Gary’s Pit Stop

When my ride dropped me off the owner Gary personally came out and washed her windows because I said that we couldn’t see on the way there. This happened when Gary replaced my engine. He was the only one who would accommodate my half-​finished project. He gave me back my car with a shiny new engine block I had mailed there, ready for me to finish assembling, which was very unusual for me to request — and was very easy to work with the whole way. His staff worked very hard to help me find a machine shop, work around my towing /​dropoff schedule, manage my spare and extra parts, work around the giant crate I had mailed to their small facility, and make sure every small piece on the old engine was transferred over so I could hook all my wiring and accessories back up. Was very straightforward and up front with money and cost, and flexible with payment. I feel like I got a great deal compared to anywhere else.

Okay, full disclosure, Gary is a friend. But as you can see from his solid rating, he needs no fluffing on my part to bring more business to his doorstep. The interesting part of this story is how Gary became a friend. A number of years ago, one of my close friends asked me to stop by where Gary used to work to drop something off to him. I met Gary, immediately resonated with his homespun manner, and thought the next time I need some automotive work, I’ll call Gary up. Well, not very long after I had that thought, my car broke down late at night in a gas station with no service bays off the 405 and National Blvd. I first rang up that same aforementioned friend who I was coincidentally now on my way to see. He suggested I call Gary and ask Gary what I might do. When I reached Gary, he was many miles away near the beach. I told Gary about my situation. Without hesitation and without my even asking, he told me he’d make a trip out to see me and help me get my car back on the road. Come on, now, who does that? Anyway, 20 minutes or so later Gary rolls up with tools in hand and has me back on the road in 15 minutes or less. Asks for nothing, Just happy to help a friend of a friend out. That is exactly the quality of person you are dealing with here. (Please don’t expect that Gary repeats that act of generosity.) Just understand that he is a real person who has a vein of authentic kindness running through his body and that he is a trustworthy dude. And I think that is what everyone hopes for in the person that they entrust to take care of something as important and vital as an automobile in L.A.

Gary is too honest to be true. My oil light was on and had to stop by Gary to add some oil. He ended up adding two cans but refused to charge me since I am one of his customers.

Last night I got a nail in one of the tires. The only place open at that time (around 8 PM) was Pep Boys, so I went there. Their manager took a look at it, and said I have to replace that tire because a patch wouldn’t work as the nail is too close to the edge of the thread. I asked him to patch it anyway, and he refused.
This morning I went to Gary’s, they fixed it right away (even though they had other cars in the shop) and didn’t even say that it was too close to the edge! And charged only $ 15 (Pep Boys would charge $ 20).
Both, Gary and a mechanic working on it, were nice and friendly.

I have taken my BMW 335i twice to the shop. The communication is straightforward, no games. The car was ready when they said it would be. Each time I picked up the car, the car drove like the day I bought it. I paid reasonable fees for the work that was done. The second job was a bigger job — no complications. SUPER great alternative to the dealer — not liars — not a rip off.

Horrible customer service and unbelievably rude. Furthermore, I had to go to another automotive place to fix the additional issues that were caused by the poor attention to detail. Do not waste your money, just start at a better shop.

I brought my wife’s (newer but previously owned) VW into Gary’s the other day because some sensor lights had been going on. In addition, the brake’s had been squealing. After they looked it over, I received a call that they had gone over the car, found nothing wrong (other than a well-​known quick oil change place I had brought it to being unable to adjust the sensors or apparently put air in the tires) and gave me some advice about having the VW location apply an anti-​squeal material that was missing from the brakes. Gary’s readjusted the sensors and did not charge me for the work or advice. I really appreciated that. Thus, while I cannot comment on the quality of their work, I do give Gary’s huge commendations for being upright and honest (which is a big deal in the neighborhood) and I WILL bring my car to Gary’s when service is needed because they showed that they know the proper way to do business. (Plus I have heard good things about the shop anyway).

This guy is absolutely brilliant, very professional team.
I should say I took my 2008, 535 BMW to BMW dealership and they were not able to diagnose the fault and recommended to change the whole engine due to low oil pressure .
I was very disappointed until a friend of mine introduced me to Gary.
This guy is amazing, honest, fair and super professional. I would like to thank Hector for his time and support on my car.
I would definitely recommend Gary pit shop to everyone. I am super happy with their team Gary, Hector and jesse.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. I was just treated SO RUDELY by Gary himself AND I’ve brought my car in to Gary two times prior. NEVER AGAIN!!! He made me feel as tho I was in the wrong for arriving by 8 AM and was flustered and roaming around in a horrible mood while his other 2 useless employees ignored me. I am appalled. Will never come close to this establishment again and will certainly warn everyone about this place going downhill. Guess Gary is getting tired and needs a vacation. Or better staff. THIS PLACE IS THE PITS

