German Auto Sport — Local services in Berkeley

IF I COULD GIVE THIS PLACE ZERO STARS I WOULD. BMW 335i 2015.

I had two repairs done here in December 2024 and January 2025. I was in communication by phone and text messages with Kevin Azmoudeh (service manager). I went into the shop on Tuesday, 1/21 to speak with Kevin regarding the miscommunication on his end and where the ball dropped on the services on my car or the lack of explanations. I spent over $5,000 in the last two months and for some reason they decided not to tell me that the entire work they did on my engine ($3400+) did not include adding engine oil when there was a oil leak, and the entire work on my front brakes did not include brake fluid ($1700+) - so they left the light on and didn't even tell me that either. He replied with every question I had with " I don't know, I don't know" "I don't know I'm just the service manager, I don't know". I requested to speak to the owner (Chris), he said he was on vacation. I requested to speak with a technician and he said NO. I continued to ask why he (Kevin) is being so rude, im just trying to figure out what's wrong with my car. Kevin told me that "it's not a big deal GET OVER IT, your car needs service big deal." I let him know i was going to contact my bank regarding this mess and how rude he was - and I left. He followed me outside yelling at me saying " if you think you're going to reverse the charges good luck". I told him i never said that. He continued to yell at me through the business gate, I told him to stop talking to me and to leave me alone as I was calling for help because he wouldn't stop yelling at me. He continued to yell at me, harass, and taunt me through the gate wailing his arms and hands in the air screaming at me saying "what are you gonna do, what are you gonna do?!? ohhh I'm scared of you what are you going to do?!" I said leave me alone!! and got in my car to drive away. I was completely shaken up and could not understand how a "Service Manager" could treat a customer like this as I left in tears. I was told I would get a call from the owner and still have not received a call in the last week.

Replying to your response below, Chris.

Your a liar.

I NEVER called your shop saying I would sue you, ever.

Secondly, I was never hostile with Kevin Azmodeh your service manager, and if I was? Which I wasn’t, He did in fact engage because he followed me, and screamed at me, and was taunted me harassing me through the gate.

Everything could’ve been resolved. If you would’ve given me a phone call to further explain his behavior and how we could go about fixing this. You are completely disregarding everything I said before the brake service.

Your response is totally and completely unprofessional. Look at how you respond to every Customer That gives you a bad review. I am glad I saw how terrible and unprofessional you and Kevin are so I wouldn’t bring my car back again. I got plenty of work done here and this is the first and last time I will ever get treated and disrespected by you or...

This is a classic nice guy vibe kinda place that has no problem charging you $1000 dollars more than any other shop. The quoted me on two different repairs that were $1000 cheaper at three different reputable places in the area. When I questioned them, they admitted they overcharged me $1000 but would only give me $500 back if I take down my bad review. If you have a plethora of money and don’t mind spending about an extra 1k for repairs this is a great convenient place to go. I am a nurse with integrity, something they are lacking. So here is my mediocre review. Accountability is important. Regarding your incredibly rude review Mr. German Auto owner, obviously your information is secondhand as you were “on vacation” for the whole encounter. My car which you never saw because according to your manager, you were always on vacation, met every single maintenance and oil change. I have the records to prove it. When your manager called me and told me it was going to be $2600 for an alternator I asked if that’s the going rate, he said it was and promised me that my car would last at least another year or longer if I make this repair. When I took the car home, it started smelling funny, me being a nurse and not a mechanic thought that maybe that’s the new alternator. I ride my bike to work so I didn’t drive it for a couple of days, then on a Sunday driving, it realized it was smoking and that is when I called your place the following morning. My car did not have this issue ever before and then suddenly had it right after I brought it to your place. Your manager admitted to me multiple times over the phone and apologized that I was overcharged at least $1000 but you only wanted to pay me back $500 for taking down the bad review. This is taking advantage of honest, hard-working people who trust and are reliant on car experts. It’s called taking advantage of vulnerable people. You charge practically what it would cost at a dealership. Shame on you, you, even overcharging the hours and cost per hour of what the standard rate and time is. You then charge me an extra hundred dollars to diagnose the new issue that suspiciously showed up right after I picked up my car. Then you wanted to charge me two grand to fix the new problem when the three other places I called would do it for 1k. What goes around comes around and taking advantage of vulnerable people who trust your company will come back to you. This is not how you treat your neighbors. Remember, I am a nurse with integrity, would’ve been nice if you...

I am wholly unimpressed with German Auto Sport. I took my car there when my Mini was leaking coolant on the garage floor. I couldn't go to my regular mechanic because they had closed down during Covid. I called and made an appointment at GAS and took my car in a few days later. I dropped my car off at 8:00am. By 4:00pm, I had not heard anything from them. When I called, they told me they had not even looked at my car yet, but that I was "next in line". I didn't hear from them again that day. The next day, I still had not heard from them so I called then around 9:30a.m. I was put on hold, and then told that I would get a call back in 10 minutes. After 30 minutes had passed, I called again. While I was on the phone with them, I received the inspection report and the estimate via email. I asked GAS if they could do the work that day, since they had already had my car for a full day, and it was a Friday. I was told that they couldn't guarantee that they could get to my car that day, and I might have to leave it over the weekend. I was also told that the repair cost would be a minimum of $1404 (plus the $195 diagnostic fee). At that point I was frustrated that it seemed like I had to keep pushing the job forward, and that I would likely have to leave my car there over the weekend. I was told that the slow service was caused by "supply chain issues" and other customers ahead of me. However, if I had known that my car wouldn't be looked at for a whole day, I would have asked for an appointment on a day when they had time to see me. I decided to go pick up my car and just pay the $195 diagnostic fee. I took my car to another reputable garage in Berkeley the following week and had the job done. My total for the same work there: $863.71. And they gave me a complimentary loaner rental while they were working on my car. I compared the estimate from GAS and the garage where I ultimately had the repair. GAS had a 50% markup on labor costs, and parts costs that ranged from 30% to 400% markup. They even proposed to charge me $89 for a part that the other garage didn't even use. The whole experience just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. The repair was a simple one, that even I, a person with little car engine knowledge, could understand. Why did GAS want to charge me $106 for coolant and the other garage charged me $27? It just reinforces the stereotype that car repair garages play on customer ignorance to rip them off. Really disappointing. Definitely would not recommend GAS...