I recently had some mishap on the freeway, ran over a large BOULDER of a road debris and damaged the lower control arm and deformed the strut tower on the front driver’s side suspension.
Coming to the rescue was John Handal of European Motor Works. I have worked with John in the past in some of the more difficult installations of products on my vehicle, and the first person I turned to for help on this mishap was again, John.
Upon first visual inspection of the vehicle he immediately confirmed some of my concerns… Warped strut tower, damaged lower control arm and a new tie rod. One of my concerns though, cost of the repair, was immediately put to rest when John gave me his honest estimate of the damage and cost of repairs. He even offered up some suggestions as to what I can replace on the stock suspension to make the car perform and corner even better.
Speaking of performance, one of the reason why I first went to European Motor Works is the same passion John and I both share: High Performance Driving. I’ve always been a believer in that, in order to excel in anything in life, you must first have a passion for it. Well, a passion for the track is immediately evident in John’s office, with numerous trophies from his days with Touring Car Racing Association and his numerous project cars in the garage.
The very first project car that I can across at John’s shop, was a white E30 325i sleeper that he dropped E30 M3 hubs, Euro-E36 M3 engine, and various performance enhancements in. Now, I’m sure this is not the first time someone attempted dropping an Euro E36 M3 engine in an E30, but I was amazed at the incredible installation job. From the outside looking into the engine bay, it looks like a FACTORY installation. All the wiring harnesses are neatly tucked away, all the mounting points are properly reinforced and despite the displacement of the engine being larger than what the bay is intended for, John managed to make the engine look like it belongs in that car.
One of the reason, is that John started out long time ago as a trained BMW master mechanic at one of the best local dealerships. And he’s a true perfectionist, as reflected by his spotless garage and his work ethic. But since he knows I track this car regularly, he insisted that we weld structural reinforcement to the strut tower, and use the latest BMW Motorsports parts to replace the damaged parts.
And despite his attention to detail and utter perfectionism, he always completes his work promptly. If he promises the work to be completed by a certain time, you can show up exactly when he promises and the car would be ready. Even when parts shortage delays the work, you can bet that he’ll inform you of the delay and work with you to find suitable solution to your vehicle troubles. I find that attitude to be quite refreshing in this industry, and often times difficult to obtain from an independent mechanic.
Unlike other independent mechanics, European Motor Works has always had the latest diagnostic equipment and the right tools on hand to fix most of your BMW troubles. John recently invested in a GT1 diagnostic machine that can delve deep into the electronic brains of most modern BMWs to troubleshoot some of the more pesky electrical gremlins. And he is trained to repair the latest BMW vehicles, including the newest 5 and 7 series, as well as older vehicles like the E30.
Since both of my E46es are now out of warranty, and I track one of the E46 regularly, I have been having John at European Motor Works do most of the work that I am not skilled enough to do, or any diagnostic that may require special tools. For example, my wife’s E46 has had an intermittent “check engine” light appear on the dash, and it appears randomly. Most other mechanic just suggested that I check my fuel cap after I refuel, but John hooked up the car to the GT1 machine after I described the symptom and found a defective camshaft position sensor on the exhaust side, and took care of the problem quickly on a very reasonable price.
But enough about John’s skills as a mechanic. His experience in the industry has built some very valuable relationships with numerous aftermarket vendors. If you need to source anything from aftermarket sway bars, to sports seats, to custom headers, he’s the one stop shop that will get the right parts at the right price, and have it professionally installed for you.
-Dan Wu