Another example of a business where the people really love what they do. Ken and his team have always provided me with excellent service on my e39 M5. From the time I bring it in, through to the time I pick the car up and everywhere in between. Recently, the fuel pump on my car failed and, as a result, I had the car towed from San Jose to Pleasanton. I called Ken to advise that my car would be brought there by a tow truck company (which I should probably write a negative review about, by the way) and I mentioned to him that the driver didn't appear to be careful when loading the car on his flatbed. Ken immediately offered to assist the driver with unloading the car and reassured me that he would not let anything happen to it while it was with him. Once received, Ken phoned me to tell me that the car arrived there safe and sound and that he would look into the problem and phone me back, which he did. Told me that the fuel pump had failed and that he would have the car ready for me tomorrow (mind you, the car was dropped off there in the mid afternoon). I received a call bright and breezy the next day from Ken telling me my car was ready. AWESOME. Reasonably priced and they specialize in German automobiles only. They build trust and I have never felt as though I was paying for a service I didn't want or need. And I am a gear head and almost always perform the servicing on my cars myself. Maybe it is because it is an M5, or maybe it is because of the excellent service I have always received from SAS. Regardless, if you have a German automobile, I strongly recommend that you see Ken at SAS German Auto. read more

I'm a younger guy so usually I get crap service from everywhere that's not just serving up a coffee or burger. I was extremely HAPPY with the initial service I've recieved from SAS. My situation is I'm pretty handy with a car and can handle 99% of the recommended inspection items on my BMW330i. Everything except for the darn warning, inspection lights and resets. A guy named Rob I think it was walked me through their prices for all the inspections and then suggested a solution that would work for me. I'll do the inspection etc on my own and then bring the car in for just the Oil Change service which includes resetting the warning lights etc. Pricing: Seemed reasonable and honest. I DON'T EVEN CARE if they are 10-25% more than Jiffy Lube or other places because to me it's all about CUSTOMER SERVICE and piece of mind. I like that someone reviewed their pricing as a FAIR price. That's all I need. Doesn't need to be cheapest just fair. I've become really jaded with people who only look for rock bottom prices. I'm an economical person but I am one to definately pay for personal service. In the end it probably all evens out anyway. Looking at the other reviews I know if I need to ask a quick question to the guys over at SAS they're not going to drag me over the coals or give me some crap runaround and in the car mechanic world that's something you can dearly pay for. read more

After taking my BMW to the local shop in Pleasanton, and not being satisfied with the work they performed, I reached out to some friends who have BMW's and live here. They all said go to Ken at SAS, he the best. Well, they were right. This dude is as honest as they come and when you are looking at high cost repairs you want someone honest but also competent. Ken and his team at SAS are PRO's, Diamond certified. They are better than the mechanic's at the Dealership. I had SAS fix a botched Value/Timing cover job that the local BMW shop did twice (The BMW dealership did give me a refund so at least that was cool of them). Since the repair at SAS I haven't had any leak and the other work I've had done, has been top-notch. Hands down if you have a BMW or another German made car, go to these guys......... you won't go anywhere else again. read more

Dropped by during my lunch break in the Carrera for an oil change. Oil changes are typically $300+ at a dealership (they use a lot of oil, dry sump system), I ended up saving a lot of money, they also inspected and cleaned up the underside of the car and told me my tires were gone (285's under a Carrera are pretty hard to inspect yourself when you suspect nothing is wrong), I honestly had no idea given how much grip I had from them still. Saved myself a definite blowout during the road trip I was due to take next week. Ken and Patrick are how all mechanics should strive to be. I surprised them during a busy afternoon, and they still made time for me, even if it was for something probably routine and uninteresting. read more

Heard great things and hoped to service my Audi there - called and heard the bad news (and good news for the owner) He has retired and the business has closed. Darn! read more

