Here's a longwinded review of my experience with Marlon at Northwest Autowork.
I had Marlon install a 335is clutch and luk flywheel. I had been calling around shops in the Seattle area for months for quotes. Most didn't even call back and even fewer were willing to install a non model specific 335is clutch. Marlon was by far the most responsive and answered all my questions related to my repair and even others related to possible mods I might do. He also quoted me a great price on labor and got the parts as close to the online prices as he could considering they're always cheaper due to no taxes, etc. Only downside was I had to drive down to Tacoma from Seattle. That is a horrible drive during the week so he was able to get me in on the weekend. Everything went pretty smooth. I forgot to grab the brass clutch pivot pin I ordered so I had to drive back up to Seattle to get it in my rental F150. We also had to sort out a question about the bolts for the transmission. Apparently they were aluminum for my year and couldn't be reused so I had to pick up the new ones, which BMW changed to steel, for good reason. A stud also snapped off my downpipe that delayed the project a bit, which isn't unexpected either given the age of the car. Those were the only real issues of the install, which were pretty minor given the scope of the job.
What blew me away was that Marlon started at 10 am and stayed on the job until almost 930 pm at night to finish it despite all the delays. If this had been at another shop I'm sure it would have been I'm SOL for 3 days until the parts show up, etc. But Marlon didn't give up. Unfortunately, by the time it was done I had already decided to head back to Seattle about 30 minutes prior and had to drive back to Tacoma the next day. I'm so glad he was able to get it done over the weekend though and meet me early on Sunday despite having commitments to his family that day as this would have been a major pain to take time off work to drive back to Tacoma on Monday.
As far as the results go, everything was great. With a big job like this I'm always nervous about trusting the mechanic to do a good job and Marlon did excellent work. I usually find something to gripe about because after all this is my baby, but I didn't have anything to complain about. When it was all said and done I had spent a little more than anticipated for the bolt kit and time and gas part running, but again any other shop I'm sure would have taken almost a week to do what he did in a day given the obstacles. He only ended up charging me a little more than his quote for the extra time spent battling the snapped stud on the downpipe, which was more than fair. I think other shops would have charged for the time he spent waiting on the extra bolts and pivot pin I forgot. If it sounds like I'm complaining I'm not. We all know that car repairs rarely go as planned, even for professionals, and just wanted to illustrate how flexible, patient, and dogmatic Marlon was at working through the challenges and not making my wallet unfairly suffer for it.
The 335is clutch feels great. It was a little heavier than stock at first but now that it's broken in I hardly notice a difference. Just a bit more clamping force. Now I can truly utilize my car to its full potential. I had no idea how bad my clutch was slipping before. That's a testament to his good work that the car is running great and didn't have to go back for adjustments.
I only wish he wasn't located so far from me, but it's great to know that there's a mechanic I can trust to do good work at a fair price in the Northwest. I can tell that Marlon takes pride in his work and understands that these aren't merely cars to get us from A to B, but are cars that allow us to enjoy the driving experience that we enthusiasts all love. Marlon's shop lacks the frills and amenities of a BMW dealership if that's what you're used to, but if thats what you want then go to BMW and pay at least 2x as much. I think it's a good thing because it shows he's serious about working on your car and not thinking about what kind of scones to have in the waiting room and it keeps the overhead and your repair bills low. I'm not here for a repair "experience". I dont care if its done in an AutoZone parking lot (well maybe) as long as the job is done correctly and thats what Marlon does.
What I enjoyed most about working with Marlon was not just his expert repair skills, but his constant professionalism willingness to listen to all my questions and concerns and taking the time to answer them all. In my experience, a good mechanic that will actually listen to you is a rare and valuable find.
TL/DR: Go to Marlon, he will take care of you!
I will definitely be back for some mods and maintenance in the near future. Thanks so much Marlon!
Eric