Great customer service and knowledge of my vehicle. Fixed the needed repair quick and efficient. I highly recommend this shop for your European car needs. read more

Dirk and his crew were so helpful with my vehicle! I appreciate all the work and will definitely be back if needed!

Dirk and his team have been taking care of our Mercedes transmissions for over ten years. Highly recommended. Very knowledgeable and friendly: read more

Dirk and Ernie were able to quickly and accurately diagnose and repair two transmission-related problems with our 2005 Mercedes E320cdi diesel. At over 150,000 miles the car is now buttery smooth and is a joy to drive. These two gentlemen have decades of Mercedes repair experience, and it shows the quality of customer service and repairs. read more

Fixed a transmission issue in my E350 others said could not be done without replacing it. Step by step diagnosis. They are ultra experienced in transmissions and saved me $$$. Super nice people too . Thanks guys! read more

Peter Schmid was recommended to us when we had a transmission fault code stored on our MB g63. They scanned it, did some research and made honest recommendations that everything was safe and working properly. Really liked their team, very professional. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good German transmission shop read more

We have used Peter Schmid Transmission for many years and rarely have had any issues with their quality rebuilt transmissions, and on the rare occasion we have had any issues, they have gone out of their way to make things right. I highly recommend Peter Schmid for quality and reasonable pricing. Gene Etheirdge A & G Transmissions Inc. read more

Hooray for PST and Dirk! Our '04 MB C320 was diagnosed needing a new transmission. Dirk found that it needed a new torque converter, which was about 1/4 the cost of a new OEM transmission. Great service and consultation, I highly recommend PST and Dirk--you know you're in good hands as soon as you walk in. read more

I have a 2000 E320 that was surging when going between gears. I was told it needed a new transmission as I had 220k miles. Edwin diagnosed the problem and repaired it for less that the quote ($780). I shifts very smoothly now Very professional and friendly. I would strongly recommend this shop. they exceeded my expectations. read more

Excellent! After a frustrating experience at my local BMW repair shop that wanted to replace my 5 year old transmission for 13k was recommended Peter Schmid. My problem was new to them but they figured it out and stuck to the original quote of about 4k. They are transmissions experts and communicated throughout. Overall super impressed and highly recommend! Thank you! read more

I have a MB 1995 C-220 that would not go in reverse. I live near sacramento and wanted it repaired by a German specialty shop in transmissions. Everyone I spoke to kept referring to a peter Schmid in Burlingame After having a careful drive to the Bay Area ( comically avoiding to go in reverse ) , I finally made it The staff was very helpful and I left the car having been told the transmission need a rebuilt due to the main issue but being a 1995 it needed a lot more as well I understood completely and once repaired was very happy with their workmanship! Worn motor mounts also were a cause of excessive vibration and once replaced, I swear the Mercedes purred like a kitten ! So happy I am , I would drive further if I had transmission problems in the future I highly recommend this professional shop and will seek out every review venue to spread the word ! Thank you all !!!! read more

My 06 mini was experiencing a delay after 20 minutes of driving so I took it to an auto repair close to me. They suggested that it was the Transmission and quoted $5000.00, after further review it changed to $7000.00, THEN $9500.00. My car had less then 42k miles, I knew something was wrong. Took my car to another place for a 2nd opinion, they figured out that it was in fact the Transmission, but specifically the valve body and quoted me $3000.00. They knew Peter Scmid Transmissions could charge half because they do that type of work all the time and referred me to them. I ended up getting it fixed for $1668.00. It drives great now. read more

After being referred by Penninsula European Auto Repair in San Mateo for transmission repairs on my Jaguar XF, I talked to Dirk and had him take a look. I had been told that I need a new transmission and the estimate was $7000 by a repair shop I had been to a couple of times in Sunnyvale. He explained everything really well and said he thought that what I might need new shift solenoids, estimate was $1500. He said if it was more he would credit the cost toward rebuilding the transmission. It turned out the relays were the problem, so he saved me at least $5000. I asked him if he found any metal in the transmission case. He said no, and that "we get that a lot." I would totally recommend him. He has a great demeanor. read more