We recently had a issue with my wife's classic 2001 BMW convertible that caused us to begin losing faith in it. Ken and his team got it sorted quickly, provided great communication on the process, and guided her on the right level of repair. It's running great now and we're happy to know we can keep it running well for years to come. About a week after the BMW incident, the brake pad warning light on my 2012 Audi A7 lit up. After several unsatisfactory trips to multiple Audi dealers for warranty service, I was hoping to find somewhere more convenient (and more reasonable) than a dealer, so I called SAS. Once again Ken's communication was first rate. He got the car scheduled pretty quickly and kept me informed as his team figured out whether both axles needed brakes, size, cost, etc. and at a significantly lower cost than the dealer. We'll go back. Highly recommended. read more

Had a number of repairs needed for my Q5 with 87k miles. They were able to stay close to my budget and perform all the needed repairs. Very satisfied. read more

I brought in my VW Jetta right before the holidays since the service engine light had turned on. They changed motor oil & brake fluid and reset the service indicator. Fine until here. When they called they mentioned my battery was going bad and needed to be replaced, my CV boot was broken, and my valve cover gasket was leaking. Wheeew - glad I decided not to go for that. My battery was barely 2 years old and turned out to have full cold crank amps, but was in need of a little charge, probably because I hadn't driven the car much for a while. I lifted the car to check for the CV boot which looks like new - only the clamp to hold it on the axle had broken off. So just a new clamp was needed. The valve cover is indeed a bit wet, and has been for years, but looking from the bottom up there are no signs of oil leaking from the valve cover to the point where it needs to be replaced (a job of over $800, although I've had the VW dealer in Dublin quote me almost twice of that ~2 years ago). I don't discredit for the valve cover gasket recommendation as others have been fooled by it (it's a bit tough to properly assess on these Volkswagens); I've never even seen a drip of oil below the car. While I did appreciate the quick attention to my car's issue before the travel season, the recommendation to replace a perfectly good battery and the whole CV boot (instead just the clamp) make it look like an attempt to make a few quick bucks on me. If I had my wife bring in the car she would have fallen prey to all of these recommendations. Meh... I'm looking elsewhere next. read more

Even if Ken's shop wasn't literally across the street from my office & less than 2 miles away from my house I'd STILL make a 45 min., 1 hour or more drive to have him work on my cars. A good, trustworthy mechanic is a hard thing to find these days & once you do you hope they stay in business as long as your car is alive. Ken has always been fair, explained the needed repairs, completed his work in a timely manner & on occasion, not charged me for small otherwise inconsequential work he's done for me. The fact that his shop sometimes looks like a small auto museum with various Aston's, race ready MG's, A/C Cobra's, Jag's, a real AMG Hammer, 600HP Supra, turbo Porsche's, tweaked Audi's etc...just adds to his credibility as a competent wrench for the performance car enthusiast. read more

I wish I had found Ken and the entire team earlier, I have 1991 300ce that I have owned for over 25 years. Being some what of newbie in the Tri-valley area I had been using a couple of different shops in and Livermore and Dublin. SAS is my "go to" shop and will be for as long as I have a German car, since my first one was 1970 2080 SE , they will be seeing me anytime I need service. I also own a 2010 E350 that will going there for "A" service after the Thanksgiving break as I plan to make that appointment soon. The shop is well run and Ken takes the time to really understand what is going on with his clients cars . Thanks a TON.. ALL is Well read more

SAS has been my choice for about a year now. I was going to the dealership but kept leaving there feeling that I was being ripped off. I never have that feeling with Ken. I simply tell him what I think is wrong, he listens and then let's me know what is really wrong. Fortunately for me it's never been in the price range that was impossible for me to handle. As a single woman with very little knowledge of auto repairs, I feel comfortable with Ken taking care of my car. He's honest and has no hidden costs. I won't go anywhere else... read more

I took my Cayenne to SAS German auto for check engine light. They charged me $600 to fixed it. Two days later the check engine light came back. What a waste of money. I took my car to Porsche of Livermore and they cleared the check engine light at no charge. SAS German had sent me an email for a customer survey on their website. I wrote a review and they deleted my review because they didn't want their customers to know the truth that they did a lousy job on car and charged me $600 for something that wasn't needed. I don't recommend these guy. Take your car to a dealer and play it safe. read more

