Northside Imports, Inc.

WARNING!!!
This has to be the record braking of bad customer service.
It is so ridiculous, is actually funny! When you dial their headwaters number or any of their branches there is this recording of a lady that gives you several «options» which don’t actually work or exist! Hahaha for three days I’ve been trying just for the heck of it, to see if someone actually answers. Even when dialing someone extension is a total waste of time (time I will never get back) I dial four different extension is three different branches. –NO ANSWER–
Well, it’s a mind bending question to me, how people sell when they are not there to actually make a sell. If they are not there to sell and if by any chance you get someone and do buy (which would not be the smart thing to do) I could not imagine how would anyone would be able to resolve a problem. Imagine getting the wrong product and trying to return it! That would be a perfect scenario of hell for me.
Northside Imports should change the name to Northside Mystery Lol!

I come here for parts when I’m in a bind, but the prices from online distributors are significantly cheaper. But if you have no time to wait and don’t want to spend twice as much at the dealership, then this is your place.

When it comes to finding any German vehicle parts, this store leaves me impressed all the time. They have all the parts you need and great fair prices. I’ve recently changed brake pads on my M6 and had to get better deal of course. I called around and this place had everything in stock what I needed for very reasonable price. They also delivered to me with no extra charge. Great customer service as well goes to Richard. I would recommend this to everyone who’s in need of German car parts.

I am sorry to say their customer service is horrible, actually only 1 person, Richard the manager. He needs to take some lessons on how to treat customers. The store for parts is great but the rudeness of Richard is unacceptable. I came in for a return and he pretty much said, literally, he never wants me to do business in here again. After I spent over $ 100 in there the other day. I am not a wholesale purchaser, i was simply returning $ 22 worth of Radiator Fluid, FLUID NOT A CHEMICAL, and rather than trying to explain to me why this product could not be returned he pretty much kicked me out the door. I asked him very politely to explain why but he went on to accuse me of being rude. Which, i can honestly say i wasn’t rude. Everyone has a bad day but this was his worst and he never apologized. Again, great store for parts but please educate your employees on how to treat customers, especially Richard.

I will keep this review short and simple to understand! Beware!
There is absolutely no customer service here especially if you are not a wholesale client. They do not have acknowledgement of their customers and they aren’t friendly at all. Very rude, especially their MANAGER. Wow! They need to hire new employees with a more positive attitude if they want to keep their business around.

Great pricing, great volume of parts, biz is really not set-​up for retail so don’t expect that environment but you can get a good price on a new part that you may not find anywhere else.

Have all parts I need for my BMW. However I called on a Sunday (which I had no idea was a day they closed) and I was answered by a male saying «don’t you know it’s Sunday, it’s closed!» in a very rude tone, baffled I wondered why he answered, shortly he said «the work phone is linked to my home!» again in a rude tone and hung up one me! So much for customer service! Not my fault he forgot to unforward his calls!

This is one of my top places to go when ordering parts for all of our BMWs.
Most of the time I can get pretty good prices here and usually they have most of the parts I need.
I always make sure I ask all the brands they have in stock, so I can choose the best brand for me.
Everyone here is always helpful and fast.
Ask for Johnny! He’s awesome and always honest with me (:

Don’t stand behind what they sell. Got a Solex carb for my 69 beetle and the thing runs worse than my 20 year old carb that needs a rebuild. Had four different VW mechanics try and mess with this thing, and no one could get it to work. Ended up just getting my old one rebuilt and it ran like a champ. Tried to send the carb back, and they said they don’t warranty any carburetors. I asked if I could at least get an exchange for another new one, and they denied that too.
There’s a lot to be said about a company that doesn’t stand behind the products they sell. I’d recommend doing business elsewhere.

