Powerhouse German & European Automotive

My first impression of this shop is that it looked clean and professional compared to some other shops that I’ve been in. One of the best mechanic shops I’ve been in. Very friendly and great service. I’ve always brought my mini cooper here because I trust this place and know that they always do professional job on it. Juan is the man ! He is always doing a great job taking care of it! If you want to get the best service and pricing, then you should give this place a try. You won’t regret it ! –Michael

STOP. Take your car here now for service. Juan is the best. I’ve been searching for a trusted Porsche auto repair shop for years and I believe I found it here. I just picked up my SUV and am very happy with the service and pricing. This is my second unrelated maintenance visit. The shop provides towing and free pick up /​drop off service. It is a relatively small shop but the service and pricing are superb. I can’t imagine taking my SUV anywhere else. Thank you Juan.

I’ve taken my car here twice and the 2^nd time fails terribly. What a waste of the customers time and a lack of communication between the staffs. I brought my car here for a change of air temp sensor. Dropped my car of and the guy said come back in an hour it’ll be done. An hour later I come back and the manager said «Actually the temp sensor parts have not been delivered from SD yet, it will be here noon time and if you can come back». I was so upset. I said «You didn’t tell me that when I dropped of the car and gave you the keys, plus you could’ve called me when you realized that you don’t have the parts. You’ve just waisted an hour of my time and you want me to come back in an hour and you making the business? Uh No!!! Next time anyone who wants to drop off their car here to fix, make sure they have the car parts that you need, otherwise you’re just waisting your time when they don’t know any customer service nor any communication skills with their customers!!!

I first took my car to Powerhouse because the dealership could not figure out the misfire I was having with my 08 GTI. Albert and Juan spent about an 1:30 of there time doing diagnostic test on my until they finally came to a conclusion that it could probably just be the brand of gas I was using and adding techron. Sure enough that’s what it was. They’ll have my business moving forward. Thanks Powerhouse for your honesty!

Okay so I had an ongoing intermittent stalling on my 2008 VW Passat with FSI motor. This problem with my car although serious to me would not trigger the check engine light which makes the car almost impossible to evaluate. After trying the repair at two independent mechanics as well as taking it to the dealership to try to figure out what was wrong with my car I found this shop and read all the good reviews. It was my last ditch effort to get my car running correctly. Don’t want to bore you with the details. Here is what happened… Dropped the car off for an valuation early morning. That afternoon I received a phone call from Juan. He says I’ve seen this before and I believe I know what it is. $ 220 later I pick up the car and after five days of driving the problem is gone. Just a side note, The Volkswagen dealership estimate was $ 4000 to tear into the motor to determine what’s wrong. If you ask me am I going to return to this repair shop if other problems arise my answer is a firm yes! Thanks guys.

This place is GREAT. Juan and his team are very talented, honest and affordable. My Saab was stalling, so I took it to a mechanic in Irvine twice for back to back $ 900 charges, but the Irvine Swedish mechanic did not fix the problem. I then took my car to Powerhouse where they fixed the problem at a fraction of what I was charged by the other place. I am now loyal for life. Plus, powerhouse is open on Saturdays. A huge plus!!!

Great service. Reasonable price.
A few weeks ago, I heard a distinct rattling noise coming from the rear passenger door while driving at slow speed. Since my car was still under warranty, I decided to take it to my local VW dealer. Spent a couple of hours there and the technician came back and said there was nothing wrong. As I drove home, I heard the same noise again. So I took my car to another dealer hoping they could diagnose the problem. Again, I received the same answer. There was nothing wrong.
Frustrated, I decided to look for an independent shop. Stumbled upon this little place in Westminster and saw the positive reviews. I figure I’ll give it a try. The technician was able to find the cause and fix it. He even showed me what was causing the noise. It turned out, a little metal o-​ring had broken off and was hitting against the door. He was able to repair it. He even sat in the car with me as I drove around the street to make sure that the noise is no longer there.
Very happy that they were able to fix the problem. The price was also reasonable. Will take my car here for service in the future. Definitely recommend.

I’m so happy I found this place! I showed up late for my appointment and he was nice enough to still take me in. Then I mentioned an issue I was having with my light and he was able to fix it along with my oil change. So quickly too! He’s really nice and didn’t make me feel unaware or duped. He’s a straight shooter. I will be bringing my Mercedes here from now on.

I’ve gotten multiple oil changes and brakes changed there. They are flexible, knowledgeable, and are reasonable. They definitely do not try to charge an arm and leg especially knowing it’s a German car. I highly recommend them!

