Dinan Service

Nailed it. A quick look at the previous poor reviews shows spotty English, weak complaints, and people complaining about the cost of an oil change. These people are quite clearly NOT what you should refer to when discussing the west coast’s most recognizable BMW service and performance brand. I brought my M5 here because the name speaks for itself. An organization that builds powerplants for some of the most sophisticated vehicles in the world is what I was looking for. I happened to need, what I thought would be, significant maintenance. Chris and his colleagues were quick to point out that my diagnosis was incorrect and honorably, they saved me thousands of dollars. Faced with a few unexpected extra dollars, I requested a couple mild engine upgrades. They replaced a failed power steering pump and installed some fantastic DInan performance upgrades, backed by an industry-​leading warranty. I’M HAPPY and the drive back to Monterey was exceptional! Thank you!

Having to do maintenance for the first time on my e90 I did not want to go cheap amd get terrible parts and full service
My car needed engine fix due to it was shiking while on low gear ad well as an oil change and couple of things here and there breaks, filters so on
The price was a bit over budget around 5k i didnt worry to much about an air bag sensore so i said hek with is just do the rest so still ran around 4k
My biggest dissapointment was as soon as i left and after i took it to someone else. Firdt of all the most important part was not fixed it still kept shaking at the engine wow did that make me mad. Second of all my breaks never squeeked before i arrived. Then i recently found out they ARE NOT OEM BMW !!! As well the things done i cared less about they go by a machine that tells them what to do not real car enthusiasts that have experience i spent around 1k with the obvious car maintenance by far worst decision done was taking my car here.
Other then that the people are super nice way to nice and never got a rental car but will not come again found another with oem bmw parts knowledgable with bmw inside out and dont rip a whole in your pocket

I wanted to try Dinan out for my 2007 BMW 3-​series instead of the BMW branded service places were I normally take it. Dinan is a smaller company and OK reviews here on Unilocal.I gave them my car, paying just below 500 to change oil and to go through the car. The result was a long list of things that needs to be fixed worth $ 5300 of which 3700 was labor cost. As nothing on this list was urgent, I decided to take the car home and think about it, maybe I should just get a new car?
At home I started to go through their quote. Dinan send me pictures of 2 error codes. One error code for a malfunction pump and the other for a broken temp sensor. Both these must function to pass smog test. I bought myself an OBO reader and yes there were 2 error codes but both were for the temp sensor. So the pump that Dinan wanted to fix is not broken, not according to the car at least. Maybe they have another way to find these codes that I don’t know about but for now, this knowledge saved me 300 which I am very happy about.
Now I started to look into the other things that Dinan wanted to fix and I decided to fix 2 of them myself, changing the belt tension (incl belt) and replacing an oil filter housing. This is the result:
1 hour looking at DIY videos on youtube. 1 hour on Bavarian and Amazon webpages buying tools and spare parts. 2.5 hour of labor. One trip to O’Realy 1 hour. So in total I have spend 5.5 hours.
I have spend $ 213 on BMW original spare parts incl. tax & shipping (DINAN quoted $ 254 excl. tax, for the same parts)
I had no tools at all so I spend another $ 235 on tools that I needed.
So far I have learned two things:
— Dinan charges +20% higher price on the spare part than what you yourself find on internet.
— Dinan offers professional labor for a pretty high price. For these two tasks DINAN quoted $ 825 for labor. If it takes me 2.5 hours to do the actual work, then I expect a professional to spend less than 2 hours which gives a +400 price/​hour price tag. To be fair, DINAN offered a 20% off the labor cost if I had paid them to do all the work on their quote in one go. But even with a 20% discount …
As a last note, all the people I interacted with at Dinan was very nice and professional. Just good people!!!

I have been bringing my older model 528 to Dinan for several years and have been very satisfied with their service. During periodic inspections when they identify things that need to be repaired/​replaced, they will recommend what should be done sooner and what can wait — which I appreciate since I want to be prudent about how much I am investing in an older car, and their advice has always been reliable. And their work seems to be high quality as I have not had any issues or need to bring the car back in. They also are helpful in-​between service appointments; for example, I recently needed some tail light bulbs replaced, which they did promptly and at no cost (thanks Broc!).

No rental car provided, slow service and did not get my car back for minor service until next day. Called shop 5 times they only have one shuttle a day and charged me a lot to change a wire. Expensive will use another shop next time that is faster and charges less or dealer that provides a free loaner car.
So I took my car in for a simple task to remove wood from my car and they charged me $ 100 to do that. Most shops do it for free. Also they informed me of new struts and shocks needed and some other work and when they quoted me $ 5800 I decided to wait and take to another place. I checked with BMW Mountain View on the total cost for the same parts and work and even the dealer was less expensive by almost $ 2K!!! So they are now OVERPRICED.

