L & M Foreign Cars

These guys are the worse imaginable mechanics, and people known to man, and the competition is fierce. Bill, the dad is a jaded, money-​hungry old know-​it-​all. Michael, the son, will insult you upon sight, if you’re lucky enough for him to bother speaking to you. As for the work, they installed the wrong expensive breaks in our 85 westfalia, which we had to have replaced as soon as we went elsewhere. Do yourself, and then a favor and go elsewhere at all costs.

These guys are great and I highly recommend this shop. I bought an older 3 series BMW wagon in a private sale that turned out to be a complete mess. I should have taken it to L&M first. After no success with another shop, I looked online and saw all the positive reveiws and decided to give it one last chance with L&M. They were very upfront and clear about the long list of complicated computer and electrical problems and years of apparent neglect that was not clear when I bought the car. The entire team was very professional and clearly experts in their field. Their communication was excellent throughout, and they always gave me the price before doing any work. After a long saga to obtain the correct parts from BMW and others, they put everything back together and it feels like a different car ready for its second life. I knew enough to find an indie German car specialist rather than taking it to a dealer, and I really feel like I selected the right people to work with. 5 stars!

Just had my first experience with Bill and his team at L&M Foreign Cars and I simply cannot imagine going anywhere else from now on. My recently purchased 2005 Volvo V50 was fitted with new suspension & brake components, as well as a heavy duty Turbo Control Valve and now has a new lease on life. Communication is great, passion for the automobiles is high and you can tell that they maintain a very high standard for their workmanship. What a great family business and definitely worth traveling a little further from home for. Oh, the pricing is also very reasonable indeed.

Bill and his sons, Mike and Mark, have helped me out big time several times in the last year with my 1986 BMW E28. They prepped it for a long summer road trip by finding hard-​to-​spot leaks and fixing them and recently performed some magic to sort out a window regulator. In everything they do, they are super communicative, really clear in explaining the problem, and fair in their pricing. For the window repair, which expert mechanic Norbert sorted out in about half an hour, Bill said, «pay what you think is fair.» Another time, when I was stranded with the car, Bill was able to get me going again by diagnosing the problem over the phone. Luckily, I had a spare for the broken part. They really know these older BMWs well.

Really like these guys. I bring my Audi A4 there whenever I need repairs. I almost gave them 4 stars because my last visit, they forgot to deal with a warning light that is still on and because their garage is so damn far away from any public transport. But if you have a German car, they are the best, hands down. They take you car in as soon as you call, their turnaround is quick and they are fairly-​priced. Would recommend to anybody, especially those with German cars.

I live near downtown brooklyn and have usually gone to garages in gowanus for small repairs. However, after a friend filled my diesel jetta with gasoline last summer, I had a hard time finding anyone that could do the work… and was told quite frankly by a few shops that the damage might not be worth repairing. I was actually referred to l&m by one of these garages and I had a great experience with them. They’re honest, they know what they’re doing, and fixed my car quickly and cheaply. They are a bit difficult to get to from my neighborhood, but I couldn’t recommend them more highly and will be taking my car here for any major repair in the future

I have had both a q7 and a6 worked on at L&M. I have a great deal of confidence in these guys. The amount of information and knowledge they share about the car continually amazes me. They are always fair and do what they say they will do – i have never had a negative surprise. We have used them to do very complicated repairs such as a timing belt, replace head gasket to routine maintenance. Michael, Mark and Bill are very easy to work with and I will continue bring our car there.

I have a BMW 528i and it had some very complicated mechanical and electrical problems. Both Billy and Michael were very honest, courteous, and professional. At every turn they made sure that I understood what the cause of the problems were and what the best approach to address the problems would be. They made sure that the car received the repairs it needed and did their best to work within my budget. L&M will be my repair shop regardless of what car I have in the future.

They usually work on German cars but they diagnosed my Lexus and took care of the problem rather expeditiously. They took the time to explain what the problem was and I was kept abreast of the situation throughout the day.
I think I found my new mechanic.

L and M always impress me with their expertise, honesty and courtesy. They have worked on my audi for a few years and they truly put you the customer first, rather than themselves. On my recent visit Billy made a diagnosis but attempted to resolve the problem in the most cost effective way. With the caveat that if the fix doesn’t work a more intensive and expensive repair would be required. It is truly confidence inspiring when your auto professional is interested in you as a customer and not simply making a dollar. Aside from their excellent work, their unparalleled customer relations ensures that I keep returning. I couldn’t recommend Billy and Michael more wholeheartedly.

Found L& M on Unilocal and had an experience consistent with what all the other 5-​star reviewers are saying. Michael was thorough, careful, honest, and friendly while remaining professional throughout. I have taken my Audi and, once my dad heard about how great these guys were, his BMW to L & M, and been more than satisfied with the work they did, and with the excellent customer service.
These guys really care about their customers — and about cars! — and it shows.

