I have been going to Marin Auto Works (formerly Custom Auto Works) for at least 15 years. They are the best! Over the years they have worked on our luxury sedans, Lexus & Infiniti, our kid cars, minivan & Landcruiser, and now our Toyota hybrids. We often keep cars for 10 years and Marin Auto Works always keep them in great working order. I trust Pierre and Marcel implicitly. They run the most honest, courteous, service oriented shop I have ever used. I recommend them to friends and family and have never had a referral be disappointed. In the old days I shopped around and found other local mechanics in Mill Valley who tried to sell me services I didn't need. I would then take my car to Pierre and he was honest and sold me only what I needed. After a few times I stopped shopping around and saved myself the hassle and went straight to Pierre. I don't think there is another business I would recommend as whole heartedly. read more

The first place I've ever had consistently good service for reasonable rates. The owners are great and always in house. Pierre is a mill valley institution. So friendly so professional so through and never trying to force unneeded repair. They often list all the repairs i will need down the road, letting me know their estimates of when, and never trying to get me to force repairs i don't absolutely need. read more

Marcel has been taking care of my Merceides L5660 for over 15yrs and he has always recommended what is needed rather than what could be needed. He's honest and well respected in the community for his good work and integrity. My car runs beautifully! I highly recommend Marcel and Marin Auto Works read more

I asked Marin Auto Works mount and balance new tires, and align all four wheels on my Subaru 2.5RS. The final bill was as quoted and I received a print-out of the alignment measurements. Marin Auto Works served me well, and I hope they extend the same level of service to you. read more

Very Good and Fast Job. Neat place. Nice people. Thank you very much. Was done more than expected

Marcel just saved me $1500. I had previously taken my Mercedes to Marcel and I was delighted not only by the quality of the service but the extreme courtesy offered not only to me as a customer, but between Marcel and his mechanics. The place is so quiet and clean it reminds me more of a Swiss restaurant than an auto repair shop. This week I brought in our Audi A4 for Marcel to check a warning light. Marcel called and said it would bye almost $1000 for the part and several hours of labor. He strongly suggested that I call Audi even though the car was out of warranty in the chance they would fix the problem. I called the Audi area manager and he said they would cover all or part of it, for good will, even though the car was past warranty (only 44,000 miles, but more than 5 years.) When I took the car in I was told they were paying for all of it. Marcel has won me as a customer for life. read more

My car was taken on short notice and they were extremely accommodating and pleasant to deal with. It was my first time there, and I'd asked them to do a 60k checkup & even printed out a list of the dealership requirements at 60k for my car. They charged me a little over $400 for an oil change and new spark plugs, which is not completely horrible considering parts and labor, but I was disappointed that the fluids weren't topped off and the tires weren't rotated. On one hand, I appreciate that they did what was most necessary & they didn't do superfluous work, on the other hand, I am left rubbing my head a little, as I noticed things that were not attended to which I would deem to be critical. So, my review is a bit neutral--take it for what it's worth! read more

We have been taking our cars to Pierre and Marcel for over 12 years. I have sent many many friends to them as well. That is probably the best recommendation I can give - that I tell my friends to go there and feel confident that they will be well take care of in the most courteous fashion at the most reasonable price with the least amount of inconvenience. Pierre and Marcel are excellent knowledgeable mechanics who always give you all the information and options you need to make your own decision about car repairs and they stand by their work 100%. MAW is the best service provider of any kind in Mill Valley! read more

Had two cars in, and both came to have problems come up within one week. Both times the second repair cost over $1000, and was enough different from the original repair that it wasn't covered by warranty. after the second cars 3rd time in and another issue I took the car two a new shop the repair was taken care of and the car is fine. The first car (the newer of the two) regrettably is gone due to the severe damage caused to the engine. The only saving grace that I can give to this shop is that Marcel is very polite and accommodating if you are sitting there waiting. read more

I am very upset with my recent experience with Marcel and Marin Auto Works. They gave me an estimate for $7,000 for my Mercedes wagon that just didn't make sense. I decided to get a second opinion. The new mechanic figured out that I just needed a new battery. After the installation all of the electronic check engine lights went off and the car runs beautifully. If I had listened to him I would have spent $7k for transmission and other work. The total repair ended up costing me $250. read more

I have never serviced my Mercedes anywhere except at a MBZ dealer's shop, but I recently ran across Marin Auto Works in Mill Valley and decided to try them for a service on my S550. They did a great job for half the price of the same service at RAB Motors and very quickly, too. I am a happy camper. S.S. read more

my go-to auto works shop! Marcel is the best and is always willing to help solve any problem or concerns you may have!! Also, they sometimes have an extremely cute dog in the office, which is a fun added bonus!! read more

I was having an emergency issue with my 2010 Honda Accord. Car was shaking, all the lights on the dash were on. Marin Auto Works was the closest auto shop to where I was staying, so I took a chance and brought it in. Marcel looked at the car and gave me an honest assessment of what was wrong. He said he knew a guy who worked at Honda, and the guy recently told him that my Accord was having the same problem as many other Accords from the same year. It's not a recall issue, but the problem is addressed in a bulletin issued by Honda Corporate. Marcel gave me the bulletin number and told me to take the car to Honda because more than likely the problem would be fixed for free. He was right, the problem, which would have cost me $1,500 to have fixed, was solved by Honda for free. I really appreciate Marcel's honesty and the time he took to do the research for me, on his own dime. I'll definitely take my car back to Marin Auto Works for my next automotive issue. read more

