DIY Closed?

im on my phone so i couldn't spend too long searching but i just packed up two cars full of stuff only to find out that diy mechanic in sterling has "been closed until further notice"

this has apparently been the case since july 15th. Anyone have any details? The phone just keeps ringing and the website doesn't say anything.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Do-It-Yourself-Mechanics/112644338794294

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From: http://forum.nccbmwcca.org/showthread.php?7120-07-26-2011-DIY-DIY-Mechanics-Sterling-Virginia

Ed Cove and Company that run the DIY Garage have closed down permanently. There is another DIY garage there known as Auto Sports Car, Inc. run by Scott. Renee, that worked with Ed at the DIY Garage is now there. You can find out more about the DIY garage and membership to it by visiting http://sportscarshopinc.com/aboutus.html. Scott is a great person and wonderful personality. A very welcoming person. He also designs breweries and has a nice selection of beers!

The information however may be suspect as the website says nothing about it being a DIY shop. I have an email into them, and will advise further.

http://sportscarshopinc.com/garageclub.html

According to the map it is located right next to Mach V.

Ask, and ye shall receive!

I have been down to that shop several times. I've spoken to Scott and the guy is freaking awesome. He also designs breweries and was a brew-master for some time, before he went on this venture. He's got a degree in mechanical engineering and the guy is pretty smart. He also has a fridge in the shop with a great selection of beers!

His shop has anything and everything, including an alignment machine with corner balance scales.

He also has a paint boot that has a baking function to help dry the paint a lot faster. I will be using that paint booth quite a bit soon.

He also has a MIG and TIG welder, along with a plasma cutter.

He has 5 two-post lifts, and a pretty awesome wash bay to detail your car indoors.

The guy has it all. Not to mention Renee is there as well, from the DIY garage. Renee actually enjoys this place a lot better than Ed's place. Personally, I enjoyed Ed's place more since it was more open and bigger. Scott's place is slightly smaller, but is still a pretty decent size.

Membership is great. $240 a year (or 20 a month) and you can go in any time you want, as often as you want. You start paying hourly on specialty tools like a MIG/TIG welder, Plasma Cutter, Paint Guns, Alignment Machine, paint booth, and the bearing/bushing press. He also has accounts with a lot of performance shops and gets awesome prices and fast shipment too at no additional cost and extends the savings on to you, provide the performance parts have membership discounts; BMW CCA memer, Porsche Club of America, Ferrari Club of America, etc.

Anything else, feel free to ask.

BTW, the STI is going bye bye. I took the car to the track, and was not pleased. I could not turn off the nanny controls because Subaru has some embedded within the ECU, as a fail safe. The car was driving me more than I was driving it. Not happy at all, and the car did not feel like a race car at all. It felt more like a daily driver than a performance car.

Instead, I have a 95 BMW M3. I am going back to the RWD world, where I started from. My daily driver will in fact be a Subaru, and most probably a Subaru Legacy. I enjoyed the comfort of the Legacy, and its utility. I'm working with Annapolis Subaru to help make this happen, to make it an even trade for the STI for a used Legacy. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Harry!

Thanks so much for the inside info on this new place. Now I just have to talk the wife into letting me pony up the monthly/yearly fee. I see the value in it, but she is a bit perturbed by paying for something which I will only use ~3-4 times per year.

Sad to hear about the STI but you can't go wrong with an E36 M3! I'm excited to see which Legacy you end up getting (GT?).

Nah, don't care for speed and power anymore, versus utility. I get the speed and power plenty enough with the E36. I may get a plane-jane, naturally-aspirated, Legacy.

Think of the membership this way, you pay $240 now, and you're covered all year, just in case you need to make a visit more than 3 or 4 times a month.

BTW, the STI is going bye bye. I took the car to the track, and was not pleased. I could not turn off the nanny controls because Subaru has some embedded within the ECU, as a fail safe. The car was driving me more than I was driving it. Not happy at all, and the car did not feel like a race car at all. It felt more like a daily driver than a performance car.

 

Instead, I have a 95 BMW M3. I am going back to the RWD world, where I started from. My daily driver will in fact be a Subaru, and most probably a Subaru Legacy. I enjoyed the comfort of the Legacy, and its utility. I'm working with Annapolis Subaru to help make this happen, to make it an even trade for the STI for a used Legacy. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Did you push the TCS button twice?

