Escondido German Auto — Local services in Escondido

I was referred to German Auto Center by another mechanic, who felt that Dustie and Derek had the specialized knowledge needed to diagnose and repair my VW's issues. I was, and continue to be, very impressed. Derek and Dustie have proven to be professional, knowledgeable and HONEST! The repair was done to perfection. Later, we went on a car trip and returned with a broken part on our gear shift. To make a long story short, I found myself stranded at the gym parking lot, unable to remove my key out of the ignition. I was also unable to shift the gear into drive so that I could get the car to Dustie and Derek! Fortunately for me, the gym is near German Auto Center, so I left the key in the ignition and ran, literally, over to see if Dustie or Derek could help. Dustie and Derek were wonderful. Dustie immediately walked over with me to the gym, and was able to get my car in gear and drive it over to the shop. Dustie then started the very intricate process of taking the console apart so that he could get to the broken part that was preventing me from being able to get the car into gear. Dustie and Derek go above and beyond: On one occasion, they noticed that one of my headlights had burned out and without hesitation, they repaired the headlight! Never experienced that kind of service at the dealership. Another example of German Auto Center's commitment to customer service was when my husband mentioned that the lug nut lock went missing after we had purchased a tire from a tire store in Escondido, that will go unnamed. Derek was able to deal with that other tire store for us, and was able to get our lug nut replaced!!!! Problem solved. Today, I had my 2004 battery replaced on my VW, and I mentioned to Dustie that my driver door squeaked. When I picked up the car today, the squeak is gone. It is attention to what the customer's needs are, and to remember the details like a squeaky door that I appreciate so much. I am so grateful to Derek and Dustie for the outstanding work they have done on my car and for their attention to detail, good work, and thoughtful customer service. Thank you so much...

My stupid, lovably fun car (a BMW 330i that's old enough to buy you a beer) has a Service Engine soon light that's more stubborn than a tree strump and more dogged than... um, a dog chasing after a tennis ball.

I used to think my little indie German auto shop in LA was tops, but they could never figure out what kept the "Service Engine Soon" light from coming on, even after replacing half the drive train (I'm guesstimating, but it's not far off), sensors, cooling system, and a dozen other things over the years.

Nor could BMW of Beverly Hills, nor BMW of Encinitas.

It took Escondido German Auto some time, but their expert on BMWs old enough to be college juniors was do determined, he kept the car for an extra week (which I didn't mind -- the shop has courtesy cars), taking it on multiple test drives to see how the SES light would go away... only to come back on a few days later... and finally determined the car's fuel trim readings would go out of wack after awhile and throw "too lean" faults.

He then fixed it. He bloody FIXED it!

You guys, I have been driving with this forsaken light coming on randomly for years. YEARS. With multiple shops and multiple mechanics who started out eagerly stroking their chins like "oh, this seems like a fun puzzle to solve" only to end up with wan faces and looks of exhausted, utter defeat.

I think my car even broke the soul of a mechanic in LA when he couldn't find the problem. I'd come back 3 days after servicing my car, tell him the SES light was back, and he'd look at me like he was reconsidering every life decision he'd made that led him to that point in time.

But some GOD of a man at EGA fixed it! I still can't believe I'm typing those words.

Lastly, Erica and Austin at the front desk are, like, rock stars of service. Friendly, professional, communicative, funny... they're both genuinely a pleasure to interact with.

When a sensor light comes on or I get a shake when idling I usually groan and think "ugggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh what now?" But less so with EGA, thanks to their front desk staff.

This is truly a...

I used EGA a couple of times. On this last service they overcharged me almost $800. They had duplicate quantities of each part on each line item, not 1 but 4. I'm not sure how this could of happened unknowingly as I am sure their invoices are tied into inventory as well as reviewed by service advisor (Austin)

Update- If you assume that people dont make mistakes on purpose then you have to agree that mistakes are made for only one of two reasons, either because of a lack of knowledge or lack of attention, period. If you admit that your parts person is knowledgeable (I assume he is) then he made the mistake due to lack of attention (not once, but 4 times). The second error was that you did not catch the mistake when I paid for the service, only after I called back and brought it to your attention that line item 1 had a quantity of 4 instead of 1, then as I recall, you tried to tell me that 4 WAS the correct quantity (as if there are 4 coolant pipes). I then reviewed the other line items and noticed they were also a quantity of 4 as well (all incorrect). The error was repeated not once but 4 times which would indicate it was not a single error. I did not 'threaten' (odd choice of words) you regarding the manifold coolant pan, I was concerned as BMW requires changing the pan as the sealing gasket is integral to the pan and I do not want to have to bring the car back for a repair that should have been done in the first place and questioned you. I appreciate your willing to credit me the 'mistake'. This is my wife's car and if I had not reviewed the invoice carefully, she would be out almost $800... I consider that more than beer money. It concerns me how many other customer invoices are you not carefully reviewing? Let me ask you, would you honestly give yourself more than one star for this service?

My name is not...