I called last week to get a quote for purchase and install of the F10 exhaust. I spoke to a guy for a few minutes and he told me he was going to check on inventory to see if it’s in stock and ready. He promised to call back by end of day. Low and behold, it’s been a week and still no call back– way to lose $ 3400. Taking my business elsewhere and probably not Dinan. Hello Eisenmann!

I’ve come here several times now for various performance upgrades to my 335 and have always been very happy with the work. The torque gains are very noticeable, and even at high speeds the car keeps pulling. Dinan may not be as aggressive or cheap as JB4 or Cobb tunes, but for warrantied BMW owners who want more performance without sacrificing peace of mind on maintenance, it’s the best way to go.
I also appreciate how friendly and easy-​going their employees are from the guys up front to the mechanics in the shop. Everyone I’ve ever spoken with has been a pleasure to talk to and always taken time to answer all my questions. They’ve made a loyal customer out of me and I plan on keeping my business here and would gladly recommend them.

I found Dinan through Unilocal and mentioned to be good at forums. My E90 M3 had just started intermittently (sometimes after 1min, sometimes after 2 hours) throw itself into limp home mode and complain at DCS (and a few other things). I saw that Dinan offered free fault code reading, so I went there.
The guy helping me was nice and fun, but the first thing he said was that maybe I should renovate my engine for several $thousand as he said the early s65 engines had too small tolerances in their rod bearings. He took me through a tour and showed me some bad bearings and informed me that it will be more expensive later and asked if I wanted this renovation. I don’t think he tried to fool me, but they should have much more on their feet before trying so hard to sell something so expensive: verified statistics with high %age of engines that had malfunction due to this, or a BMW recall.
It felt really bad, like my car was a piece of crap. Reading on the web (as he suggested) conveyed a very different story with very few confirmed such issues. Maybe 0 if one does not count modified cars (turbos etc)
Next thing he told me they would charge $ 155 to check what was wrong with my car. I expected a fault code read at $ 0. I would really like to see that they offer that code check as mentioned at their website. I felt cheated, but did not want to argue. On top of that, they did not guarantee that they will find the fault, they only say they will look for errors one hour. This I really don’t like. I expect to get a diagnose at a fixed price.
After an hour the mechanic came back. He said they could not find the reason for the DSC error, after performing some related checks. Partly due to plenty of fault codes. He made it sound as if I had plenty to fix, which made me feel bad again. At least some of those codes did not make sense since the car had run perfectly except the last week. I suggested that it maybe was due to that I had emptied my battery which made the computers do a bunch of strange things including reprogram/​reset itself (verified). He said it is possible. They reset the fault codes in order to more easily find what was really wrong. It was unclear how much the rest of the diagnosis was going to cost me, which felt very bad.
He agreed to read fault codes for free after coming back wen the DCS light came on again. I took the car on a full day drive. Several times I got various issues but always the DSC light. Coming back and after reading the fault codes, it was clear that the only fault codes where related to the throttle actuator in bank 2 (out of 2). He said that I should change both, gave me a price at about 3000USD including 6.5 hours of labor for the repair and asked if he should schedule it. I said I have to think about it. He gave another proposal at about 2000USD where we only change the one that was broken. I said I have to think about it. Reading on the web showed that this is a very common problem with the S65 and S85 engines around 60k miles, and the culprit is wear of the teeth of a plastic cogwheels (that cost probably 5 USD). So he is right on one thing: you should change both once one is failing, because the wear is almost the same, and the work to change one or two is almost the same. What annoyed me was that a plastic piece at a few dollars would cost me 3000USD ! That day I did not like BMW engineers.
Reading on the web it is clear that Dinan and other workshops over charge. The time for an amateur to change the actuators the first time he does it is much less than what Dinan is quoting! Especially since Dinan sais they change these all the time, I expect them to be much faster than an amateur !
And most disappointing regarding the Dinan experience is that they did not tell me that this is actually under warranty!!! I was LUCKY that I studied the web enough hours on this problem to see that this is covered by the BMW Californian Emission warranty mentioned in the service booklet, which explicitly states that it includes throttle actuators. To have a service shop in California and not be aware of this is unforgivable! All their exchanged throttle actuators should have been replaced for free!
Anyway, I took my car to the badly reputed BMW dealer and got nothing but good service. 0USD including a new diagnosis, shuttle service, no up sales, repaired car washed and vacuumed.
Finally, I must recommend to go to the dealer for unknown issues since you will blow 155USD on diagnosis for warranty issues since Dinan can’t do such warranty jobs. And even worse: they might not tell you it is a warranty issue and you can blow 3000USD as I would have done !
If you are outside the mandatory 7years70kMiles warranty, study the web. There are instructions on how to do this yourself at about 3 hours of work with refurbished parts from ebay at a cost of 600USD for both. Or if you can make a cogwheel,
My car has since behaved as always before: perfectly with german precision, not even ever a single misfire

