Need Excellent Mechanic in Portland Area

[sefb222]

lots of issues ive heard of over the years. very incompetent mistakes etc. i.e. 4 out of 8 (i think) transmission bolts reinstalled after clutch changes etc. ask tom (mot on here) about his experiences with them.

unless youve personally had issues with them, what youre doing is just shit talking, based on hear-say.

theyve done absolutely flawless work on 4 of my cars.

[Funkmasta]

unless youve personally had issues with them, what youre doing is just shit talking, based on hear-say.

theyve done absolutely flawless work on 4 of my cars.

I agree that this sort of talk about Pacific Motorsports is unwarranted and unnecessary. If Tom chooses to share his experiences, that is one thing.

Also, Tom's situation was really lame, but remember there is an entire second side to the story.

There is a LOT of knowledge and ability in the shop at Pacific Motorsports, but no shop is perfect. Jozsi's has also been around forever...

[smonkbmw]

unless youve personally had issues with them, what youre doing is just shit talking, based on hear-say.

theyve done absolutely flawless work on 4 of my cars.

ok, how bout they took almost 3 weeks to replace a DOOR LOCK on my e36? and even after that time it still never worked right.

good for you if they have done flawless work on a car. when people have negative experiences with shops, sellers, business in general they are completely free to mention any experience they deem. its just how it works. and at that time whoever is seeking advice can either take it or leave it. it happens all the time with autobahn sport, even on here. yet people continue to shop with them and have varying opinions regarding their transactions.

im honest and dont speak anything cept truth regarding experiences. ive had a bad experience with almost every specialized bmw shop in the portland area. from massively overcharging to taking weeks on end to complete the simplest of jobs.

saltzman motors-charged me almost $2000 to swap a m30 with another m30 in my 535. took almost a month and a half for them to do it.

adrenaline racing-told me my oil pump was going out on my eta. turns out i had a bad pressure sender.

autohaus bayern-dont have personal experience. but some things ive called to get a quote on they have been plain ridiculous on pricing. since the head mechanic used to work for Dinan he likes to charge Dinan prices for everything.

pacific motorsports-f'ed up my lock. and many MANY people have had bad experience with them (search for them in the NW section). sorry joe, just because you supply them with parts doesnt mean no one can speak bad of them.

Mike OHara-is expensive but gets the job done, and done the right way. ive never had a problem with them. they fixed my e36, my parents M roadster etc.

ive never done business with Boyds before and there are still a few independent shops out there i havent tried or heard of.

to the OP: its a old m10 car, just swap a m20 or m42 in it and call it good.

[SiGmA_X]

lots of issues ive heard of over the years. very incompetent mistakes etc. i.e. 4 out of 8 (i think) transmission bolts reinstalled after clutch changes etc. ask tom (mot on here) about his experiences with them.

It was worse than that... They were putting Tom's M52 with a ZF in... First it took MONTHS, partially due to Tom supplying a lot of the parts. When he got it back, the clutch and throttle didn't work properlly so he left it with PMS for a few more days. Got it back and the clutch was acting funny and Mike said he thought the input bearing retainer was damaged on the used tranny due to excessive force required to install the TOB, so instead of replacing something he thought was bad ahead of time (On a HUGE bill, and extra $25 would have not been an issue, jesus!) he slapped the tranny in. So we pulled the tranny, and found these bolts.

Those would be the two starter bolts, and the oil pan bolts. NOT any of the real bellhousing bolts! Way to go PMS, safety first, and DOING what the customer PAID for!! But I have to say, it was very easy to remove the few bolts that were in there LOL!

The guide sleeve/bearing retainer was so bad that we had to infact grind the metal down to remove it... Excellent work PMS!!!

With my E30, I've had good luck with Pacific Motorsports, and German Autowerks in Hillsboro as well. I can't say the same for Autohaus Bayern though.

