For all who were wondering where mechanic Vinny Latino went with his shop Auto Elite, here's an update: 1 Atwood Ave Tenafly, NJ 204-947-2371 His new shop is about 10,000 sq.ft. and awesome! Has right now a sweet Stratos, a couple 246 dinos, c/4, a boxer and a few 3x8s to name a few. Give him a call to congratulate him on the move. Ciao! Tony G.
Nice to see Vinny in a great, larger space. And its a bike ride from my house! Here's the Stratos Stradale: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'm glad someone posted this-I'd been having the same problems with my Dino for a while, and my regular mechanic either dIdnt see the problems or couldn't fix them-took it to vinny, and he fixed ALL of them...the other thing I like is he's not anxious to spend your money-if it doesn't need it, he won't do it...he's got my Dino and my stratos, and I couldn't be happier
Not at all-in fact I was going to start a little thread to document what mark and vincenzo were doing..
He's a great mechanic for Italian machinery (old or newer alfa/ferrari/maserati/lamborhini), and an extremely nice person to boot! Last time I was there this summer he had a Lusso in there, and the time before a 275GTS, along with 308s etc...he knows all the cars from ones worth $20K to $millions! He won't do things that are unnecessary (even if you ask him to ), and everything that necessary! -Andrew
He takes care of my DIno, Boxer , Maserati, and other cars i have had. I agree with Phil. He knows these cars cold, and is not anxious to spend your money, very honest you can tell the moment you meet him. the new place is smashing !! I wish him all the best, i could not recommend a better place to trust an Italian car. (cavallino or others) Antonio
The phone company is providing a forwarding service for this number but I don't think it works every time. A couple of people have said their calls don't go through. The new number is 201-266-8885. Please let me know if anyone has trouble with this one.
I've run into a few people that are familiar with Vinny and Auto Elite but don't know about the Saturday lunches. Just about every Saturday for the past 30 or so years Vinny opens the shop to all for sort of a pot luck lunch. It's not so much as a car thing but more of a get together with friends that share a love of cars. Everyone is welcome. It doesn't matter what you drive or even if you drive. It's just a nice way to spend a few hours. Bring something if you wish, or not, either is fine. Most times there is an assortment of Italian cold cuts and if we're really lucky, Joe will make some great pasta. In addition to being a world class mechanic, Vinny makes great espresso.
The new shop is coming along nicely. If you haven't seen it yet, here are some pictures. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Now that there are a good number of cars i find myself just dropping in now and again to see the progress and it pushes me to buy more cars its a crazy addiction that i love. Back to Vincenzo he is outstanding and i could not like his work any more than i do, i am buying a new (old) car just because i know i have him to go through it when it arrives !!!
no i am bugging him about it. in that respect he is old school. come to think of , i dont have a web page!!
O.K. I put together a little website. Not a lot of glitz and glam, just some info and directions. Its at www.auto-elite.net
I wish I could have made it...I had the James Glickenhause charity brunch the same day! I'm sure Vinny/Mark will understand....I had to see the P4/5 and the oldest Ferrari in existance in person when I had the opportunity! (#3 Ferrari- a 1947 159S- the first and second were dismantled probably for parts in the 40's...) What a collection Glickenhause has! I'm sure the factory is dying to pry that '47 from him.......
Just picked up my car from Auto Elite once Mark and Vinny had sorted out a number of things. Big improvement and I feel very confident with them. As do others obviously, my Gt4 being the most modest car there. I couldn't stay for lunch but my son thought the ambience of the workshop was the right place for his! Image Unavailable, Please Login