Updated review-- On 7/7/2019 Dirk repaired my transmission that the dealer wanted to replace at 114,749 miles and I saved $2400.00 over dealer cost. Today, 01/22/2021, at 203,316 miles, my transmissions runs perfectly and I have had no problems with it after driving another 88567 miles from date of repair. I highly recommend Peter Schmid Transmissions as THE GO TO place for your transmission needs. read more

The transmission in our BMW 528i was slipping and the repair light went on when we were in the freeway. We took it to the dealership and they told us it would cost $11,000 to replace the transmission. Fortunately, the fellow at BMW referred us to Peter Schmidt in Burlingame. Dirk and Dan tested the car, drove it around and replaced some parts. Good as new for $1700. We were thrilled and amazed. Thank you Dan and Dirk, great job. read more

Awesome place I had my Land Rover LR3 Transmission replaced in July 2017, the transmission has worked perfectly this shop is an excellent shop and I would definitely bring in a vehicle I am back here for either new transmission or transmission work. read more

Just had another transmission rebuilt by this shop. Once again perfection. It was for an older 1983 Mercedes diesel and honestly probably harder to build right and get to shift right than new electronic ones that use a computer. Clearly they have not lost their touch on this older stuff and my customer was thrilled read more

I wish I didn't have to write this, but I am kinda disappointed by the treatment I got from the lady who answered the phone today. If I wasn't a satisfied customer before having been to this shop years ago, I would give them 1 star, but I refuse to go to any service provider that has the front line with a rude and confrontational attitude. It goes to show most likely if things don't go the way you expected they would come out of their shell and give you that attitude. Life is too short to be filled with drama and frustration with people who can't be a bit more courteous or polite. I called to check if they can do a transmission service on my car which is due for a fluid change per the manufacturer's recommended interval. I've been doing my shopping around because it is a simple routine preventive maintenance to change the fluid as recommended but of course I want to go to the place I trust and get the best value. The lady comes off as though I am just wasting her time when in fact I'm just straight to the point asking whether they can do my fluid change if I already have the parts. I feel she's wasting more of my time because she can't just answer what I want to know. I always come prepared because these universal transmission shops usually don't stock the exact type of fluid and filter kit for my car so I make sure I have the right parts for them to do the labor and I don't need to wait for any special order of parts. I ask the lady if they can do it if I have the parts and she gets upset because I'm more prepared than she would expect me to be, so she asks me in a probing voice "where am I from" and I say san Francisco, and she tells me isn't there a place in SF that can do it for me? And I tell her I want you guys to do it because I had a good experience in the past here and I know from that experience you guys know what you're doing and do a good job. So she abruptly tells me to hold on for a second in a rude tone, and just drops the phone. Meanwhile it was more than a second, 4 minutes to be exact, and I am wondering should I just hang up or it seems like I'm being punished or tested if I really am serious or just pulling their chain. She grabs the phone and says ok come in tomorrow after lunch OK in a demanding voice. I say so how much will it cost? she said it's one hour. And I say how much is 1 hour, and she tells me do you want to do it or not? and I say I need to know the price so I can see if it's worth it. She chuckles in a rude voice $125. At that point I get it that most likely she thinks they don't need my business and because she is in a position of power to turn away customers like that I figure I don't want to give it to them anymore. They only want customers that will praise them for work that reaps them the most profits because they want the least educated customers about cars. Those that don't ask the right questions that show the owners know what they're doing. Ironically the two father and son owners were very nice and kind enough to teach me in the past about the right time in changing fluids and flushes. They take the time to give the customer the right information to make the proper decisions, but now I'm hesitant on going back. read more

