G & M Automotive Import Service

I drive a 1995 Saab 900s. This car is in pristine condition with only 107,400 miles. I am meticulous about its maintenance and keeping the car clean. I do not trust mechanics immediately as I have had bad experiences in the past and know others who have as well. I am a student enrolled at Pasadena City College and live off of financial aid funds, that being said, I seek an affordable mechanic whom i feel comfortable with, and i found them here with G&M Auto. I was helped by both Mike (service manager) and Robert the Owner. Both are genuine, straight forward and honest. I felt like they wanted to help, not just take my money. I genuinely felt comfortable leaving my car (for the night) with people I did not know, that is a big deal for me, my car is my second home! The shop is EXTREMELY well maintained and in a pleasant neighborhood. My Saab is a 5-​speed manual, I came in as my clutch cable broke and needed to be replaced. I called multiple mechanics to compare estimates, roughly 6 mechanics phoned in total. All quoted me $ 200 or more. G and M quoted me $ 150. I had my car towed in around 1P.M. on a Wednesday. They were very accommodating. My end total was the same amount as the initial estimate. I now feel comfortable knowing my car has a «service home.» Thank you guy’s over at G&M, I appreciate you and your time spent with my car.

The short version: They sent me home with a car that wasn’t completely & properly repaired. Then, when it had problems within 24 hours, the «master mechanic» (Joe) tried to blame the problem on me. The owner (Robert) tried to blame me for for not being satisfied – I’m «one of those people» who can never be satisfied. What I learned: This place has a culture of not being willing to admit to any mistake, and trying to blame the customer for what goes wrong with a repair. The first and last time I’ll take my ’85 MB here.
The longer more detailed version: I brought in my ’85 Mercedes 300D (automatic) because it wasn’t shifting properly from 3^rd to 4^th. This was my first time to G&M. Robert at G&M helped my partner with her LandRover. She liked him. When I spoke to Robert, I liked him too. I had hoped to find a mechanic I could trust and build a relationship with. Even though it was over 30 min from home, I brought my car in on a Friday. I was told the vacuum system needed repair and that was the underlying problem. Estimate: $ 1200. Seemed like too much. But the vacuum repair was supposed to help the brakes and the locks, and the other systems that depended on it. I figured it would be worth it.
I picked up the car late on Mon. The brakes and door locks were noticeably better, and it seemed to be shifting fine in the lower gears. That night, on my way home on the freeway, I noticed that it was even worse shifting from 3^rd to 4^th. Why did they return my car if the problem I came in for wasn’t fixed? When I drove home from work on Tues night, two blocks from home, heading up a hill, the transmission seemed to go out completely. I limped home and Wed AM had AAA tow it to G & M while I went to work.
Wed AM as it was being towed, I called G & M to tell them what had happened. I was told that Robert would call me by noon or so. By mid afternoon, no word yet so I called. Talked to Joe (the «Master Mechanic»). I tell him what happened. He says «Why didn’t you call us if the transmission wasn’t right.» I explained that it was late on Mon and I planned to call when I could bring it in. He says, «You must have been driving it too hard». WTF? So it’s my fault the car wasn’t properly fixed, road tested and adjusted before releasing it to me after nearly $ 1200 in repairs? This guy was unwilling to admit to even the possibility of a mistake. I don’t know if what they did directly or indirectly caused the transmission cooling hose to go out, but it’s likely that if they’d carefully road tested it and inspected the transmission system, they would have discovered the problem. I couldn’t believe this guy was trying to blame the problem on me. Are you f***ing kidding?
I finally heard from Robert the next day, Thurs AM. He claimed to have tried to call me a couple times on Wed. BS. Why would my cell have a record of every other call from him except for these «calls» on Wed?
They fixed the transmission fluid cooling hose and (at last) properly adjusted the transmission before I picked it up the next day. It does run better now. In Drive, anyway. They made it worse in S (lope). I don’t think they really knew what they were doing. Or, they didn’t want to spend the needed time to properly adjust the transmission. Either way, it’s incompetence.
Robert initially charged me $ 200 for the transmission cooling hose repair. He says they were not at fault. He said it couldn’t have anything to do with their repairs on my transmission. Really? How can you be that sure? The fact that he’s so certain is suspicious. And, since they didn’t properly repair the car the first time, the right thing to do would be to apologize for that and not charge for the hose repair. I paid, but after thinking about it, I protested later by email.
He did refund the money for the hose repair ($ 200) but he never apologized for releasing my car when the initial shifting problem hadn’t been properly fixed. In an email, Robert said I was one of those people who could never be satisfied no matter what he did. More BS. More trying to blame me. In all my years of having cars repaired, there’s only been one other time when I’ve been this dissatisfied. So I’m NOT «one of those people». I was dissatisfied for good reason.
One thing’s for sure: No one at G & M can admit to any mistake. Instead, they tried to blame me, or the age of the car, or something else for what went wrong with and after the repair. That really pissed me off. I regret ever having gone to this repair shop. Stay away.

These guys are all great. Always fair. Always take care of me. No complaints!

Excellent service with friendly and helpful staff. Always a pleasure — I have been a customer for 20 plus years!

They are good guys. I have taken my 2000 e320 Mercedes there for the last few years. They are cheaper than the dealership, but they arent cheap. These bad reviews are BS. I reviewed these guys last year and gave them 5 stars but my review is nowhere to be seen? Unilocal blackmails you into paying for ads-​if you dont, they hide the good reviews.

G & M does a great job. I have been going to them for more then 20 years. Years ago I had a Volvo. Then they serviced my 2003 Audi A4 and it ran great for 7 years until I sold it. They charged a lot less then the dealership. I now take my Porsche 944 to them and am very pleased.

Amazing service! I am extremely impressed with the guys at G&M Auto Body. Their service is fast, done to the highest of standards, and surprisingly inexpensive. I recently went there in need of having a used A/​C compressor installed. Everywhere else I went gave me an extremely high quote once they heard it was a used compressor id be installing, and tried to sell me on other things that I «needed» in order to have it installed. Not the guys and G&M though, they were very honest with me, affordable, and my air conditioning works amazingly well. In short, I would highly recommend G&M Auto Body shop. Thank you G&M!!!

These guys are my hero’s! Go beyond the call of duty for this single gal who only knows where the gas goes!

I took in my Porsche Boxster to get serviced over at my new friends at G&M automotive. I walked in there after getting frightened by the dealer and other shops in that area. I walked over the the little shop that looked like a little «Mom and Pop» place which turned out to be a little place with a lot of knowledge and experience in import cars. I am not a car guy as I am a computer geek. Joe the master mechanic over there explained to me in regular English what was happening with my car and what service it needed. There where a couple of things that had minor issues and they did not even try to sell it to me as they said I could just service it next time. I appreciate honestly and knowledge and that is what this little place is full of!

Things haven’t changed, they are still over priced and you should definitely avoid this shop. They cause new issues while they service your car.

For those who read my review, you’re welcome!
Overpriced labor and parts, avoid.