I have a 1973 VW Bus which means I don’t have very many options when it comes to mechanics who know what they are doing. I’ve spent the last few years searching for one I could trust. And with L&M I’ve more than found what I was looking for.
A few points
–My bus runs better than it ever has, despite me trying varied mechanics.
–I came in for electrical help, and the owner sat with me for 20 minutes for free, giving me tips on what to try on my own first, instead of just taking it and charging me for work.
–They take the time to explain things in as simple a way as possible, even if you don’t know cars.
–They are outrageously straightforward and honest from the start. I’ve listened to them speak with many people in the office. Sometimes customers just want to be told a fix is cheap and easy. They are patient and honest when something is more complicated, and let the customer decide how to move forward. But they don’t half ass things.
In the end, I’m just sad that my other car is American, so I can’t bring that to them too…

I found this shop on Unilocal and was impressed with all of the positive reviews, but I had a pretty bad experience. I’m an avid BMW lover, and just moved back to NYC from California where I got my first 1988 E30 that I loved and cared for even though it was a problem-​ridden rust bucket. I upgraded to a E39 wagon that I currently love and care for, even though its 15 years old and has its fair share of mysterious issues. One more thing to mention, I’m a smart, mechanically inclined female who looks about 10 years younger/​more inexperienced than I actually am. I’ve owned and worked on motorcycles for years, and am very familiar with what it takes to be a good mechanic.
First insult: I have a detailed record of maintenance for my car that my previous mechanic took into account when I first brought my car to them. It helps to know what kind of issues your car has had in the past when bringing it to a new shop to diagnose a new problem. These guys couldn’t care less about any past records, and insulted me further by saying «How can your car be in this shape with all of these detailed maintenance records.» Gee, I don’t know, thats why I’m bringing it to you.
Second insult: My car, because of a mysterious electrical issue, was operating in fail safe mode. This means the car locks into third gear, stays there, and shuts down most of its operating functions to save itself from failure. The mechanic actually used a bicycle metaphor to explain gears to me, as though I had never heard of a gear before. Super insulting. At least treat me like an adult when you’re explaining something to me.
Third insult and deal breaker: After my car was in the shop for 24 hours, no diagnostics were run, they hadn’t taken a look at it, and had no idea what the problem even could have been. This is inexcusable, especially since I called the day before I brought my car in to see if they had the time for me. So, I picked up my car and drove it to a different mechanic. On the way out, the guy yelled «You’ll never find a better shop than us!» Well guess what, I did. Their name is Bimmer Motors Group and they’re in Long Island City. They were great, treated me and my car with respect, and had a pretty good idea of what was going on as soon as I started to describe the problems. They repaired it with grace and my car is running PERFECTLY now.
In short:
If you love your car and want to build a relationship with a mechanic that loves it too, don’t bother with these guys. Further, if you’re an intelligent woman who likes to be treated with respect regardless of how much you knows about cars, run away.

I am so happy that I went to L & M Foreign cars for my Mini Cooper. They are friendly and helpful. They have been there for 45 years and are very professional. I will come to them to service my car from now on and recommend them to everyone who owns a foreign car that they love and want to take care of.

I’ve had a lingering check-​engine light for more than a year that indicated a problem with the Catalytic Converter. I had taken it to 3 different mechanics, all of whom said «Oh, it’s nothing, ignore it, it’s too expensive to replace a cat» and cleared it out.
A week or two later, it would click back on, and eventually my car started driving strangely. It just didn’t rev like it used to.
After reading the reviews on here, I took it to L&M, and they walked me through everything they were going to do to diagnose the actual problem.
Turned out it was a leaking air boot, not the cat, they repaired it, and the check engine light hasn’t returned and my car drives like my car again.
Couldn’t be more grateful for these thorough and well informed mechanics.

I have been bringing my 2007 Audi A4 Quattro to L&M for almost 5 years now and have always received wonderful and fair service. Whether it is myself or my wife bringing the car in they Bill and Michael always take time with us to gather exactly what is going on with the car and what we want done then take the time to explain what they plan on doing.
They do thorough diagnostic work and always present you with options as to what needs to be fixed, what should probably be looked at, and what you need to keep an eye on for next time and are straight forward with how much repairs are going to cost and how long they will take before starting any work. They are honest in their assessments and don’t try to scare you into doing work that is unnecessary or premature.
I had a particular problem with my vehicle once that required multiple rounds of diagnostic work to final track down the problem, yet even though I had to visit multiple times I was only charged for the work once and they ultimately were able to refer my to a dealer shop that had a software update that only the dealer could apply.
I think this is as trustworthy shop as they come and that Bill and Michael are friendly, patient, and genuinely interested in making sure that their work is done correctly.

These guys are the very best. They’re honest, thorough, and skilled. Michael called us to check in a few days after we picked up our car. I’m about to start looking for a new car and literally thinking about not getting a Subaru because they don’t service them.

This is a highly reliable place. If you are suspecting a serious problem on your foreign car, do no hesitate to meet with Michael. Their dog is great too.
As my strange Volkswagen problem took only 5 minutes for Michael to resolve, he did not charge me anything.

I would give 6 stars if I could!
I’m a relatively young female, and am intensely skeptical of any mechanic for the rip-​off factor, especially in New York. L and M was highly recommended to me by a family member, even though I have an American car (Saturn Ion). SO I gave it a shot.
Not only did the son of the father/​son team take the time to explain, in detail, what was and could be happening to my car, but went on to teach me preventative measures to keep the car from having further problems. He SCHOOLED me, I learned so much! And I was not condescended to for not knowing as much as I should about cars. These guys take their time with you, they ACTUALLY care! High quality!
I needed new break pads and rotors, and the father ordered them on the spot and the parts arrived 20 minutes later. The $ is more than fair for the excellent service. I’ll definitely be coming back and recommending them to everyone!

Fortunately, I do not have a ton of experience with car mechanics after getting lucky with my cars (and then not having a car for years).
But when my poor Minicooper had all sorts of problems, I brought it in to L and M, explained my ignorance of all things car repairs and insurance and they took care of me without talking down to me.
Car is fixed and they helped me deal with insurance. For the unpleasant experience dealing with car problems, L and M made it as painless as possible.