MZF transmission for my Mercedes SL 500 failed after 10,000 miles and 2 years 4 months. However MZF still stood by their 2 year warranty and replaced with new rebuilt transmission at no cost to me. I award 5 stars for their high integrity. read more

These guys blew me away. I had tricky issues with a BMW transmission - intermittent error codes. When I walked in the owner himself (Dirk) jumped on the car right away checking codes to see what was wrong. Kept it 2 days because we couldn't get the code to recur so I took it home. I offered to pay him for the time he had spent trying to get the problem to come up and he refused! He even told me I might want to sell the car rather than repair it (incredible). One thing that is comforting to an owner of a German car is when the repair shop is owned by a guy like Dirk (slight German accent). Anyway, these guys were highly recommended by my regular mechanic and they earned it. Exception service, candor, and honesty. If you have German tranny problems the drive to Burlingame is worth it in my opinion. read more

This is so well deserved I am speechless! Just got my ML320 back. Had many estimates one as high as $6,500. My 1998 ML320 had 4 leaks and no one was able to stop the gushers that had me stranded with a transmission disaster on my hands. Day after day.. Leaking profusely was an understatement. Couldn't even drive it.. They fixed every single leak for $670.00. Thank you! Thank you! You guys rock big time! I am so incredibly grateful YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I was going to be forced to put the car out to pasture without your help. Many thanks! read more

Here's a before and after review. 5/10/2013 BEFORE: So I take my 2006 Audi S4 Avant (tiptronic 6 speed auto trans mfgr'd by ZF) into my trusted guys who have been doing my service work for years now to get my 110k service done. Upon driving the car home all the sudden my car is shifting really harshly. I decide to run it a bit and see if what they might have done smooths out. 3 days later my car is slamming into gear on the 2 to 3, 4 to 5 upshifts and 4 to 3 downshift. Crazy. Feeling like someone's slamming the car with a sledgehammer. I take it back to my guys. 3 or 4 days later I get the estimate for $6,900 on a complete trans R&R. Are u kidding me?!! I do some heavy thinking. My reverse investment of upwards of $70k for a station wagon no less, which is only worth $15.5k now if in PERFECT condition (KBB) needs $7k for a new transmission which was working perfectly until it got serviced... Humm, I'm wondering what exactly happened during that post service test drive? Anyway, I call ZF and speak with Chris and he suggests I take the car to PST. I called and spoke with Dirk and he had a few ideas on what might be wrong and the bottom line is that I might not need an entirely new remanufactured trans after all, but maybe some proper inspection/diagnosis and hopefully $1k or less expense. Fingers crossed here. I'll come back and let everyone know how it went. 5 stars for now... 7/8/15 AFTER: Weird, I thought for sure I had posted a report all about my experiences after the work was complete. Must have been dreaming bc I have no record of it! So, sorry for the huge delay in completing this review everyone. Here's how it went down: 5 stars are not enough for the experience of dealing with PST. They are simply a great bunch of people, they do excellent work and I'd give them 10 stars if available. I worked with Dirk and Wolfgang and they led me through a graduated repair schedule that attempted to get my tranny operational at least cost. They first checked an often troublesome seal that can lead to symptoms like what I was experiencing. The seal was not it. They did not even charge me for this 1hr of work up on the rack! We tried the next step of replacing the solenoid pack. They ordered the parts from Germany and did not even ask for a prepayment! When the parts came in they worked on the car and unfortunately this too was not the problem which was a bummer because the next step was DEFCON 5: complete tranny overhaul to get to the torque converter and clutch packs. But what is so cool about the PST option is that I at least had the opportunity to save money vs. my regular servicer who just out and said I needed a new tranny and fork over $6.9k. So it all got finished in October of 2013 and I had my badass S4A back and working like new at 117,022 miles at a total cost of $5,600 (a $1,300 savings vs. my Audi servicer!!). By March of 2015 I had 130k miles on the car, 13k after the rebuild, and the tranny was bulletproof, perfect and just as you would have wanted it, shifting almost imperceptibly and correctly without reservation. Sadly I sold the S4A in March and picked up my 4th Audi: a 2012 A4A S-Line with a slightly larger interior, which is good for the kids. I miss my S4A, what a great car. What I learned about the MZF tranny's from this episode: Don't believe the Mfgr's recommendation that the fluids in the tranny and transaxle are "lifetime". I say change every 75k at minimum. Put in a real good anti-friction additive like Energy Release everywhere: motor, transmission, transaxles, bearings and AC system. Energy Release site: http://www.energyrelease.com. $50 worth of ER probably would have saved me $5.6k! Hope this info helps, James read more

