I hate taking my car to the mechanic for any reason. In past experiences at various other places--including certain dealerships--I have always felt uninformed at best and duped at worst ("trust us all of these things really are wrong with your car," or "this is an expensive fix, and will be really expensive because it's BMW parts.")
Here's why I didn't feel this way at R & N:
When I took my car in for an oil change and some diagnostic work, I was surprised when I was greeted not by the usual front office person, but by the mechanic himself, who lead me into the garage and explained to me the various possible causes of my car issues, all the while starting up my car, listening for noises, opening up the hood, and checking various components right in front of me.
He explained that one of the simpler possibilities was a coolant leak, and when he confirmed that in fact this was the case, he actually called me over to the engine compartment, where he held an angled mirror so I was able to see for myself that fluid was dripping. He then examined the rest of my car, explaining to me as he went what he was checking. He did find a belt that he said might need to be replaced, which normally would be a red flag for me that my bill was being run up, but again he physically showed me that it was quite cracked, and instead of giving me the hard sell, explained the level of urgency (moderate) and left the decision to me. He also pointed out several things that tend to go wrong with my model of BMW, although they were not yet a problem for my car, so that I would be aware going forward.
As for the bill, it was EXTREMELY reasonable compared to my past repairs. The oil change was significantly less than either the dealership or my neighborhood place. They confirmed with me that they use only synthetic oil and authentic BMW parts.
While I think there is always a leap of faith in car repair, the guys at R & N showed every indication that they were honest, reasonable, and extremely competent. They are a very small shop, but they specialize specifically in BMWs and are well stocked (they had all of the necessary parts for my repair on hand the day I took the car in). On top of all of this, they are very friendly. They recommended a nearby place for me to find a coffee while I waited. They even indulged me when I returned 15 minutes after picking up my car because I heard a faint engine noise and wanted to make sure it wasn't serious (it wasn't). I would highly recommend their service.
