Sterling Autosport

A WARNING TO YOU ALL, BEWARE! OF STERLING AUTOSPORT. If you want to be DUPED! Then you are looking at the right Auto Repair shop. When my Porsche 911-​Carrea incurred the IMS bearing failure, I had my car towed to Sterling Autosport. «HUGE MISTAKE» I met with Scott Lewis one of the owners/mechanic’s, after discussing what had happen while driving my car and after his inspection of my engine, Mr. Lewis told me that It was in fact the IMS bearing failure that had occurred. He told me that he recommended a Rebuild or that I would have to buy a brand new engine, I chose the Rebuild route. Warning: be carful of what you are verbally told by this establishment and what they end up writing on the work orders. Get everything they verbally say/​recommend in writing. A little over a month later when Mr. Lewis said that my car was ready for pick up and in his own words «It runs GREAT!» I assumed all issues were taken care of, unfortunately that was NOT the case. My car ended up having numerous misfires along with the check engine light continuing to illuminate, I went back under 4-​separate occasions, he wanted to charge me for a leaking hose even after he had just put my engine back together, 2^nd time back he said that the misfires were due to the P0300 & P0303 readings, he told me that I need to have the mass airflow sensor replaced, again at an additional cost, But, it DID NOT fix the problem. After 2-​more attempts at letting Mr. Lewis try to figure out what was causing the misfires I concluded that Mr. Lewis/​Sterling Autosport was NOT capable of properly diagnosing misfire readings within a Porsche engine, I finally decided to take my car to Walter’s Porsche of Riverside for a true/​correct diagnoses. After providing proof from Porsche on what was causing he misfire readings, Mr. Lewis tried to point the finger at ME the customer, his comments were: «why didn’t you tell me you wanted your lifters fixed» I guess he thought I was a mechanic too. He should know to address the lifters; he’s the mechanic, not me. Be careful, Sterling Autosport is NOT able to fix all issues the first time around, be prepared to take your car back for service more than once along with paying additional fee’s for their negligence. Mr. Lewis at Sterling played a guessing game when it came to diagnosing the misfire’s on my Porsche 911-​Carrera engine. After spending more that $ 12,830– I decided to sever my ties with Sterling Autosport, I NO longer trusted their work or judgment, not to mention that if I had decided to allow Sterling to do the work on my car regarding the lifter issue, Sterling Autospsort wanted me to sign a contract (which I still have in hand) that they had conjured up stating that: 1) Pay for all work upfront at time of drop off, 2) Drive my car a certain amount of miles per week, 3) Not to seek additional legal action. I would not sign their BOGUS terms and decided to seek another auto facility, which lead me to a FANTASTIC! Auto Repair Shop: AUTOHAUS FRANKFURT also in Murrieta.

I cannot give details of my experience as I have been threatened with being sued for telling about my experience at Sterling Autosport.

I’ve been here numerous times and have always received quick, excellent service. Their prices are also more reasonable than the dealer and other BMW mechanics I’ve been to. I recommend Sterling Autosport.

Very professional excellent service. Fantastic customer relations. My 2016 C-​450 is running better then when I bought it in Aug of 2015 !!! There service department is better then any dealership I have been to. I recommend sterling to anyone with a high end automobile. Thank you sterling motors!!! u

Thanks again for another excellent job on my vehicle. I’m always amazed with the work performed. Angelo really knows his stuff.

Sterling Autosport in Murrieta is the best place to go with your foreign/​import vehicle. I found Sterling on Unilocal about 3 years ago after having some dissatisfaction w/​not only the dealer, but also another Autowerks shop service in town. I’ve been bringing both my BMW and Mercedes to this shop and I can not begin to tell you how much I’ve grown to trust the people at Sterling. Mary, the receptionist is great. She communicates well and helps provide an understanding of the problem, the fix, and the timetable for the repairs. And Angelo in the shop is a great guy. He and his team have bailed me out soooo many times, that its my pleasure to write this review. Sterling Auosport is TRUSTWORTHY, RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE, and HONEST! I really appreciate the entire team and strongly recommend you consider bringing you car to Sterling (even for a second opinion). These guys will not steer you wrong!
–Tee
Temecula

