-
March 2024 by Paul L.
Steve is now my forever go-to mechanic in Seattle. I live here in southern CA but bought a used Audi for my daughter who lives and attends college in WA. Imagine my daughter's horror: I just bought her a used, pretty little car with AWD. She was in love at first sight. I had it checked out with my SoCal mechanic and everything was great. All of the services were done at a local Audi dealer on time every time... did I mention from the Audi dealer? But within a week of transporting the car to her an alert screams "Switch Off Engine! The oil pressure is low!" She calls crying as she driving home from work saying she didn't do anything wrong but the alert tells her to stop driving immediately. I desperately tried to find a reputable mechanic over the weekend - out of state - with no knowledge of the city but thankfully Yelp led me to Steve. He was quick to respond and even allowed her to come that very morning despite his loaded schedule. He diagnosed her car, sent me texts of each inspection check he performed (with pictures) using an app of some sort that was very detailed. He discovered the problem was a broken solenoid bolt that caused the oil leak; replaced it; added new oil; drove it around to check the oil pressure; rechecked any faulty codes and called me to tell me my daughter's car is all fixed.... ... Wait for it ... The bill was just a fraction of the costs I thought I might have a pay. He could have said it was a gasket leak, or worse engine damage, etc. I wouldn't know and couldn't know but he was thorough, honest, and so impressively great professional. I love cars, but I'm not a mechanic and he saved me. He saved my dad-cred, saved me time, energy and money. I'm my daughter's hero but he's my mechanic hero. I will never send my daughter anywhere else. Everyone else in Seattle should do the same. Thanks Steve.
-
March 2024 by Steve Carlton
Professional, friendly, and up front. Have had no bad interactions over the 5yrs I've been going to them.
-
March 2024 by Francisco Outhet
Great service, just what the car needs!
-
October 2023 by Matthew
I don't like to be negative. But, I don't like being taking advantage of or being ripped off.I WAS A LONG TIME CUSTOMER. But THIS is NOT the same shop that the old owner, Jim once ran.I took my Vanagon in last year, at a time were I was sick, and was ripped off.After a year of cooling off and talking to other mechanic friends and shops. It's clear they ripped me off and over charged. To make matters worse, even after spending 3 times what I should have, I am now still forced to redo the fueling systems because of the poor work.It's a chop shop, in out, make a few bucks. But care not what happens long term. But the fact I have to drop the fuel tank, AGAIN, after paying so much (a new tank is 250), and not getting a new tank because they were too lazy to replace the 30+ year old fuel lines connecting. Just lame and unacceptable.I have been warning my fellow Vanagon's nuts, and have heard similar claims as well, so this is a pattern. And ultimately why I'm writing this, to warn others.Moving on... So many good shops our there, this is NOT one of them. Hope your enjoying retirement Jim, well missed.
-
October 2023 by Matthew M.
I don't like to be negative. But, I don't like being taking advantage of or being ripped off. I WAS A LONG TIME CUSTOMER. But THIS is NOT the same shop that the old owner, Jim once ran. I took my Vanagon in last year, at a time were I was sick, and was ripped off. After a year of cooling off and talking to other mechanic friends and shops. It's clear they ripped me off and over charged. To make matters worse, even after spending 3 times what I should have, I am now still forced to redo the fueling systems because of the poor work. It's a chop shop, in out, make a few bucks. But care not what happens long term. But the fact I have to drop the fuel tank, AGAIN, after paying so much (a new tank is 250), and not getting a new tank because they were too lazy to replace the 30+ year old fuel lines connecting. Just lame and unacceptable. I have been warning my fellow Vanagon's nuts, and have heard similar claims as well, so this is a pattern. And ultimately why I'm writing this, to warn others. Moving on... So many good shops our there, this is NOT one of them. Hope your enjoying retirement Jim, well missed.
-
June 2023 by Willy D.
Brought my 2016 Mini Countryman All4 in to Import Doctors for a second opinion on a clutch replacement. Stephen at Import Doctors responded quickly and quoted me a repair that beat the dealership quote by a wide margin. He arranged to have the work done the following week. The work took a little longer and cost a bit more than the estimate - they discovered an interior part that needed replacement so they went ahead and replaced it as well - but I would have approved anyway. After a week of test driving, the repair proved to be effective. I'd recommend Import Doctors.
-
May 2023 by Brennan Kidd
Marco and Stephen were very accommodating in being the middle men between me and a used car dealer and trying to get a vehicle prepurchase inspection completed. Once the car got to them, they were very thorough in preparing the inspection report and offered to talk about any of it in greater detail.
-
May 2023 by Darrel M.
Steve provided the best experience I've had with a mechanic. He responded to my initial inquiry quickly and got me in within a few days. The cost was also $1000 less than what the dealer shop quoted ($2500+ at dealer and under $1500 here). On top of the very thing going right from a technical perspective Steve is just a great guy and I will be coming here for all of my mechanic needs going forward.
-
April 2023 by Michael E.
