Sarah D ...Los Angeles, Ca

So I had a smog check done at a BMW place around the corner from my house on Monday...it was the first smog check my car ever needed for registration, so I was not quite sure what the car does after a smog check. It passed w/o any problems. Come Tuesday morning, I pull out of my driveway and my car is now pulling and stalling when I accelerate. This was scary as I know anything on a BMW, or any foreign car, is quite expensive to repair. I thought, maybe it'll stop doing that since it had never happened before. Well, Wednesday, the problem continued and seemed to be getting worse. My car was even trembling when I was at a red light and then the dreaded "Check Engine Soon" light came on. I knew this could mean A LOT of money!!  i don't know much about cars, but I know that anything having to do with the engine is not good. I wasn't sure if it had something to do with the smog check or whether it was just a coincidence. I decided to have it checked out the next morning, but wasn't sure if I should take it to the place I had gotten the smog check done, or somewhere else. Well, I woke up the next morning, Thursday, and checked for a local BMW place. Westwerk Auto came up and because of the few, but great reviews, i decided to call.

Renee answered and like the others, she immediately gives you a good feeling. I explained to her what was going on with my car and as soon as I mentioned the smog check done on Monday, she mentioned that it might have to do with that and that if I took in my car, they would run the test on it for free to see what codes came up. That sounded great to me since I know that can run from $90 to $100. I took it in and as soon as I got there, Renee introduced me to Bill (the owner I believe) and Chris, the mechanic. Chris immediately hooked up my car and got the codes. Bill mentioned that it was most likely a coincidence that the light came on after the smog check. He was right.

It turns out it was an ignition coil that was misfiring and needed to be replaced. They really took the time to explain to me what was going on with my car, enough that I was able to tell someone else about it and even they were impressed with my explanation of what was going on with my car and even he said they must have done a great job at explaining it to me.

They removed the check engine light and told me to drive it that day to make sure that the light would come back on and if I wanted to, I could take it in the next morning, Friday, because it wouldn't be a whole day job anyway. Well, the light came back on, so I was there the very next morning at 8:30 AM. By 12:50 PM, my car was ready for pick up. It just so happened my son was sick, so I couldn't make it by closing time to pick up my car, but Renee was nice enough to go in on Saturday morning (they're closed weekends) so that I would be able to pick up my car because it is my only means of transportation. I was there at 7:30 AM on Saturday and picked up my car and I am extremely happy to say it is running as smooth as before this whole incident.

I am very happy with the service and the charge ($159) that I will definitely be returning there for any future problem I may have. I also asked about oil changes and that service is offered there, too, so I will make that my place of service for as long as I live in L.A.

Overall, Westwerk definitely deserves the 5 star rating for their service and for making sure that they are taking care of the problem and not just charging you for things that aren't the actual problem. Being a female who doesn't know about cars, I probably wouldn't have known what I was being over-charged for, but I am confident that I don't have to worry about that at Westwerk.

Thanks again!!!

 

Honest mechanics

05/18/2008 Posted by asp811

Is an honest mechanic an oxymoron? Maybe in most parts of this town, but at Westwerk they believe in earning an honest buck. I've always had my repairs explained to me, and I never feel like the wool is being pulled over my eyes. I was first introduced to Westwerk because I was working in OC and wanted to find a mechanic close to work, just in case. I took my time and checked out several garages. What struck me different about this shop was that everything was neat and clean. Then I looked around and scoped several classic Porches being worked on. I know the people that own classic Porches are very particular about who works on their vehicles, and with about 4 of them in the shop...well, I felt I had found the right place. I live in the Westside and I have all three of my German vehicles serviced there. They're an hour away from me (one way) but I think its worth it to have peace of mind. Finding a qualified mechanic in this town is tough, finding one that is both skilled and honest is a rare find.

Pros: Peace of mind, good value, friendly staff.

    From Del L. Orange Country, CA

3/26/2009

The CEL, Check Engine Light, presented on the dashboard of my Porsche 996 Carrera about two weeks ago. I don't have to tell you what that feels like, as most of us already know it means $$$ of repair. Nevertheless, I had to start searching for an independent Porsche technician, as from experience,  the dealerships overcharge for mediocre service.

After reading David C.'s glowing review of Westwerk, (below) I decided to give Westwerk a go at it.

From the beginning, my conversations with Renee put me at ease about their service, and instilled confidence with their technicians. She was very courteous and informed on the matter of my 996.

