Service and long term care.....

[macfly]

Please add all your service experiences here, so we can get a good database of great Z8 service centers.

In Northern California Dana Caldwell at Peter Pan BMW, 650 294 2123 has worked on my car, and several other board members. He goes out of his way to look after us as a group, and I am completely confident in giving him my highest recommendation.
Peter Pan BMW (http://www.peterpanbmw.com/)
695 S. El Camino Real,
San Mateo, CA 94403

[macfly]

I'm very happy to be able to report on what could well be the very best source of long term service and support for our cars.

I just spent the day with Steve Dinan at his 8 car bay work shop in Morgan Hill, about 20 mins south of San Jose, where the company that bears his name is based. They have a great deal of experience will all aspects of the S62 motor having done all levels of tuning to them, from simple chips to superchargers to completely designing and building Daytona Prototype motors from the shell, blocks and cranks of the S62. The M5 has been a great friend to us, putting the S62 into Steve's hands almost 10 years ago, so he has an unparalleled wealth of experience and knowledge on our motors.

Steve is very aware of the Carbon Build Up issue that all our cars will eventually suffer, and with all the s62 experience they have up there I know that this is where my car will be going when the big stuff needs doing.

Here is a shot of the man himself in his shop with a pair of cars he is working on. The one in the foreground was the reason I was there for the day, it has a 540hp road legal Daytona Prototype s62 inside. Don't ask - for more on that car you'll have to wait for the October issue of Roundel! ;)

[Norcal]

Thanks Andrew, that's a good lead. Especially for those of us in the Bay Area.

[macfly]

The Bimmers Clinic is a first class specialist shop run by George Kratochwill, who is a perfectionist when it comes to the work his shop does. He has already had a few Z8's in the shop, including all three of Havenhurstkid's Z8's, and he is our motor trade guru, so that is in itself a great seal of approval.

I am now taking my car there, and am delighted by their attention to detail, so am absolutely confident in giving them two thumbs up as the Z8 shop of choice in LA.

George Kratochwill - 818-342-8048
Bimmers Clinic (http://www.bimmersclinicinc.com/splash.html)
18417 Gault Street, Reseda, CA 91335

[hayvenhurstkid]

George is the best!! My car is going in the Thursday before I leave for Palm Springs for its oil change and general go over. I never worry about damage to my car when it is there. I can't always say the same about a BMW dealership.

[ron's rocket]

To bad his shop is so far from me, but I'll try it for my next scheduled service.

[///M Blitz]

To bad his shop is so far from me, but I'll try it for my next scheduled service.

Ron, Chris Welch at Bulletsports in Costa Mesa is about as good as they get. I've taken all my BMWs, including the Z8, there for years. I know George well and is Chris is every bit as good, if not better. I can introduce you if you want.

[ron's rocket]

They installed my Dinan sway bars years ago, seemed like a good shop. I'll give them a call and cancel the appt. at the dealership. Ron

[ron's rocket]

Battery is only a couple years old, but the car hadn't been out for maybe six weeks...that'll change with the coming warm weather.

[bmwfxr]

For alternatives to the dealer there are some really good Independent BMW Specialist out there. See www.bimrs.org (http://www.bimrs.org) for a complete list. Bimmers Clinic in CA is not on it, although it should be, but he certainly has an incredible shop. He is only one of a handful of shops that have ever blown me away by there shop and attention to detail.

[thegunguy]

Hey Trent! Great to see you on the board. Let's see some pics of the new facility. -Rifle

For anyone in the Fort Worth area, Trent Cole operates a great independent BMW shop (Lone Star Bavarian). 'Shop' may be a bit too basic of a term, but he's serviced several board members' cars in the DFW area. So, he's up on some of our standard Z8 issues. :thumbsup:

[briandilley]

I got a question. By the way, it is great to see some strong recommendations of repair shops. Unfortunately, I don't know of any in MD. But my question is - My car has been serviced 100% at BMW dealerships, and my maintenance book has been stamped with a mechanic stamp for all my service and repairs. So does a collector car benefit from stamped dealership maintenance or just good maiintenance records in general?

[macfly]

I think both are good, but I keep all papers, records etc for each car in it's own file, and when I come to sell cars I just give them to the new owner in a document box. I have never remembered to get the service book stamped on any of my machines, because I also keep those in a safe place in the house. :rolleyes:

[briandilley]

What is the life of the serpentine belt? Although I only have 8600 miles, the car is fast approaching the ten year mark; so am I at risk of this 10 year old belt breaking from age fatigue or is mileage the qualifier for changing it? With most new cars it is 60K miles or 7 years, is that true with this car?

Also, on the East Coast in MD, I am frightened of having the Dinan chip installed. Every time I take the car to the dealler, they have to do things twice. For example, my new dash when in great, but the dash vent fans didn't work and they had to redo the new dash to plug in the fan plugs, they put the PP kit in 2mm too high and had to shave my hood liner from the back side to have the hood shut, and they manage to knick or scratch something somewhere. It drives me nuts, but BMW NA and Bill Stuart are true professionals and stand behind their product and fixed what they could. I got a spare hood liner and it is amazing on how big the hood of the Z8 is; as the hood liner barely fit in my SUV with the rear seats down.

I like the idea of the Dinan chip set, but I do not any tolerance for a half*ss install again.

[thegunguy]

I picked up the car from Peter Pan's new service facility today in Burlingame, and it is simply stunning. While Dana's shop has provided what is arguably the highest level of Z8 service center in the US, Peter Pan's cramped facility in San Mateo was a bit overgrown. Now, this new facility with 48 bays and all the latest comforts and technologies gives Z8 experts like Matt Carver the perfect canvas to work their mechanical artistry. Furthermore, as part of the Penske empire, the shop is spotless.

The new service center is at 1625 Adrian RD, Burlingame, CA 94010.

The silver car in the first photo belongs to Klaus (non-board member) who we met this past April in Cayucos. He also has a lovely Black Alpina.

Note the last pic with our favorite nectar proudly on display.

[macfly]

What a great new spot, congratulations Dana!!

[hayvenhurstkid]

Man, I sure wish they were closer to L.A. Maybe Dana ought to get a transporter to send our cars up there for service!:thumbsup:

[thegunguy]

Dana sent along these photos earlier this evening.

The first car in the new shop was....a Z8, of course! Further evidence that Peter Pan is really THE place for all Z8 service needs.

Thanks for the tour Dana!

[Tyler]

I love the transporter idea. Once a year we load 'em up on the truck together with our annual list of service items and upgrades!

[Norcal]

Rifle, that car looks awfully familiar!

[Z8doc]

Hey, looks like BMW has a standard, that looks just like the repair bays at our shop here in Tulsa!!

[thegunguy]

As I understand it, the shop was more to Herr Penske's specification based on his racing operations. Furthermore, he requires that all parts and tools are put away at the end of the day. The shop must be left spotless and clean each night.

[JamieMW]

Hi - does anyone know of any UK workshops that are knowledgeable about the Z8? All BMW dealerships that I have taken mine to in the UK seem pretty clueless as to what it is, even more clueless about how to work on it.

thanks

Jamie