-Tucker

I too had a bad experience with Autohaus Bayern. Simple dead crank sensor on my e36 325is was diagnosed as a bad DME. This is discoverable in perhaps 5min if you know what you are doing with the car, but Brandon didn't feel like using the GT1 to look for cranking RPM off the bat, and I was told I needed to spend ~$1100 on a new DME, and 1hr to code it as it has to be coded... Which 93's do not need!

I agree that this sort of talk about Pacific Motorsports is unwarranted and unnecessary. If Tom chooses to share his experiences, that is one thing.

Also, Tom's situation was really lame, but remember there is an entire second side to the story.

There is a LOT of knowledge and ability in the shop at Pacific Motorsports, but no shop is perfect. Jozsi's has also been around forever...

There have been lots of PMS issues, and lots of good comments. There should never be the mass quantity of bad cases however. I'd LOVE to hear that second side, because I know Tom's side and it pretty much covers the actual actions of PMS. There are a LOT of slopppy things that PMS did with that swap to say the least.

[alor]

The problem I am having with my m10 is not with the engine, but somewhere in the ignition, electrical, or fuel injection management system, so a new engine wouldn't fix it. It is a strange problem that doesn't fall into the usual causes and cures. Besides the present engine is in very good condition as far as compression and oil consumption are concerned.

I didn't think I was asking anything that would stir up so much controversy, but I guess that just goes along with the intensity we all share concerning our cars.

Alan
.

[smonkbmw]

I didn't think I was asking anything that would stir up so much controversy, but I guess that just goes along with the intensity we all share concerning our cars.

to me i see no issue. people have their preferences and experiences and that is the point of forums is to get these opinions and make your own decision. as i said before if you go on the local section on bimmerforums there are tons of these threads, might help ya more over there.

[sefb222]

to me i see no issue. people have their preferences and experiences and that is the point of forums is to get these opinions and make your own decision. as i said before if you go on the local section on bimmerforums there are tons of these threads, might help ya more over there.

i agree.. these threads are important. i was just sayin that those who have personally been fucked should be the ones posting about the experiences.

it just makes them more credible, you know?

to me it's weird that this sort of shit happened at PM, as they've been super anal about everything done to my cars.

[daniel]

to me it's weird that this sort of shit happened at PM, as they've been super anal about everything done to my cars.

perhaps they have learned from their mistakes.

[sefb222]

perhaps they have learned from their mistakes.

and/or fired the offending mechanic?

[smonkbmw]

/\ thats quite possible. i know there are few of the original mechanics there.

[Lance Racing]

Being from Seattle I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I will say that I get tired seeing people bring up some grievance they had from 5 or 6 years ago as if it were still a recent problem. If a shop is dropping the ball on RECENT work, I'd want to know that. But these shops are putting out a lot of work on a monthly basis, sure they will have a problem here and there. For me it's how they dealt with the problem that counts.

Also, realize that some customers will never be happy. Shop owners talk, and some customers eventually get black listed from shops. Some customers are not worth the effort. The good shops all send their guys to the same continuing education classes, so they do all know each other.

Also, realize that many shops don't really like to work on E30s anymore. We're considered cheap and don't spend enough money. They would rather spend their time on newer BMWs off warranty that have older customers willing to pay larger tickets.

cheers, Lance Richert

[DipStick]

I have had good experiences with Pacific Motorsports as well.

[MrSalumi]

Autohaus Bayern is a joke. PM is pretty good. But absolutely go to Mike Ohara. I had a mysterious problem in an old 325e that I towed the car to two shops before Mike Ohara. I dropped it off and he called me less than 15 minutes later. I'm not kidding. I wasnt even on the freeway yet. Mike is the man! although he is losing his hearing, so dont take a noise problem to him ( I did later, it was comical we were both laughing)

[Mafiaracers]

I rely on Joseph Gilmore at Munich Motorworks. Great service/work, rates are some of the best around.

503-757-6054

[jeffw]

I had a 318i and it was a pile of shit. swapped to a m20 and its been a dream since. my suggestion is don't waste your money at a shop. just swap it.