealer do it, but rather the type that buys safe made-​to-​last German cars like the majority of sane sub-​millionaires around here, go to Precision and get your steed fixed.