Just got back from Gary’s this morning, and I am happy as can be. A few days ago a bunch of lights came on in the car all at once and I was worried, but I came out of there unscathed — just replaced one tire sensor and got an oil change. I should also mention that last year I had taken my car to the Mini dealer and they had prescribed all these costly fixes, but Gary & Jesse did an evaluation and found that I only had to go forward with a few of the fixes at a fraction of the cost. Gary also recommended Wise Tires to replace the run-​flats on my car, and I was just charmed by their family run-​business. All in all Gary’s Pit Stop is a great place to bring your car to. Highly recommend.

*Update
Had our Infiniti FX35 towed there. I’m glad they do Japanese cars too. They diagnosed and replaced the radiator within one day at a reasonable price and gave me a 12 month warranty on the parts and service.
The people are courteous, the service is great but most of all I’m confident I’m dealing w honest people that won’t rip me off. That’s a rare experience at an auto shop. This was a lucky find.

I was looking for an honest mechanic who isn’t going to rip me off and give me good pricing and I feel like I’ve found that in Gary!
I called couple other BMW mechanics about my window making crunching sound when rolling up & down and Gary was the only one who knew right away what the issue was. He came highly recommended by my friend so I thought I give him a try.
Upon inspection of my window, he patiently explained the issue and told me he won’t charge the extra hour of labor for removing the airbag in order to fix my window problem. I was pleasantly surprised by his generous gesture.
He fixed the problem in couple of hours and when I went to pick up my car, I casually mentioned a minor problem with my right blinking light speeding up occasionally and going back to normal. Again he knew right away what the issue was and replaced the light bulb and the socket and didn’t even charge me for it!!! What mechanic these days fix anything for free?!!
I’m so thrilled to find Gary and will definitely will be taking my BMW to him from now on. Give Gary a try. You won’t regret it :o)

Gary’s super helpful and upfront with prices. He’s our go to.

I went to Gary’s because the light for my rear brakes on my bmw 750 indicated I needed new brakes, when the mechanic took my rear wheels off he noticed my brakes were practically new and all I needed was a new sensor. I had never met an honest mechanic but now I have…

Gary’s Pit Stop is a shining example of what an auto shop should be. I’ve taken my 2006 325i to them twice and both times had excellent service.
The first time I had my oil changed, brake fluid flushed, and my battery changed. I feel I received a fair price: less than half of any of the BMW dealers in town.
Just today I received my car back after having the spark plugs changed and a coil changed. They informed me that my valve cover gasket was leaking and caused the previous coil to go bad and recommended it be changed; I appreciate that and will be returning in a few weeks to have that done.
What really impressed me was that yesterday afternoon I went to go pick my car up (I called and they told me it would be done in 45 minutes). In that time, a part came in and the supplier didn’t provide the right one. Gary showed me exactly what the problem was and apologized, even offering to pay for my Über rides to get there and back. That really impressed me.
In short, I will be returning anytime I need maintenance on my car, and bringing my girlfriend’s Mini in. I would recommend Gary’s to anybody, hands-​down.

‘ve taken my 2007 BMW 328i to Gary’s twice now and both times have been fantastic. My last visit a couple weeks ago was for a simple oil change and maintenance service. I dropped the car off in the morning and picked it up after work (the crew was able to drop me off and pick me up at my office as I’m pretty close).
Absolutely NO problems! Gary’s prices are FAIR and his service1000% better than any BMW dealership I’ve been to.
I question the validity of many of the negative reviews here; remember there are always two sides to every story!
I highly recommend Gary’s Pit stop and will continue to have my car serviced there.
–Michelle

