Bavarian Workshop

If you’re a cheap bastard, then kick rocks. They dont need you. They are way too busy already with repeat business, like mine. If, however, you want the best BMW service in the LA area, Bavarian Workshop is the place. The same dude has been running the place since 1978. They are Far more knowledgable than any other beemer guys with whom I have worked. Experts on M cars. An order of magnitude cheaper than BMW dealer service. And they actually know what they are talking about unlike the 24 year old kid at the dealership. I love german cars. Especially my E46 M3. And I wont let anyone else work on it. Just look at their customers’ cars. Its a parade of automotive masterpieces in that lot. It’s M heaven on earth. I grew up in Santa monica and have been driving used European cars for 20 years. These are the best mechanics I am aware of. Five stars.

AWESOME! It was my first visit to install the roof rack on my 2012 Black Mini. I purchased the rack through Mini/​BMW uninstalled and thought I could have done it myself. Well, I kinda freaked out and was scared to do it «wrong». So I called looking around for pricing. The owner, a very nice man told me to just come in that day, in the afternoon and he would take a look. I got there and he helped me install it (he did most of the work) and DIDN’T charge me.(mind it that BMW charges over $ 200) It was such a kind and warm gesture! I will definitely return to this place, for any of my Mini needs!!!

I own a 335i 2008 but I have around 90k on it now everything is beautiful no problems what so ever. Most bmw forums talk about cleaning the valves with the walnut she’ll machine. So I drove from el-​sequndo to west hills to get my valves cleans and just maintain the car I also requested a differential oil change. I dropped it at Friday picked it up on Monday. Bill was 839 $ on my way I called Marc the owner who is in charge of few kids graduating from school. I told him there is something wrong about the car his reply was maybe the fuel pump drive it till we get the engine service light on. Which I did for a week the light used to on but after restarting it will disappear. Any I took off one day during the week
and went to him. After 2 hours or so he says we are getting codes never seen before, he got me a rental from enterprise the second day he calls me saying my car is ready and getting washed. I asked him if he tested the car his reply was several time. They change a spark plug and a coil even though I only had 8k on the spark plugs and I have a receipt. Anyway after an argument with Marc about charging me 316 and he has a business to run plus rent to pay he lowered the price to 264 any I drove the car back before reaching my place at el– sequndo the light came on and car was shivering like hell. I called him he said he needs to read the codes. My advise to u guys who think about Bavarian workshop in west hills u r wasting time and money. The dealer is better for u will not save anything plus u have young kids just graduated from tech school working on your car. If I took my car to the dealer they will stand behind their mistake and give me excuses about rent etc… I give him one star cause he is a good talker, he will eat ur brain and u would thing ur car will be fixed.

We own several BMWs & On Track Racing llc so we very much realize that we literally put our safety in the hands of our trusted mechanics ONLY @ Bavarian Workshop. We appreciate their thorough service and are glad to have been doing business with them for years… even if they are Kings fans… GO Sharks!

I’ve been a very satisfied customer until recently. I was recently given a quote to install a license plate bracket of $ 40. After the install, I was told that it would really cost close to $ 200. I was able to settle for less, but left with the distinct impression that I had been cheated.

By far and away the best service experience I have ever had! From the ease of scheduling an appointment online to the integrity of the staff to the quality of the service, Bavarian Workshop is the finest BMW service business around. The facilities are clean, contemporary, and feel like an actual BMW dealership but the staff is kind and honest. They made me aware of things that would need service soon but did not try to sell me on servicing them too soon and the final charges were actually less than initially quoted. And to top it off… they provided free car service to and from my home and free wash and detail of my car. Simply amazing!

I took my 525i there for repair. Mark and his associate were friendly and appeared to be very knowledgeable with BMW’s in general. They were able to diagnose my cars issues and come up with a fix. The only issue I have is their pricing. I was there for approximately 70 minutes and was charged $ 195 in labor charges. I asked how much they charged for labor per hour and was told that it varied. I didn’t understand this because I assume all shops have standard labor hourly rates. Telling me that their rates vary made me suspicious that I was over charged! I don’t believe they would sell you services you don’t need, yet in still, not sure they are the right place if cost is an issue when you need mechanical services.

Overpriced doesn’t describe my experience with this business. I brought my 2006 325i here for a few service visits, and the last time I took it there I was told I needed a $ 4000 engine repair (and that didn’t include the battery, brakes, sparkplug changes). Considering the car isn’t worth more than $ 8000, I hesitated, and this caused the guy helping me to immediately change his quote from $ 4000 to $ 2500. His $ 1500 price drop made me a bit suspicious, so I went to another BMW mechanic on a friend’s recommendation. They fixed every problem for $ 1300 and not a cent more. Simply put, you’re better off somewhere you can trust.