I have put a lot of thought into this review, mainly because I am a BMW enthusiast that appreciates everything Steve Dinan has done for the BMW community. I have had various upgrades and services done by Dinan over the last few years. Some of the experiences have been better than others. One of my biggest complaints is that the prices are just so steep, especially for aftermarket equipment. For example the software tunes are a relatively good value. On the other hand, they charge you much more for labor than it actually takes them to do the work. I have heard from other shops that are certified to install Dinan products that Dinan itself is notorious for over-​estimating the cost of labor. Another thing is that they refuse to make any type of deal with you, even when you are having $ 10k worth of work done! This was really upsetting as I think if you are going to put down that amount of cash they should be willing to at least honor their last sale price to cut you a small break. Recently they had to remove my bumper to do some work and when they put it back on the headlight washer cut-​out did not line up with where it was supposed to be, little things like this are frustrating when you are paying out the nose for them to do top quality work. All in all I don’t want to dwell on the negatives too much because these guys know BMWs better than just about anybody and their products are consistently high quality. However in the future I plan to take my business elsewhere to a shop that is more honest in their labor estimates and willing to honor warranties on their products. I have had some Dinan parts fail in the past and while Dinan claims they have these really great warranties, when it comes down to it they will most likely claim that if anything breaks its your fault (even when no evidence exists that their part failed as a result of driver error). A note for Steve: Sir, you have done an incredible job tuning, promoting, and sharing your love for BMWs with the community. But please don’t forget to put your customers first and make sure that they get a fair deal in your shops. As it stands now, it seems like making money has overshadowed fair business practices.

We had service done here a couple of days ago — very good service, nice waiting are with TV and Nespresso, knowledgeable staff who walk you through their findings and patient. They also offer shuttle to and from work, and this is amazing!
Will go back again!!! (So much better then BMW of MV, it’s like heaven and earth!)

Excellence from beginning to end. The new home for my MINI services.
It is said that the devil is in the details, and man Dinan has every detail covered. Absolutely flawless experience from the time I contacted them to make an appointment to the final delivery of my vehicle.
I have a 2009 Mini Cooper S. For the past 5 years I have been taking it to the SF dealership paying through the nose and I really wanted to try new options. Since I work in Palo Alto I found Dinan Mountain View via a Google search. I had heard of them as a performance BMW shop and was surprised to see they provide a complete set of MINI services.
I emailed them and within the hour they answered all my questions. Very friendly people. They gave me a quick estimate and arranged an appointment 2 days later just as I requested. I was also pleased that they take amex (which SF Mini does not). They asked me if I wanted a courtesy shuttle ride back to my work which I accepted. (They cover a 10mi radius).
They open at 7.30am (very convenient to drop off car before work). I love the experience there. It is like entering a state of the art shop, clean, large, super equipped with no line (have a peek through the door to the garage and you will understand). They even welcomed me by my name simply by recognizing the car (I had never been there before). Did not feel like a number more like a VIP getting private service. Compared to them the dealership was a jungle.
Not that it matters much but they have a nice Nespresso coffee machine, selection of soft drinks and a clean waiting area. Details. It’s all there.
Everything was explained and printed. They even worked with my schedule to have the car ready at my preferred time. There was no pressure to do more than what I requested.
As scheduled car was ready when they said it would be. They gave me also a quote for future works they found during inspection (things I knew about like suspension rods, front tires worn etc). Once again no waiting.
I left wondering what they could have done better and still cannot figure it out. Maybe a car wash?.. But that’s minor.
They are just awesome and the new home for my MINI services. Not going back to the dealership. Oh and their prices were lower than the dealer of course.

Honest and highly skilled guys. Yes they are more expensive than other shops (but still cheaper than the dealership) but they will figure out the real problem and keep you updated.
I’ve never had to go back after they fix something and I never had the impression that they were guessing what to fix (unlike other shops where you keep paying follow up visits). So over the long term, you will be happier and will pay less than other places.

The best. I’ve been using Dinan since 1990. I can’t remember the last time they got something wrong where I had to return. They consistently try to minimize the cost of the repair and are very cautious about making sure they recommend the right repair. This is important because I don’t want to pay for guesswork. My cars are always ready on time and I have never had so much as a scratch on my cars. I have had them care for 87 and 95 325is, 97 m3, and 01 m5. Thank you Dinan for all these years of great service!!!

First this is more of a high end (engine) repair shop. They build race car engines for many racing groups. Which is great, they can tell you things about your engine preformace. Their quote was the same as the Mini dealership. At the Stevens Creek Mini dealership will give you are ride both ways.