Went in to see about a P0305 cylinder 5 misfire on one of my AMG Mercedes on the 9th of March and requested that my fuel injectors, coils and spark plugs get looked at. I was initially told that the misfire is coming from what appeared to be a failing coil. I recommended to "Stephen" that it would be best for me to have all the coils replaced with the spark plugs and to check the fuel injector on cylinder 5 for malfunction as well and if it's the injector let's go ahead and replace all 8 injectors along with all 8 coils and 8 spark plugs. I was told by Stephen that "unless you feel like throwing money at the problem; you won't need all the coils and injectors replaced" so I agreed to the service as it was written up. 8 spark plugs were replaced, Cylinder 5 ignition coil was replaced and a camshaft sensor was replaced according to the receipt. I was charged over $250 for a diagnosis for a grand total of $1398.50 with the labor. 3 weeks go by and the check engine light comes back with the same P0305 code - cylinder 5 misfire which I diagnosed again with my BlueDriver OBD READER so I called them again to have them to check it out. Went back in and Stephen indicated that the problem is now perhaps the fuel injector; which I asked them to check during the first visit. When I asked why wasn't that checked the first time as requested; Stephen informed that we have to work our way down to the bottom of the problem. My response was; wouldn't it be more logical and cost effective for your customers to work your way from the possible biggest issue to the more common beginning with cylinder inspection, fuel injector inspection, spark plugs then the ignition coil?....Stephens response was "semantics".....totally dismissing the research that I've done on this issue, my prior recommendations relative to my vehicle and my knowledge of the M157 engine. I then agreed to order the parts for a total replacement of all 8 ignition coils and all 8 of the fuel injectors to have them to do the installation which should have been done the first time. I then call back 2 days after the second visit because the service that was rendered and paid for during the first service (see attached receipt) didn't achieve the results that I paid for since the same check engine light error code came back. So I phoned them again after the second visit requesting that they fix the intermittent P0305 error code first (which is a sign of a bad fuel injector) prior to the installation of the new coils and the new fuel injectors for the other 7 cylinders since the work on cylinder 5 was still under their service and parts warranty but after being misinformed about the timing chain tensioners replacement that I requested (A separate known MB issue with this particular engine) I was informed by Stephen that they horoscopes cylinder 5 but there is no proof of record in the service receipt that the cylinder was actually Boro-Scoped to check for Cylinder scoring (which is a known "non-detrimental" issue for certain engine numbers for the M157 due to an error with the manufacturing press used in production of the M157 engine). I was also told that a timing tool would need to be purchased (The same timing tool used to replace the camshaft adjusters which I'm not in need of) I knew that this guy didn't know what He was talking about. To replace the secondary chain tensioners to remedy chain rattle upon cold start does not require the opening of the top valve covers. The tensioners only require the front plate of the assembly to be opened and doesn't require a customer with this issue to purchase on behalf of a so called "Import specialist shop" a 600+ dollar tool for one time use which will never be needed again once the upgraded tensioners and check valves are replaced. With said; I did not feel comfortable with allowing this shop to touch my engine again because at this point it felt like selective scamming. To think that I was recommended this shop by an acquaintance of whi
-
February 2023 by Diane McCasland
I brought my BMW in after receiving an extremely high estimate from the dealer on an oil pan issue. The service Manager did a thorough inpection and messaged me the findings in order of importance and fixed so much more for an extremly reasonable price! Friendly and informative service. This will now be my go to shop!Services: Auto maintenance
-
November 2022 by Thomas Bonnington
Took my Mercedes diesel there after the dealer wanted close to five grand for a repair, which was more than twice what it should have cost. Once they dug into it, they found a bad o-ring, would would have been a quick cheap fix if the dealer didn't tell me bad info. Anyway, they got the issue fixed and had me back on the road great. I've used them before for BMW work and they have always done outstanding work for a very fair price.
-
November 2022 by Kess Simeon
I would absolutely recommend the import doctors versus going to your dealership. Mine is Mercedes bens of seattle. Import doctors are significantly better than then. They are very kind and respectful! 5⭐️
-
October 2022 by Otto P.
Overcharged me and then did a bad job fixing my car. Needed to bring it back to get it fixed and the guy was a j**** Will not bring my car back here again.
-
July 2022 by Frank G.
I have been bringing my cars here for close to 15 years but it was not until recently that their professional knowledge and attention to detail showed me how smart I have been with doing such. I have a 2020 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum that I adore and 5000 miles ago (20k miles) I brought it into The Import Doctors for an oil change. They noticed a gasket was leaking oil and suggested I bring it in to Nissan for warranty. I did exactly that but Nissan claimed I did not have a problem but said they'd watch out for a leak moving forward. Fast forward to today. My seat cooler motor was faulty so I brought the car in for repair of the seat cooler motor which was also under warranty and obviously not working. I also got an oil change because it was convenient (still will go to The Import Doctors moving forward) and Nissan called to tell me what Steve at The Import Doctors told me 5k miles ago, I had a leak. Nissan covered my repair under warranty and a big shout out to the gang at The Import Doctors for noticing this. See you all for my next oil change or anything not covered under warranty.
-
May 2022 by Vivek
Going to Import Doctors is exactly like going to a traditional doctor - they keep record of your vehicles "health," explain issues in detail, inform you how to triage problems to balance time, cost, and urgency. I have the equivalent of automotive hypochondria and on more than one occasion, Import Doctors has talked me down from getting needless expensive repairs.