Absolutely do not buy a car from Annapolis Subaru. I really liked their sales department, until I almost got arrested because they never processed my registration (even though I paid for it). Their service department can't fix a sandwich.

Actually, on the contrary. They took care of me just fine, and still do. They took care of any needs I had on the STI, even did a once over on everything before it went to the track. They are by far the best dealership service department I have seen. And I have seen them work, personally. I can't be swayed from something I seen them do personally, especially with my STI. And they took care of my mods just fine as well. Sorry.

I will be buying my used POS from Annapolis Subaru, like I bought the poor excuse for a performance car called the Impreza STI. What a POS it was on the track. And yes, I held the button down until it was orange (5 secs). The Hatchback was a much better performer versus the Sedan. What a shame. I hope Subaru doesn't fudge it up with the 2014 STI, because this 95 E36 M3, as old as it is, can piss all over the STI without trying.

I experienced the exact opposite. It took almost 10 attempts to fix a problem with my sunroof. And when they finally did, they left greasy handprints all over the interior of the car. There were trim pieces all poorly replaced, and clips lying on the floor They "detailed" it twice, the first time they didn't do anything but tire shine the floormats and run the car through an auto wash. The second time, the car had been driven 60 miles, without consent and without anyone knowing who had driven it and where it was taken.

I'm glad that you are taken care of there, but I'll never go back and I'll never buy anything from any of their dealerships again.

Does the STI hatch not have the TCS problem that the sedan does? This is the first I've heard of a non-defeatable TCS in an STI.

You really have to drive the STI to its limits to see how poor of an excuse it is for a performance/race car. Maybe if you are a complete green and never seen a track before, it will do you well since you can't screw up in that car, nor will it let you.

The GD7 STI, by far, was a much better car. Granted the tail end was finicky, but if you learn how to rotate the back end properly, it is a serious contender.

The hatchback has the same nanny controls as the Sedan, but it lets you get away with so much more, and not to mention you can rotate the tail end much more easily and under a controlled fashion, versus the showcar sedan WRX/STI. The aerodynamics of the Hatch versus the Sedan are also quite different, as well as weight transfer. The 2011 sedan had to be heavily modified in order to make the new Nurburgring track record. The hatch was not modified as much, but at the same time, did not do that much worse than the sedan.

If I were to go back and do it all again, I would have sacrificed looks for function. The sedan could have been a much better car, and I am not tempted to bother spending any more money on it. It has turned into a void more than anything.

Damn Harry that really stinks to hear (about your experience on the track w a suby). Anyways it's sad Ed and company has closed up but the fact that the other mentioned shop is right across the street helps!

Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I go there to shoot the shit with Scott once in a while, but will be going there pretty often once the M3 hits the track. The guy's shop is pretty big and he does carry a ton of tools. You really cannot go wrong here. Sure it is not as spacious as the DIY garage was, but the little perks the place has, plus the awesome alignment machine and paint booth, you really can't go wrong.

Here is the place's website: http://sportscarshopinc.com/aboutus.html

nothing new, but this is the official response I recieved to my email:

Jason,

The SportsCar Shop is an automotive service shop. We make our money working on other

people's street and race cars. We also have a garage club that allows members to use

our lifts and tools. The membership is $20/month and it is a yearly membership.

Membership allows access to the facility and the use of the tire machines and parts

washer, press and the indoor washing bay (although this is about to change to an

hourly rental when I move one of my lifts into the wash bay.) 2 post asymmetric

lifts are rented for $12.50 and hour, the alignment rack rents for $35/hr and the

paint booth rents for $35/hr. Specialty tools like scanners, testers, the plasma

cutter, welders, etc. rent for $35/hr. Materials and supplies are extra. However,

club members get a 10% discount on parts ordered through the shop and a 10% discount

on any labor we do. The details are posted on our website:

http://www.sportscarshopinc.com

Thanks for your interest.

 

Scott

THANKS for this thread I was seriously pondering PAYING to do my valve covers, Timing belt and replacing my stock manifold bolts with new grade 10.9 black JIS sized M10x1.25 bolts/

Ill gladly pay $240 for 12 months of DIY fluid changes, tire rotations and any other maintenance issues.

Thanks HarryN (although I don't know you )