17/05/2016

Honest, professional, and fair. When my warning light came on in my 2008 328 BMW, I took it directly to the dealership (BMW of Bellevue). After two days at the dealership and car-less, I was handed a three page itemized list with the repair for what I originally brought my car in for, plus several other repairs that needed to be done totaling more than $4,000 - yikes. I'm not a mechanic and my knowledge with this kind of stuff is quite limited. BMW appoints a middle-man or sales rep to hand you the quote. I tried to ask a few questions to the rep (since we are not allowed to talk to the mechanics that will be doing the actual work on our car). Of course the reps are not a mechanics, and apparently also have limited knowledge since he really was unable to answer any of my questions. I decided to shop around and see if I can one; talk to an actual mechanic and two; find a better deal. I called around to a few shops but had the best feeling after speaking with Eric from German Car Specialists. Eric and I decided it would be best to bring my car in so we can have a technician take a look to see what was really going on. When I arrived at the shop, Eric greeted me right away and remembered my name (must have recognized my car from the description over the phone). This gave me a familiar feeling, it felt like I had been going to this shop for years already. After welcoming me to the shop, he personally introduced me to Adam who would be the technician to look at my car. What i *really* appreciated about Adam was that he included me in the inspection of my car. He took the time to show me my break pads with a flashlight and explained what they are supposed to look like - thickness, etc. he answered all my questions and didn't make me feel rushed at all. He also talked me through the other repairs the dealership noted and why they are important, but most importantly, he was educational and not pushy. After a thorough discussion, I decided to wait on the other repairs but to go ahead with the break pads and rotors. He smiled and walked me back into the shop to schedule a convenient time to bring my car back. He then offered a shuttle service or a loaner car (which ever I preferred), this was a nice perk! I went with a loaner car. The car was an older BMW in great condition. I actually really enjoyed driving that car! My car was ready at the quoted time and was practically sparkling when I picked it up. He had washed, waxed, and cleaned my car from the inside out. I later found out that Adam is the new owner of German Car Specialist. It's not easy to find a mechanic that you trust and feel comfortable with, I feel lucky that I found this shop! They have gained a loyal customer and I highly recommend stopping in this shop to see how you feel.

Talia M.

Source: YELP

24/09/2015

Take your car to BMW Northwest in Fife instead. They give you a full and reliable diagnostic as well as wash and detail your car.
I made an appointment at German Car Specialists for 9:30 to replace some clips on my Mini Cooper and get a new oil filter. 3 hours later, the the car still wasn't ready. While I waited, they tried to sell me on over $1000 more work that needed to be done. I just had my car checked out in Fife and, except for the oil, everything had been fine. I finally picked up my car, $250+ poorer (of the 3 people I spoke to there, I was given 3 different quotes. The final total was higher than all 3) and it is running funny. Go to a real specialist if you care about your car. Not this hole in the wall.

J S.

Source: YELP

22/08/2015

DO NOT BRING YOUR CAR HERE
I would honestly give zero stars if I could. I was treated extremely poorly when I inquired about my brother's car on the phone and nobody seemed to know what was going on or what repairs had been made/if any had been made and when the car would be ready to be picked up. My brother brought his car there after he had problems with a repair that had been made by the same shop months before. The car was not properly fixed so he brought it back in and instead of the shop fixing it for free under warranty he was billed again. When he wanted to bring his car to another shop and called Triple A for a tow truck to move it they literally told Triple A that they would not allow them to move the car because work had been already done on the car. When I then called and asked to speak to the manager he hung up on me after laughing at me on the phone and insulting me for being upset. When I threatened to call the police because my brother had wanted to move the car, he said something along the lines that this had happened before and he would not care. I was extremely upset and had never been treated this poorly anywhere else. Later on my brother was not able to pay with credit card but had to pay in cash because the manager was afraid he would try to get his money back. Go somewhere else if you want a trustworthy shop that cares about you and your car.

Sabine K.

Source: YELP

25/10/2015

Not the easiest to deal with. I don't think they fixed my car right. Came back. They accepted that they would fix it with free labor but charged me for the parts, etc . I will not be back to this place.

Mikhail S.

Source: YELP

23/12/2014

I brought my MB to this shop for oil change, the owner of the shop told me my car's timing chain needs replacement (it's under 100k miles), I asked how he can, he told me by listening to the engine sound!!! I never returned to this shop and my car is doing fine.

P W.

