Hello Everyone!

Just acquired a 2014 F-Type V6S, with help from the many posts here in the forum, and wanted to reach out to ask for any recommended mechanics in Los Angeles and for any opinions regarding service at the JLR dealership now located on La Brea Avenue.

Thanks!

 

Congrats and welcome to the forum! I am in the process of finding an independent shop in the LA area myself as my car will be going off-warranty in February. I just came up with a mechanic/owner who seems incredibly nice and quite knowledgeable. His name is Ian Mitchell [from England with over 40 years experience] and his shop is Michell's British Automotive in Culver City. Had a long email conversation with him and he bent over backwards to answer my questions in a super professional manner. Also has great reviews. Check him out and tell him the guy from Claremont recommended him. There's another shop that I don't know as much about in the South Bay. It's called Southbay British and is also run by a couple of English guys. Most reviews also seem excellent.

If you do end up using one of these shops please let me know about your experience. Thanks, and good luck!

 

Southbay British only works on older JLR cars.

 

Thanks synthesis for your recommendation for Michell's and WhiteTardis with the update regarding SouthBay British. Will check out Michell's next week. Have heard that European Motors in Silverlake and Eurozone in Burbank are worth checking out, but they seem to specialize in German cars. However, I did speak with Mark the owner of European Motors and he says he has several F-Type clients and he suggested coming in for an inspection.

Another colleague mentioned that Firestone Auto Care have vehicle inspections for all of $9.99, so I figured what the heck and gave it a try. So far the car looks good but apparently a lot of expensive work needed for the rear control arms and sway bars. Not sure I'd trust them with the repair, especially with tons of one star Yelp reviews, but can have Michell and Mark confirm with their own inspections. One intriguing part of Firestone report was measurement of copper in brake fluid - my F-type was well in the green suggesting a recent fluid change. Never heard of such a test and of course that will be another question for Michell and Mark.

 

Firestone probably isn't your answer. Obviously, they give the inspection away nearly free to see what repairs they can come up with. I'd stick with somebody who's experienced with Jags/F Types.

I also wanted to mention that I had spoken with an independent shop in Pasadena [Pasadena Motor Cars] who have a good reputation, as well. I got a price on installing lowering springs that seemed to be considerably higher than others here had paid [even factoring in the sunshine tax]. They might be worth checking out just the same.

 

darceman,
Although I don't have an F-type, my mechanic, in Northridge part of the Valley, Sako's Automotive on Parthenia, has worked on all of my cars for about twenty years. This includes both of my XKRs, an XJ8, my De Tomaso Pantera, and various other vehicles and SUVs in our household. If you want a personal introduction, just PM me. and I'll be happy to meet you there.

 

So I thought I would share what I encountered in my search for a LA mechanic.

Took the the car to three mechanics for a "pre-sales inspection" - Ian at Mitchell from synthesis recommendation, Mark at European Motors and Mohamed at Automed Euro. They all spotted the same issues - control arms/sway bars boots that will need attention in a year or two, and rear brake pads that will also need attention in year or so. Otherwise the car passed with flying colors from all three, which was a concern as it lacked any service records these past 5 years.

Ian's shop only has one bay and he seems to prefer older Jags but can work on newer models. He presented estimates for work - replace rear pads and sensors, flush brake fluid, and replace all sorts of filters to the tune of $1K - even though repair was nowhere needed at this time, and seemed surprised when I said that I would hang onto the estimates. European Motors and Automed Euro have multiple bays, and even though they tend to service the Germans they both demonstrated good knowledge of F-types. Mark at European Motors did take the car for a test drive which is maybe why he was recommending a power steering flush whereas the others did not. Another disappointment with Ian was that he wanted to charge extra for battery check for fault codes, essentially doubling the inspection fee, whereas Mark and Mohamed included that in their inspections.

Mind you that no repairs made so I can't speak to the quality of service but I feel comfortable in taking the car to either Mark or Mohamed when service is needed. Most likely will go to Automed Euro as they are conveniently located for me in Culver City, whereas European Motors is located in Silver Lake, which is a bit of a hike.

 

I know its probably slightly out of your way but I'm also looking for good mechanics near OC and British Performance in Mission Viejo seems to come-up often.

 

Thank you so much for your report. VERY helpful!

 

Keep a broad look. In Vegas I've finally found a good and reasonable indy called Italy Service, works on broad range beyond Italian. Wouldn't of come up in a more restricted search. I used him first on our Maser for front brakes and when he saw my Jag he showed me references on a broad range of cars including F Types. Of course works on lots of Ferrari and Lambo's. Biggest problem is getting parts as he usually has to use a dealer. He says after market sources for oem parts usually don't have stock.

 

Well taken advice bjg625! It seems most indy British car shops in LA area work on older Jags. Curious how you found a good shop in "Italy" of all places I basically rummaged Yelp reviews for European shops (who seem to mostly specialize in German cars, natch) and called to see if they had experience with F-Types. The search will continue but having the two shops mentioned are nice to have in the back pocket.

 

We have same exact spec car. I searched for "import car service". Then went to yelp and site references and visited shop and owner. He hasn't found a lot of after market parts that he wants to guarantee, but he will let me bring my own parts like aluminum coolant pipe.