View Full Version : Found an AMAZING local mechanic - BMW Excluservice


Zeke
02-09-2005, 11:51 AM
BMW Excluservice
12224 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, Maryland 20852
(301) 231-5400

Owner=Lothar (very cool guy)

I delt primarily with Stephan who was a great help, I asked about SSKs and he did some reasearch for me on the different kits etc...

I dropped my car off at this bmw place that ive seen on parklawn drive the other day after deciding i didnt like the work VOB BMW was doing. I called them up yesterday explained my problems (rattle/bad O2 sensor) and the guy i spoke to told me to bring it in any time that day. So i take it there, the place being a little sketch at first but that changed fast. The two guys i talked to seemed very knoldgeable and friendly. They pulled my car around back and put it up on the lift, right there like 7 guys rush under it checking it out. As many of you know my left side skirt was off its clips at the front (so it was hanging off just alittle) and my front right bumper moulding was torn off so it was scraping the wheel in turns. Right away one of the guys fixes my skirt and then goes ahead to fix the moulding. Next they straightened out and reattatched my exhaust because it was a little off angle. (this is with me not even mentining any of it).

*will finish this later im off to lunch

Ok now that i ate and at work i have time to finish :stickoutt:

What i loved about the place is the owner, Lothar. The guy is a German man, grew up and studies auto mechanics. I spoke to him with my dad and he was a cool guy. As one of the mechanic's was checkign under my car his shirt wasnt fully tucked in and he got mad at the guy, it was great knowing that he was running the show (demand for perfection). All the people i talked to were friendly and very helpfull. They kept my car overnight to see if the sound came back in the morning when it was colder (I told them cold weather made the noise louder). The best part was that the owner/guy who set up VOB BMW brings his car to them to get worked on :eek:

Anyways they fixed up all the problems with my car, replaced O2 sensor, ran the G3 computer scan on it or whatever you call it + wiped out the codes. My total was $311 including parts. So according to them all the little problems are fixed, which i didnt take it in for but its great, and the O2 sensor is good.

Edit: finished review->

Well i picked up the car.
I got 5% off for being a bimmerforums member :)
The way Stephan explained it to me all bimmerforums/BMWCCA members get 10% with cash, 8% with CC, and 5% with American Express. good stuff.
Anyways, the car is in great shape, all the little things are fixed, most importantly the O2 sensor, which you guys should have checked out, it made a HUGE difference in the way the car drives. I can officially say they are my new mechanics.

sardil
02-09-2005, 12:01 PM
Weak.

You couldn't take the extra min. to finish this up? ;)

Mikey52
02-09-2005, 12:07 PM
No kidding, remind me not to get in between you and a plate of food. :eek:

woobiee
02-09-2005, 12:25 PM
yup they are great guys.

i go there all the time

samm3
02-09-2005, 01:41 PM
I believe the original owner, Lothar, was going to sell it to a couple of the mechanics(don't know if its a done deal). I had some insurance work done there when I had a small accident. Lothar, told us he would personally oversee that my car was done right, body work, parts, paint, etc.

Well he fucked up- and then lied about it. :mad He said it would take 2 weeks and ended up being 29 days. Most shady asshole ever. He sent me car to a shitty body shop that didn't replace anything on the insurance claim list. They just bent everything back into shape and did a shitty paint job. Apparently Lothar just went on vacation- and not one mechanic that actually works for Excluservice touched the car.

The radiator was leaking when I went to pick up the car!! I wouldn't have made it home if I hadn't inspected things. Lothar lied about everything and didn't even offer to take of the problem.

Anyway, one of the mechanics that was buyin the place decided to work the next saturday and take the whole front end of my car apart and redo everything. He did an awesome job, and I believe he had a family member pass away the day before and he still got my car done. I wish I could remember his name. But if he owns the shop now, I can see that it would be a great place.

MikeHsu
02-09-2005, 02:30 PM
They do great work at Excluservice. I highly recommend them.

I am going to take my e30 there to get everything fixed.

Michael C Hsu

sunir
02-09-2005, 03:07 PM
I trust NO shops in our area unfortunately :( ...the only 2 guys that work on my car now are out of state...

Curry's has one guy I trust, I also trust MA Motorsports, and that's about it around here...

too many dishonest folks out there...my car requires very careful attention to detail since I'm out there on a race track routinely throwing it though a corner at triple digit speeds...not the right time to find out a guy at a shop made a booboo :shifty ;) :eek:

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 04:13 PM
[QUOTE=samm3]I believe the original owner, Lothar, was going to sell it to a couple of the mechanics ......... Lothar, told us he would personally oversee that my car was done right, body work, parts, paint, etc.

Well he fucked up- and then lied about it. :mad He said it would take 2 weeks and ended up being 29 days.QUOTE]

I am certainly sorry for the service you received. You are right about 1.5 year ago two guys art and hector were going to buy the place from lothar. However the deal fell threw. There was a 6 month period when there was alot of transition and employees were coming and going and unfortunately the handling of your car fell through the cracks. I've been here for one year now I came on board in feb of '04. I can tell you that Lothar is very sensitive of caring for his customers and so am I. Again I am sorry for your poor service.

