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(928) 779-2121Visit WebsiteMap & Directions1609 E Butler AveFlagstaff, AZ 86001Write a Review

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Top Foreign Car Repair Mechanics.

General Info
Ken's Import Service is locally owned by Tino and Ingrid van Tiel. Born and raised in The Netherlands, Tino is a ASE certified master technician, is factory trained in Europe and U.S.A. for European and Japanese vehicles. Specializing in import auto repair since 1986. As Flagstaff's Premiere Import service shop Ken's Import Service specializes in the repair of all European and Japanese Vehicles including: Volkswagen BMW Volvo Toyota Lexus Acura Complete repair work by ASE certified technicians, we don't just replace the part, we fix the car. Not just any repair shop will work on European and Japanese cars. If they do, they have to order parts, and they'll often overcharge you for the trouble. We are prepared to fix your car. We offer complete repair services from oil changes to electronic diagnostic services. Ken's Import Service can also handle all of your factory scheduled maintenance service. Now Offering Vintage VW and Porsche Mechanical Restoration. Serving all of Northern Arizona. Accredited Business of the Better Business Bureau. We try to keep Flagstaff clean! Call or email us today!
Email
BBB Rating
A+
BBB Rating and Accreditation information may be delayed up to a week.
Services/Products
Diesel Fuel.
Brands
Acura, Audi, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Nissan, Porsche, Toyota, Volvo
Payment method
discover, amex, visa, cash, check, mastercard, travelers checks
Languages
Dutch, English, German
Categories

Reviews

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past-customer
Edited: 09/08/2017
Overall
Summary: The auto shop claim...

Summary:
The auto shop claimed that they were service professional for import cars and would use genuine BMW fuel pump for my car. One year later the car broke down. The BMW dealer I went to told me that the fuel pump in my car was a fake, and that the pump was melting down creating a fire hazard to my personal safety.

Here are the details about what happened:
In November 2010 I was driving my 2006 BMW X5 in a road trip from Texas to California. The car broke down in Arizona due to fuel pump failure. I had the car towed to Ken’s Import Service & Repair in Flagstaff, AZ, where they claimed that they were specialized in imported cars. The auto shop put on a new fuel pump and a new fuel filter under their work order #21052. I was assured at that time by the auto shop that the new fuel pump is an authentic BMW fuel pump. Because my car has an extended warranty, the auto shop also contacted and filed claim with the warranty company using BMW part number. Under that situation, both I and the warranty company approve the job and paid the bill of $1066.

First trouble came right after I picked up my car from the auto shop. The engine worked really strangely on the road. After I barely made to Las Vegas, the engine light is on and I had to send the car to Desert BMW of Las Vegas. After checking, the dealer told me that the seal of the new fuel pump was fit incorrectly and was leaking badly. I had to stay in Las Vegas for three days to fix the problem. Then I contacted Ken’s Import Service & Repair asking for an explanation. After lengthy emails, the auto shop acknowledged their fault and refunded me $309 for the repair bill of the seal leaking, but refused to pay for my hotel/taxi expenses. Trying to save myself from more arguing with the auto shop, I accepted the check, hoping that is the end of my trouble with that auto shop.

The turning point came in February 2012. I have moved to Los Angeles at that time. The car was in BMW of Monrovia for service check of some other parts in the fuel system. After disassembling the fuel system from the car, the dealer notified me that the fuel pump was melting down and leaking fatal gas steam into the car, that the fuel pump there was NOT a BMW pump, and that this was a fire hazard to my car and my personal safety.

I was totally angry after knowing the truth, for the facts that:
a. Ken’s Import Service & Repair has marketed themselves to customers as professionals for imported cars while they are in fact incompetent to provide such service. (What kind of professional service are they who do not even know how to put a seal correctly and cannot tell if a part is real or fake?)
b. They lied to their customer/warranty company on their face, used fake and inferior auto part, and recklessly put their clients’ personal safety into danger, for their own profits.