I give SAS 100000 stars! Ken is the bomb! I guess I deserve a bitch slap for taking my car to that BMW dealer in Pleasanton. I have known Ken for 25 years , he is honest trust worthy and a great family man! My 325 has 170,000 miles on it so Im sure he will see it again. Excellent service and very frindly staff! Customer for Life!!! read more

Ours is a long and painful story and I won't go into all of it. My husband took our Jaguar xk8 into Sas German Auto for a specific repair. The repair was done in a timely manner, the people were all nice, but that was just the beginning of our long story. Several return trips later we took the car off of the road because the initial work seems to have cause various leaks in both the cooling system and the motor. My husband has had a lot of experience with Jag repairs, but didn't have time to deal with it just then. So now, he's begun work on the car and has discovered that both cam covers had been cracked when they were replaced. The apparent cause for this is that most of the bolt/screws had been torqued to hard. Sas may be wonderful for German cars, but they really don't know what they are doing when it comes to Jaguars. I have never written a bad review before, but felt that others should be warned not to take their Jags to this shop. :( read more

Ken is a true mechanic that can fix convertible tops! My wife broke her convertible top on her bmw 335 about six months ago. The dealership quoted 13k for replace of the whole convertible top. I found some parts on eBay and put the top back together but the sensors were still faulting. The dealership could not diagnose which sensor was bad and told me that my convertible top will never work again unless I wanted to spend 8 hours of labor to have them try and find the problem. Even then, there is no guarantee that the top would work. Needless to say we drove the car for the last 5months with out the use of the convertible. After having my 911 serviced with Sas, I asked Ken if he would look into for me. Ken fixed it in 1.5hours. My wife is super happy to have her top working. These technicians are a joke these days as everything is by the book. They can't use their minds and apply real mechanical skills to fix things. It's truly very sad. I'm so glad we found this shop and Ken. Amazing to me that a $40 part was all that cause the top to fail. What's worse is that the dealership with all their experience, could not come close to fixing it. read more

Great service. Honest and fair and are great about explaining things to you. Ken is terrific to work with and he was recommended to me by a friend. I now do the same for my friends. read more

The customer service here is AMAZING. Ken seems to genuinely care for his clients & truly wants to provide the best service possible for them. Definitely my go-to mechanic! read more

We were referred to Ken at SAS for a pre purchase inspection on a car at the wonderful Specialty Sales Classics in Pleasanton by our outstanding salesman, Pat Davidson. From start to finish of my conversation with Ken this morning, I was impressed with his passion and knowledge of Mercedes cars. He let me know he'd been working with Mercedes cars since 1981 and, even from our brief conversation, I was pretty floored with his knowledge and professionalism. Thanks again, Ken for your time. If ever we need a pre-purchase inspection on another classic Mercedes, you'll definitely be hearing from us. read more

SAS German Auto made the period when my car was being fixed very stressful. They did not call me once with updates on my car even though they needed confirmation for more work. They also didn't call when my car was complete. The process to fix and inspect my car was too long, expanding the time where I had no personal mode of transportation. There was poor communication on the inspection of my car and the work that needed to be done so all the work I wanted was not performed. I thought all the work had been performed based on the high price I paid. They recommended further work, so I called to get an estimate. They told me they would call me back with an estimate for this work, but I never received that call. The mechanics were very nice, however, and I think they do good work, but the lack of communication and the time it took to work on my car was very poor. read more

