Great German Auto Service/Repairs

Potter’s Precision Imports is a two-year-old German auto service & repair facility, owned and operated by German car mechanic and service advisor, Tom Potter. Tom started his career at Mercedes Motor Works in Tampa in 1992. In 1995, he went on to formal training at Precision Motor Cars. the Tampa MB Dealer that since became Mercedes-Benz of Tampa. Tom is an ASE Master and Mercedes Master technician. I met him years before that when he was Bill Gramley’s MB Specialist on Tyrone Blvd.

When Tom decided to return to the Mercedes Dealerships, he worked a few years for Lokey Mercedes, then accepted a service advisor position at Crown Mercedes-Benz in St. Pete.  He worked and trained as a service writer/manager for 7 years at Crown Mercedes where he earned Master Advisor and AMG Specialist. He also competed to win and represent the Crown MB dealership for MB knowledge and advisor skill as the southern regional winner of the “Stars of Service” competition in 2009.

The great news is that Potter’s Precision Imports has just relocated to a much larger repair facility closer to both downtown St. Petersburg and the beaches. They have staffed up to handle the increased flow without sacrificing service quality. One of his two new recruits is Richard Webb.  Richard is a Master service writer with 19 years experience at the Crown Mercedes dealership repair center.  Richard say’s he is thrilled to be onboard and Tom is excited to have him. PPI has also had the pleasure of adding Michael Augustyn to the team.   Mike is a 10 year + Master MB tech certified to work on Hybrid, SLS and AMG GT Supercars!

Shawn Lahmeyer is the go to BMW expert. Shawn is a 10+yr Level 1 Diagnostic technician who left Bert Smith BMW to join this award winning team!

Six months ago, my station wagon developed the first transmission trouble of its life, with over 250,000 miles on the odometer. Normally an ailment like that might mark the end of a car’s useful life, but I have not found another to do the job that wagon performs for us, so I was never happier to have a repair shop I could depend on. Steve Johnson, Tom’s Master technician, loves the older Benz’s and personally disassembled my transmission on the stainless steel transmission table in their spotless work-shop. It took most of a week for them to get the internal transmission parts needed (as some parts had to come from Germany), but Steve got the old girl back together and running better than when I first acquired it with less than half its current mileage. Steve told me when I picked it up to let him know when I am ready to sell her, as he would love to buy that car.

That is exactly the mechanic I want working on my car. If you own a German car, trust me, you are unlikely to find a repair facility you would feel better about than Potter’s Precision Imports.

Now in Joe’s Creek Industrial Park, off of Highway 19 N. (34th Street) north of 38th Ave., N. at 4200 31st St. N.  Bldg. F, Unit D, St. Petersburg, FL 33714.  Check out their Facebook page & Google Reviews to see the amazing comments customers have left about the service they have received there.

Call Tom or Richard at (727) 914-8968 to explain your issue and set an appointment.

Article by Peter A. Roos

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