If you’re looking for a cheap independent BMW shop, this is not the place for you. These guys are BMW pros; know the cars inside out; and charge accordingly. Think of it as dealer prices with personalized service and top grade mechanics. I like the work but it’s hard to swallow the cost. Been there once. Would definitely go there again for major problems since I trust them. For routine stuff though, I’ll probably look for a cheaper alternative.

Overpriced not going to lie… But the owner is friendly. Never got work done, so only commenting on the customer service (4 stars), prices (1 star), and convenient valley location (4 stars). Also, i find it crazy how they wanted to charge 7 hours for a spring install when the dealer only wanted 5, and other Indy shops want 3. Price wise… they wanted to charge me $ 700!!! for a spring install… where other reputable, race-​bred shops with certified BMW Techs only wanted to charge $ 150 – 200 or so (EAS and PF to name 2).

Took a used BMW there for a mechanical checkup over before purchase.
Staff was friendly and professional. Allowed me to observe and explained the process. They found a number of issues, explained them to me and provided context for why they happened, whether it was expected or unexpected for a car of this age and milage, and let me know the consequences of fixing or not fixing the issue, and when it needed to be fixed by.
I ended up deciding to buy the car and used this information to negotiate a small discount on the car.
I will revise this review in the future if I encounter any major issues they missed, if I haven’t you can assume they caught everything. Review is being written July 2011 so I should have a good idea by October 2011 of anything they missed.

I met Mark when he moved his shop a new blocks from my house. I have found him to be a honorable man and a pleasure to do business with. He has always been fair and given me good advice. When I sold my E46 M3 he talked me out of an E39 M5 and into a 540i 6sp. because as he said «Everything will cost you double» The fact that he would suggest a car that would make him less money is admirable. Mark is not cheap but still significantly less expensive than the BMW dealer plus infinitely more friendly and knowledgeable. I have been using him for over two years and if a project is too big for me to do I take it to Mark!

I’ve taken my car to Marc for multiple issues, he always seems to have the right solution for the problem, it helps that he has the same model car as me. Great team of mechanics and very close to my house. the only problem I have is the pricing, seems like for major jobs the labor is $ 200 more than other places. with that said BMW’s are very sensitive cars and need someone who knows what they are doing and at Bavarian they know what they are doing.

I don’t quite know the circumstances for the negative experiences of others… and it also seems to be a while…
I had a great experience with Skip, Marc and Dave. They were all very friendly, knowledgeable and responsive.
This is on a SMG clutch issue on a 06 M5. BMW is vague on the diagnostic codes and it could be the clutch and more expensive other things. But as Marc, said, his gut feel was its the clutch and it was.
I highly recommend the guys at Bavarian. They run a clean and professional shop with the BMW expertise.
Read the reviews but go by and talk to them then make ur decision.
Cheers!
AJ

I’m really shocked to read these reviews. In reference to «Chad C’s» review, I know Betty and the gang at 7’s only very well, and I also know Bavarian Workshop. I own a business in motorsports and deal with many shops across the country, including BMW shops. In my mind, Bavarian Workshop is a first-​class shop. I’m curious how much effort any of the people here made to let Marc and the gang resolve these issues. I own a business where we’ve had many customers work with Bavarian, and I’ve spent a lot of time there. They bend over backwards to make sure everyone leaves there satisfied and they do great work.
If anyone has doubts, I advise you stop by there. Their shop is spotless. They are always very busy but everything is orderly. They have a very loyal customer base and do very high end work. I am disappointed to read these reviews and all I can say is before you rule these guys out, please just call, go over there and access the situation yourselves. Ask for Mark and bring these reviews up directly, see what he has to say.
In full disclosure, I own a business that does work with Bavarian Workshop. Marc doesn’t know I’ve posted this and my only motivation here is to help a good guy who does good work.
Unilocal originally deleted my review because they said it «lacks a substantive first-​hand experience. When reviewing, please describe your actual experience with a business.»
So here you go:
When I first met Marc, I asked if he could work on my personal 1999 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro. Despite the fact they are a BMW, not Audi shop and I barely knew him, he said it was no problem and asked me to bring it in.
At the time, my Audi had 171,000 miles and had a lot of small problems. It was well past due its timing-​belt replacement service interval and just looked and drove like a worn out car. Marc sat me down and discussed what we wanted to do with the car and what the budget was. I told him that I wanted it to last 200,000 miles and be nearly perfect. He followed up via email and phone calls, and the next week he arranged for us to have a rental car as a loaner while they jumped headfirst into it. Marc and his crew found a bunch of small problems including an oil leak, a coolant leak, and a leaky steering rack. They took me out to the shop and showed me in detail what was wrong, and explained what it would take to fix it. They found brake caliper sliders were incorrectly installed by another shop — I just thought I had noisy brake pads. This was causing very uneven pad wear and poor performance. In addition to what they found, they also replaced bodyside moulding and a broken taillight. The detailed the car and had an upholsterer fix a tear in the front seat. They replaced the hood struts that weren’t staying up. They replaced CV boots. They went through and made sure everything was tight and secure.
Now you might thing this is very expensive — but Marc recognized the fact that we were long-​term customers and colleagues and gave us an incredible discount. I spend 8 years as a professional mechanic, so he gave me full access to his techs and the shop to ensure that none of the repairs were unnecessary or expensive. The entire crew their spent countless hours on the phone with me and my wife to ensure that this old Audi would be transformed into a like-​new car. When they delivered the car, they had it completely detailed.
The significant part of this story is the attention to detail they put into the job. When I picked up the car, I noticed they had lubricated EVERYTHING. The door hinges and hood release mechanism had a coating of fresh grease. They had gone through the trouble of fixing a sagging bumper cover with broken mounts — and this was no where on the invoice. They didn’t charge a penny for detailing my car, even though their guy went as far to clean the sides of the seats, the truck area and all the A/​C vents. The more I looked, the more I saw little details that they had tended to that were not on the invoice; the kinds of things most people only do to their own cars.
On year and 15,000 miles later the work he did is flawless. They have now worked on a number of our customers cars and the feedback has been impressive.
Seriously, this shop has a cult of believers in the work they do. If you doubt this, go to any of the BMW Web forums and search for them. Among the car enthusiast community, you won’t find a single detractor.
–Neel