After taking my BMW to a local shop in Alameda for service, I wanted to try another place for service when my check engine light went on. They performed a service, said my car was in great shape, changed the oil and tried to figure out why my headlights were not working all the time. They said it was the ignitor for my xenon lights that was failing and needed to be replaced. I decided to wait on it since the light do work after warming up. About two days after the service, the check engine light turned back on. I drove my car down to LA, Santa Barbara, and back to the east bay. No problems. The next day my car did not start. I was fed up with this place because when I called for help, they gave me a tow truck company number which turned out to be a fax machine. I called it three times. I searched for another number on the internet and found nothing. It did not exist. Thanks guys. So I towed the car to a different local place in Alameda, they replaced my starter and diagnosed the headlights. They said changing the ignitor may not fix the headlight problem. Interesting. I won't be going back here because they really are not trying to help me. They are nice, but were not there for me when my car didn't start. read more

Call Ken for a quote to service my car. Dropped off my car early in the morning through their early bird drop box and it was done by the time I specified. Ken even spent the time to explain what they did, how long it took them and what was actually needed. Unlike Mercedes of Pleasanton, they are bunch of crooks that scam you whenever they have a chance. Great experience at SAS German Auto, I will definitely recommend this place to my friends and family. read more

The best German Auto Repair Service in Northern California...Up to date on diagnostic equipment and understand the quirks of Foreign and German Autos.. I Highly Recomend using SAS for any Auto Repair needs.. read more

Very poor communication! The lady told me it's going to cost me 90 to 140 and when I get there she's trying to charge me 150 bucks to start. I don't get why would she tell me 90 if she's going to charge me 150 flat fee. Waste of time! Just take it to the dealer and don't let these scrubs waste your money. Not only they're not MB certified yet they want to charge more than the dealer. Here Take this Banana. .I. read more

My family has been taking our cars here as long as I can remember. I now live in the south bay and own a '02 325xi with over 120k miles (aka, "The Money Pit"), but still drive an hour to take my car to Ken and Rob, because they are so trustworthy. I've had some big problems with my car that required taking it to a local dealer (wasn't safe to drive to P-town) and not only did they grossly overcharge me, but they very condescending and treated me terribly (not to mention, they tried to charge me THOUSANDS for additional "immediately needed" repairs while I was there---I called Ken in a panic and he thoroughly explained what should be done now and what could wait two months-----and gave me a much lower quote for the same repairs). I love that I can drop my car off at night when they are not there and its ready the next day. Every experience I've had with SAS has been positive. I will never take my car anywhere else. I'm grateful that these guys are around, and 5 stars are not enough! read more

Never used YELP before however I felt the need to alert the public to this fraud. I took my car in for a check engine light, paid way more then expected, all is good I'm told, well it should be after what I paid. I kid you not I leave by the time I got home light back on. I have repeatedly gone back for the same issue. Don't waste your money I went to another shop Porsche of Livermore and they fixed it for good!! It's a mad house in there, seems very unorganized, very unprofessional and a rip off in my opinion. This guy Ken doesn't seem to know what he is doing in my opinion! read more

I took my blasted, cursed, gremlin infested 1999 Volkswagen Jetta here many times (I hated that car). Ken and the guys here always took good care of my it- the problems I had were typical of Jettas. I no longer own the vehicle, and have moved away from Pleasanton, but my family still takes their cars there! I've always felt I could trust these guys and know that they will be honest about what really needs to be done. read more

Timely, professional, informative, these are three words I can best use to describe the service and results given to me by SAS Auto. Ken really took care of my fathers car. He and Patrick tuned up our 645ci and our 345ci. I had been informed by other shops that I was looking at a lot of work and months of maintanince. Ken put my concerns at ease and explained how the repairs would go step by step. I thought I was going to have to get rid of the 6series because of costly repairs. SAS Auto fit my budget and came in under what I had expected to pay. Ken is very mindful of cost. Patrick took it apart and put it back together perfectly. When I asked if there would be more work Ken and his team said that an oil change next year would be all we needed for both cars. Amazing. Best customer service and maintance I have ever received from any mechanic. Truly professional. read more

