Lab Motors Limited

I highly recommend Lab Motors of Marblehead, MA. Nice guys, great shop, reasonable prices. I brought them my 1995 Saab convertible. They worked on my mess of problems with my convertible top. They spent over a week replacing all of my many broken, bent, twisted, and snapped parts. If I brought it to a dealer I would have spent a bankroll to get the top to work. Lab called me each day and explained every procedure performed and every problem they encountered. They even keep all the old parts for my inspection. Check them out. You'll be glad you did.

i generally agree with the other comment, as the "total number of votes: 1" is shown. one item they push is to use premium gasoline. my wife follows their advice and uses premium in her windstar; this i find wrong and i do not like the extra spent money for what i believe is for nothing. my camry works fine on 87 octane but the discount brands are not consistant; i have learned to stay away from the discount brands. bp works fine. i add this after hearing you discuss this during a recent show. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK DOING THE SHOW. I FIND IT VERY ENTERTAINING!

I have been taking my cars to Lab for 15 years and have never been dissapointed with the service.

April 28, 2006 My husband and I bought a used VW Beetle on October 3, 2005 for $10,500. Allen Taschner of Lab Motors and his mechanics have diagnosed and/or performed repairs on this vehicle through March of 2006. By the second service appointment, on November 14, 2005, Allen concluded that our car was indeed a lemon, and recommended that we return the vehicle for a refund. He has been a kind and capable mechanic and support during this traumatic process right up through our binding arbitration hearing last week on April 18, '06. He has been available by phone or by person for consultation during this 5-month period. We highly recommend Lab Motors as a place where you and your car will be well taken care of. They charge a reasonable $35.00/hour for service. We still have not received word on the arbitrator's decision. We hope to be able to return the car and receive a full refund for the Purchase Price plus repair expenses. Allen first conducted a thorough exam/diagnosis of the vehicle on November 4, 2005 in response to our concern that the oil was down 2 quarts. They diagnosed that the car had serious problems, including a right wheel bearing that needed replacement, a worn ex-hanger, and numerous other defects. The brake pads would need replacement soon. They replaced missing handles on the front bucket seats which allowed access to the rear passenger area. They performed an oil&filter change, & introduced an invisible yellow dye into the oil, to determine if there was a leak and where. Our next follow-up appointment was on November 14, 2005. It was determined that there was indeed an oil leak -- the head gasket was cracked. A road test was performed and it was determined that the transmission was gone and needed replacement -- an approximately $3,000 job -- the vehicle slipped from second gear into neutral while driving. They observed that the loud noise and vibration in the passenger area was an indication that the car had been in a collision. The right wheel bearing was replaced for safety concerns because the wheel could fall off. Lab Motors diagnosed at least 17 egregious defects, and we were advised to return the vehicle to the used car dealer, "CarHouse", because we were still within the limited warranty period. On November 21st, we wrote a certified letter stating the defects to the used car dealer, requesting that we return the vehicle and receive a refund in full for the purchase price. The used car dealer continued to refuse to make the repairs or to pay for the repairs we had made at Lab Motors, and refused to take the car back, stating that "our mechanic is busy for the next two weeks." However, we did return the vehicle to the used car dealer for inspection on December 3 '06, two days after Allen Taschner at Lab Motors and his mechanic Dave performed a third examination of the vehicle. On December 1, 2005, I drove over to Lab Motors. It took 2 hours, the Beetle was put on the lift, and the three of us took part in this very thorough exam/diagnosis. We wore our special yellow glasses, so we could see the yellow-lit dye in the oil mixture. It was determined that not only the head gasket was cracked and leaking oil onto the engine, but that the turbo was also leaking oil. With the car up on the lift, Allen and Dave pointed out to me how the under frame and chassis were out of alignment, and that the vehicle had been put on a frame-stretcher. For example, The manufactured round holes in the rails were stretched and not perfectly round, and the plugs were missing. They determined that the front-end had been replaced, and we could see the original blue of the replacement body part under one of the bolts underneath the yellow paint that had been applied to match the yellow body. Under the front hood, I was shown how the engine cover was missing, and that the A.I.R. tubes had been taped up instead of being replaced. The headlamp covers were broken. The radiator wall had severe stress cracks in it. Walking to the rear of the car and examining the trunk, I was shown how holes had been drilled in the rear trunk so that rainwater which leaked into the trunk would drain out. Dave, Allen's mechanic, concluded that the car had been in two hard-hit collisions, one a front-end collision and another rear-end collision. This was later confirmed by Expert Collision in Salem, MA. Allen charged me only $25.00 for this diagnostic exam. I typed up a 3-page list of defects, which we hand-delivered to the used car dealership when we left our car for their inspection on December 3, 2006, where the car remained for 20 days. In total, the car has 30 egregious defects, including serious frame and body issues; it is not roadworthy and is unsafe to drive. In January and then again in March, we had problems with the indicators on the dashboard, and Allen was able to diagnose and fix these problems so that I could continue to use this vehicle. Most recently, Allen Taschner signed a five-page letter which I typed outlining all of the issues with the car. Without Allen's expertise, we would not have known that we have bought a lemon. His support, guidance and care and concern during these past five months have helped sustain us, and given us the confidence to go through this very tortuous process with the state's Consumer Affairs Division for binding arbitration.

The owner took a lot of time to speak with me on the phone to discuss my sitution even before I agreed to have them do the repair!

I am from out of town and even though these guys could not look forward to my continuing business they were able to squeeze my car into their schedule quickly and were very responsive, good-natured, willing to get the parts themselves and, most of all, did a repair for a very reasonable price that turned out to be exactly what was called for. They also did a couple of minor repairs for free while they were waiting for the part. I recommend them very highly and wish I lived nearby so they could continue servicing my car! Jennifer

They are awesome! I would definitely recommend this place to everybody. Great customer service, very prefessional, friendly and they definitely know what they are doing! Martina & Michael