Teddy’s Foreign Motors

Teddy is a very nice guy and his services are reasonably priced. He knows Mercedes-​Benz vehicles well, but from my experience with my ’82 240D, he lacked the super in-​depth knowledge to address certain problems. If you just need to keep your car running or conduct standard maintenance, then Teddy is great, but if you require fine tuning and aficionado-​level care, then I suggest paying a little extra and visiting The Benz Den.

Teddy’s Foreign Motors is the place to be if you have a Benz. Teddy is very friendly and has a great way of explaining automotive issues.
He is easily my favorite Benz mechanic that I’ve had in the 4 years I’ve owned my E320CDI. I lived in three locations with this car: Wilmington, NC, San Diego and now Boston. I had a good Benz mechanic in Wilmington, an ok one in SD, but now I have a great one in Teddy. His hourly rate is at least $ 50 less than the dealership, and he doesn’t just charge you 4 hours up front for a simple B Service check up, which the dealer does even if there’s no abnormal work required for your car. A B Service (oil, filters, tire rotation and some check ups) should only cost about $ 250 – 300. The dealership charges $ 550 – 600.
I haven’t totally figured out what value the dealership adds and when I should use the dealership over a local Benz expert mechanic, but I know for all service check ups and probably most other major issues. Put frankly, the free water and juice isn’t worth a 60% mark up in labor rate and 25% mark up on parts! If you want a courtesy car, use zipcar or take a taxi all day. It’ll still be cheaper than the dealership!

First trip to a mechanic since moving to Boston from San Francisco, California.
I had my top notch mechanic there and was a little worried I wasn’t going to be able to find the same level of service I’ve grown to expect.
Well I found it and it’s at Teddy’s Foreign Motors. Teddy is a super nice guy and seems to know his Mercedes’. The shop is organized and clean. And I think he’s the only one who works on the cars as well as runs the front office.
This is exactly the type of place to look for when it comes to auto-​repair. Bigger busier shops tend to overlook things or get distracted while they are working on your car.
Not to mention his prices are more than fair. I know where I’ll be going for all of my scheduled and unscheduled maintenance’s from now on.

Let’s say you wanna be a big boy or girl and get yourself a Mercedes. You need a mechanic…
…You need Teddy M. Not even my friend in the luxury car business heard about him. I’ve been to all the Mercedes specialists around, this guy is absolutely the best. He’s serviced 2 of my babies, a 1995 500SL and one of my favorite previous cars, a 1985 380SE. Both are totaled, but whatever.
He is my kind of guy, totally solo operation, word of mouth only, off the grid. You’d never find him if you tried, you simply have to know one of his customers. Lucky you.
Teddy knows absolutely everything about every Benz sub-​assembly and engine ever made. He saved the ’85 W126 from death by warning me about the timing chain design flaw on my 3.8L M116 engine. When he was done, he just laughed, shook his head and said, «Tatsu, you are one f**ing lucky guy. One f**ing lucky guy!» He unfurls his stocky hand and shows me 2 snapped off pieces of the chain guide that were floating around the bottom of my engine. One bad start, and the engine would of smashed some valves.
His rates are, well, cheap. He’s far less than any MB dealer, pretty much in line with your neighborhood mechanic. Except he only works on Mercedes. He just loves Mercedes and wouldn’t work on anything else.
Teddy is a real crack-​up too. He’s got this heavy Greek accent, a ‘stache from the old country, and we always breeze guy time, back-​slapping times together. No worries!