Source: YELP

28/10/2014

Do NOT take your MINI Cooper here. I should have just stopped when the tech called me to have more time authorized to check out my MINI stating "We don't know what is wrong - we have never seen stuff like this before". I ended up having to take my car back to Northwest MINI because the "diagnosis" I was finally given was for a part that had already been replaced earlier this year, and was still under warranty at NW MINI. After NW MINI inspected my car, and after I had to pay $525 to German Car "Specialists" for NOTHING, it was discovered that they not only misdiagnosed the issue, but also didn't know about a separate KNOWN issue that was still covered under the manufacturer's warranty. How is it possible that an Auto Specialist doesn't know about common issues with a car, and how is it possible that the "$30,000 testing machine" that the owner bragged to me about over the phone didn't pick up the same fault warning that NW MINI's did?

Sierra E.

Source: YELP

03/12/2013

First visit to German Car Specialists. I found the team to be professional, courteous and prompt.
After having our Audi A4 mis-diagnosed by two other mechanics (dealer and independent), it was nice that they could find the issue.
Having a shuttle service was also a +. I will defiantly return!

David G.

Source: YELP

16/07/2012

Extremely happy client! I recently had a poor experience with my BMW dealership so I opt'd to walk away from them and have my car serviced at German Car Specialists. I couldn't be more pleased. Not only did they provide excellent and quick service but they constantly kept me updated on what was going on as well as continuously checked on me while I was waiting.
I absolutely love the shop and everyone that works there and highly recommend them to any and everyone I know!

Stephanie D.

Source: YELP

17/07/2013

The price is excellent and the service is impeccable. They're straight forward and honest. What more can you want? I'm switching from my dealership to here for all my services now. I've had bad experiences with other auto shops and have sworn that the dealership was worth the cost, but these guys give you the same quality with more transparency at 1/4 the cost. I got 4 major repairs done for the cost of 1 at the dealership.

Jennah M.

Source: YELP

11/05/2013

Tony sure knows German cars. He and his team will get things done for you. I cannot comment on the price/time cause I am not used to non-dealer. I went in for a non-dealer headlight issue. This place sure has it's own character.

Flora C.

Source: YELP

07/09/2010

Amazing car place, period!
I took my audi there and was very happy. Customer service is top notch and they always seem to try to figure out how to save me money on parts & labor. They were very diligent about doing estimates up front which I really appreciated. Rates are decent and still way better then dealers, plus they have monthly coupons. I'll be taking my car there from now on.

Panda Style B.

Source: YELP

21/08/2009

DON'T BRING YOUR CAR HERE. Read the 67 discarded reviews. This will give you a clearer picture of who the owner is and how he runs his business.
People don't usually go out of there way to open a yelp account to write one single good review. On the other hand, you can see how a pissed off customer would go out of there way. You can tell from the review which ones are real and which ones are fake.
What makes you think this could be a false review. Are you saying you don't :
Leave 10% off coupons on German cars.
Quote brakes w/out rotors and brake sensors.
Bait and switch customers once you have their cars "opened up".
Run your business unethically.
You told me the tires on my moms car were over inflated and caused excessive wear.(still don't remember?) I find it hard to believe you don't remember me considering how dissatisfied I was with your services. I can only assume you have so many dissatisfied customers you simply can't remember them all.
BTW I keep getting messages from your dissatisfied customers here on yelp (one wanted a statement for court proceedings against you). Still think this is a false review? I could post the messages if you'd like.

Eric K.

Source: YELP

19/09/2009

It wasn't raining that day the service wasn't good.

cindy w.

Source: YELP

11/10/2007

My extended warranty expired and took my Audi A4 to German Car for the first time last week. Customer service was great from the moment I called in to make my appointment. Kevin was good at explaining what my car needed done: regular service, other parts needing replacement, front brakes, and repair a noise my car had for a while. I paid $1600 for EVERYTHING while the dealer (Barrier in Bellevue) quoted me $1500 to repair only that noise!! $1600 is a lot of money but compared to dealer prices you save lots of money. Oh! did I forget to say German Car also offers shuttle service? :) I am very pleased and will continue taking my car to them.

Gaby F.

Source: YELP

31/10/2012

Great people, very friendly but I had a horrible experience. I left my Audi at 8AM and when I called to see how it was coming at 3PM, they said they hadn't had a chance to look at it and would need it over night. I was not able to leave it, so had their shuttle come pick me up. When I arrived at the dealer at 4PM, they said they had started working on it...so I had to wait. They had a hard time diagnosing my problem (AC not blowing cold), but ordered a $300 part and installed it. At 6:45 I was able to leave their shop after paying a total of $600. The AC was no different than when I brought it in. Just blew air, nothing cold. They said when I left that I likely needed a compressor and that they would call with an estimate. They never called. I have since come to realize that only the dealer has the full diagnostic code manual and these smaller shops pretty much have to guess at complex problems. I would have preferred they did not guess but just told me they could not figure it out. I am now out $600 and have to go to the Audi dealer for a fix. Very unhappy.

