Good mechanic in MN?

Many options/reviews over the years.

I've heard good & bad things about GT Cars in Bloomington.....

Heard good & bad things about Donnybrooke....

Heard there is a Lotus Guru in the metro/om this board....

Morries in Tonka is supposely trying to get the F-car/Maser crowd.....

With a town that big (T/C & metro), you should be able to find a reputable wrench without breaking the bank.

Good luck

 

Maserati of Minneapolis, "morries", can take care of your needs.

 

We take our cars to maserati of mpls including our old 355.

 

I do my own work, so its not an issue. Otherwise I would talk to Donnybrooke.

 

I have had a bad cold and not thinking to sharply, so maybe Tim will forgive me. Tim (2NA) was a long time mechanic at GTCars, and is now working independently in Bloomington. I have met him on several occasions and he seems well qualified, experienced and knowledgable, especially with Lamborghinis. When you walk into a shop and see a guy wrenching on a million dollar car, you know hes the top guy in the shop and people trust him. Especially if they come back! I met Tim almost 10 years ago when I stopped in at GTCars to ask some Ferrari questions, and found Tim mechanically freshening a Miura. He was curious why I didnt mention him here, he figured I would aknowledge him over Donnybrooke, and instead of telling him privately, I figured I would say why publically.

When you look for a mechanic, many times you overlook the obvious. The big shops that advertise and talk really big, often times have labor rates that are absolutely incredible. But they often do no better work than the crusty shop you tried to avoid, and often times far less. The reality is, the "shop" isnt going to work on your car, thier "mechanic" is. A case in point is a head shop in Bloomington. They did a set of Ferrari heads a while back, and now they know it all about Ferrari's, and will talk prices right into the stratosphere. I marked them off my list of shops. I aint saying they wont do good work, just that I dont need to start off the conversation with prices spiraling past $4000.00 and climbing on a set of 308 2V heads that I pulled off myself before they even seen them. They arent anything fancy, no different than an Alfa head, its rediculous.

The thing is, mechanics IS rocket science. You may never have considered this, but a rocket is no more than a plane without wings. And they are built surprisingly simular to aircraft. Its all rivets, nuts and bolts, trial and error stuff. Auto mechanics, while maybe on the crude end of the spectrum, is still, especially today, highley technical. The difference between one mechanic and another isnt always his level of experience, but his passion, his love of doing a good job, and his reputation. The kid down the street could many times do as good a job for you as the fancy shop across town, only the fancy shop might know technical details the kid wouldnt have acess to. Its all relative. But I have seen far far more hacks in the bizness than I have ever seen good honest mechanics. To many guys think nothing of gerry rigging things, or not caring enough how they work, they often mess something up in the process of doing a repair, and your back there again next week. There are too many horror stories of cars that just never worked right with a glovebox packed full of reciepts. I honestly think Alfas were far far better cars, but goofy enough that mechanics to often took great advantage of peoples ignorance and income. You dont always get what you pay for. And if they will screw a poor Alfa owwner, what will they do to a Ferrari guy??? These guys get you in the door, and its a revolving door. Its like a tear in the fabric of time, and your car will never run right until you extricate if from these mad men. A greasy motorcycle mechanic could surely fix one of these cars, truth be told.

One thing with me, I expect owners of anything I work on to have enough pride and concern to know thier machine, and maintain it. I dislike poseurs. Maybe its the Ferrari in me, I dunno, but I seen to many poeple own something that didnt have a clue how it worked or how to take care of it, they just wanted a piece of rolling jewelry. I no longer have any patience for that. I never appreciated shops that found ways to get around doing jobs properly, or owners looking to wiggle thier way out of doing a job right. Tim is one of the few people I know of who seems to know this and extend it to the people whos cars he works on. The car will come back equal to, or better than it was recieved, and he will stand strongly behind his work. In other words, you know up front that if he says the heads need to come off, they need to come off. If you wanna argue about it, you probably need to take the car somewhere else.

