Benchmark Motors Incorporated

The shop specializes in German cars but since the mechanics all drive American and Japanese cars, they can fix those, too. In fact, the tip-off about the shop is the fact that these guys don't drive German cars. Any ex-German car owner will know exactly what I'm talking about. These folks can work to a price point, too. If the objective is to spend as little as possible or only as much as seems logical for an old car, the mechanics will do that, within the bounds of safe operation, of course. No Saturday hours, though.

This shop is impeccable. So are the guys who work here. They do what is necessary; they don't do what is not necessary. I would send my little old mother here.

I am new to the Columbia area and consulted this site to find a mechanic to check out some problems with my Jetta. I called a few of the mechanics listed on this site. Benchmark's hourly rate was cheaper than the competition. I was very impressed with these guys! I was able to get an appointment the next day. There was no charge for checking out the car and providing an estimate. They were extremely honest. That itself is a rarity and that I am female, I was doubly impressed. They told me which repair was immediate and which ones could wait. They answered every question I had (and I had a lot) and explained everything to me --- very refreshing! My husband owns a Toyota and is taking his car here for some repairs. I highly recommed them.

One thing I like about Benchmark is that you talk to the mechanic who is working on your car - first hand info, nothing lost in translation, no BS. Good mechanics, honest and not too badly priced given that all BMW parts are stupidly expensive.

I took my manual transmission VW GTI in for problems shifting. The shop was clean, welcoming, and well maintained -- the people there obviously take a lot of pride in their business. The mechanics were all knowledgeable, friendly, and respected my intelligence and data on how the car had been behaving and what we thought might be the problem. (I'm female, so this is sadly not always the case. No condescending "little lady" attitude here!) They got my okay before performing diagnostics, showed me the results of them and discussed it with me, and quoted me a $160 solution to what I had feared would be a $3k transmission job. When I got the final bill, their estimate was off... in a good way! I walked out the door wishing I'd ditched my old mechanics earlier -- $130 was way less than I thought I'd be dropping today, and I was delighted with the helpful attitudes of everyone there.