Octane

After months of dreading the need to take my car to the dealer for a 30k service (service A) I decided to try out one of the local independent shops.
I came across Octane and was impressed with their Unilocal rating. Long story short, they took me in the next day, charged me a very reasonable price (I’m sure a lot more affordable than the dealer) and got the job done very professionally. They even washed and vacuumed out my car! Good job Octane, I will definitely be back!

Another repair shop referred me to Octane. I need just a few simple repairs. Sandra ordered the part I needed that day to ensure that I could get my car in and out quickly. They got me in the next morning and finished up in a few hours. They even washed my car!
They were so polite and helpful! I will definitely be going back whenever my car needs repairs!

I had been going to Randy and his team for the five years I lived in SF. Now that I live in Charleston and am looking for another trustworthy mechanic, I realize the true value of Randy and team! The one thing that sticks out besides competitive pricing and an adorable dog in the waiting room is his concern for clients. A metal box hit me on the highway and I drove it straight to Randy — before I even called Insurance. In the middle of that process, I encountered a family emergency so went MIA for a couple of weeks. Randy kept the car in its state until the Inspector came (his idea, not mine), and woudl call and text me to check in and make sure I was okay. Both great at his job with a conscious. I miss you!!!

Awesome shop full of great people. I had been towed to their shop at 2am because my car broke down in San Francisco. I called in the morning to ask if they could feed the meter (because I was coming from San Jose), and Pablo paid for the maximum time. When I arrived there, I decided to have my car towed home because the repair wasn’t in the budget at the moment. And when I offered to pay Pablo back for parking, he refused to take my money! It’s really nice to meet people who still care about others. Thanks again!

Took in my Mercedes Sprinter for a diagnosis on my AC System. Wonderful guys! Took me right in, put it on the machine, isolated the problem, gave me information I didn’t know, and even printed out the service manual pages for replacing the needed AC control module. All this in a couple of hours and great conversation with Randy and his wonderful Swiss mechanic (whose name I forgot 3 steps out the door). Hope I have a reason to go back there (now I’m getting carried away! LOL). But that’s where I’ll go when I need help. Highly recommended!

I’ve been here a few time as of late, I bought a 2006 Mercedes from a dealer and its been a great little car but its had a few minor things that needed some assistance. For example my fan started randomly running intermittently even when the car wasn’t hot. This symptom wouldn’t repeat all the time. The team at Octane looked it over and ran a diagnostic but they couldn’t get the symptom to repeat or find any errors on the diagnostic. Randy asked if could keep my car for a day or two longer just to be through and he paid for me to get a rental car while my car was being reviewed. The next day Randy called me that they found the problem, a small strange code came up in the diagnostic that wasn’t an error but when traced back they found that there was strange message related to my AC. This led them to check out the wiring in my AC and it appears that i was missing a front tire liner which had allowed some wires to get a little shredded from the road causing the car to thing think the AC was over heated when it wasn’t. It ended up being a simple fix but it was really about the effort the team went through to track down the problem and paying for me to have a car while they investigated.
The other things where replacing an old battery, and having a schedule B maintenance done. The team is always super nice, and extra bonus they always wash my car after every job, which I love! I’ll be going back the next time I need something.

1 star… I would consider that overly generous. Word of advice for potential customers, AVOID! I’ve been a customer for a few years and each time left with an uneasy feeling.
The final straw for me was during my last visit. I told Randy I was in between jobs and just needed the essentials done. Knowingly money was a bit tight, Randy still recommended a ton of unnecessary premature repairs, such as a complete brake pad and rotor replacement. When I told I’ll be repairing it on my own, he blatantly laughed in my face. Hey, guess what Randy… I didn’t need to replace the pads and rotors till 2 years (10,000+ miles) later!
We also had a disagreement over the sum of ~$ 50. During the initial invoice I clearly indicated all I wanted was an oil change and not the ‘A service’. It was even typed on the invoice, but when I went to pick up the car it suddenly changed to an ‘A service’. I suppose it was my fault for not remembering to bring the initial invoice in order to prove what was originally agreed upon. Guess a customer’s word isn’t trustworthy enough at Octane. Hope it was worth the extra $ 50.

Randy is the best. I have been going to Randy for the last few years and he is top rate. He considers giving you the biggest bang for your buck and work is always high quality.

Randy and his team took care of my CLK for many years. I found him on Unilocal and he certainly lived up to all the reviews. HONEST and RELIABLE and at reasonable prices. You will not regret coming here. Plus his sense of humor is a delight in the mundane day to day life of having to get your car maintenanced.

Randy continues to provide the highest quality work at a fair price. Octane is my go-​to Mercedes repair shop whether it’s for routine maintenance, performance upgrades, or repair work. My latest trip involved repair work due to an accident. His technicians continue to be the best in the business and never disappoint.

If you own a Mercedes and want someone who works on them and is honest, Randy is your guy.

Brought my car into Octane to fix a rear window on my G-​Class and Randy was Great. He took the time to explain what he needed to do and each time I dropped my car off, he was always very communicative, and fixed the problem fast! He was always upfront about cost and I never felt like he was too busy to explain things to me.
Great service and a great team of mechanics!

