South Lake European

SLE just completed working on my daughters Mercedes C Class for wiper issues. Brian was incredible to work with through the process and diagnosis. Because it is a 15 year old car we worked out the best plan to get it fixed and the key parts replaced to keep it from failing again. The previous owner had it to Barrier Mercedes 2 years ago for a wiper motor replacement and they had to replace it again last year on warranty because it failed again. Brian immediately knew the gear transmission/​linkage was bad which was causing the motors to burn out. The car now has the quietest wipers and they work flawlessly. Our family also have an E and ML class which we will now take to SLE for all future maintenance… it was a great experience.

I have a 2004 Mini S and it wouldn’t start. I did not have an appointment but I took it into this facility hoping that they could diagnose the problem and fix it on the day I took it in even though it was 1:00 in the afternoon. Brian was very helpful and did some tests and determined that it could possibly be a couple of things. He decided to start with the simplest thing which was the battery even though it tested good. He didn’t have one in stock but he was able to get one within an hour, installed it, and cured the problem. I have had my vehicle in before for other services and I would highly recommend this business.

I’m so glad I drove by this place. I was in need of an oil change and I didn’t want to venture all the way up north to Audi. This place really took care of me. I’ll be back and I would recommend this place to anyone that has a euro car. Make sure you make an appointment ahead of time, because they’re usually pretty booked up.

Let’s talk for a second about mechanics. I’m new to choosing my own mechanic and I’ve heard horror stories about ones who say «oh, I wouldn’t drive this thing one more mile without having your (fake thing that sounds necessary to basic car function) and (fake thing that sounds scary) and (real thing that isn’t actually worn or broken but hey! You don’t know that!) fixed. No siree. You’re going to have to do that today.» That sucks, because this conversation assumes you’re not knowledgeable and takes advantage of it, and also is probably going to be expensive to «fix» things that either don’t exist or things that do exist but don’t need fixing.
In my experience, South Lake European just doesn’t do this. In fact, I’ve brought my car in to have things replaced due to wear, and they’ve told me it’s fine for now and we should check it in 6 months or so, at my next oil change. What?! Talk about honesty.
I really love this place. I feel confident leaving my car in their hands. I feel confident that if I bring my car in to have something fixed and it doesn’t need fixing, they’ll call to ask if I still want that work done instead of just going ahead and doing it and charging me. I trust that if I bring my car in for XYZ issue and they notice something else that needs attention, they’ll call me while they still have my car to let me know, and they’ll thoroughly explain the issue and how that impacts my car, and tell me truthfully whether it’s an urgent fix.
Long story short: These folks do honest and top-​notch work and talk to me like I’m intelligent (even though I’ve blatantly told them I know not all that much about cars). I recommend them VERY highly. They’re great for pre-​purchase inspections, great for regular maintenance and repairs, and have incredible customer service on top of that. I feel like I’ve found a rare or mythical gem of a shop.

Got a track day inspection for my E92 M3, and new high performance brake fluid for the track day. they were quick, pleasant and professional. While I waited, I chatted with the office staff and they were clearly knowledgeable enthusiasts. Great experience.

My first (and last) service experience with SLE on July 29, 2015 was unfortunate, and I will not trust them to work on my vehicle again. I was referred to SLE, checked their impressive Unilocal reviews, received a prompt appointment, and was pleased with coordination for my scheduled service. On my initial call I’d explained to Brian that my 2010 Volkswagen GTI was due for 90K service, and the rear brakes were making a scraping sound. He assured me that a comprehensive initial inspection would be performed when my car was in for service. When I picked my car up I was told that an oil/​filter change and vehicle inspection (including brakes) were performed, and valve & timing cover gasket replacement was recommended. Soon after I left, I realized the scraping sound was still there. A follow-​on inspection at Les Schwab revealed there wasn’t *any* right rear interior brake pad left — just metal on metal! After I peeled myself off the ceiling, I spoke with Brian; he explained that SLE doesn’t typically inspect interior brake pads, because interior & exterior pads *typically* wear evenly. Because I’d specifically called out the rear brake concern, their failure to fully inspect or road test my vehicle was completely unprofessional and unacceptable. With SLE’s service quality in question, my GTI is currently in for service at Volkswagen of Kirkland: full rear brake replacement including right rear caliper (piston was seized) and brake flush, coolant flush (coolant contaminated), oil feed lines off turbo replacement, valve cover reseal, timing case gasket replacement. SLE may perform great service MOST of the time, but clearly not ALL of the time. Beware!!!