Ken has truly become a trusted adviser to us and our family. He is trustworthy, extraordinarily knowledgeable and talented, and is just a kind person overall. His talent in knowing cars and even diagnosing things on the fly, is amazing. He's been able to help with my BMW X5 which is hitting 90,000 miles and all of a sudden is requiring more repairs. We cannot recommend him highly enough. We look forward to working with him on a long term basis! read more

For the first 5 years I had my car I took it to the dealer for repairs & service. As it started to get "old" I started taking it to SAS. Honestly, I wish I had just taken it to SAS all along. My experiences as SAS have been way better than at the dealer (and not that my experiences at the dealer were all that bad). Ken, the owner, takes the time to explain exactly what is going on with your car and gives the service a personal touch that you just don't get at the dealer. His hourly rate isn't cheap, but definitely fair, and less than the dealership (at least the BMW dealership). I guess what I really like is that I always leave there understanding exactly what was done, and why and feeling I was dealt with honestly. read more

Brought my son's 2005 VM GTI 1.8T in for a transmission issue. Dealer said it would be $5800 for a new transmission. Ken looked at it and told me it was the solenoids and the transmission didn't need to be replaced. He also noted a couple other problem areas that I had noticed too and repaired those while it was there. I feel his pricing was fair and will bring my BMW's to him when they need service. read more

I've been coming here for about a year now and have had nothing but positive experiences with Ken. He's friendly, on time with his estimates, and very fairly priced. I have a G class Mercedes that would cost an arm and a leg at the local dealership. Ken's workmanship is equal to, if not better, than what'd I'd get by a genuine Mercedes mechanic. I'm very satisfied and will continue coming back to SAS German Auto. Thanks guys! read more

All I needed was for someone to check the fault code on my daughter's Volkswagon golf R and reset it. I explained to the girl on the front desk that my daughter will be here only on this Thursday & Friday with the car (she lives outside bay area), and so anytime during those two days if I can come in for a few minutes, they can do this for us. She said the first available appointment was on next Monday, and they won't have time to look at it on Thursday or Friday. I know it takes just a few minutes to look up the fault code and reset the lights. She was not willing to work with me on this. read more

My first review seems to have disappeared, so I'm re-posting it. Ken Benhamou is amazing! He is the most honest and ethical person I've run into in business in a very long time. He knows that I'm on a fixed income, and is always so fair on prices. As one other reviewer mentioned, Ken will fix little things and not charge you if he's doing other work on your car. He also wouldn't charge me when my car's computer said there was a problem, and he spent two hours to confirm that their wasn't one. He said, "I didn't fix anything, so I won't charge you"! What a guy! read more

ok...so I planned on having them fix my car. I called and left messages but apparently no one calls back. They must not care for any new business... SAS German Auto...YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!! read more

Ken is always extremely professional and works hard to get the car finished when needed. I started going to SAS due to incompetence and unprofessionalism of the car dealers. I would recommend SAS to anyone. read more

AMAZING AUTO SHOP!!!! Timely fast service and incredibly friendly. I will definitely come back here for all my Volkswagen needs. It doesn't get better than this shop!!!! read more

Knowledgeable about the complex machines they work on. Work done well, promptly and for a fair price. What else is there? (I have an Audi with a 2.7 biturbo...it's in excellent working order, see above) read more

I'm giving five stars.. i brought my german car here for part for maintenance and change of some parts. However, the price Ken (owner) gave me is the last price... i just thought he can at least somehow cut off a little more from the price but he says its fixed and that's what the computer generated... sure, but seriously, you're the owner, you can do something about it. overall experience is good and they are very professional here.. i just hope next time, when i return i get some sort of a discount being a loyal customer of this shop. and yes, they are good, its worth recommending to you yelpers. :) read more

Prompt, courteous and knowledgeable place. I heartily recommend it. I do plan to continue to use their services in the future.

We have been taking our car to SAS for the past few years. Every visit has been very pleasant. Ken, the owner is a very professional and honest person. He has never over charged us. They always provide excellent service. The receptionist is super kind. Overall, we are very happy with this business. read more