I have a 2008 BMW 328XI and live nearby… DO NOT GO TO GARY’S. Spend the extra money and go to BMW or wherever your car can be serviced professionally! ONE appointment turned into four appointments because they could not get it right at Gary’s. I originally went in for an oil change. Apparently, they were trying to «be nice» and rotated my tires. But, they cannot balance them in the shop as they do not have the right equipment. My car was totally thrown off balance as one of the weights in the tires fell off and they couldn’t fix it. I brought it back in for new brakes a week later and told them about the shaking. They drove it and said they «didn’t feel the shaking” — So, I get the new brakes and go on my way. I’m on the freeway the next day and my car is literally bucking and smells like fire and burnt rubber. I call them and they send a tow truck. Later that day, they call and tell me they pulled the emergency brake too tight when putting on my new brakes. They even had the audacity to try to use my AAA membership so they didn’t have to pay for the tow– too bad I don’t have one. When I picked my car up, the shaking was even worse than before, the car vibrating out of control at high speeds. I bring it back to Garys again. Gary himself drives the car and tells me to go to a balance shop and get the tires done. This was THEIR FAULT for rotating them when I DID NOT ASK THEM TO DO SO. They admitted it was their fault and they shouldn’t be rotating tires without the proper machines to balance them– they told me to go to another shop to balance them. Did they offer to pay? Of course not.
DO NOT GO TO GARY’S. I SPENT OVER $ 1000.00 THERE AND THEY DIDNT EVEN OFFER ME ANY MONEY BACK OR TO PAY FOR MY TIRE BALANCING.
MY CAR HAS NOT DRIVEN THE SAME SINCE GARY’S PIT STOP. I got my tires balanced and it still shakes. Go to BMW!

These guys are great, I have a 2005 BMW X5 and anytime I need an overall service or anything specific repaired they are always very accommodating, reasonably priced, very knowledgeable, stand by their work and most of all dont try and over charge or have you do extra service that is unwarranted for needs of my BMW.
Through their honest, good service I am a loyal customer.

I have been taking my old ’87 BMW to Gary for service ever since he’s worked at this location, long before it was his own shop. He’s a breath of fresh air — honest and kind, and always looking out for his customers. If you get to chatting with him, you quickly realize that he’s an overall genuine and kind human being, which combined with good service is just wonderful. I hesitate to replace my old car for fear he couldn’t service whatever I’d buy to replace it — I trust him that much.
A small example: I recently took my car in since a brake warning light came on. They found that the light itself was the only issue, and since they’d serviced my brakes last year without replacing the aging sensor, they installed a new one for free. They also did an assessment of the car and let me know about other issues they found, and gave me options for fixing them or not (I chose not to). Ordinarily this wouldn’t be too odd, but I’d left my car there to be serviced while on vacation for 5 days, taking up precious space in their yard. I nonetheless walked away without paying a dime.
I can’t overstate how great it feels to know that when something goes wrong with my car, I can take it to someone who will do good work and treat me honestly.
Most of the other mechanics who work alongside Gary are great too. There’s only been one guy in all the years who I wasn’t impressed with, but I haven’t seen him in a while now, so perhaps he’s not there anymore.
I couldn’t be happier with Gary, and will take my car there until it literally falls apart (though I’m sure even then that he could put it back together)!

I’m not sure if this place has changed ownership or if the reviewers are being paid off, but something’s not right here.
These are just the facts:
My 2004 G35’s Vehicle Dynamic Control light, SLIP light and Check Engine Soon light came on and the car wouldn’t go past 20 mph — limp-​mode. A friend of mine who used to work on Nissan’s recommended Gary’s Pit Stop, so I called them up and asked if this was an accelerator sensor issue and how fast the turnaround time would be. They said that if I brought it in early the next morning, the turnaround would be 1 – 2 days tops.
Friday — Dropped off the car at Gary’s the next day (Friday early am), and Jimmy (the guy who seemed to be running the office) said he’d call me with all of the details. True to his word, Jimmy called and said that it was the accelerator pedal/​sensor and it would need to be replaced which would cost about $ 400 for parts/​labor (their labor rate is$ 95, pretty high). I just wanted to get it done, so I agreed.
Saturday — They did the work, but the issue wasn’t solved and so they had to go back to do more diagnostic testing.
On Monday, I called asking what the status was on my car. Apparently, put in more time, but couldn’t figure out what the problem is. They had called Nissan/​Infiniti dealerships and other places and still no luck. I told Jimmy that I needed my car back and asked how much the bill would come to now, since they hadn’t found a solution. Jimmy said that they’d take care of it, and went into a one minute monologue about his credentials with Nissan/​Infiniti and how he had heard that this was a problem with other similar models, but no recall from the manufacturer had been issued. At this point, after all of this extra time spent on tests, I asked Jimmy what the anticipated charges would be and he said, «don’t worry, we’ll work something out».
Finally on Tuesday, after running all sorts of diagnostic tests, they figured out that there was a chaffed wire that was causing the problem the whole time. So I probably didn’t need the new accelerator/​pedal/​sensor etc. But nevertheless, my final tally went from $ 700 to $ 1126, and 1 – 2 days turned into 5 days. When I told Jimmy that these bills are way too high, he responded with, «yeah, you know, it just took us a while to figure out what the problem was…» Riiiiiight.
Needless to say, I won’t be going back to Gary’s Pit Stop.