Recently, I had the misfortune to utilize this car repair company. The SCL module on my Volvo went out, and I had my car towed to another repair place in Murrieta. After finding out that they didn’t have the necessary software to do the repair, I called other shops, including Sterling. The mechanic, Angelo, told me that if it was the SCL (which is what I told him was already diagnosed as the problem), he said that through their relationship with a Volvo parts place in Canada, they could get parts and the software to do the job. Fast-​forward to the next afternoon, he said they were unable to fix the problem because they didn’t have the software. Which I had discussed, at length with him prior to towing my car there. So I call my insurance company, again, to have my car towed to the Volvo dealer in Escondido. They said I used up my last covered tow taking it to Sterling. $ 176 later. I learned that the Volvo repair software is NOT licensed to anyone, other than Volvo Dealerships. I called Sterling back and was told Debbie, an owner, would call me. When talking with her 3 different times, I finally asked to be reimbursed $ 85, half of the tow cost; and after a long, frustrating debate I received the email below:
From: Scott Lewis [
]
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2016 11:08 AM
To: Barbara Bennett
Subject: Re: FW: Towing receipt
Hello,
We have been out of town since Friday and I was expecting your email to contain your entire stance on this situation.
1. When you were going to get your car towed out of Sterling Autosport, you and I spoke about the outstanding charges. We agree to «split’ the charges which I twice explained meant that we would cover the diagnostics charge and not require you to pay it and you would cover the towing whatever it may be. You agreed early last week and said you would be satisfied with that arrangement.
2. The following morning, you tried to convince my employee that I agreed to pay half of the tow which was false and she knew it because she was there during our phone conversation and heard every word I told you.
3. On Thursday, you told me that unless Sterling Autosport paid you $ 150 dollars, you would leave us a bad review on Unilocal.I told you that that amount does not make any sense at all and we do not feel we owe you anything for several reasons. First, had you initially had your vehicle towed to our shop instead of another, we would be having a different conversation regarding any possible liability on our part. Your tow or insurance company (according to you on Thursday) only covers the first tow. That would be the tow you chose to make to the other shop in Murrieta. You told me that they only towed your car from there to our shop because it was so close. Had you had it towed from that shop to the dealer, you still would have had to pay for it. Therefore, bringing it to our shop had no affect on whether or not the tow company would pay for it. You also told me on Thursday that the reason you agreed to the situation described above in #1 was because you thought another party was going to pay for your tow and you would be left paying nothing. When that did not happen, you reneged on our original agreement because you «cannot afford the tow». When I explained all of this, you said we should at least pay you $ 60 and you could not explain where you got that amount from and started getting belligerent with me when I asked.
4. We never stated that we could definitely fix your car over the phone. We always tell people that we need them to bring the car in so that we can be sure what it needs and make an appropriate diagnosis. This is an unusual circumstance where the dealer maintains a proprietary position over this repair, however, that is not true of this part for all makes, models, and production years. Therefore, the only possibility that we believe is appropriate is that you may have been confused when I used the term «split» the costs even though I explained it at least twice. If you add $ 115 which was to be your diagnostic fee plus $ 175 which you told me on Thursday was your towing bill, it comes to a total of $ 290. If you divide that by 2, it would make $ 145 the amount you somehow might have thought was each of our «half» responsibilities. This is $ 30 less than the amount you told me on Thursday that you paid for your tow. We have already given you $ 115 when we waived the diagnostic fee we were charging you. Therefore, we will offer to pay you the difference $ 145-​$ 115 = $ 30 in good faith and this is a one time offer with no further negotiation. You agreed that unless we reimburse you, you will leave negative reviews on social media, so it is assumed that you will no longer have a need to do so.
If you do not wish to accept our offer and continue with your threats and extortion, we will forward this information to our lawyer.
Thank you,
Debbie Lewis
member/​manager
Sterling Autosport
(great customer service, Debbie. Not.)

We have been coming here for about 10 years, at least. They’ve been super honest, which is rare these days.
Once, recently, they charged us nothing, because they couldn’t find a problem.
That’s fair. Our vehicles are not very glamorous, and are older, but they do quality work, and know our problems better than the dealer who works on them every day.
My son in law and daughter bring their
Maserati and Land Rover here, and love their service as well.
Their prices are very fair, and they’re just top notch!

Over priced. Not upfront about their pricing and totally take advantage of their clients. Their customer service lady (receptionist) is unprofessional and didn’t resolve anything. I will never return or have any family member ever use this place EVER!!! Do not go their– scam

Sterling Autosport was awesome. «Professionalism plus experience, and Great Service!!»
«Quick repair and fair prices

Scott and his crew are the best. Been taking my w204 for 4 – 5 years now and always helped me with any problems. Honest people, great shop, great price. Oh and the waiting room is the shit! Shit meaning good btw ha! Big screen tv, netflix ready, wifi ready.

do not go here… do not let them touch your vehicle!!! we went for struts and now our car wont start and it looks like someone took a screwdriver to the ignition…

The Sterling family are always so helpful and go out of their way to make their customers experience a great one. I am so thankful to have found them. I wouldn’t trust my car to anyone else.