I mentioned Donnybrooke simply because they have been around for 40 years or more, have an old following, and are a bit more old world. They are not the fancy kind of place like Morries. I didnt mention GTCars, simply because Tim dont work there anymore, and it would appear thier focus has shifted away from european cars. If walking into a Kings palace such as Morries is what you believe signifies good service, by all means go for it. But in my mind, they are the new kid on the block and just because you hang up a shingle doesnt mean they have a rocket mechanic in back thats going to fix your car. Tim is actually a rocket mechanic by the way, lol. But outside of Tim or myself, and Donnybrooke, I dont know where else one would go. I dont even know where I would go. Sears, right next door to Morries, sends thier Ferrari mechanical work to Donnybrooke, so that may tell you something. For body work, Sears should be considered.

Another thing is, just because a guy has never worked on something particular before, does not mean he isnt qualified. Except for the diagnostic tools and equipment needed to service a 355 or a 360, etc., I would put my own ability alongside anyone I personally know. I dont know how well we would get along or work together, but I am sure between Tim and I we could do as good of a job as anyone within 500 miles. The problem is that I have no room for more work at present, and Tim only has one hoist, so get in line. And that, quite simply, is why I didnt mention you Tim, I didnt think you had the time or space to have a bunch of Ferrari guys lining up outside your door. If I was mistaken I am truly sorry. But Tim is as qualified as anyone I know anywhere within minnesota.

And just so everyone knows, from the late 328 onwards, Ferrari used ABS brakes. I am not sure exactly with the 328, but beginning with the 355, you need a diagnostic computer with Ferrary propiatary software to work on that system or to bleed the brakes correctly. On the 360, you shouldnt even work on the clutch without the car calibrated with that software. And the F1 shifting system requires the same computer, as does the fuel system and ignition. And the only ones I am aware that have it, are authorised Ferrari repair centers. Hence Morries most likely cant do a darn thing to a 355/360 etc., that Tim or anyone else within 400 miles couldnt do. I could put a clutch in your 360, but then it would need to be trailered to a dealer to be calibrated. And they wont stand behind my work and I wouldnt stand behind thiers. So to be fair to you, I should just pass it off and say take it to Chicago or somewhere else, unless of course a way could be found to work around it. I am not aware one exists at present.

If I am wrong about Morries, and if they do have factory software diagnostic equipment, I appologise. And I hope Tim forgives me for looking over him. I cant personally recommend anyone else or any other shop or garage anywhere outside of those mentioned. There used to be a shop called European Auto Works, but they centered around british cars primarily. German Auto Works stuck mostly to german cars. But again, I know nothing personally of thier reputations.

 

If you're trying to figure out where to take your car, why dont you go to the shops and look around and ask questions there. Talk to people who have taken their car there, talk to the techs. Everybody has their own opinion and you never know who is going by what they heard from somebody whos brother took their car there years ago.

 

Thanks Paul for the kind words.

I asked him to give me a mention (a few words would have done it) because among my local clients NONE are Fchatters. A couple don't own computers (hard to believe today).

 

So far I haven't needed any servicing on my 308 in the year I have lived here but based on what I know right now, I would lean strongly to letting 2NA work on my car or Morries. I met 2NA at the recent WOI and he sounds like he knows his stuff and he's certainly working on far cooler cars than mine (though I still think mine's cool! I had a great mechanic in Seattle who did fantastic work. He was a little old Italian guy that has worked on these cars his entire life and knew how to make things perfect. Everyone in Seattle takes their Ferrari to this guy because everyone knew he was the best and most trusted. Also, he didn't work at Ferrai of Seattle.

Paul

 

BTW, if I was going to attempt any simple work on my car myself, Artvonne seems to be a guy that knows his stuff and could coach me through things well. I don't think there's a 308 owner in the state with dirtier fingers than Artvonne (that's a compliment!!! I really respect the fact that he's not afraid to tear into his car himself. I'm not brave enough or knowledgeable enough to tackle the more aggressive jobs on a Ferrari myself. Some of the guys out East and down in Texas seem to have a good core group of Ferrari owners who get together at one of their houses and try to fix their cars themselves. Birdman hosts many of these out East. I wish we had a similar comaraderie here. We've all got to stick together.

Paul

 

LOL

 

I think this is a wonderful idea. All we need to do is figure out who has the biggest garage, driveway, shop, etc., and go hang out there on weekends, lol.