[tennis_pr0]

I have a friend who owns a sunoco gas station and it also has a garage attached to it. I asked him if he can work on BMW's and he said yes and that he has all the modern scanners and technology and what not.

I want to have my coolant and brake fluid flushed, and I am going to probably need new brakes soon as well. I started a thread like this a few weeks ago but it wasn't very specific and I didn't get many replies, so my question is can a regular, small garage handle most of the mechanical upkeep on our cars? Having a friend who owns a garage will save me big bucks and it's actually right around the corner form my house. Can I trust just a basic shop like this to do the right work on my car? I know fluid changes and brakes the answer is probably yes because that is very generic and basic stuff, but how about if something else goes wrong in the future, like water pump or injectors, would any shop be able to handle those kind of problems?

If I can trust that my car will be taken care of correctly then I am really lucky. He will only charge my half in labor because he is a friend and like I said it's right around the corner form my house. Any information/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[E93FTW]

If they have the right stuff and know what they are doing.I say Yes for normal maintenance and for more complicated stuff an Indy shop that deals with Bmw's will be better. Am sure you can find some around Philly...

[tennis_pr0]

Yeah I was thinking for normal maintenance I will go to them and for more complicated stuff probably use VAC in philly.

[E93FTW]

Originally Posted by tennis_pr0

Yeah I was thinking for normal maintenance I will go to them and for more complicated stuff probably use VAC in philly.

[Efthreeoh]

My advice and experience is only take your BMW to a shop that has ASE-certified service techs trained in the maintenance and repair of BMWs. Shops not familiar with BMWs can really screw them up.

[tennis_pr0]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

My advice and experience is only take your BMW to a shop that has ASE-certified service techs trained in the maintenance and repair of BMWs. Shops not familiar with BMWs can really screw them up.

Can anyone elaborate on this?

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

My advice and experience is only take your BMW to a shop that has ASE-certified service techs trained in the maintenance and repair of BMWs. Shops not familiar with BMWs can really screw them up.

Originally Posted by tennis_pr0

Can anyone elaborate on this?

My brother recently had to replace the tensioner on his E36. NAPA had 3 or 4 different tensioners listed; only a BMW specialist would be able to figure out the right one (it took two tries and a drive 80 miles to get the right part.)

The fact of the matter is, the engines (and the cars) are quite complicated, with multiple faults giving similar codes, and you simply can't get things right if you don't know the systems. H3ll, BMW dealership techs often can't even get it right.