I have a code scanner/reader and had scanned my 996 prior to calling Renee. The code I read was, "P1640, O2S ahead of catalytic converter cyl. 1-3." I requested a quote, from Renee, to replace the one oxygen sensor per my scanner code. Renee quoted approximately $287.00 for the OEM part and labor, which was far less than the Porsche dealership. However, Renee had some reservations about ordering the part for the repair, as she could not find the error code I stated with a matching description of the malfunction. She invited me to bring my 996 into Westwerk to have their technicians give the vehicle a thorough once over. I agreed to drop off my 996 for their inspection.

Upon arriving at Westwerk, I was honestly surprised. I had expected a rather large facility with marble tiles and granite counters. I have no idea why I expected this. Perhaps living in Orange County and watching too much HGTV led me to such expectations.

Westwerk is a Spartan establishment. They really do keep it simple. But looks can be deceiving as their shop had quite a few Porsches; some undergoing repair, and some waiting for service. In my opinion, the true measure of any repair facility is the amount of vehicles present. Each vehicle represents an owner who has the utmost confidence in the facility to repair/maintain their finely engineered machines. I felt no hesitation in leaving my 996 in their capable hands.

Well, fast forward about three days later. Renee called and stated they were unable to find anything related to my CEL incidence. After retaining my vehicle for three days and performing  extensive testing and observations, they did not observe another CEL presenting itself. All four of my O2 sensors were fully functional. There was no need to replace any of them. My Mass Air Flow sensor, MAF, was also tested, and was found to be in excellent working condition. Westwerk technicians concluded it may have been an isolated incidence. The code P1640 I had scanned previously, related to an Engine Control Module, ECM, malfunction. Westwerk could not duplicate the CEL error code and so did not advise changing out the ECM for the time being.

As anyone knows, finding a good service center for your car can be an agonizing experience.  The dealer is sure to price gouge you, and going outside to an independent mechanic is always a risky proposition.  Swindlers lurk out there, and if you're not careful you might drive off with more problems than you walked in with.  

Well Porsche owners (and BMW & Audi owners for that matter) take heart.   I took the leap of faith last week and found a terrific independent service center in Westwerk German Auto.  

In the past few months I noticed that my vehicle had been slow dripping coolant over the left exhaust tip, and with a quick search on the Porsche owner's forum I found out that this was probably a cracked coolant/expansion tank leak that is common for the 996's.   Forum members estimated that the cost to fix this problem would be around $650.  

I searched google for an independent mechanic because because I generally stay away from the dealerships (especially Mckenna - shady stories from insiders who have worked there!).  Several came up including Westwerk, but Westwerk was the only Porsche specialist that had one positive review on Citysearch.   They also had their own website that just gave you a good feeling about the place - I think I was sold on the fact that they have been in the same location for over 26 years.  Not a lot of  independent businesses can boast that type of longevity.


Anyways, I called several places including my former mechanic to compare prices, and Westwerk gave me a quote that was $200 less than the average quote of $800.

But more importantly, the customer service manager Renee (sp?) just sounded like a genuine person who WANTED to help you.  Its true what Malcolm Gladwell argues in his book Blink - in a split second your intuition will tell you all that you need to know about a person.  And after speaking with Renee on the phone and seeing their presence online, I felt very comfortable about bringing my car into Westwerk for the job.

To make a long story short, the job turned out great and came in around $533 with taxes- about $150 less than what other Porsche owners were reporting in the forum.   Renee had also subtracted an hour of labor costs off the original quote because she realized that she had mistakenly quoted me labor for a Turbo model (takes longer to complete).  And in truth I would have never known the difference.  She could have billed me an extra hour and Westwerk could have pocketed an additional $90 without me ever knowing.  To me, that spoke volumes about their character.  

The shop itself is very relaxed and retro.  They were restoring a couple of classic Porsches when I was there, and the place has a mellow family feel to it. I met the mechanic who worked on my car, Chris, and he's a very friendly guy who takes the time to answer your questions.  Great people, great service.  

So in conclusion, I am happy to submit this glowing review for Westwerk German Auto.  They just found a new customer and they deserve all the business that they can get.    

link to the review I saw on CItysearch:

 

Serving  your Porsche/Audi/BMW  and Mercedes repair needs  for over 30 years in the greater Downey area:
Lakewood, Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk, Cerritos, Carson, South Bay,
Paramount and Whittier, Rosemead and Long Beach and Los Angeles