Apex Motorwerks

I took my 2005 SL600 to Dave with 3 months remaning on my aftermarket warranty. It had some strange things going on with it and I wanted an expert to inspect it and Dave came highly recommended. He and his team did not disappoint. He got some of my stuff covered by my warranty company and other items I just had him do. They have the knowledge and the tools to do the job right! Believe me I own an automotive shop, if you want your Alfa Romeo fixed bring it to me, if you want your Mercedes fixed bring it to Dave. Thanks Again Dave Sincerely Jim

I am updating my review because I feel like my original review no longer does Apex Motorwerks justice. Dave has serviced my CLA250 for the last two years, and his is the only auto repair shop I can truly say I trust. You can tell when you are talking to Dave that he is honest and up-​front; I never feel like I am getting taken advantage of, or that I am paying for services that are not necessary. Dave does great work and his background in Mercedes-​Benz repair is extensive and impressive (MB Certified Master Guild Technician). The shop itself is clean, quiet, and efficient. There also isn’t a lot of technicians running around the floor; just Dave and Bert (so they work hard, to say the least). You drop your vehicle off in the morning and it is generally ready to go (in tip-​top shape, at that) at the end of the day.
I referred my girlfriend to Apex as well, and I’d do so for any one else with a Benz.

I bought a used Mercedes in 2011 and within a few weeks took it to Matt and Jeff’s for a carwash. The attendant asked me if I was familiar with Dave Ball at APEX Motorwerks and gave me a card. I was thrilled to be able to find a quality MBZ repair shop in Novato. The work at APEX is excellent, and the prices are fair. (not like the dealer) They are extremely honest and will never try to sell you something you do not need. They helped me with multiple issues after my car went over 100k miles. Just traded my car in on another MBZ and will definitely stick with APEX.

I had big issues with RAB Motors and Dave came to the rescue. Apex is professional and respectful, but most importantly they know what they are doing. Dave was able to diagnose and fix issue with 2 of my cars. If you are looking for an insightful smart group of guys to work on your Mercedes, Apex is the one you want.

This review is written by my sister who recently had her Mercedes serviced by Dave:
Dave was extremely professional and helpful from the moment I called him inquiring about a B service for my car! I had already booked a service at RAB but after having Dave tell me that his service would be $ 300 less, I went with him. What a great choice. He actually went ahead and told me I didn’t need a B service so only did the A service, rather than charge me more for something I didn’t need. He checked out a couple issues I had been running into the car as well as replacing my break fluid and a couple caps. I brought the car in at 9 and heard back from him around 1 and was able to pick the car up by 4. Super quick and affordable. He seems like a genuinely honest mechanic and businessman. I will absolutely only bring my Mercedes here now. If you’re thinking about going to RAB, rather than paying a ton more for standard service, go to Dave to save money and deal with an honest guy!

We found Dave when we moved to Novato about 5 years ago and needed to have our Mercedes serviced. We have not gone anywhere else since, even though we’ve moved 30 minutes away. Before we found Dave, we used to take our car to the dealership for service thinking they would do a great job since they are the dealership. Our experiences with shops were nightmares. We always ended up fixing something that we didn’t know was broken. They would say that it’s «recommended». Also, the prices are so different depending on which shop you take it to, but they’re all high. We started to regret that we ever bought a Mercedes.
Since we started going to Dave, we would never even consider going to another shop. We bought another Mercedes only because of Dave. We know that our cars are in great care. Dave is super knowledgable and will not up sale you if your car does not need it. He is honest. He does not need to sell you because his integrity will make you want to come back. He’ll remember you on a personal level unlike mechanics at the dealerships who treats you like you’re just another customer and how much they can make of you. When we buy another car, it will only be a Mercedes as long as Dave is in business.
I’ve read other reviews of Dave, it seemed like the words were coming out of my mouth. Everything that was said about Dave was what I’ve experienced (nothing but good things). I’m only posting this now after 5 years was because I just finally signed up with Unilocal,and Dave was the first I wanted give a review for. Trust me, you won’t regret taking to Apex Motorwerks.
Dave, if you’re reading this… just letting you know that I’ve advised you on my Facebook.