I have to be honest when I say this is the worst service I have ever experienced, and I would give them no stars if I could so the one is a gift.
My girlfriend brought her 330ci in for a tech inspection prior to a Button Willow track day with the BMW Club. The owner Marc Norris told her that there is an oil leak from the dip stick and the o-​ring needed to be replaced. He also told her that oil had dripped on to the control arm bushing causing them to need to be replaced. Marc advised that these items need to be resolved before he’ll sign off on the tech form. It was Thursday and the track day was Friday. He provided her with an estimate around $ 500 or so.
She called the local BMW and found out that she can get the parts for $ 100 she went back to Marc with information and he told that he’ll do it for a little over $ 150. She agreed. Later she discovered that he meant $ 150 just for the bushings not for everything as she previously understood. After some back and forth activity they settled on a price around $ 350.
Around 2 o’clock or so, he discovered a crack in the windshield. The crack was about 2″ long and was located on the passenger side upper corner of the glass. He said that would need to be repaired in addition before the tech form can be completed. Fortunately he knew a place that could replace for the window for around $ 280. Left with no other option she reluctantly agreed. The window company showed up at like four a clock and broke the new window performing the installation. Now there is not a 2″ crack on the passenger side corner, but a giant star crack in the center of the passenger side of the window. Not only that, but the glass company broke the old window taking it out so there was no going back. So we now found ourselves out $ 500 with a car that appeared visually to be worse off than when we started. The time was now 5 o’clock or so and the glass company is unable to get a replacement from window until 8 AM the next morning. With us leaving for Button Willow at 6 AM that wouldn’t work out. I do have to credit Marc as doing what he could as he did call the chief instructor of the driving school and explained the situation which got us approval to run the car damaged as is. While not the best solution we really had no opinion and were grateful for what he did.
The next morning on our way to the track you could hear the crack in the window shifting, to the point that it was scary to keep driving the car. We exited the 5 Fwy around McBean Pkwy to perform some adhoc fixes on the window. Using gray duct tape and blue painters tape I secured the window the best I could and believe it or not it was a 200% improvement.
Later that day at the track we were black flagged our first session out due to a large blue\black cloud of smoke billowing from underneath the chassis of the car. I found a shop at the track «7s Only» that was more than willing to help. The lifted the car and there was oil all over the underside of the car (So much for fixing that oil leak, thanks Marc). After 1 ½ hours of trouble shooting the guys at «7s Only» were able to stop the leak and get us back out on the track. Amazing guys that have never seen under the hood of a BMW in their life and primarily work on Mazda RX-​7s could fix an oil leak and the Bavarian Workshop with all their years of experience could not. My girlfriend and I each missed one of our 30 minute track sessions that we paid over $ 100 for that day and had one of the most tiring and horrible track experiences ever.
In the end the oil leak ended up being a bent dipstick tube and not the dipstick tube o-​ring that was replaced by the Bavarian Workshop. The window was so horrible that we had it replaced by Safelite at the track shortly after the event for half the cost and they came to us. Due to the issues encountered Marc installed the new dipstick tube we purchased from the dealer at no charge. Apparently, he has this issue about people watch him and his employees work. He told my girlfriend that the reason they broke the window is because we were watching them and it made them nervous. I have been working on my own BMWs for 9 years now and have had audiences between 0 and 10 people at any given time watching me work. If this is an issue with him or his employees, it something they need to get over, or find some other line of work
As a BMW enthusiast, I am probably a mechanics worst nightmare when it comes to fixing my car as I do 98% of my own maintenance and repairs. So I would say that I do have high expectations if I take my car to a shop. But, am I asking too much to not have them break my window or to fix an oil leak that I paid to have fixed?
Neither of us will ever be going back here again…