Ecotech Import Auto Service

I’ve been taking my 1990 Volvo to Neil, Ecotech’s owner, for 12 years. I’ve followed him to 4 locations in that time. I’d tow my car to Lake St. Louis if that’s what it took to have him fix it. If you drive an European import, you need to take it here for maintenance and repairs. Neil and company’s honesty and expertise are unmatched in the St. Louis area. They take the time to explain what is wrong, why it matters, and the way (s) to fix it. If your car is old or you’re strapped for cash, they never fail to find more cost-​effective alternatives. They stand behind their work and are more committed to happy customers and operational vehicles than profit maximizing. I’ve never trusted a repair person more.

I recently moved back to St. Louis from Colorado and was worried I’d never find a decent place to have my 2001 Audi S4 repaired and maintained. I noticed a much larger percentage of big honkin’ American cars here and damn few Audis. I got more worried. The only guy I knew about who worked on foreign cars — in Fenton — never returned my calls, and the Audi was in need of new control arms and general TLC. And then, I found Ecotech. I don’t worry about Audi service any more. They are located in the same building where I used to buy parts for my 1960’s Triumphs and coincidentally, where I bought 3 of my 4 Saabs. I had my Saabs serviced in the same building, too, back in the day.
Misha and his guys are just great, very happy to explain what needs to be done, what they found, what needs to be fixed, and even what doesn’t. I’m a very satisfied customer, and I’m treated like one every time I go to Ecotech, even though I don’t drive a Saab anymore. I only wish these guys had been around when I was a Saab owner. Then again, maybe not, because I never would have «graduated» to an Audi. Their work is first-​rate, their rates are reasonable, and if you drive a Saab, Volvo, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mini, Subaru, or Nissan, you need to seriously consider having these guys work on your car. But not so much that I can’t get on the schedule.

I don’t always take my car to Ecotech. But even when I don’t… I do. Awww yea.
No really, this place kicks the nutsacks out of every dealer in town, specifically the Subaru dealerships. Why? Well let’s review some reasons:
They actually treat you like a human being at this place. I know, a novel concept, right? I’ve had so many negative experiences at dealerships before. Their receptionist (Erica) is really friendly, knowledgeable (and cute, always a bonus!) and their staff (Misha) is easy to deal with, pretty darn smart, and has a great sense of humor.
Prices are reasonable, and yeah, they use OEM parts, but they also use aftermarket stuff if OEM is unavailable.
They let you bring your own parts in!!! I came prepared with a box of spark plugs and they installed them for me! It pisses me off when a shop won’t let your bring in your own parts. C’mon now. I have The Internet. I know about RockAuto. I wasn’t born yesterday, dammit.
They won’t screw you over. Everytime I talk to a dealer about a car repair (assume no warranty,) I basically feel like saying «why don’t you put on some lipstick… before you fuck me!» Because that’s essentially what’s happening at dealerships. Bend over, ’cause you’re about to get penetrated! (Sans lube!) :-O Ecotech is not like that at all. They’re honest and upfront.
They REALLY know Subarus… and Saabs apparently. But yeah, I had this MYSTERIOUS battery drain problem. Somehow, there was an electricity drain while the car was powered off, causing a dead battery after a day or two w/​o driving my car. The battery was only a few months old, and I had absofuckinglutely NO clue what could be causing the problem. Misha figured out that the previous owners were bunch of dicktards and basically installed a hackjob of a POS aftermarket alarm in my car which was causing the pull. He yanked that sucker out faster than a hooker in sketchers and only charged 20 bucks to do so. Winning.
Oh yea, and a pompous doucheb – I MEAN – awesome friend of mine (;D) who is a rally racer recommended this place to me. He drives a Subie rally car. If rally racers bring their cars here, you know damn well the place is legit.
The ONLY con? Tiny as fuck parking lot, but I think it’s beyond their control right now… it can get kinda jumbled in there. The UPS dude was there as I was pulling in, and my car was wedged in-​between the parked cars and the UPS truck tighter than a watermelon seed up a frog’s ass. But thankfully I got around him, and it was smooooothing sailing from there. Thanks Ex-​Lax! :D
In short: They don’t fuck around here. You’re welcome. \m/​— ‚ — \m/

I have two older Mercedes Benz and one 19 year-​old SAAB. There is simply NO BETTER REPAIR FACILITY in St Louis than ECOTECH. The entire staff is honest, incredibly knowledgable, thorough and fair. Neil and Misha take care of their customers unlike any other firm that I have dealt with over the years. They document items that «may need repair in the future» and the findings are presented with no pressure. These extra steps boost the overall long-​term value for their customers.
Purchasing an older European car can present surprisingly low cost of ownership IF the potential buyer performs the necessary due diligence prior to buying. Choosing a low mileage car with a clean car fax and a reliability review from sources like Edmunds or Consumer Report can further mitigates risk. A pre-​purchase inspection by ECOTECH further confirms what buyers need to know before making their final decision.
I would have never purchased my last two used vehicles without the confidence of knowing ECOTECH will be there for me. SN — Richmond Heights, MO.

