RacerCub68

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Shortly before I left Chicago in 1997 to come to Miami Beach, Drago's Mercedes Repair in Downers Grove received a couple of cars with some suits from MBUSA and some from Germany. It seems that Mercedes had sent cards out to owners asking them to list the MB dealer that they received the best service from.

The problem, no Mercedes-Benz dealer repair shop got the most votes. Instead, Drago's did. So they sent people to find out why his repair shop got the most write in votes from several states, and more votes then any dealership.

Drago is a wonderful old German guy who has one philosophy: The car does not leave until it's fixed, fixed right, and it is extensively tested. In 13 years of having cars serviced there, NOT ONCE have we ever had to take one back to have a repair fixed again.

Only when the local dealer threatened to cut off his parts reply did we have to subject one of our cars (our '94 S500) to their service department. They stole the tool kit. It did come back working, the power steering pump, but the headlight replacement they forgot.

Our '83 300SD was so well maintained by him, it was sold by a dealer for $10,000 and a '76 Jag. They took the Jag as fee, and we took the $10,000 or almost 1/3rd of it's original $35,000 purchase price after 10 years and 263,000 miles.

Drago's only repairs and restores Mercedes-Benz. Offer him a blank check to fix a beamer and he'll hand you a phone book to find someone.

etyu

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This is excellent for members in the Chicago area. I used to live in Chicago until 1986.

Are we allowed to post recommended shop's address, phone number and contact person? If we are, perhaps RacerCub68 may still have the address and phone no.

Thanks for the post. Good to hear about persons dedicated to service.

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Eddy

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Pewter/Beige, PIII package, Airscarf, Hands-Free Communication System, Lighting package
Designo Black Leather Cover on e-brake handle, (
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Bill T), SmartTop v1.0, Kleyman 3BFM (NoRegret Custom), Green Air Filters, Mod. R170 ant., EuroClear sidemarkers w/PIAA PlasmaIon lamps, chromed front & rear turn indicator lamps, PIAA SuperPlasmaGTX front parking lamps, bilateral rear fog lamps enabled.

RacerCub68

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Dragos Auto Service
427 Ogden Ave.
Downers Grove, IL

630-920-8882

bclark

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Thanks for the tip. . .I just found this while poking around in
the nooks and crannies of this forum.

bclark

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Drago's was bought out several years
ago by "True Imports." Yesterday, they
did my "E" service (basically an oil change
and inspection) for $137 and told me it
would be around $450 at the dealership (I
don't doubt it). The corrected address is:

True Imports
427 W. Ogden Ave
Claredonhills, IL
ph 630-920-8882

The shop is small, run by Shawn Vargas and
his father, Steve. That stretch of Ogden is
full of import auto dealers (Lexus, BMW,
Audi, Mercedes, Lamborgini, Porsche, and
even Bentley further down the road). In
fact, the dealership I've suffered through is across the street and 1/2 mile down the road. It looks as if the mechanics at True Imports either also work at various dealerships or were recruited--lots of insider talk and brand shirts worn by the guys.
As I drove away, however, my engine soon started smoking heavily. Long story short, they discovered that the dealership had installed the wrong oil cap (we cross checked part nos) and had gerryrigged a
fit with silicone. That seal was broken when the oil was changed at True Imports.
Shawn was preparing to drive 1 1/2 hrs
to get a replacement; however, after talking to several people at my dealership, he ended up just having to go across the street.
On top of it all, True showed me where
a hose was dangling and where 3 bolts were missing from my engine installation.
The dealership had replaced my engine 10,000 miles ago because of oil consumption issues. Is it possible that the dealer set up the silicone seal as a boobie trap to make sure I didn't fool with the oil consumption tests? No, I must be being paranoid

DansSlk

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Loose hoses, missing bolts and wrong parts sounds like great fun mate.

I wouldn't put the silicone thing past them but it was more likely to lock the cap in place since it was the wrong size.

Get them (Indy's) to do a full check on the engine and get on the blower to MBUSA

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