SOCAL Mechanic Shop Reviews

[SkiFree]

Seems Castro's is a decent shop.

If your looking for '02 repair or otherwise then I've really enjoyed Mat @ Ronin
Autoworks in Fullerton. He vintage races a sweet Gulf scheme 2002.

[rlddlr53]

I know, I started the thread lol

but my guy is not a backyard mechanic. He has his own legitimate shop, speedzone. You just have to speak korean if you call

[ApexGoblin]

Richard at Michelangelo Motorwerkes (irvine) is an awesome mechanic. he knows his stuff, and I mean really knows his stuff... ask him how to remove or replace something and he will most likely know the number of bolts, the bolt sizes and exact prodcedure off the top of his head. im practically there everyday doing something on my e30 :)

word of advice though, Richard is a little older, incredibly smart, and experienced, and hates to be interrupted, so when he talks just listen :P

[yert315]

Castro is a cool guy. I just wish he had a better location. I hate weaving my car between 3 other shops in that alley

[e30polak]

For the record just because Castro's gets the most whored in this thread doesn't mean the others should be ruled out. Don't get me wrong, Chris does great work and I have used him myself but don't forget about the other guys!

Mike, I am not working at TNG currently but the owner (John) and I are still friends and have been for 10 years or so.

No, we're not the only shop in SoCal area. However, we've gained the reputation we have for a reason. While Chris' shop is small, and could be in a better area of town, he is a one stop shop for ANYTHING you want. Not many other shops have the same versatility that Castro's offers.

Fabrication skills, custom tuning with RMS, custom turbo kits, custom bodywork, we have a great upholstery guy, etc.

As far as older BMWs are concerned, Chris is one of the best out there! Chris also has a lot of experience with domestic cars and JDM.

So of course my recommendation is Castro's Smog & Repair, as I've had only good experiences with the shop over the past 4 years. Now that I've been a business partner, I can appreciate what Chris and the crew do that much more.

I only mentioned my guy as I used to work @ BMA, and know a lot of different shops as they supply parts to a lot of shops including Castro's.

I just cant justify paying $80/hour labor when I can pay significantly less for the same work from someone who is either as qualified or even more qualified than a lot of shops.

Plus when someone doesnt have the overhead such as rent, paying employees, etc and works by themselves, its always less $$

My experiences have been with my guy Stan in Burbank

and recently a guy named Jasper who does a lot of s5x swaps.

That's all fine and dandee, but when you have multiple large projects to deal with each week, along with a constant flow of returning customers, there is a need for the overhead of a larger shop.

I'm sure your guy does great work, but your argument is a 2 way street. The same could be said to invest the money in tools and learn to perform all the work yourself. :p

there are a ton of backyard/indie guys out there of course. but that's not the point of this thread?

X2

I know, I started the thread lol

but my guy is not a backyard mechanic. He has his own legitimate shop, speedzone. You just have to speak korean if you call

Another reason why he probably doesn't have the same need for overhead as most of the other shops listed. When you only speak 1 language, which is not the predominant one spoken in an area, you truly limit your customer base/appeal. I would never take my car to someone who couldn't clearly and logically communicate what needs to be done and why IN LOCALTHE COMMONLY SPOKEN LANGUAGE.

Castro is a cool guy. I just wish he had a better location. I hate weaving my car between 3 other shops in that alley

Yeah, we'll hopefully be opening a new location early next year, which will be larger, with more parking, and in a more centralized area of town. :D

[IRON-E]

Hopefully be opening a new location early next year, which will be larger, with more parking, and in a more centralized area of town. :D

Bravo. :bow:

[greanthumb]

preach on brotha... preach on!!:hitler:

[IRON-E]

Where can I find out more about this burnett?

In North Hills, it's puto's backyard boogie........

[tonywonder]

jiffylube

[greanthumb]

brakemasters.

[rlddlr53]

lol He actually speaks korean, english, and spanish, and wouldnt think he spoke anything other than english. He actually has probably $200,000 or more worth of tools. He has a body shop next to him that does very good work.

I was just giving my 2cents, as from how I worked where I did, talking to various shops, and making deliveries seeing each shop, conversing with them etc.

No, we're not the only shop in SoCal area. However, we've gained the reputation we have for a reason. While Chris' shop is small, and could be in a better area of town, he is a one stop shop for ANYTHING you want. Not many other shops have the same versatility that Castro's offers.

Fabrication skills, custom tuning with RMS, custom turbo kits, custom bodywork, we have a great upholstery guy, etc.

As far as older BMWs are concerned, Chris is one of the best out there! Chris also has a lot of experience with domestic cars and JDM.

So of course my recommendation is Castro's Smog & Repair, as I've had only good experiences with the shop over the past 4 years. Now that I've been a business partner, I can appreciate what Chris and the crew do that much more.



That's all fine and dandee, but when you have multiple large projects to deal with each week, along with a constant flow of returning customers, there is a need for the overhead of a larger shop.

I'm sure your guy does great work, but your argument is a 2 way street. The same could be said to invest the money in tools and learn to perform all the work yourself. :p



X2



Another reason why he probably doesn't have the same need for overhead as most of the other shops listed. When you only speak 1 language, which is not the predominant one spoken in an area, you truly limit your customer base/appeal. I would never take my car to someone who couldn't clearly and logically communicate what needs to be done and why IN LOCALTHE COMMONLY SPOKEN LANGUAGE.



Yeah, we'll hopefully be opening a new location early next year, which will be larger, with more parking, and in a more centralized area of town. :D

[MR 325]

Definitely looking forward to see Castro's open a new spot!

[e30polak]

I know, I started the thread lol

but my guy is not a backyard mechanic. He has his own legitimate shop, speedzone. You just have to speak korean if you call

lol He actually speaks korean, english, and spanish, and wouldnt think he spoke anything other than english. He actually has probably $200,000 or more worth of tools. He has a body shop next to him that does very good work.

I was just giving my 2cents, as from how I worked where I did, talking to various shops, and making deliveries seeing each shop, conversing with them etc.

Did you miss the part where you wrote you HAVE TO SPEAK KOREAN when you call? From that information, you made it seem as if that was his only language.

$200,000 worth of tools is expected from any quality mechanic, not very impressive. A shop can buy a $150,000 Dynapack dyno and have only $50,000 of tools, or they could pay $50,000 for a massive Snap-on tool box. It's not what kind of toools they have that matter, it's what that can do with them, and how productive they are. Now if he has $200,000 or more in revenue each year that he makes from those tools, then we can better guage his ability to move through work on his own, and market himself to a customer base.

I'm sure your guy does quality work, but just like Robert at E30 Motorwerks, a 1 man show causes a waiting list. Some people don't have time to wait a month to bring their car in if they want it done in a timely fashion.

Definitely looking forward to see Castro's open a new spot!

So are we! We've totally out grown this shop, and need a better image. I have projects lined up for us till the end of the year, but we need a bigger spot for the work flow we're bringing in!

This new location will be a collaborated venture between Chris, me and Nigel (einstein57).

[greanthumb]

dream team shit "B"^^^

[decorated1]

In North Hills, it's puto's backyard boogie........

I would definitely recommend BMW (burnett motor works), the master tech is a holder of a doctorate's degree in diy's , the hell with lifts and tools, all he needs is a cooler and bbq grill!:),