Alexandria Bavarian Service provides BMW repair and BMW service to the Alexandria, Arlington and D.C. area.
We are equipped with the latest state of the art equipment, including BMW ISTA for diagnostics, coding and programming to service the newest BMWs.
We also have the Autologic aftermarket tool to diagnose and program your BMW.
BIMRS
I have moved around a lot and had several missteps finding a qualified non-dealer shop to work on my BMWs. Work on every make/model shops sometimes may be cheaper, but not if you end up paying for it twice (or worse). I can tell you that this shop is the real deal, they know what they are talking about, focus on one make, and have the right diagnostic equipment and guys with the experience to do it right the first time. I wouldn't be surprised if the BMW dealer called them sometimes for advice working on older and rarer models... highly recommended.
Wow. I chose Grant after the reading the reviews here, and he exceeded my expectations. This is now my go to shop for BMW repairs, thanks Grant!
I needed a passenger door actuator replaced. Being unfamiliar with the area, ABS was the most convenient. Placed a phone call to verify they were open I spoke with Grant. We set an appointment to leave my car later that day. At drop off I told him my suspicions, he agreed and gave an explanation of the part failure. I asked for a non-binding guesstimate to set my budget expectations. After receiving an OEM part they had my car ready to go in two maybe three hours.
I've had three BMWs regularly serviced at ABS and I trust their work (1993 318, 2002 330xi, 2013 328i). Technical competency is the watch word for Grant & company. If I wanted poor service I'd go to the local BMW dealer, was mostly a terrible experience. I've all kinds of service done, and even tires installed (yes, from Tire Rack). No problems. There's no receptionist and no coddling. True, sometimes you can't reach them on the phone (because they're driving customers to metro?), but you get a call back. If you're looking for cheap or free coffee and wifi move on. If you want a competent team to service you BMW for the long haul, ABS is a great choice.
This shop is great. I've got another make and model car and go to the dealer - mass confusion with mechanics, supervisors, customer service reps, etc. Bavarian, on the other hand, gives you honest work... if you want a latte while you get your car serviced, go somewhere else. Grant and company has earned my loyalty!
Grant and his employees at Alexandria Bavarian do not do what they say they are going to do. Period.
After having my car inspected for a track day, I scheduled it for a power steering repair the following week. I duly dropped it off at the appointed time--Tuesday morning. I received a call around 4 that afternoon saying that they had not gotten to it but would do it the following day. I did not receive any word as to the car's being done on Wednesday, so I finally made contact around 5pm. Bavarian is extremely hard to get ahold of and routinely does not answer the phone. When I did reach them, I was told the car had not even been looked at. After two days--I was done.
Grant seems to think that it is acceptable to take a car and not perform the service for which it was dropped off. He further seems to think that it is an imposition to either call the customer or field calls from the customer.
This is life, and stuff happens--I got it. But it is unacceptable for a shop to simply not do a job for two straight days and not bother to tell the customer.
Bavarian wasted my time, and they will waste yours.
Went to ABS after a BMW mechanic friend of mine who used to work at BMW of Alexandria recommended the shop. In his view, the ABS staff was very competent. My experience was very good, prices were very reasonable, so no complaints. As for Grant's personality, he was talkative and polite.
There's a reason people go to (certain) BMW dealers for service. I've been there; I get it. You're treated like royalty. You're addressed as Mr. or Ms., not by your first name (like you're a long-lost drinkin pal). The waiting area is spotless and pleasant, with wifi and several HD TVs. They wash your car after every service and put paper on the floor. And then you pay for it -- Ouch! And if they can't fix your car's problem the first time, or the second time, or the third time, that's ok because they're such pleasant, customer-first folks! Just pay yet another inflated bill for the same non-repair and enjoy it!
ABS is different. There's no cheery SA greeting you with a mobile device into which they enter your Customer Data. ABS knows BMWs and fixes them right (in my experience) and at reasonable cost. How many BMW-know-it-all-but-fix-it-cheap customers have they dealt with over the years? The staff is not pleasant but they're not unpleasant. Sometimes they're very cheerful and sometimes they're gruff. I make no apologies for them. I can imagine some customers (especially some BMW owners) getting indignant at not being pampered -- and of course, it wouldn't hurt business for ABS to be always pleasant all the time -- but to each his own when deciding on what's important in a competent repair shop.
