What about reputable Madison shops? I've been getting a lot of emails asking for a BMW CCA recommended Madison shop. As far as I know we don't have one. Who the best Euro-Independent in the Madison area?
I've heard good things about Kelly Moss (expensive) and Phoenix. Who else?
Earlier in the thread, Slowman posted Foreign Car Specialist:
Beatniks recommended (well mentioned) Kelly Moss, which you referenced and Mike Polley, who is indeed a member here. IDK his Screen Name but his brother (I think) Chuck - his SN is OBD1 2.8L
Also, I cannot speak to Slowman's comment regarding Zimbrick, however I di work @ their Acura store in Brookfield and they are extremely professional. FWIW, Josh (NewmanJ) works at Zimbrick Benz as a tech.
I don't know about Milwaukee, much less Madison. I guess that comes from having a car that doesn't need repairs.
I usually meet up w/ the President of Badger Bimmers weekly - Anyway she was saying that the owner of O' Riely (sp) has never had a working car after a DE. Apparently his engines have gone out during the session.
Take it FWIW - I am not commenting on his service or work.
I recently referred a CCA member to Foreign Car Specialists in Madison and he let me know that the shop is now closed. So that leaves Kelly Moss and the Zimbrick dealerships. I was hoping someone had at least one other independent to add to the list. I don't mind recommending the dealer, but they can be expensive.
I think Mike is working at a dealership outside of Chicago now and Chuck is working at Middleton Ford. They are great resources but aren't exactly a "shop" that I would want to refer a stranger to.
After going through some more threads I found Chuck made this post:
And this:
Last edited by dustent; 01-04-2008 at 02:18 PM.
I'm a little farther north up in Sheboygan county, but there's Meyer Imports in Sheboygan Falls. Has done the AC work and a clutch on my 328is. He's not real fast (it's a two man shop) and not overly pricey. The clutch, with a Sachs oem and shifter bushings was a week and $920. For me it's just handy, I can drop off the car and walk to work. Other people I've talked to say he'll find the best price on parts. I don't think he stocks a lot of parts because he deals with so many brands of cars. He is Bosch certified.
where to take my BMW for service in St.Paul minneapolis area?
Zinovi Motor Cars best body shop in the world. www.zinovimotorcars.com
Emotion based ignorance.
just read this thread for the first time and I'd like to add that Riverside Auto on the east side of Milwaukee is a hidden gem. I do most of my own work but I take my cars to them for alignments. My e30 has one adjustment for an alignment and they know it, they charged me $59+tax to align the car and adjust my camber plates to my requested setting. They are top notch, honest, and totally straightforward.
I'm in the process of doing a fully adjustable rear suspension and new front camber plates in my e30 track car, they will get it for an alignment in the spring, I wouldn't take it anywhere else ever. O'Reilly's quoted me $250 for the same alignment and wouldn't budge on the price despite my assurance that it was only a two wheel front alignment I was after.
I hate Little Car Shop...they have turned into hacks. Alpine Imports and European Autohouse I've had good experiences with, but I do most of my own work, I usually take it to Alpine for convenience when I'm lazy.
Had an appointment this week at Alpine and was called and told they will be shutting their doors. Sounds like the owner has a severe health problem and is in a hospice. Sorry to hear....
We got a shop down on the east side of milwaukee, but im in madison very often... could even stop out by some guys if you need work done to quick throw an estimate out there. Were pretty packed for work but always can make room for more! We do custom fabrication as well which is a good chunk of the work we do. I gotta finish getting our site up so you can see the kinda work we do!
There are still talks about people buying the shop. Its at such a low price for everything the shop has that people have been calling about it a lot lately. Hopefully someone buys it up and it can keep its doors open! They are still doing lots of work actually, and some of you could get an appointment if you call them when they aren't super busy. Just a heads up!
If you don't mind the Spanish ghetto, Velasquez and Sons Mufflers for Less does quality cheap work. They're near 16th (Caesar Chavez) and National.
Took my car here for an oil change and inspection after buying it. They did a good job. I have never tested there knowledge though. Maybe I should with a nagging issues I am having.
Never take your car to Motor Technology in Racine. Had them mount tires for $30 for the front and $40 for the rear and they handed me a bill for $209 for this price I would expect quality. Well the quality of work I got was duck tape weights and a brand new set of scratched rims.
Just to throw in my two cents' worth: Alpine's always been a good experience for me. They know their stuff, they're honest, they don't mind if you supply your own parts, and their pricing is very reasonable. They even did the custom welding needed to accommodate my new cats.
Most importantly, they understand my overprotectiveness and maintain a consistent level of service regardless.
Just browsing the forums and found this one pretty interesting. I thought I'd throw my opinion out there too. I've been going to the little car shop for quite a while now and as of late have been very disappointed with their work. I just had the radiator replaced and they did the work for me. Recently my dad took my little brother to the car control clinic at Wisconsin state fair parking lot and what do you you know, the car starts smoking and overheating. They apparently do not know how to clamp on radiator tubing so ended up having to go and buy more radiator fluid. Also on the drive home the front right corner falls out on the freeway. I checked it out and the bracket was all busted up, and I had just installed them before the radiator was fixed and the brackets were fine (this part is just speculation, but I'm thinking they knocked it somehow and cracked it). Really their work has gone downhill and charging more. Would recommend avoiding this shop.
Dan
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