I’ve taken my car here in a couple times and so far Juan and Vicky have given me great service with fair prices with my c230.
I just bought a newer Mercedes and would definitely trust them with this car after the service that they have provided me.
I’ve had a lot of other places try to rip me off and they have lost my business, time and time again. Not Powerhouse. They have saved me $$ and I like that. A lot.
Thanks!

This is an overdue review but better late than never. These guys were able to help us with the transmission issue on my 2007 VW Convertible. VW dealership in Puente Hills service department wasn’t able to diagnose a rather obvious gear shifting issue and these guys from Powerhouse found it. They also helped us deal with our warranty company to approve the parts needed to fix the issue. I’m driving the car for almost 1 year now and it’s been good ever since. Thanks Powerhouse!

I highly recommend Powerhouse Automotive because they are honest, professional, and thorough. They don’t try to up-​sell any unnecessary labor, except what he (Juan) portends will need replacement as preventative maintenance dictates. They take care of ur vehicle (s) as if it was their very own and the quality of their work is demonstrated by their clean and organized work space and pay special attention to detail. They do charge $ 100/​hr on labor, however, it’s the very same dealership quality u’d expect elsewhere at a fraction of the dealership price — all while supporting a local mom/​pop shop. Juan and his lovely wife run the shop with a couple other employees. There’s free wifi with a comfortable waiting room and tv +netflix. They even offer pick up/​drop off to ur work/​home if necessary. This is the only shop I trust to lay hands on my Mercedes.

Once again a great experience. They listen to concerns and do a thorough job of diagnosing them. They do not try to force you into anything.

The first time i came my car was fixed, went again leak fixed, third time brought my bros e46 that we had just bought found some mickey mouse work done previously by other guys and they fixed it the RIGHT WAY!. . not tape :) just this saturday took my car and once again fixed it i can’t believe it all times i would have given POWERHOUSE 5 stars i will keep coming back and i will recommend these guys to everyone i know because i know they will be more then satisfied with the work done to their cars and i recommend these guys to anyone reading this you won’t be disappointed thanks POWERHOUSE! Will be shooting a video next time if allowed :)

I took my 2010 BMW 328i here a couple of weeks ago b/​c my car was misfiring and running lean codes, the dreaded P0015 & P0012 codes, and Vanos (2a82 & 2a87) codes.
After a few hours of my car being in the shop, I was called and quoted over $ 1000 for all new spark plugs, coil packs, and Vanos solenoids. I told them that I just had the solenoids changed (OEM brand new). I left the boxes in the back seat for them to see. He was a bit confused after he saw them, because the codes were clearly leading to the solenoids.
A few problems here :
1. He didn’t look further into the issue of the solenoids after I told him they had already been replaced.
2. You can test coil packs by unplugging one at a time and checking the engine’s response. If a coil pack is good, there will be a dramatic change to the idle when one is unplugged. S/​N: I tested all of the coil packs and all were good.
3. I already changed all 6 spark plugs a few months before taking the car to them.
Needless to say, I knew they were trying to sell me on parts without investigating them. I didn’t complain or argue, I just kindly opted out of having the parts replaced.
Yesterday, I took my car to Bullet Performance in Costa Mesa. They quickly identified the problem — the wires to the Vanos solenoids were connected backwards. No cost, no parts replaced. SES light gone. No more error codes.
Why couldn’t Powerhouse diagnose such a simple fix? Why would they tell me to replace parts without even investigating the parts themselves? Luckily I had enough knowledge of my car to know better than what they were trying to sell me on.
If I didn’t know any better & took their expert advice on replacing all of the parts, it would have fixed my problem (bc they would have wired the Vanos solenoids correctly after replacing them). And I may have been a happy customer, bc my car would have been fixed. But I would have unknowingly spent $ 1000 replacing a ton of parts that essentially didn’t need to be replaced in the first place.
I wonder how many of their 5 star customers happily paid for work that could have been avoided by a much more simple solution.