Well, another 30K mile filter, fluid service for my MBZ 300D. Peter Schmidt rebuilt this around 1987 and since then it has been serviced by this shop/MZF Trans. Now , of course, Dirk is the boss and it now has merged with Autohuas Burlingame to combine Transmission services with general auto services. Dirk is still "the Boss". Needless to say, his team is a 'class act' and Dirk is true to his high standard of service and courtesy. They remain top notch and detail oriented for the customer's benefit. Thank you ! Update: The car operates much more responsively. Very smooth. I think I should do the Trans service sooner like every 20-25K miles. I drive about 70% city and 30% highway, so that is harder on the trans. Just an FYI for other 300D owners. read more

If you own a Jaguar automobile with a ZF transmission, I recommend you take your vehicle for service or repair to MZF-Bayer Inc. My experience with MZF in their repair of my 2000 XK8 is most excellent. Fair price, quick return to service, car running as new, and I was treated like a trusted and respected friend. You will be happy you brought your vehicle to them. I like to work on my vehicles and the XK8 has had a lot of my mechanical attention, for the convertible top ("the green shower failure"), the cam chain tensioner issue ("rattle of death"), the ABS computer fail ("broken power traces"), the passenger seat switch debacle ("perma recliner"), and the fuel pump failure ("what do you mean, the gas tank has to come OUT of the car?"). So when the transmission failed with only one gear ahead ("Limp Mode") I investigated, in decreasing and depressing order of despair, blue book value on an unusable, 17 year old non classic, the local Jaguar dealer, the local Jaguar repair shop, remanufactured transmissions shipped in from Kansas, and finally repair parts, transmission jack and jack stands and my aching back in my own garage next to the lawnmower. None of those were good to think about. Then I found MZF. Wolfgang and Dirk Bayer, Didi, thank you. Life is good. read more

Ten years later I had a second very positive experience with Dirk, now the sole owner. My transmission on a recently imported purchase disassociated itself from the engine on the Bay Bridge and had to be flatbedded home on a sunday and then down to Peter Schmidt on monday. Again, Dirk did not make a mountain out of a molehill, but put the car up on the lift and came back a few minutes later with a handfull of loose driveshaft bolts which had not been properly tightened by a Mercedes dealer in Florida where the car came from. Fortunately, I don't have a lot of transmission failures, but twice now Dirk has been an oaisis in a field full of crooks and charlatans. He now does more than transmission repairs and I will drive from SF to bring my car to him where I know it will be properly diagnosed and repaired. Thanks Dirk. read more

Have been using Peter Schmid Transmissions since way back 30+ years ago in Mountain View. Quality has never fallen over the years. Our shop has been using these guys FOREVER. Best in the business read more

I am a fleet manager at a large company we needed a2 transmissions one for a Chevy suburban and a Mercedes 550. I made a list of all the transmission shops and called to get a quote. After the phone rang 8 times someone finally answered. I gave the make and model for the suburban and the lady says " we don't do those" and before I could say another word she hung up. She didn't bother to say we only deal with foreign cars. So I did not end up getting a quote for the Mercedes transmission. I manage a fleet of 70 vehicles their loss. read more