All-around happy with Marin Auto Works. I ordered tires online and had them shipped here for installation, and was also able to get an oil change- they were really responsive, kind, efficient. Made the whole process painless. Pricing was fair. I will gladly trust them again in the future. read more

We have been bringing our ~7 year old BMW here for years for both routine maintenance (oil, tires, brakes) as well as unexpected repairs. We have always been very happy with the quality of work and the service level and the price is fair. Marcel has an owner's mentality and does the right thing by his customers. We will keep going back. read more

Pierre is the heart and soul of what you want in an auto technician; thoughtful, thorough, patient, experienced and committed to your happiness! I have seen him for years and cannot say that I have ever had a better or more reasonable technician. read more

Best & most trustworthy mechanic in town! I am new to Mill Valley & was concerned about finding a mechanic after more than 20 years with the same wonderful person in Santa Barbara. Marcel is extremely knowledgeable, thorough in diagnostics, with fair pricing. I have referred him often & everyone has the same wonderful experience I had. read more

So the strange thing is, I'm recommending MAW, but they didn't actually work on my car. However, had I elected to get the timing belt, cylinder heads, lifters, etc. fixed on my '02 VW Passat, I get the sense Pierre and team would have done a crack job. My car crapped out. at the Safeway parking lot. Pierre looked it over and gave me his honest assessment and quote. I looked at the Blue Book Value and made the decision not to get the car fixed. No hassles from Pierre and he repsected my decision. Perhaps down the road Pierre and MAW will get a chance to work on one of our cars. read more

Best customer service ever! I've been happily servicing my 2003 Mercedes CLK at Marin Auto Works for several years. But my experience the other day is why I will keep coming back. I was scheduled to take my car in for an oil change the next morning anyway, prior to leaving for a trip to the mountains. That afternoon I got a flat on the way home from work and, in a bonehead move (I'll spare the details), damaged my brakes and had to have the car towed. Marcel was waiting for me when I got to Marin Auto Works an hour later. I told him of my plans for the next morning and my desire to leave by 11:00. I figured I would have to rent a car for my trip. After a cursory look, Marcel said to hold off on the rental and give them a chance to see what was up. Maybe they could get me back on the road by 11:30 or noon the next day. Marcel got his team working on my car right away. Not only did he quickly have my problems diagnosed (I also was due for scheduled maintenance, needed new rear brake pads and two new rear tires) but he coordinated getting all the parts in first thing the next morning. I got a call from him at 10:30, and my car was ready and waiting for me. Great work, great service, a fair price and a happy customer. read more

If you are looking for honest, quality mechanics and absolutely the best service... who isn't... then Marin Auto works is the place to go! I took my car there over a year ago, and now refuse to take it anywhere else! read more

This place is GREAT! Marcel is the owner and he's very hands-on, extremely service oriented, informative, helpful and just an overall nice person who puts his client's best interest first. I have a Volvo X70 that's over 5 years old. I thought I was happy with the local dealer until the 'free services' ran out and I realized they weren't worth what they were charging and were quick to find things that didn't need to be fixed. I also tried out another local auto shop when I had a noise that I couldn't identify but knew it wasn't good. Turns out the power steering reservoir was empty. I appreciate that this 'other' shop diagnosed the problem, but they also told me I needed a new $900 pump and I should come back at the end of the week to replace it. Instead, I filled the reservoir and waited to see how bad the leak was. Six months later, it's still full. When I brought my car to Marin Auto Works for service, I asked them to check this out. Marcel said there may be some small leakage with the hose or the pump, but certainly nothing that needs to be replaced anytime soon. I've been to Marin Auto Works a couple times in the past year and they treat me like I've been a client for 20 years. At this point, I hope I will be! read more

I came here with a BMW noise issue. $1200 later, the noise still kept coming back. I went to a different mechanic in San Rafael who precisely diagnosed the problem and charged half the amount to get the exact fix. Pierre and all the rest are all very nice polite people but they do overcharge, and also are not as great in making the correct diagnosis as one would think from reading these reviews. If you don't mind over paying for getting a mediocre fix (but with lots of politeness), go for it. Otherwise go somewhere else. read more

The only change since my previous review is Pierre finally was able to really retire, and now his son Marcel is in charge. Still the same great service. read more

I've been to MAW twice in the past month at the recommendation of a friend. The first time I came in they told me my service engine light was on for either one of two things. Their advice was to do the cheaper repair and hope that fixes it (they said half the time this takes care of the problem). MAW fixed me up for a very reasonable price and told me that there was a chance my light could come back on, and told me exactly what they would need to repair if it did. Well, just my luck - the light came back on two weeks later. They fixed me up again and even charged me much less than was originally quoted (I'm guessing they did this because they felt bad they had to do the second repair). All in all, these guys are super friendly, very very informative, and know what customer service means. They even have a night drop, which makes taking your car in after work very convenient. If you're looking for trustworthy mechanics, these are definitely your guys. read more