If I could give this place –500 stars I would because the work they did on my car put mine and my boyfriend’s safety and life at risk despite having trusted Randy fully.
My parents gave me a 1981 Mercedes Benz Turbo Diesel because I’d been needing a car for awhile. It had been sitting in my uncle’s garage for a few years unused but it was also in perfect condition with only 90k miles on it. We specifically told Randy that we were planning on driving it back from SF to Seattle, and to let us know if that was a realistic goal. He ended up charging me $ 298 for an oil change and trip inspection, and said we were all good to go but also sent me home with a list of things we’d need to work on back in Seattle. Otherwise, the car should be okay to drive up and there wouldn’t be any issues. UTTER AND COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
We left at 4 AM and didn’t get back to Seattle till 230 AM, had our car towed, died twice once in the morning and finally around midnight in the middle of nowhere. Turns out our 3 fuel filters hadn’t been changed and were completely clogged and if it wasn’t for my boyfriends dad being an amazing mechanic and our tow truck driver helping us out by staying around to help us with the minor repairs, we wouldn’t have gotten home. What’s worse was that it wasn’t even included on the list of things we needed to fix later!!! The first fuel filter was completely black and it was an easy fix at least, but all the way to Seattle, our car would go from 60 MPH to 25 MPH to nothing driving up hills. The fuel gage started going berserk from empty to full and the dashboard lights weren’t even working, things you would assume would have been looked at with an expensive tune up.
By the time we got to Tacoma, the car completely stopped and it was just by sheer and utter luck we got home safely. When we had opened up the engine the next day, we found that the 2^nd fuel filter was completely clogged and covered in sludge and grime, which is to be expected from a diesel car but Randy had failed to check that out. Again, despite knowing that the car had been sitting around a garage for years and that we were driving back to Seattle. It seems that instead of pushing fuel through, all the sludge was just letting air into the engine and making things worse.
I left Randy a voicemail on Saturday asking him to call me back about this but still haven’t heard back. I will never go back to Randy and ask that people proceed with caution and restraint when going to his shop especially since safety doesn’t seem to be a big thing they worry about.

I love Octane, I’ve been taking my 2004 Mercedes CLK 320 for two years. Being not so savvy about cars, it is very important for me to find a mechanic I can trust who won’t take advantage of me and can clearly explain problems to me. Randy and his team do a great job of this. Randy even called my dad for me to go over all his suggestions for my car so my dad (who is car savvy) could decide if they were legitimate and well-​priced — all of them were. Randy was also extremely helpful recently referring and advising me on replacing my tires. I would highly recommend his shop.

Randy has taken care of my 2003 C32 for about 6 years now and consistently provides superb service and goes out of his way to communicate what needs to be done in the most cost effective manner possible. I wouldn’t dream of taking my car anywhere else.

JUST got my car back and as usual I’m thrilled with the service! I own a 2007 c230 and I feel like its been falling apart. i took it in to get serviced and asked that they fix the ignition — the place where the key goes was super loose. my passenger handle was coming off. falling apart. Randy and team fixed it ALL. This is the only place that I trust.
Thanks again for awesome work!

When I first bought my used E320 (2000) model about five years ago, I loved the car, but was afraid of the horror stories I had heard when it came to the price of maintenance and repairs. So, the first time I brought it to an official Mercedez repair shop/​dealership, I knew what I was in for. I paid, thinking this would be the price I would have to pay from then on to have a such a nice ride.
Thanks to Unilocal,I found Octane and thought I would give them a try, because I could not afford to pay top dollar anymore. Randy and his team are a true class act. They promise what they deliver and more. Yes, it still costs more than maintenance on my Toyota (my other car), but its significantly lower than what I pay at the dealership. Plus, they are open, honest and get the job done. And if a light bulb goes off or if my oil is a little low, they fix it, free of charge, on the spot. I will never go anywhere else. My 13 year old car is running like new and its all thanks to Randy and his team.
Did I mention they never fail to give it a wash with each service so it drives off like a brand new car? Plus, they are all nice people and not in a smarmy sales person way, but just genuine and down to earth.

While this independent Mercedes Benz shop is cheaper (how can it NOT be) than going to the dealership, my past experience with it when I brought in my SL was also less than luke-​warm, as mentioned by some others here. I also believe that they did not do a good job of diagnosing my car’s needs thoroughly to warrant still fairly high rates on nominal services.
Luckily I found a local indy mechanic who is pretty well versed with Mercedes automobiles. He identified a lot of things that Octane should have and while parts pricing is what it is (he does get a slight discount) his labor charge is definitely less. No more Octane for me!!!

I feel like I was cheated. I went in with a very simple problem. (A squeaky pulley).
The next day they called and said I needed a new supercharger pulley. Thats a $ 1500 part! So I assumed that was where the noise was coming from. A f ew days later, I went to pick up the car. It was still making the exact same noise! They didnt even fix the problem! So, l wondered did they even take it for a test drive? I’m pretty sure they didnt. I know this because I have a dashcam in my car that automatically turns on when the car is started. When I got home, I looked at the video, and there was no evidence of them test driving it. It looked as if they just parked it and replaced the pulley.
My advice to you is to make sure you get in writing exaclty what you want done to the car. and… dont accept delivery of the car until you have verified that the work was done.

Randy you are truly my savior when it comes to my car. I would recommend them to anybody in a heart beat. I knew getting a Mercedes would be costly but honestly had no idea how much it does cost for the upkeep. Im so thankful I found Randy and his great team. They are reasonable with pricing and do a fantastic job plus they give me back my car super clean and shiny :) Thank you thank you thank you!!! My baby will always be in your hands!