I had the transmission on my BMW replaced by Schmid for $3800 when the car had about 100K miles on it. I received a two year warranty. After about 2.5 years and 20K miles the diagnostics light came on indicating an issue with the transmission. The light was reset and stayed off, but it came back on after a couple of months. Now after about 3.5 years and 30K miles I'm told the torque converter is bad and would be at least close to $1000 to fix...a death sentence for the beamer. I thought the car would die for other reasons related to age after having spent that money on the transmission. Giving them two starts for the fact that the price seemed reasonable at the time. read more

I was having transmission issues in my 2002 Audi S4. And searched the bay area for a certified Audi transmission shop. Found Peter Schmid and gave them a shot at fixing my Audi transmission. After they took my transmission apart. They found most of my clutch packs were worn and I also needed a new torque converter. They gave me two options on fixing my transmission issue. I decided to just do the complete rebuild. Four days later got my car back running good as new with a 2 year warranty. Dirk and they guys at Peter Schmid Transmission know there stufff. read more

Came here for an issue I had with my W202 not properly shifting into gear. Boy was I glad I came here! Dirk saved me at least couple hundred dollars in diagnostics! I told him my symptoms and agreed to take it for a drive around the block to replicate the issue. Of course the issue did not replicate when I bring it to a shop! Dirk then put it on the lift to check my shifter bushings, all intact! But taking a look under there he found the shifter linkage rod was a lot looser than he normally sees and gave it a quick tighten. Shifter definitely feels a lot firmer and now the issue is completely gone! I recommend this shop for all your MB transmission related issues. Highly honest guys and willing to help customers in need! read more

The service here is AMAZING! They always take care of me and I'm 100% confident in their work. I have a 2005 BMW X5 so its been needing some extra TLC lately. There guys are professional, timely, and they always diagnose the problem and correct it so I feel safe driving down the road knowing that experts have done the work on my car. A+++++ Excellent! read more

I found out about this company from another auto repair shop which is actually up in Sonoma county. They send their customer's transmissions to PST to be rebuilt or exchanged for a replacement. My older BMW failed up there and needed repair or replacement of the transmission. My family works on cars and can do most things but we don't try to rebuild transmissions. The car isn't worth enough to sink thousands into it, so we were weighing options but had some technical questions we needed answered. I called PST and talked to Dirk as we needed this expertise to help decide what our best option was. He was very helpful and considerate to take the time to talk to me. Most people are not going to respond so positively and help a guy in my predicament - but he did. It is obvious from what the other shop said, from other reviews and my brief experience today that PST are experts at what they do, and know how to treat customers and potential customers the right way. Although it was impractical to have them work on this car given its age and location, I will definitely bring my business to them the next time. read more

In October 2014, I took my 2007 Mercedes Benz S550 to this company to have my transmission repaired after being highly disappointed by Mercedes Benz of Oakland. I called and spoke with the owner Wolfgang who made me feel like we have known each other forever. I later had my car towed to their shop and they rebuilt my transmission. While my car was in the shop, the owner Wolfgang trusted me enough that he let me borrow his car until they finished the repair work. I later met Wolfgang's son Dirk who put the finishing touches on my vehicle which now runs like a charm!!!! The professionalism of Peter Schmid Transmission, MZF is incomparable to most shops in the Bay Area. The price they charged me was half the cost Mercedes Benz of Oakland was charging and they also provided me with a two year warranty. Wolfgang and Dirk were two of the most professional mechanics I have every me and they didn't elevate their prices. I highly recommend this company if you ever need your transmission repaired. Thanks again Wolfgang and Dirk, you guys are the best!!!!!!! read more

This shop specializes in repair/replacement of Mercedes transmissions. They have deep expertise and are the source of transmissions for all the other shops. The owner Wolfgang is a master Mercedes mechanic as is his son Dirk. They quickly diagnosed that due to a known manufacturer defect, radiator coolant leaked into the transmission on my 2003 CLK 500, corroding the seals and clutches. They replaced the radiator with an improved version and put in a rebuilt transmission, with a 2 year unlimited miles warranty. Got it done quickly and for half the cost you'd pay at the dealer. Plus, these folks are the friendliest and most straightforward you could ever hope to meet in the auto repair world. read more

