Marin Auto Works

The only change since my previous review is Pierre finally was able to really retire, and now his son Marcel is in charge. Still the same great service.

Marcel and his crew are absolutely amazing. Mechanics with integrity — a rare thing to find. I would recommend Marin Auto Works to anyone who visits Mill Valley. :)

This has to be the best shop in Marin. I have dealt with Marin auto works for getting new tires, my cars fixed and oil changed.
They are always punctual, deliver excellent service and never take you for a ride like most shop would.
Very trustworthy, professional. I recommend them.
i will always bring my cars to Marcel.

Best & most trustworthy mechanic in town! I am new to Mill Valley & was concerned about finding a mechanic after more than 20 years with the same wonderful person in Santa Barbara. Marcel is extremely knowledgeable, thorough in diagnostics, with fair pricing. I have referred him often & everyone has the same wonderful experience I had.

I was having an emergency issue with my 2010 Honda Accord. Car was shaking, all the lights on the dash were on. Marin Auto Works was the closest auto shop to where I was staying, so I took a chance and brought it in. Marcel looked at the car and gave me an honest assessment of what was wrong. He said he knew a guy who worked at Honda, and the guy recently told him that my Accord was having the same problem as many other Accords from the same year. It’s not a recall issue, but the problem is addressed in a bulletin issued by Honda Corporate. Marcel gave me the bulletin number and told me to take the car to Honda because more than likely the problem would be fixed for free. He was right, the problem, which would have cost me $ 1,500 to have fixed, was solved by Honda for free. I really appreciate Marcel’s honesty and the time he took to do the research for me, on his own dime. I’ll definitely take my car back to Marin Auto Works for my next automotive issue.

Car problems — these two words seem to go hand-​in-​hand much too often — are simply no fun, but… we all long for a good, trustworthy workshop to perform general maintenance and repairs.
Marin Auto Works is NOT one of those places.
After hundreds of $s in repairs that did not address the problem with my car, promises to «make this right», a good number of fruitless visits, phone calls not returned, Marin Auto Works earned this one-​star review.
If you need your oil changed, filters replaced, tires rotated or new brake pads maybe Marin Auto Works is your place.
All said, I finally took my car to Collie Autoworks in San Rafael and my car is now fixed.
Collie was extremely professional, honest and competent.
Scratch my previous remark, get your oil, tires, brake pads, etc. at Collie Autoworks too! They make the effort to «go the extra yard».

We have been bringing our ~7 year old BMW here for years for both routine maintenance (oil, tires, brakes) as well as unexpected repairs. We have always been very happy with the quality of work and the service level and the price is fair. Marcel has an owner’s mentality and does the right thing by his customers. We will keep going back.

I went in to get my oil changed. They did that and charged it at a reasonable rate but then also told me that I needed my radiator changed as it had a leak and I shouldn’t be driving. They gave me a written quote of 1,033.00. $ 400 for parts and $ 600 for labor. I was a bit shocked at the price and said I had to think about it and went home. After doing some research, I found all the parts I needed at a local parts store for $ 230 and then did some more research on how to put in a radiator in my car. Found out it should only take about an hour. On their wall at Marin auto works it says $ 70/​hour for labor. Even if it took them a couple of hours, that definitely doesn’t warrant a $ 600 labor bill. So I put the radiator in myself. Granted it took me 3 ½ hours but it was my first time. I think that just because I’m a woman some people may think that i don’t know about cars but I do know when someone is trying to rip me off and take advantage of me. Shame on you Marin auto works, I won’t be back!

Well, they did it again. I took my daughters old 1995 mercedes c220 to them because it was running rough. After spending probably more time on it than they should have, they determined that all I needed for the car were some spark plugs. It fixed the problem and it was as reasonable as possible when it came to the price. I am so happy to have them as a source to turn to for our cars needs. Honest, reliable and as trustworthy as can be. The car runs smooth now. The cars is really old, not too nice anymore, but it’s all she has to drive around in for now. I could write far more things, but I think you have the idea I’m stressing here. Out there in this auto repair world, there are some that can really take advantage of you. Marin Auto Works is not one of them. Thank you again Marcel and Steve!