This review is on behalf of my dad (who doesn’t have a Unilocal account), because he’s so grateful to Dave that he’s asked me at least 5 times now to leave this positive review for him.
This used to be my Dad’s go-​to repair shop until he moved out of the area a few years ago. Unfortunately, since then he’s only had terrible experiences with the local Mercedes dealership in his area. They would overcharge him several hundreds of dollars beyond that the repairs actually cost. Aside from the pricing, they couldn’t even fix whatever problems he had with his S class. Overall, they were just unprofessional and a nightmare to deal with.
Dave’s incredibly knowledgeable, honest, and helpful. His prices are extremely reasonable, way below dealership prices. Now my dad will only take his car here. Whenever he has a reason to be in the area, he drives 3 – 4 HOURS just to stop by Apex Autowerks.

Hi Folks,
Mrs. Corn here checking in. I wanted to share that for 13 years I was a RAB SNOB… until Matt and Jeff’s car wash told me to take my Chariot to Apex Motorwerks. Well. I hesitated until the most current repair bill was going to be $ 1,000+ to fix my car. I brought my car to Dave Ball and Bert French and was quite impressed. They are honest, talented, funny and hands down the most handsome in the business! They even work on those fancy MBZ Sprinter mini vans and vans alike here in MARIN. Folks that repair them in the past have only been in Sonoma, San Francisco and East Bay counites… but look no further than our home Main to repair them. Their shop is so clean and they have the space for many cars and covered. It is hands down the only place to take your Mercedes-​Benz. Am I an APEX SNOB now… YEP!

Dave is the best. Apex ALWAYS goes above and beyond the call of duty. Best of all, he is honest, fair, and cares about you and your car. I remember one time there was an issue that Mercedes wanted to charge me $ 1,000 to fix and Dave found a work around for free. Or the time we were on vacation and had an issue and Dave worked us through it and found us the right person in Orange County. I could go on and on! We love you Dave!

We have been going to Dave for nearly four years for our two E class Mercedes. He knows what he is doing, only recommends what is really needed to keep the car running well, and charges a reasonable amount. Even when we had a car problem while on a road trip in Southern California, he was able to recommend a good repair shop there that took care of our problem. As long we have a Mercedes, we will continue to go to Dave.

I thought all the above too until I took my Mercedes back to RAB this week (a year later) and found the A and B service was free and last Oct with only 14,795 miles on my car and charged $ 350 by Dave that he wasn’t clear explaining to me how his certification and a new car under warranty worked. I also purchased windshield wipers from him for over $ 50 and he put them on and later when I needed them they made horrible scaping noises and sounds. I took my car back and he said they were warped and taking them thru a car wash could cause the problem. He replaced them but I had not used a car wash and did not need the accusation. I may be the only person with a bad rating and I hate it but after RAB told me my A & B service was free I determined quickly «the honesty.» Also, after taking my car to him, I was in Santa Rosa when my car had a problem with the fuel injection and I called Dave and he just said have it towed to the Mercedes dealership. He never called with a follow-​up to question what was wrong with my car, and this is what I thought an honest, local mechanic would be like… honest and dependable. Sorry for the hard knocks Dave but you are way too busy for my car.