I have owned interesting cars for over 50 years so am no stranger to working with repair shops, both good and bad. I first encountered Peter Schmid Transmissions about 10-12 years ago when they adjusted the internal belts in my 280 SL transmission in about an hour and charged only for their time. This was after two other San Francisco transmission repair facilities wanted to replace the transmission with a rebuilt one at great expense. I never forgot that experience and many years later had another potentially serious transmission problem with a complex car and was quite concerned about what caused the problem and how bad the repair could be. This was a used car I had only had for a few weeks. Dirk raised the car in my presence and showed me the root of the problem.....a few loose bolts causing the drive shaft to separate from the transmission and shut it down completely. Once again, they did not make a mountain out of a molehill......time and a few new bolts and I was back on the road again. This kind of honesty coupled with knowledge and a good understanding of the cars they work on is hard to find these days. They are to be treasured and recommended as highly as possible. read more

Very Knowledgeable people to deal with. Best of the best. Been going here for years already. Thanks DeeDee

I can't recommend this shop enough. I was having transmission problems with my 2004 X5 4.8, it kept slipping and sounding really rough when climbing hills. So I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and googled as much as I could about this transmission and what may be the problem. So I decided I'd change the fluid, mechtronic sleeve and a few other rubber pieces in the unit. I ordered all my products through a BMW mechanic in Berkeley. That was somewhat of a fiasco, but that's another story. So finally I get everything done, come to find out the BMW mechanic in Berkeley didn't give me enough fluid. So I took my car to the Berkeley mechanic so he could pull codes and top the fluid off. Long story short, the problem didn't go away and he told me it would be $7,000 for a new transmission which he identified as the problem. Yes, $7,000! I found out about Peter Schmid through some research. Took my car to him, he tested it, it showed 2 bad solenoids. He replaced all solenoids and saved my oil for refill since it was new AND replaced my rear tail light for $1,000. Yes, he saved me well over $6,000. The BMW shop in Berkeley wanted to charge me over $300 to replace the whole tail light assembly, The tail light end up costing me $60 only because I had a stealth box they had to undo and remove to get to the light. This shop has my business for life! It's a little far, but when a mechanic saves you $6,000, what's a 45 to an hour drive. My mechanic in Berkeley lost my business for good. It's too bad there aren't enough good honest mechanics. If you would like the name of the shop in Berkeley, reach out to me, I don't like to bash others businesses online unless I really got cheated by them, in this case I did not because I found Peter Schmid Transmission shop, thanks a ton Dirk! I'll be seeing you soon. Wishing you good health and prosperity! read more

The milage on the transmission just turned 80,000 miles and still going strong!! I've not had any problems with it since installation.

Now we're cookin'..! Great companies stand behind their work - without question...and that is exactly what they did! In September 2013, we had our transmission replaced with a rebuilt unit for our BMW - with a two year parts and labor warranty. Have to say - the replacement unit gave me some concern as it shifted rather roughly. This May the rebuilt unit failed. Without question or challenge - Wolfgang and Dirk took the car in, diagnosed the problem(s) and replaced the entire unit to their satisfaction (standards) - and the car is now GREAT...! No fuss, no cost. Nice to experience great, friendly service - without any hesitation whatsoever on their part. read more

Highly recommend Wolfgang Bayer's transmission shop - Audi A8 Quattro was making grinding sounds when shifting. Dealer (Rector) recommended ATF Fluids & filters change but quoted $850, MZF charged me $300 and the problem was solved. Transmission replacement quote with re-built unit, Dealer was $7600, MZF was $4900. They have to be the top ZF transmission shop in the area. read more