Best customer service ever! I’ve been happily servicing my 2003 Mercedes CLK at Marin Auto Works for several years. But my experience the other day is why I will keep coming back. I was scheduled to take my car in for an oil change the next morning anyway, prior to leaving for a trip to the mountains. That afternoon I got a flat on the way home from work and, in a bonehead move (I’ll spare the details), damaged my brakes and had to have the car towed. Marcel was waiting for me when I got to Marin Auto Works an hour later. I told him of my plans for the next morning and my desire to leave by 11:00. I figured I would have to rent a car for my trip. After a cursory look, Marcel said to hold off on the rental and give them a chance to see what was up. Maybe they could get me back on the road by 11:30 or noon the next day. Marcel got his team working on my car right away. Not only did he quickly have my problems diagnosed (I also was due for scheduled maintenance, needed new rear brake pads and two new rear tires) but he coordinated getting all the parts in first thing the next morning. I got a call from him at 10:30, and my car was ready and waiting for me. Great work, great service, a fair price and a happy customer.

I came here with a BMW noise issue. $ 1200 later, the noise still kept coming back. I went to a different mechanic in San Rafael who precisely diagnosed the problem and charged half the amount to get the exact fix. Pierre and all the rest are all very nice polite people but they do overcharge, and also are not as great in making the correct diagnosis as one would think from reading these reviews. If you don’t mind over paying for getting a mediocre fix (but with lots of politeness), go for it. Otherwise go somewhere else.

Very Good and Fast Job. Neat place. Nice people. Thank you very much. Was done more than expected

My car was taken on short notice and they were extremely accommodating and pleasant to deal with.
It was my first time there, and I’d asked them to do a 60k checkup & even printed out a list of the dealership requirements at 60k for my car. They charged me a little over $ 400 for an oil change and new spark plugs, which is not completely horrible considering parts and labor, but I was disappointed that the fluids weren’t topped off and the tires weren’t rotated.
On one hand, I appreciate that they did what was most necessary & they didn’t do superfluous work, on the other hand, I am left rubbing my head a little, as I noticed things that were not attended to which I would deem to be critical.
So, my review is a bit neutral – take it for what it’s worth!

Pierre and Marcel have been servicing our cars for decades. They are thorough, honest, proactive, and well-​priced.
Last week we had both our cars serviced in one day, which involved door to door delivery twice. WOW!
It doesn’t get better than these wonderful, honest, and gracious people.

The first place I’ve ever had consistently good service for reasonable rates. The owners are great and always in house. Pierre is a mill valley institution. So friendly so professional so through and never trying to force unneeded repair. They often list all the repairs i will need down the road, letting me know their estimates of when, and never trying to get me to force repairs i don’t absolutely need.

I asked Marin Auto Works mount and balance new tires, and align all four wheels on my Subaru 2.5RS.
The final bill was as quoted and I received a print-​out of the alignment measurements.
Marin Auto Works served me well, and I hope they extend the same level of service to you.

Last week I called MAW and tried to get some satisfaction from them …(in the form of a NEW CLUTCH)…and to give them a chance to show that they really are a legitimate repair facility… they hung up when I gave them my name!!!
I still have the same «BRAND NEW CLUTCH… NOT»… in my Mini that MAW said they installed to replace the ‘so called defective old clutch”…and that NEW CLUTCH… NOT… still slips… even though it’s only been since October, ’10, since it was supposedly installed NEW!!!
I GUESS MAW’s REPUTATION MEANS NOTHING TO THEM!!!

Very pleased with the installation experience here for the tires I ordered through
. They couldn’t have been any nicer and I will definitely use them again. Given the pain it is to get in and out of some places in San Francisco, it is well worth the bridge toll to come here.
While waiting, I heard one of the staff on the phone explaining in great detail about mechanical work being done to the customer’s car. It felt like the customer could have rebuilt the car based on the information being given. So, they certainly seem very thorough and communicative.

My second experience at this shop and I am very pleased. Today I took my 1996 Honda Civic in for a specific problem and it ended up being so small that they fixed it for free. What is even more impressive is that I know that my car has tons of other problems, some of them obvious, and they didn’t try to get me to repair anything else.
Very professional, friendly and approachable.

I can’t say enough about how great these guys are. Twice now I’ve showed up at their door in «crisis» mode without an appointment. Both times, Marcel has been amazingly helpful. These folks really understand great customer service and I’m sure they know their cars. And here’s the deal: I don’t even have a European car! Mine is a rare domestic sports car (Saleen), and it is my baby. When it hurts, I hurt!
Marcel has treated me with great courtesy and he instills a sense of confidence that many don’t — there are few people I would leave my car with, but I’d trust these guys not only with my car, but with my checkbook. AND they are great at explaining what’s happening with the car, what it needs, what to expect, etc. Absolutely incredible. If you have a European car and it’s your baby, you’d be crazy to take it anywhere else.