Let me be the first to shed some light on the practices here. As a former NYer, I have seen and heard it all. That said, I brought my vehicle in a few weeks ago and received an estimate of over a $ 1,000, for a new brake rotor, brake pads, and possible caliper (they wouldn’t know if a new caliper was needed until removing & testing it). When I asked if they would call me first to let me know if the caliper had to be replaced, I was told by Brian, that he needed the full amount of the estimate authorized before starting on the work. For those that don’t know, it means that we have to trust that they just won’t decide to replace it and tell me it was bad, because I already authorized payment for the possible replacement. When I told him I wasn’t comfortable doing that, he responded with «oh, its a trust issue, look at all our reviews. My response to that is, reviews don’t mean squat, because when your best response is look at my reviews, that tells me that you don’t have much experience handling customers as their website claims. Someone with experience and business sense would say, here is a first time customer, let me gain his trust, not by telling him how good my reviews are, but by going out of my way to give him a call when we know whether the caliper needs to be replaced and why. Lifetime customer maybe not, but would probably get repeat business, so to someone with a MBA, no business sense or experience present there. Furthermore, after explaining my vehicles condition, I asked what my options were, he responded by giving me the estimate of a new rotor, pads obviously, new caliper potentially. However, when I asked about repairing the rotor, he appeared shocked as if I knew nothing about cars, and responded by saying, well we don’t recommend it, and it may not be to the manufacturer specifications after smoothing it down. What that says is, this so called experienced guy didn’t listen to what I asked, which was what are my options, a experienced response would have been — we recommend you replace all components/​parts, but you could try to have the rotor repaired, which may save you a little money and would have to meet width specifications, however, we don’t do that here. That’s the very definition of honesty, telling me what my options are whether that means getting my business (money) or referring me somewhere else (not getting my money). So I wouldn’t trust this place no further than I can throw them, as they don’t understand the fundamentals of establishing a repeat/​lifetime customer. BTW, I went online, ordered a rotor, caliper, both OEM, pads all for $ 180.00. Took off the wheel, disconnected caliper, replaced the rotor, replaced pads, determined caliper was fine, reconnected caliper, tested brakes, test drove, have driven 300 miles already, need to send caliper back that I ordered –100, total cost 80 $ + 2-​hour job for someone who only knows enough to do an oil change on his own. $ 80.00 vs. $ 1100.00 (for an experienced mechanic, this is an hour job at best, we will estimate that at $ 65.00/hr labor, that means for pads, rotor, caliper — $ 1035, A WHOPPING 1300% MARKUP ON PARTS, WHAT A JOKE.

You know, normally I wouldn’t bother adding a review like this. I mean, this place has 44 reviews, all 5-​stars so does another one really add anything? Well, I have this beloved 2002 Audi S4 that is approaching distance-​to-​the-​moon mileage. A few months ago, it started misfiring and I needed to take the car somewhere. I took the car to South Lake European several times while I was living in Renton as I waited for my remodel to complete, but by the time the problem came up, I was living in Seattle so I decided to take it to University Audi. One month and $ 2,900 later, University Audi gave the car back and basically said I needed a new engine. So of course, I take the car to Brian and through a series of intense troubleshooting and diagnostics, they find the problem (electrical) and fix the whole thing up for a tiny fraction of what I paid University Audi to not fix anything.
The S4 has been serviced at a lot of places: University Audi, Barrier Audi, German Independent in Los Angeles, Tomas Sport Tuning in Berkeley — but none of those places were ever as good as South Lake European has been. If your car is still under warranty then absolutely you should take it to the dealership since you can’t really beat «free», but other than that, I can’t think of a reason to take your car anywhere else.

Second time with my 2008 GTI here. Had a check engine light on and after lots of investigation needed my intake manifold carbon build-​up cleaned. They needed a bit more time and called to ask. Finished product is a silky smooth idle and increased fuel economy. Engine feels like it is 20k newer. Service is friendly and most of all honest.

I gave a 5-​star rating, but I want to make it clear that this is not because it’s the most affordable choice. These guys are very good, and deserve the hourly rate they charge.
My ’92 325i had several electrical issues that were very difficult to track down but due to their tenacity and level of service, they identified all the problems and provided ample feedback and status updates during the repair.
I recommend this shop. They are a great bunch of guys and a solid shop.

If you want the job done right and don’t want to pay the high prices that the dealership would charge; then bring your vehicle to South Lake European. They have a clean establishment, professional staff that enjoy working on cars and fair pricing. Give these guys a try and you won’t regret it. I go to them every time I need something done on my BMW even though they’re 45 minutes away from where I live. Totally worth it!