Good luck to those who buys $ 200+ worth of parts here. When there’s a problem with their parts they blamed you for not doing it right and there’s no such thing as defected parts to them. Their manager RICHARD is even worth don’t even know how he got that position. If you don’t like people returning your items at first, might as well put signs saying SOLD AS IS! Really guys think about how you do your business. If there’s no problem, nobody would be complaining… THiNK! No wonder this place is rated bad now I understand. NO STAR

Positive, if you need a part in a pinch, this is a great place to get them at a decent price. Negative, it will probably take the rest of the day for you to actually get them! Honestly, the reviews about customer service are 100% true. Even if you are the only one, expect it to take a couple minutes for them to even realize you are standing there. Use that time wisely and read all the signs they’ve printed out surrounding you about what they won’t do, charges, and what they don’t have. If you have the time and the part isn’t a «I need it today» part, order it online. You will get better customer service at the dealer (that’s saying something).
This place is pretty rough. Avoid if you can
Edit: Gotta share, because this is too good to be true! I’ve bought 3 parts from these guys for my E36, two brake switches and a bleeder screw. First brake switch lasted 2 weeks, second about 4 hours. Both failed and of course, there is no warranty. On a BMW one and no issues so far. Needed a bleeder screw as mine was leaking a bit. I mean, seriously, how can you screw up a bleeder screw? Park the car and come back to the whole front end having coolant under it! SERIOUSLY?! Guess where it came from? The bleeder screw!!! Swaped back to stock with a random O-​ring I had laying round and guess what? It sealed? SERIOUSLY GUYS? You can’t get a piece of plastic and an O-​ring right?! What an F’n joke. Today was my last day going to this store. I’ll pay premium BMW prices before I deal with these guys again.

All owners of German vehicles need to be shopping here for their parts! Great service at good prices. Customer for life! #lovemyaudis

THIS IS THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! I would give zero star for this place. Do yourself a favor, don’t shop at this place. DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE! Worst car parts store in the San Diego. Should investors reconsider new management.

Good inventory, good quality; however, THIS IS THE WORST COSTUMER SERVICE IN THE PLANET. These workers are a joke. They really deserve being behind a counter. You walk into this place and you are like nothing. They won’t great you, won’t say hi, won’t say like other places «I’ll be right with you». NOTHING. Bad, really bad. I will never come back to this place. There are several choices of Euro Parts on line. Do yourself a favor, don’t shop at this place. Miserable costumer service. They are even worse than Napa which is horrible.

I do a lot of online shopping for parts because there aren’t a lot of places that carry parts for European vehicles. That being said, More than once NSI has been less for the same part I found online. They are always kind and helpful. I have been going there for years and when it comes to BMW and VW parts they really can’t be beat. I cant speak for other makes but I’m sure its the same. One thing I also love is European fluids. No one in San Diego has what they have. I usually call ahead first to see if they have the part in stock. I rarely have to wait long though I’m sure with other complaints Ive seen that humans can have bad days sometimes. Until I experience it I give them 5 stars.

I gave two stars only because parts are good and fair price but as for service… There is none there. I see no happy faces, no acknowledgement, no appreciation for our business. Northside imports is lucky to be in business because they have no comparable competition for European parts nearby. Hopefully they change their personalities.

I have a TDI Jetta, and this place always has my parts in stock, WAYYYYY cheaper than the VW Stealership, and most often cheaper than the junkyards also. Much more knowledgeable than the big chain auto parts stores.
I would have given them 5 stars, but it is often difficult to reach somebody on the phone (although if you leave a message they WILL call you back), and they would not sell me a replacement turbo for my car (will only sell turbos to shops is what they told me).

According to their website and the information here on Unilocal the shop is open until 6pm, but I walked in at 5.39pm at was clearly told that they have closed already (changed the opening hours to 5.30pm four months ago, but failed to update their website, unfortunately…). Despite there was still a customer in the shop and I only needed a small part (even had the part number handy), the salesperson declined selling me the item. Not very professional and not the greatest communication skills ;(. Otherwise I really like them for their availability of parts and cheap prices!

OEM parts for cheap! San Diego’s #1 source for euro auto parts.
The service is straight-​to-​the-​point. Cheaper and faster than online in most cases.
You either know what you want, or you don’t. These guys sell parts, they don’t tell bedtime stories. These bad reviews about «poor service» and «i don’t like these wiper blades» make me sick.

Too bad this company is so poorly run, managed etc. They do have good inventory but like other post here say their customer service sucks. I asked the operator why I had to couldn’t reach anyone on the phone she said they have to handle the walk in traffic… here’s a clue they are losing more walk in traffic by not answering the phones. She said I’d have to keep calling back to reach someone I told her no I don’t I can go some where else and I won’t go back. She said Thank you.