I have a 2006 Landrover LR3 and am very particular as to who I use for service. I found Sterling about 8 years ago and have used them exclusively since – I wouldn’t go anywhere else! Their standards are high, they are friendly, efficient, their rates are very reasonable, and their service is unparalleled, in my opinion. They diagnose successfully, and only charge what is needed; I’ve had several instances whereby my bill was reduced because their completed service turned out to be less than the initial quote. I’ve referred many to Sterling, and I will continue to do so. I strongly recommend this business.

They have taken excellent care of our Maserati & our Range Rover. It is not cheap to have nice cars but they do not try to get in your wallet. Love having a mechanic we can trust.

They are the most dishonest and over priced place. Your better off going to the dealership. Not up front about charges and their labor rates are a extremely overpriced. DO NOT GO THERE! They don’t carry ANY of the parts and charge you «labor» while they are waiting for your parts to arrive.

I’m not sure if this business is paying people to give them a good review or I just caught them on a bad day… twice. My father recommended this place on account he has been a customer multiple times. Held them in high regard. I took my 2000 Mercedes in for a diagnostic check on the assumption my radiator was cracked. Three hours later (2 of those hours were not labor but my car sitting in the same spot I left it) they tell me exactly what I already knew. The «top» mechanic explained his findings… not to me though, to my father. From the start neither the uptight 50 something year old receptionist nor the mechanic spoke to me, the cold shoulder and assumption of my ignorance left an unsavory taste in my mouth. When the estimate was laughably overpriced I paid my 100 and something dollar diagnostic fee and left. Skip ahead over a month later and I’ve finally saved up enough money to get that darned radiator fixed. I call today and ask a very simple question. «Can I put the money from my diagnostics inspection towards the labor costs if i supply my own radiator.» The response I got from the same condescending receptionist was first a rude «we charge extra for labor when you provide your own parts.» Okay… no problem, then she tells me they can only credit $ 50 towards the repair cost… then she stops talking and abrasively says that she’s never gotten such a weird question before and that she’ll have the owner call me back after his lunch break. Well as I’m sure you guessed, that man is apparently still on his lunch break because Sterling auto sports hadn’t gotten back to me. This place has rude staffing, over priced service and just plain bad vibes.

Brought my BMW here for a second opinion on strut replacement. Sterling determined that the lower control arm bushings were the culprit rather than the struts, saving me over $ 1000 in unnecessary repairs. This is how you build trust. Also had other repairs made, I am a satisfied customer.

Had them inspect my 944 just to calm my mind about any problems with it.
The Porsche tech said it was in great shape and all I could do was thank him. Such a relief, very honest and didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need.
He even took me under the car and showed me around. Great.

*****WARNING******
I had an oil leak on my BMW 328i and decided to go here based on the perfect reviews. They inspected my car for 45 minutes and then explained to me that I needed a new Vacuum pump which would cost 413.98 plus 4 hrs of labor for 408.50 and an oil change for 90 dollars which equated to 912.48!!!
They were very eager to have me get it done ASAP. However, I was skeptical, so I took it over to another location (AutoCare USA) and they told me within 5 minutes that the ONLY reason for the leak was a worn out rubber band that seals my oil tank.
They replaced the rubber band, my oil filter and topped off my car with the oil that spilled out. Total charge 47.40 and my car is running just fine. NO MORE leaks.
I cannot believe Sterling Autosports is this DISHONEST! Either they are writing their own good reviews, or the people going there know absolutely NOTHING about cars.
What bothers me the most is that they had the mechanic show me under the car and «explain» to me why my car was leaking and the expensive part that needs to be replaced in an effort to make me feel better about spending a small fortune. My wife told me to just pay the amount and get it over with, and If I didn’t have the time to shop around I would have likely paid the outrageous amount.
They were ready and willing to replace an expensive part they KNEW did not need to be replaced. It was a very simple fix that they were attempting to make a ton of money on. I have never been to such a dishonest establishment and I WARN everyone to watch out for this place. They are running a straight up CON. Needless to say, I will NEVER be back here again.