There is a reason these guys are so highly reviewed.
To give some background, i was sold a dud from a dealer in Chicago and unfortunately they decided to be complete scumbags and didn’t help. So i was stuck with the car after the parts completely crapped out on me on the freeway. There were some major problems, the cooling system, the fuel system, on top of that, the car needed a new motor, the last one had literally destroyed itself.
Albert offered me two different motors, I opted to go with the one he suggested. About a week later I get a call and he tells me things he shouldn’t be telling me. Things that he could have actually just charged me for instead of telling me there were certain issues. What the? A mechanic actually trying to save me money? No… no this some kind of trick. Right? Has to be. So I’m a little frustrated at first because of the set back, but opt to go with the other engine. He has it to the shop in no time.
He gave me a certain number for all the fixes. So the fix begins. over the course of the next few weeks other things start being found in the engine, other things that need replacing. Now you’re thinking, «exactly, thats what mechanics do» right? Exactly, so was I. Till I was told there would be no charge and they would just fix those issues. WHAT??? these issues that came up that a dealer would charge me thousands for, you’re just gonna fix it just like that? HOW. It doesn’t stop there either, Jaguar required me to buy a new computer part and have them install it and reprogram it. These guys get the computer part, find a way to do it themselves and completely fix the computer issue. AT NO ADDITIONAL charge. that alone saved me 2500 dollars. I could go on and on and on about the issues that came up that these guys went completely out of their way to fix.
At the end of this journey to have my car fixed, without exaggerating, I’d put the amount they saved me in the realm of about 10 thousand dollars.
I have never in my entire life been treated with such care and respect as these guys. They have completely sold me and no matter what, for the rest of my life, they will be the auto shop I take any car I ever have to. And so should you.

Be careful when driving on Socal’s finest freeways, a few months ago, I was driving back home on the 101, a nice round debris decides to make love to my left headlight of my 2015 Audi Q7, the headlight cover cracked and like any one night stand, the debris was long gone and left a hole in the headlight. I called Audi and got a quote to get it fixed, you can’t get it fixed, you have to buy the whole headlight housing which cost $ 1,300. Will I spend $ 1,300 on a headlight? No, off to ebay I go and buy a really nice used headlight.
I called a few shops for quotes. The one in La Habra near my place did not answer. The 2^nd shop I called said they have to reset the electrical codes which didn’t make any sense, and finally, I called powerhouse. Asked for a quote yesterday, got my number to call me back which they did in less than 15 minutes. The quote to replace the headlight was $ 100 for the labor which sounds good. I set up my appointment between 3−4pm today as I have finals. I get to finish class early by 11am and called them if I can move my appointment time to 11:30 — 11:45 am instead of 3−4pm, the guy on the phone checked with his mechanic and got me in at 11:45 am. Work was completed in less than an hour and instead of the $ 100 quote, I was only charged $ 60.
Wonderful experience and thank you again for accommodating my request.

I live in West Hollywood… But came to orange county for some family business… take mom to airport, babysit my niece and nephew…
Friday night I get to my moms home and both my stepfather and I realize that my car fan is not turning off… So logically we unhook the battery…
After much research that evening, I figured what my issue was and had a list of mechanics to call… Well I didnt have to go far as Alberto and Jose where able to jump thru hoops to get my car fixed in time for my Babysitting part of the trip.
Want to send a shout out to you boys… thanks for taking care of me… I so much appreciate it. and Thank you for being open on Saturday…
Not to be said, sometimes that convenience comes a little pricey. but when you are in a bind. I can say Powerhouse came thru for me.
GRACIAS AND ARRIBA!

I own a 2009 3 series and one morning my engine started making a rattling sound and instantly thought to myself ‘ah crap — how much is this going to run me?’. This was going to be expensive at the dealership. Normally I wouldn’t have batted an eye and taken it in to the dealership. However, with recently purchasing a home, I was strapped for cash and didn’t want to deal with potentially an expensive repair. I decided to search around, and luckily I found this place.
This was my first venture dealing with mechanics outside the dealership, and I’m glad I did. These guys were super friendly and professional. They were extremely knowledgeable about my car and were able to diagnose and repair the problem. This problem would have been a ‘replace the entire thing and forget it’ at the dealership. They where able to replace/​repair only the items that were required and necessary.
The pricing was extremely fair. I honestly thought I was going to pay double. Typical repairs at the dealership have always hit the wallet, so I thought this was going to be no different. It was not the case with these guys at Powerhouse.
THESE GUYS ARE THE REAL DEAL and will be coming back to them for all my future maintenance needs on my BMW. You guys rock!

Recently I bought my third german car, first BMW and noticed a few noises. Being a novice mechanic there’re a few things that I am willing to do myself, and then those things that are just insane or not fun for me, I’ll leave to guys like… Well…
THESE GUYS!!!
They’ve got their stuff together, knowledgable and the price is right! Really, a great group of nice guys. Can’t recommend enough.