I want my car fixed by someone who knows what they're doing and I'll pay to fix it right the first time. The dealers cannot be depended upon for that, only for providing a sumptuous visiting experience, at a VERY high price. ABS knows why you're there and not at the dealer. You're tired of being ripped off by smiley but incompetent and overpriced dealership shops. Just go with the flow at ABS and be happy that your car is fixed right.
After having read all the various reviews, I have to say that I was a bit skeptical. However, I am now a loyal customer and will definitely check with Grant before heading elsewhere. Fair, Honest, to the point, and Reliable.
After buying my 335 about a year ago I have had a lingering alignement issue even after several dealer visits etc. The dealer even told me I needed new wheels. As a result of the alignment, my tires had worn out so I decided to go with Grant and see if he could help. Voila, the alignment issue was gone and it runs better than it ever had. After receiving the detailed report from the alignment, it turns out that things were way out of whack. Didn't need new wheels, just a good alignment! Why could the dealer not figure this out is beyond me. As soon as my free dealer visits are done for the routine stuff, I will stop in to see Grant for all my BMW needs.
A friend recommended Grant and Alexandria Bavarian to me a couple years ago. Grant has an exceedingly dry wit and is blunt, but he has been absolutely honorable, expert and reliable for me. On my first visit he fixed for $20 something the dealer wanted $145 for; recently he did a number of things for which the dealer wanted hundreds more for...I checked. I think people who observe his style of interacting and don't barrage him with chatter will be rewarded. At first I was put off and confused; now I like him and certainly appreciate his directness and honesty.
I own a BMW repair shop and compete for the same business ABS is. We do not own the very latest of the incredibly complex and tempermental coding equipment that BMW has forced upon its consumers and we found Grant did. When I called ABS and expained we had completed a repair and we needed to have the re-coding done, and did not particularly want to go to the dealer as we have found they generally turn a small problem into much larger ones, even though we have the technical skills to call them on it, Grant was very gracious and said bring the vehicle in and he would get it done fairly quickly and @ a reasonable charge. As it turns out, and is quite often commom with re-coding later model BMW's the coding process glitched while running it's routine and subsequently caused several modules to be locked out of the coding process and no longer usuable.. This is through no fault of the equipment or the technician performong the service, but a poorly designed technology platform by BMW. Even though not Grant's fault he felt responsible, and ponied up for several expensive modules in order to complete the process and allow me to keep MY customer happy without any added expense, as would be found @ the dealer. I don't often comment on the competition's sites but in this case felt it necessary to express my service experience with Grant and ABS,(and I have repaired BMW's for over 40 years), that was an honest,, knowledgeable, and very forth-right and professional experience. Personalities aside, and I am not saying I experienced a rude or negative personality in any way, I would highly recommend Grant and his shop, even in the face of potentially costing me business as his competitor, as I feel the guy has perhaps gotten a bad rap. Highly trained and knowledgeable technology based technicians make up about 3% of all the technicians reoairing vehicles in this country, and Grant is clearly part of the 3%.
Grant is a great guy if you can understand why he has the attitude he has. Too many BMW owners buy the cars but expect to pay honda prices to get them fixed. I agree, if you want Honda prices and a Honda, go freaking buy one.
He has worked on my BMW's for 10 years now and I will continue to take my cars to him. Finding a guy who shoots straight and knows his stuff is hard to find nowdays.
He likes enthusiasts, not people who buy BMW's for the roundel on the hood, and he can tell the difference in about 10 seconds. LOL. These comments crack me up. You know what you are getting with him. If you don't like him, go somewhere else. No big deal.
I have had my 330i serviced here 3 or 4 times for things I can't DIY (I'm in the local BMW Car Club and do a lot of easy work myself such as oil changes, basic tune up, etc). Every time was a good experience. The work is the highest quality, and it is far cheaper than you will get at any dealer and comparable to other independent shops in the area. I had questions once on one repair, and I was given solid, straight-forward and fair responses. Take some time and talk to Grant about cars when he gives you a ride to the Metro. I little personal interaction goes a long way.
Grant is excellent. The best I have ever been to!
Extremely honest and talented.
You learn to deal with genius.
I've been using Grant and crew for the past 5 years. They know BMW's especially late models where diagnostics are key. They are honest and willing to let you know honest truth about when its time to say when.
