Good indy shop near Astoria, Queens?
 

Hey guys, Im new to the forum and the area and wanted to know if anyone knew of any good reasonably priced indy shops near Astoria, NYC. I just bought a '00 X5 with 90k, and i want to check just about everything, so as to be on the safe side. I am an attention-to-detail person, and i don't mind changing literally everything on my baby, in order to keep it safe n sound.
Thanks for any input

Sam

Welcome,
what part of astoria are you in?
theres one indie shop on 38th street. up the block from the Astoria Sports complex.
Bimmer Motors Inc

Thank You! I live on 23rd Avenue and 37th Street. Never seen that place before. Are you satisfied with their services?

Bill over at BimmerClinic in Elizabeth, NJ
(732)218-7632

If you get the answering machine, leave a message . He's probably just under a hood...
alan with the black X5 sent ya.
He's good peeps, thorough and fair.

Sam check us out V & S Motor Service and Collision in Bayside NY. I am a sponsor on this forum. I can help you out with any of your service needs for the X5.

718-229-6800

ask for me Vincent

Do NOT take you car there. They are a ripoff place and the owner Val is a very nice scumbag! He personally told me to my face (well over the phone anyway, but said it to me directly) that he has a $40k monthly overhead for his shop and thats why he lied and told me he only used BMW OEM parts and then installed aftermarket in my vehicle. He is a f-ing slimeball grease monkey liar! DO NOT take your X there! His employees even admit he's a lispy lying leech!

I'd suspected price gouging the previous 3 times I'd been there and my bills were consistently $1500 and better but when I got the last ill I did some investigating.

I've actually never used their services either..I just thought Bimmer Motors inc looked legitimate because they claim to use OEM products.
My x5 was still under factory warranty until a few weeks ago so I've been going to BMW of manhattan..
however I have been to Bay Diagnostics in Brooklyn.. theyre GREAT.
but i do wonder if there are any dependable indy shops closer to Astoria?

Went to Bay Diagnostics too. I went there for a check engine light that'd come on and then went out. I also wanted to see about my 1 quart every 800 miles consumption problem.

I wound with a $1600 lighter wallet and $500 of the $2100 bill was covered under my extended warranty.

They said they replaced The oil filter housing gasket, the variable intake runner (what is that?) and the MAF that was replaced about a year ago. They also replaced my thermostat saying that there was a sensor in it that was faulty and if it wasnt replaced, the codes causing the ses light wouldnt clear.

The engine doesnt run any differently. I know they are site sponsors and thats why I brought my X to them. But am I being naive?

I DID NOT have a positive experience with Bay Diagnostics. They left my X on the street parked with the keys under the mat (as instructed) but the car was left unlocked. I don't account this as a simple mistake ...YMMV

i paid bimmer motors a visit, and left their premises quite troubled. they said my car, 90k that is, needed all of the following:
-coolant hose
-valley pan
-int. manifold gasket
-air mass boot
-front right cv boot
-ps hose
-valve cover gasket
-upper timing cover gasket

the sum was around $3500 labor, and i do not intend to visit them again in the near feature. i already back ordered these and i few more parts from ecs tuning (i.e thermostat, expansion tank, water pump, etc.) and i am now looking for a nice capable DECENT mechanic to install them. previously i had visited a non-bmw shop who only mentioned the cv boot and the valve cover gasket.

i understand i own a bmw, but i am not willing to allow indies, dealers or anyone else to steal my hard-earned money!

I might try V&S but i am open to other suggestions too.

Thanks

p.s: which of the above repairs do you consider imminent, and which should i combine in one fix? the most annoying thing is that it keeps on giving me the p0701 code