I wrote a letter to the owner of Ken’s Import Service & Repair, demanding an explanation and solution. He dragged on for two months, then simply said "the fuel pump for your car is a oem. pump and that is where I have to go by", but refused to show any supporting document to prove its authentication.

To whoever read this review:
Think twice before you use this auto shop. I have the official reports from two BMW dealers, witnesses, physical evidence and all the written communication with the auto shop regarding everything I said here. I would like to bring to your attention about the business practice of this auto shop, just to do my part to prevent the same disaster from happening to other consumers, who may already fall in as victim of this company but did not even know the danger they were in.

Also, I am in the middle of taking legal action against this auto shop for their wrong doings.

MH
M H.

05/13/2015

Overall

I am a local and recently took my Mini Cooper S in because there was issues with the engine. I took it in early on a Thursday and I had not heard anything by the end of the day so I called them to check in. The receptionist did not know what was going on with my vehicle and stated he had to speak with the mechanic. He called me back 2 hours later stating they had to do a carbon cleanse on my engine but that they could not do the work until the following Monday. They stated I should leave my car with them so I did. Monday came around and I had not recieved a call all day so once again I called them to check in on how my vehicle was doing and to state I was planning to come pick it up. The receptionist stated he had not talked to the mechanic and needed to check in with him and he would call me back. He called back and stated they needed to keep my car another day and did not offer an explanation of why. He stated he would call me the following morning at 10:30am with an update. So Tuesday came and I had not heard from them all day YET AGAIN so I called and asked what the status was on my vehicle. The receptionist again did not know what was going on with my car and said he would call me back. He finally called back and stated I could pick up my car. The biggest problem I had was how short and annoyed the receptionist sounded each time I called. All I wanted was to be updated on what was going on with my car. Good customer service would have been calling me and keeping me in the loop. I also never recieved a written estimate and the bill was over $500. When I went in to pick up my car I politely stated that I did not feel appreciated or valued as a customer to the receptionist and he became very defensive. He argued with me about how customer service works and called me "demanding" when I called to ask about the status of my car. After I paid I asked if I could have a receipt of the parts they ordered online for my car (the carbon chemical cleanse and spark plugs) and he refused to give me the inofrmation stating it was confidential. I am a woman and felt taken advantage of and not respected. My car is still showing signs of the original problem but because of how I was treated as a customer I will NEVER be going back here. Please be warned.

ejm300zx

05/15/2008

Overall
A Real Auto Shop

As a preface, I originally took my BMW to brakemasters on the advice of the person who sold me the car. The car's check engine light had come on and therefore I needed to take it somewhere where they could read the codes that were activated. The aforementioned business saw the two codes that were activated and decided to simply replace the parts whose codes were showing on the computer... This would cost me over 800 dollars without any real guarantee that it would fix the problem.



So, feeling uneasy I opened up the phone book and found Ken's Import Service figuring that their services might be a little more appropriate for what I needed. Within 2 minutes of speaking with the gentleman on the other end of the line I knew that this was a real auto shop. It was explained that, yes they would check out the activated codes with their computer, but they would also do an hour long diagnostic check, running through all possibilities of what could be wrong. Once they came to a conclusion as to the most obvious explanation, after actually thinking about it as opposed to throwing expensive parts at the solution, they called me and asked if I would mind if they went ahead and began their work. After finding out how much it would cost me, $200.00, I honestly would have paid them 750 dollars after finding out the other place would cost me 800, I felt like I was in good hands.



The actual codes that came up were for the Knock Sensors, the Throttle position sensor and the O2 sensor. The actual part that needed to be replaced was the plastic air-intake boot that feeds air into the engine, it had a small leak in it and was throwing off the sensors, which in turn activated the codes.



I highly recommend taking your car here if you have any type of foreign car or domestic for that matter.

Details

Phone: (928) 779-2121

Address: 1609 E Butler Ave, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

Website: http://kensimportservice.com

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