Ed R.

Source: YELP

09/11/2009

I would never go back to this place, they were rude, couldn't remember what car was mine and we had to go over the explanation of the car with every car, and what the previous quote had been. my bill was at least 30% more than what we had talked about and I was not notified before the work began to say weather I wanted to proceed with the more expensive work. To top it off the car was not ready when promised. If you have a Mercedes go to Mercedes garage in Bellevue!!

Jennifer M.

Source: YELP

10/04/2016

Very service oriented, easy to deal with. They have some loaner cars which is great, but more importantly BMW Bellevue wanted 12k for repairs, yes 12k..and I never truly believed their diagnosis. Moved the car to German Car Specialists who did their own investigation and result was can back on the road for 3k and running great. Would go back here again.

Dave Coughlan

Source: GPLAC

07/05/2016

[This review is based on numerous professional services performed on my personal vehicle (W203 Mercedes C230) within the past year.] I'm assuming you read reviews for the same reasons most other people do (to help you make a decision), so I'll cut right to the chase: Go here. If you require well-trained professionals for any work done on your Audi, BMW, and/or Mercedes-Benz, German Car Specialists is your only real choice here in the greater Bellevue Area. Go ahead, pick up the phone and don't hesitate to give them a call. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. If you're having any doubts - keep reading and I assure you that theyll be addressed and quelled. Now, for those interested in the reasoning behind my extremely straightforward backing of this company, please see the following reasons: - The staff is comprised of true professionals from the instant they pick up the phone to the moment they hand you back your keys, youll be dealing with the best in the business through every part of the process. They have an excellent work ethic and a personable, knowledgeable staff. - One of German Car Specialists strongest selling points is their level of honesty. They are excellent at keeping you in the loop and communicating the status of your vehicle(s) plus any changes that may occur. GCSs transparency is unparalleled because they have nothing to hide (a stigma that surrounds most car shops but one that GCS easily rebukes). For example: the technician has always come out of the garage and brought me back out to my vehicle and explained to me while showing me exactly where and what the issue was and had no problem recreating the issue, further explaining the issue and most importantly explaining in full the parts/steps required to reach the most efficient solution. - German Car Specialists (GCS) rates are much more reasonable than most other autohaus-type establishments especially for the level of quality of work done and the extra care taken with both the client and their vehicle(s). - Loaner vehicles are available; there is Shuttle Service available as well. - GCS believes in fostering long-term relationships with their customers, which results in fair and mutually beneficially client-business relationships. - The website has constant coupons to save you money. - Most importantly, German Car Specialists truly care about their clients and their vehicles, which is absolutely apparent in the way they treat you and your car throughout the entire process. - Lastly, Adam, the owner, is fully involved throughout the entire process and will do everything in his power to ensure your satisfaction; he has equipped himself with a team of experts in the field and it shows. Overall, German Car Specialists truly lives up to its name as the company's friendly and knowledgeable staff are true masters of their craft. Delivering customer satisfaction through excellent client-communication, quality work and flexibility provides a customer experience that is worth coming back to time and time again. With that in mind, if you ever need any work done on your vehicle, definitely take it in to German Car Specialists. Thanks, James S.

Timothy Shin

Source: GPLAC

26/06/2016

The owner Adam is fantastic. Good prices and they did excellent work. Very happy all around!

Holly Stark

Source: GPLAC

29/03/2016

The only reason I'm not giving this a 5star - is due to price on parts. While their labor cost is appropriate within the market - they have an opportunity to be more competitive with online distributors. Genuine BMW parts are sourced from very select suppliers. While understanding there's a cost to run their shop - I'd suggest the owner(s) target more competitive pricing on parts; via better supplier cost agreements. Passing that savings onto the customer, or investing in next level diagnostic systems; will certainly strengthens customer loyalty. But there is upside. While the parts I purchased were on the high side - the shop says they will warranty them for 2yrs, and they do offer LoanerCar/Shuttle services (not many specialist do). Plus, the turnaround time was rather quick. Albeit - Customer service experience was spot on. You can tell they understand that building good relationships is what drives customer loyalty.

Stephen M

Source: GPLAC

23/04/2016

I have a 2004 Mini Cooper and my friends at German Car Specialists always take good care of her. It's a super high mileage car that I bought with existing issues and this shop has really made the car like new. Recently had the front end rebuilt, new clutch, brakes, and various other problems fixed, and they threw in a bunch of free labor. When the work was completed my friend Eric walked me through each line item and explained what was going on. If you have a car you cherish and want personal care, I highly recommend bringing your car to Adam and his team at German Car Specialists.

Arlo Emerson

Source: GPLAC