The service, professionalism and expertise of the staff at South Lake European went above and beyond anything I have ever experienced with car repair. The staff are friendly and explained issues with me in words I could comprehend. The prices were a fraction of what I would pay at the dealership, but more importantly, I finally felt like I wasn’t getting robbed. I will never take my car anywhere else!

I’ve posted a 5 star review previously, but I have to do it again because I still can’t believe the level of service that SLE consistently provides. I had a light out, and was quoted 2 prices, since it was not clear which light was needing a replacement. One was pretty expensive while the other was only a couple of bucks. I took it in and was told it was the $ 2 light. I was expecting to wait, but it was done in a matter of minutes. The honesty was refreshing! Another time we were heading out of town with a full car of folks, and a different light went out. We stopped in, and Brian walked to the auto store next door to purchase the light. He had us on the road within 10 minutes. These guys are full of knowledge and integrity. They take the time to listen, explain and give the best deal possible. I feel fortunate and confident that SLE are there for us.

I liked the customer service I received today. South Lake felt like a trustworthy business.

I walked into a clean front office and was greeted warmly and professionally. I had no prior knowledge of South Lake European other than I seen clean cars out front. I wanted to know if they could order a part for my older BMW classic. Brain Terril the manger informed me he could, but he asked me some questions about my car and the problem that I had to make sure that indeed I needed the part I had inquired about. He explained that a DYI guy would think as I did about the problem, and I do love to fix my own, but he let me know that most likely it was another part, and how to test, and then after testing and fixing, how to avoid the problem from happening again.
Brian let me know if I couldn’t get my car to run after that, their charge to diagnose the problem in order for me to fix my own car was very reasonable. Instead of talking me into the dark, and keeping me clueless, so fix they problem themselves and charge me a big mark-​up on the parts and gouge me in labor for what could be a 15 min fix, he encouraged me to try a few things first. It came across that South Lake European would rather start a relationship instead of making some money on a prospective customer first. I’ll be taking my car there in the future and sending others just because of the respect they gave me, the common a man, who simply wants to keep his car on the road and be a part of the reason it is on the road.
Alvin L. A. Horn

Yes. Five stars.
I have known Brian and Derek for many years as I have transitioned through multiple BMWs and now with my latest M3.
Short version: Trust these guys, use this shop without hesitation.
Longer version: They are fantastic to work with, do excellent work, and are responsible, reasonably priced and accountable. They have done emergency work for me, they have done maintenance and now actively work with me while my DIY skills and projects are increasing. I trust them explicitly when they say yeah. do it yourself (which they DO say) or no, honestly not worth it or there are DIY concerns that make it better for them to do the work.
I cannot recommend them more highly, and I have experienced all three of the local BMW dealerships, and worked with (imo) the two flagship BMW service shops in the area. (Bellevue and Issaquah).
I cold called Southlake 1.5 years ago, looking for an oil change closer to home and work now and was OVERJOYED to hear a voice I recognized on the other end of the phone.
They deserve the praise they have received.

Very pleased with the level of service they provide their clients. I had an issue with my car window not operating and was referred to South Lake European by a friend of mine. I was tempted to get my car repaired at the dealership at first but decided to give SLE a try! Wow! They got the job done at a fraction of the price the dealership quoted me. They also offer complimentary shuttle service to their customers! I’ll be back!

Incredible experience. First class service and significantly less expensive. I had taken my BMW to the dealer where they had quoted me triple what it cost to get things fixed at South Lake European. Because SLE was able to identify the specific parts and problems rather than replacing entire systems we were able to save thousands of dollars in repairs. They also worked around my schedule and picked me up on time with the shuttle as requested. Thanks for the great experience.

I’ll keep this review short and direct.
As a Euro car owner, this establishment is rock solid and they are highly recommended. The service is stellar, honest, and fair in pricing. These guys take care of you and they don’t grease your wallet. A +

Isn’t this place a rock star repair shop or what?! By reading all these reviews, seems like everybody been here before would come back again if they need to. Certainly I will.
This is actually my 4^th or 5^th time visit this shop since last year. Little did I know how much work does my used BMW needs. I recently had my car’s cooling system swapped. I trust their works and Brian has always been really helpfully and knowledgeable in giving out advice. They are responsive if you have any questions about the repair. Good at giving updates while your car is in services.
You can feel the staff really cares about building a strong customer relations, and they back that up with top quality repairs.