Dinan makes great performance products. The quality and attention to detail is top notch. Make sure you ask for Shaun Witherell he will take care of you when servicing your BMW. Great guy and great service!

I recognize that these guys have a stellar reputation as experts with BMW.
So I was expecting great service when I brought my 540i in for a service.
Naturally they found a bunch of stuff that needed attention. Which was expensive and I figured I’d get it done at the car had been neglected for a while.
Then they brought to my attention that in attempting to correct a belt squeaking noise, I hear when I start the car, that the compartment it is housed in has «sludge» in it and to clean and repair would take over $ 8k. What I didn’t appreciate was the way the information was delivered.
The young service guy who was my contact made it sound that it would be disastrous not to fix it and could result in severe damage to the engine. I felt that creating an air of urgency around which I felt pressured into complying. In the end I ask a few questions and it turned out that the car could run for many year with out a problem.
I refused to do the repair. I’ll get it looked at somewhere else where I won’t be pressured into making expensive unnecessary decisions.
A few months later my wife brought here car in and experience the same sense of being pressured into many a decision to do a repair.
The question that arose for me was this the young guy’s own style or did he learn from others in the business or his boss?
For all their skill and expertize with BMW, I didn’t appreciate the attitude of catastrophfizing a scenario in order to make a bigger sale.
I won’t be back!

I thought the front receptionist was very nice when I went to get my car tuned. They seemed very educated on what they are doing and next time will be bringing my vehicle to them to get an oil change.
Anyhow, only complaint was I thought it took a little while to get the software updated, but other than that I thought they did a great job on the customer serivce satisfaction portion.

My experiences with this business have been nothing short of spectacular.
Back in December 2010, I brought a car I was thinking of buying to them for a pre-​purchase inspection. About an hour into the inspection, I received a call from a tech offering to cut short the inspection (and the charge) because he’d found a number of serious red flags. I appreciated both that they found the problems and that they were looking to save me $ 100. Mark of a business with integrity.
When I did ultimately buy another car, the first thing I did was bring it to them for their free oil change promotion. A free synthetic oil change? That’s a damn generous offer. Plus they had me in and out in about an hour, as promised. (Although I note the Unilocal offer has changed since I brought my car in– but $ 80 is still a pretty good discount off what I would expect for this service.)
Finally, after my great previous experiences, I felt more than comfortable bringing my car to them to do a performance tuning job. Dinan, as some readers probably already know, is one of the best known tuners for BMWs. Yes, their performance tuning is pricey compared to others, but I don’t know of any other tuner offering a matching warranty for BMW’s new car warranty, as you always run the risk that modifications will strain the other car components. Peace of mind has different value for everyone, but I was willing to pay a bit more for it.
Anyway, if you’re shopping for performance or even routine service, I highly recommend talking to the folks here. I worked with Matt and Erin, both of whom are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I’ll definitely be back in the future!

I came by here for two reasons:
1. Free Oil Change Promotion
2. Oil Leak on my 2007 335i
I did not trust bringing it to any other shop because my BMW is newer and a bit more «advanced», as well as problematic, so I brought it to Dinan as I heard great things about them.
My experience:
If you want someone you can trust, the best BMW mechanics in the business, very honest & fair pricing, Dinan is absolutely the best place to go.
They diagnosed my car for free (whereas the dealership or other shops would charge $ 150 – 170), they let me know my Oil Leak could be fixed with a simpler solution rather than a very expensive solution as most other shops said the more expensive solution would be the only way (while also explaining the pros and cons of each and being completely unbiased — oh and, I called several BMW repair shops to compare), they provided me free Transmission Fluid & Coolant for Free ($ 150 value!), they kept their word with a Free Oil Change, and washed my car as well!
They are very very honest, straight forward, they will not rip you off, and they definitely are BMW experts, better than the Dealerships themselves. They know their stuff.
Also, make sure you see Erin, she is a very friendly and a very knowledgable Service Advisor. She will not haggle you with any extra or unexpected expenses and explain things in a very straight forward honest fashion.
Two thumbs up for Dinan.

They’ve done a ton of their own R & D and it shows in the added performance I’ve gained in my BMW. Because of this they tend to get a bad rap on the web forums due to their premium pricing; it’s because of their extensive development that I view this as added value and the reason why I chose their products over other tuners. It also helps that they’re local! During my first few visits their software needed to be custom tuned to my car, and this is something you can’t do with mail order performance upgrades.
Jeff is the service manager at this location and has been my performance handler since day one. The front office has shrunk from their previous location but Jeff and Erin have a pretty good handle on things. On my last visit they were very friendly and understanding of my service needs, which included a factory BMW recall and defective front shocks. Jeff laid everything out for me; they offered to take care of the factory recall with a local BMW dealer and then deal with the other work I needed.