I cannot say enough about the great service and staff at Eco-​tech!
After my Audi Allroad began to start over heating while on a trip from California to Mt Olive Illinois my wife and I frantically searched Unilocal an hour outside of St. Louis and found Eco-​tech where they not only squeezed us in but diagnosed and repaired our Audi within 24 hours. The staff of Misha, Neal, Erica and mechanics were not just professional but friendly and accommodating. Our car needed a water pump, fan, thermostat timing belt, etc all parts ordered delivered and repaired to meet our travel deadline. These guys are great and trustworthy I can honestly say the best service and diagnostic ability I have ever seen in my many years of being a auto repair customer. Pass the word along for this great team!

After being told by a shop I would need a new transmission I took my car to Ecotech and told them what had been done to the car at the last two shops I took it too.
It ends up the last two shops I took it too broke my car. They are total professionals at Ecotech they found the problem with my transmission and it was a simple fix due to the fact they know what they are doing.
And they are honest. I will be going back to them for all of my service.
My transmission did not have to be replaced Ecotech saved me from being fooled into replacing the transmission in my E-​420.
I am very very happy with the way they treated me. They are nice people all of them!

These people are fantastic. They are extremely knowledgable, generous, helpful, fast. Support them.

Wow, I had been getting my BMW serviced at AutoHaus BMW and cannot believe what a difference these guys are. They immediately took my vehicle in, found a «few red rags» laying inside the hood of my car next to the engine from AutoHaus and fixed the coolant issue that AutoHaus said was just a failed light sensor.
I’m a BIG fan.

Great great great!
The engine control module failed on my wife’s 2008 Saab. It would give no indication that it would fail. Instead, while driving along at highway speeds, the engine would simply turn off, resulting in loss of power brakes, power steering, etc. The engine would not restart.
Eventually we had to replace this ECM part at an independent mechanic. This is not a user-​changeable part as there is a special software to «marry» the ECM with the car VIN number. The local St. Louis saab dealer quoted ~$ 1000 for a new ECM, but we chose to use Ecotech and they found a used ECM from a crashed Saab 9 – 3. Total out of pocket cost was ~$ 300!
You know I’m going to Neil next time I have a major Saab maintenance item. Great service and reasonable cost.

This place was fantastic! Very helpful and honest.
We brought our car here under the impression that we needed a new transmission based on a diagnosis from another mechanic. Well it turns out we were greatly misinformed by our prior mechanic, who inaccurately told us we can keep driving our car without causing any major harm. We brought our car into Ecotech after the check engine light came on and it wouldn’t’ shift properly. They determined we needed the transmission fluid flushed, which was 10% of the cost it would have been to replace the transmission. We had our car back in just a couple days. Misha (the mechanic who worked on our car) was genuinely nice and was willing to spend time listening to our concerns and explaining the problem.
I would definitely recommend this place!

Absolutely fantastic! I wish I could them give 6 stars.
This was my first time coming here. I find their communication to be vastly superior to any other shop I have worked with. They only sell you what you need and their labor charges are fair. Their bill is very easy to understand as well in the way it it is itemized out. They get your car done on or before you need it back. Everything everyone else said about this place is totally true.
Their front desk young lady is very professional and is friendly as well.
I will be coming back for sure. What a great place.

Easily a five star. Id give a six if I could.
Trustful, honest mechanics are nearly impossible to find. Misha is awesome.
Hell, they even work on pieces of crap euro saabs all day. No mechanics will ever touch those things. Which means normal regular cars are like legos to them.
I refer all friends and family here.
Pricing, value, honesty, reliability. You cant beat it.

Unbelievably fantastic experience! 2 other shops told me i’d need major transmission work, if not rebuild, and quoted me thousands of dollars. Received a recommendation for EcoTech. Neil and Misha found the actual cause of the problem (shoddy work at a different shop) and repaired it quickly, for far less. They took the time to explain everything to me, answered all of my questions, and were incredibly respectful, patient and kind throughout. If you want a trustworthy, reliable, straightforward and honest auto repair, use EcoTech! I’m a customer for life!

I’ve had some bad experiences with auto repair places in this area. Coming off another one recently, I was looking for someone new to fix the window on my BMW when the window went down but wouldnt come back up. After reading 2 5-​star reviews on here, I called Ecotech in the morning and explained the situation. I told them that I really needed the work done that day due to the nature of the problem (dont want to leave your car with the window open all the time) and the fact that it is my only means of transportation. Based on my description of the problem, Ecotech was able to identify the problem. They told me that he would order the necessary part and have it there by 1, and I agreed to be at their shop by 1. They never promised they could get it done that day, but said they’d try to fit me in. By 3:30 that afternoon, they had fixed my car and the window worked great. Also, I had the same problem on the other side a few years ago and Ecotech charged the same amount to fix it, so Im confident they didnt rip me off. Im happy to find a shop that did a good job and wont try to rip me off. I’ll have to bring my car back in the future.

I had Audi issues after having my engine replaced. Misha was very helpful and took the time to show me what he was talking about instead of just rambling off a list of problems. As a young woman, I’m wary about being taken advantage of and find it comforting to know that he was willing to do that and explain the issue to me. The price and service was honest and fair and I will continue to go back.

I have owned a number of Saab’s and finding a good honest mechanic who knows how to work on them can be tough to do… until I found Neil and his team.
Neil will shoot straight with you and not try and make you do repairs that you don’t need. For example, when I was having a throttle body issue Neil was able to clean it thoroughly and reinstall it rather than charging me over $ 1000 to buy a new one like a less reputable repair shop might.
Ecotech Import Auto Service is a full service stop for Saab auto repair and keeps my car running great for less than I would pay at the dealership.