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 04:22 PM
BMW Excluservice
12224 Parklawn Drive
Rockville, Maryland 20852
(301) 231-5400

Owner=Lothar (very cool guy)

I delt primarily with Stephan who was a great help, I asked about SSKs and he did some reasearch for me on the different kits etc...

Thank you for the compliment it is much appreciated.

Phat Ham
02-09-2005, 04:31 PM
too many dishonest folks out there...my car requires very careful attention to detail since it's the LTW :alright

clintjg
02-09-2005, 04:38 PM
Hmmmmm.....

Mad Dog 20/20
02-09-2005, 04:51 PM
Yeah, Exclu has been known as the best BMW shop in the DC/MD/VA area for many many years. The only down-sides are price, and that they usually can't fit you in without a week's notice. But that's the by-product of being the best in the area.

I've been taking my cars there since 1991. Never had a bad experience with Exclu with 3 different BMW's. Have had a few suspensions done there, clutches, flywheels, etc. The one time I had an issue, the car was quickly made right - no charge and no questions asked.

Lothar is cool as shit - took me for a little tour of the place while I was waiting for my ride. Showed me a Z8 by BMW Individual that they were servicing, as a few of his own 30+ year old FLAWLESS and RARE classic BMW's. Periodically, he ships the cars to Germany to show . . .

Exclu puts places like Curry's, Pro-Imports and other places that are NOT BMW specialists to SHAME. Except for corner-weighting or other track prep, I see no reason to visit generic "speed shops".

Exclu rocks. :buttrock

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 04:58 PM
They do great work at Excluservice. I highly recommend them.

I am going to take my e30 there to get everything fixed.

Michael C Hsu

Thank you Mike

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 05:03 PM
Yeah, Exclu has been known as the best BMW shop in the DC/MD/VA area for many many years. The only down-sides are price, and that they usually can't fit you in without a week's notice. But that's the by-product of being the best in the area.

I've been taking my cars there since 1991. Never had a bad experience with Exclu with 3 different BMW's. Have had a few suspensions done there, clutches, flywheels, etc. The one time I had an issue, the car was quickly made right - no charge and no questions asked.

Lothar is cool as shit - took me for a little tour of the place while I was waiting for my ride. Showed me a Z8 by BMW Individual that they were servicing, as a few of his own 30+ year old FLAWLESS and RARE classic BMW's. Periodically, he ships the cars to Germany to show . . .

Exclu puts places like Curry's, Pro-Imports and other places that are NOT BMW specialists to SHAME. Except for corner-weighting or other track prep, I see no reason to visit generic "speed shops".

Exclu rocks. :buttrock

Thank you for the compliment it is very appreciated. I've been working on the workload scheduling and we are now only one or two days out for scheduling in some cases I can do same day service.

thanks again

samm3
02-09-2005, 05:09 PM
I am certainly sorry for the service you received. You are right about 1.5 year ago two guys art and hector were going to buy the place from lothar. However the deal fell threw. There was a 6 month period when there was alot of transition and employees were coming and going and unfortunately the handling of your car fell through the cracks. I've been here for one year now I came on board in feb of '04. I can tell you that Lothar is very sensitive of caring for his customers and so am I. Again I am sorry for your poor service.

Looks like I'm the only one who's had a bad experience, thanks for the apology, it wasn't your fault though. I'm about to hit 150k and I figure I'd do the major service (inspection II). Maybe I'll bring it to you since I don't have the time or the tools to do maintenance work myself anymore. It was Art who was extremely nice and re-did all of the work on my car. Does he still work there?

-Sam

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 06:05 PM
Art is no longer with excluservice

Zeke
02-09-2005, 06:14 PM
Steph: I took the car for a drive and it feels much better not to mention my OBC is telling me i got 17mpg average on the drive home where its been normally telling me 12-14mpg average. I also think (may just be me) that it pulls a little stronger. Thanks again for your help.

Steph@exclu
02-09-2005, 06:40 PM
your mileage will probably improve after the replacement of an o2 sensor since the dme now can see what the fuel/air mixture is. Thank you! for your compliments and the business.

douwd20
03-18-2008, 08:40 PM
Does anyone have an update on this shop? Is Lothar still the owner? An amazing attempt to fleece me just went down I believe.

mmmcookies...
03-19-2008, 09:18 AM
im going there :)

douwd20
03-19-2008, 10:48 AM
Good luck. Get an estimate and shop around.

Preppy
03-19-2008, 03:07 PM
I'd try Autoy-Autowerke as well. I took my e36 there and also the x5...got great service each time

http://www.autoy-autowerke.com/

NYQUEENZ
03-20-2008, 02:45 PM
I'd try Autoy-Autowerke as well. I took my e36 there and also the x5...got great service each time

http://www.autoy-autowerke.com/
Hey bro what eva happen to the gray Amanda?