You won’t find a better place to work on your Mercedes period! I spent a fair amount of time in the aviation maintenance field can tell just how good he is.
He is the only guy to work on my CL-​500. I had a problem with the MBZ dealer I bought the car from and he personally called the service manager and got everything fixed at no cost.
I have referred a former car repair shop owner and my son to him and they both swear by him as a straight shooter who you can trust to take car of your car.
Just to give an example when I had a Command Center problem, instead of just buying a $ 2500 replacement he took the time to totally go through the entire CL500 MBZ Fiber Optic system and found the problem. Don’t know how long it took, but the final bill was less probably 10% of what a MBZ dealer would have charged.
He is a multi year Mercedes Guild mechanic who knows Mercedes backwards and forward.
If you have a Mercedes, he is the mechanic to take care of your car

I agree with all of the stories below. I met Dave months before buying our 1999 C 280. He was patient and took a lot of time explaining the differences between Mercedes models and years. I finally found a C 280 in Los Angeles, bought it and brought in to Dave.
I was lucky and got a good car. He went over the entire car and my final bill was less than a 100 dollars and that included several small parts. FYI, he is a Master Mechanic and a Mercedes Savant. Look it up.
He also hooked me up with Diamond Tire, D & K Body Repair and Auto Sonics. His referals are all top shelf. He’s the only one that will work on our car.

I will never take my car anywhere else. Dave knows everything there is to know about Mercedes, he’s honest, personable, and the prices are much better then anywhere else. I’d give him 10 stars if I could.

Dave is truly the Best. We have an SL500 and ML 350. I would not let RAB or any other dealer touch my cars. Very Highly Recommended— we have recommended Dave to many friends– Its all EXCELLENT– Bravo Dave you ARE the Master MB Mechanic

If you own a Mercedes, Dave is the man!!! In addition to being a skilled tech and mechanic, Dave is super knowledgeable, super honest and super patient. He explains everything in as much or as little detail as you want … he doesn’t «make work» just to make a few extra bucks … and he treats you with complete respect. He also respects your wallet. This guy is a straight shooter who actually LIKES taking care of his customers and their cars. I am SO glad I found Dave. Nobody else will ever touch my car. I’ll drive 50 miles out of my way to get to Apex if that’s what it takes. Viva la Dave!!!

Dave is fantastic! He’s the only one to touch my AMG. Not even the dealer is allowed to.
Now, just to find his equivalent for my BMW & Chevy…

You will not find a better mechanic than Dave, he’s thorough, timely and priced best. for service that you will never question. I had to laugh at the «stealership» quote from another Unilocaler. The key with Dave is that he get the repair right on the first try, no hassles and completely the person you can trust both in terms of service value and the best job keeping your MBZ safe and reliable. Dave always goes the extra mile in service. including ordering tires from Diamond for my wife. and introducing us to another merchant that has his level of value and service too.

David had worked on my Mercedes a few years ago and did a fine repair job (just was needed) on my airmatic suspension system.
Recently my Mercedes S600 broke down and I had the unfortunate event of towing it to the dealership or «stealership» as some would call them. They had previously worked on my car so I thought the breakdown may be related to the past repairs. Not to my surprise, it wasn’t, so they stuck me with a $ 1400 to replace just one pulley on my engine. Like clockwork, they called my back later with a laundry list of additional items that needed done totaling thousands of dollars. One which was $ 500 to replace the belt tensioner.
I remembered my positive experience with David at Apex, so I decided to cal him for a second opinion. David was patient, gracious and took time to explain all the fine details to me. He even looked up the cost of the part. Found out the part only cost $ 124 list price. The labor involved was removing 3 bolts (¹⁄₆ hour work according to the service manual). So basically, the dealership was planning on charging me $ 374 to remove and replace 3 bolts.
I confronted my stealership «service advisor» and told him the part only cost $ 124. Miraculously, he adjusted the price down to $ 200 for the part and labor (and made it sound like he was doing me a favor).
David saved me 60%! My only regret was not taking my car to Apex in the first place. I am looking forward to picking up my car from the stealership tomorrow and taking it to Apex Motorwerks and never looking back.
Granted the dealership has a great lounge, service advisors in suits and free coffee and espresso. But for the $ 800 or so that they robbed me of, that’s one expensive cup of java!

I found Apex Motorwerks after I bought my last Mercedes and met Dave when he moved into the neighborhood. Dave is a master Mercedes technician who knows what he is doing, and is upfront and fair with his pricing.
I would highly recommend Dave and Apex Motorwerks.