If you have a BMW DO NOT GO HERE. I'm sure they are fine for Audi and Volkswagen. There are plenty of places that specialize in BMWs. This is not one of them.

Have used Metric System for 10 years. Kept my 15 year old volkswagen on the road and are now taking care of my new rabbit. I have always had friendly, no-nonsense service in a convenient neighborhood setting. Cars are always ready when they promise and I am called if they find anything that might need additional work.

Brought in my BMW X5 for a break job. MS was recomended to me by a coworker who brings his antique VW Rabbit there. Metric Systems was $200 cheaper than the dealer for the same job, plus they didn't sell me the rear breaks because they didn't need to be replaced, where the dealer told me they all needed to be done (saved me another $600). Overall, very trustworthy, which can be very hard to find in a mechanic. My only complaint would be that they didn't call with what work needed to be done before they started, but that could be because it needed less than I expected...

I've been bringing my Jetta to Metric since the warranty expired. They always get me in quick (same day for emergencies) and out on time. They are friendly and easy to deal with. Their prices are in line with other shops in my experience and definitely less than a dealer. The only snag was that last month they had to re-do some work from this spring, but Steve reimbursed me for the original amount though, so no complaints. I wouldn't think of going elsewhere.

I brought my car to Metric Systems in Cambridge a week or so ago for a minor repair. My outside temperature readouts have been wacky for a couple months now. My temp display would intermittently drop down to negative temperatures, as low as -58F. When the car thought it was that cold outside, it would only pump heat into the car with the HVAC on. With summer coming, I decided to deal with this before it got hot outside.

Metric diagnosed that the ambient temperature sensor in the front grill area was faulty; Parts: $38 Labor: $70 Total: $108. When I picked up the car that night (after hours), the display read -48F as soon as I turned on the car. My girlfriend and I were cursing Metric the rest of the weekend since I had just spent $108 at Metric to replace the wrong thing, unnecessarily.

I called Metric the next business day spoke to Chris about the problem not being resolved. He apologized and agreed to look at it first thing the following week. He also agreed verbally over the phone to apply my initial labor charges from the first sensor to the replacement of the second sensor.

I brought the car back and dropped it off. They called me mid-day so tell me that they had already done the work to replace the other outside temp sensor. The other ambient temp sensor (behind the glovebox?) was also around $38 and 1 hour labor, which is another $70. I asked them to document this all on one receipt so I could submit it to my warranty company for reimbursement. When I picked up the car, I discovered that they had erroneously charged me for TWO hours of labor, which is $140, for a total of $178. This brings the grand total to $286, when it should have only been $216. So they owe me $70.

When I brought this to Steve's attention yesterday, he attempted to blow me off, saying the dollar value was "insignificant". Finally, today he said that they would apply that $70 toward my next repair at their shop. I told him that if they don't refund my credit card for $70, they wouldn't get another opportunity to work on my car. This is unfortunate because they have made good on their mistakes in the past. In addition, they also apologized for performing the services without getting authorization from me. Steve said that it would never happen again. Again I said that they probably wouldn't get another opportunity for it to happen again since they'll be losing my business. Steve then said that it wouldn't be a big loss based on my postings on this forum. I replied that I had posted about the entire experience and followed up when they made good on their mistakes. For more info see this thread: http://forums.bostonaudi.org/viewtopic.php?t=3118&highlight=metric

I told Steve that I felt that he owed me $70. I do not wish to bring my car back to him unless he refunds me that money to my credit card, and even then I will be VERY reluctant. I also told him that I'll probably be conducting a billing inquiry through my bank since the erroneous charge is right there on my paperwork in black and white.

Would I recommend this service shop? Not any more.

I wanted to follow-up with my original posting about CEL problems that I submitted on 11/11/2003 at 10:27:14 PM. I followed-up my post on Boston Audi Group, but forgot to do it here. The reason for my review and follow up is another experience I recently had with Metric.

After they dismissed me, I brought the car to an Audi Service Center. They diagnosed the problem as being a frayed vacuum hose. I asked Audi if this damage could be caused during the timing belt/water pump service and they said it's possible. Audi charged me $140 to fix the vacuum line.

I brought that receipt to Steve at Metric Systems and said that I cannot prove that he caused this and that he couldn't prove that he did not cause this. I also said that Audi claimed it is possible that the TB/WP service could have damaged this hose. I asked him to meet me halfway. He pulled out his checkbook and wrote me a check for $70.00.

I was definitely satisfied and Metric reinstated their reputation in my mind. That was back then.