Good Morning, I would appreciate any feedback on a local SD vendor, "Apex Engineering" just off of Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

I am in the middle of having what I would think is a very routine oil cooler install done, but, it has taken seven days and over $1,000.00 so far and the car is still at the shop.

Any other input?

7 days for an oil cooler install? call bs, raise hell with ben. i mean shit, john did an install in a few hours, shouldnt take trained professionals 100x longer.

p.s. does your car have k1's and a roll bar?

Sounds somewhat familiar. I have had mixed experiences with them. Some good, some bad.

IM or PM me if you want to know more.

Sounds all too familiar too. I had a buddy that had his M3 there many times to get fixed. It never got fixed properly and his wallet was a lot lighter. Also, when questioned, the people at Apex were never there, messages were left, and no phone calls returned... I would stray away from Apex... They tried to take my money too, but I didn't let them.

I have no complaints. If I can't do the work myself then I'll bring them to Apex. I can even call a few of them after hours when i need some mechanical advice on the weekends.

They're are cool guys and their shop rate is reasonable.

I have no complaints. If I can't do the work myself then I'll bring them to Apex. I can even call a few of them after hours when i need some mechanical advice on the weekends.

They're are cool guys and their shop rate is reasonable.

yup

I have had multiple bad experiences with them. I'd never take my car there again and will not recommend them to anyone.

OK, I think there might be some issues with the OLD crew at Apex. Granted some of the people not happy with them have been there recently, but for the most part I have heard nothing but GOOD feedback about them in the last 2 years. Before that there were a couple of people there (can't remember specific names) that did not have good customer service skills and a generally bad attitude.

All the recent work I've heard of my friend's getting done there has been excellent, and they would recommend the shop in a heartbeat (as some on this thread already have). The work I can not do myself on my M3 will be done at Apex. Their labor rates are on par with other shops in SD. And not many other places that know BMW's the way they do also know what is good for racing. Most of the dealerships and other independant shops don't know that much about taking the cars racing. Apex GOES racing. If that is something that you need when looking for a place to work on your car, Apex has obvious advantages over other shops.

My experience is as follows. The guy that worked at the desk (brent?? can't remember his name) used to always talk shit to other customers about my M3 when I wasn't around. He was also quoted several times as saying why would anybody turbocharge an M3..saying it was stupid and stuff like that.

Now about their work ethics.
They put in my clutch and pressure plate, and the thing slipped ALL the time. I took it back to them and they wouldn't fix it. I told them EVERYTIME I get on the throttle hard I smell burning clutch--basically they called me an idiot and sent me on my way. Nice waste of 1500.00 for a Sachs Clutch and lightweight flywheel. I never went back.

Wow sounds like you're better off going to the dealer than these guys...

Bad experience with them also. Took my car in for some squealing issues, first they replaced the pullies. Few days later more squealing, then they rebuilt the alternator...gave the car back to me. Next day heard the squealing again...they finally determined it was the water pump. So $600 dollars later for a water pump problem and a few hours wasted of driving back and forth...not too good of a shop IMO .

Good Morning,

Well, I have good news for the San Diego BMW community, I have had a great experience with an independent shop called Apex Engineering just off Clariemont Mesa BLVD and the 163.

I have always wondered why BMW does not have an oil cooler for the US spec M3 and why kits are so hard to find, so I put together one of my own and finally found a shop that could do the custom work justice.

Ben and his team at Apex Engineering may have taken their time but they certainly exceeded my expectations. I will have a full tech write up next week with pictures, but if you have ever wanted a great oil cooler for your M3 or E36, I highly recommend them.

PM me if you want more details or can not wait for the official tech write up with pictures!

Bad experience with them also. Took my car in for some squealing issues, first they replaced the pullies. Few days later more squealing, then they rebuilt the alternator...gave the car back to me. Next day heard the squealing again...they finally determined it was the water pump. So $600 dollars later for a water pump problem and a few hours wasted of driving back and forth...not too good of a shop IMO .

I think any other shop would have done the same. At least they started by replacing the cheapest parts first.

Belt squeals aren't always the easiest things to find.

However I empathize with those that have had bad experiences, I feel the same way about every BMW dealer in town.

hehe, trent talks shit about me too. I just talk shit back. :) Those guys are purists. I always talk about my plans for an S50 E30 M3 and they laugh cause they're all about the S14. I bet EVERY service shop talks smack about the customers when they leave, just like customers talk smack about shops.

$.02

I think any other shop would have done the same. At least they started by replacing the cheapest parts first.

Belt squeals aren't always the easiest things to find.

However I empathize with those that have had bad experiences, I feel the same way about every BMW dealer in town.

hehe, trent talks shit about me too. I just talk shit back. :) Those guys are purists. I always talk about my plans for an S50 E30 M3 and they laugh cause they're all about the S14. I bet EVERY service shop talks smack about the customers when they leave, just like customers talk smack about shops.

$.02


Purists? More like morons. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy on those f*ckers or Mechtech either.