Mr. Goldwrench: Maintenance issues go beyond the engine for exotic-car mechanics

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002 | 8:23 a.m.

Retired businessman Hal Prince sits in the waiting room of European Motor Car, a garage at 3440 Spring Mountain Road that specializes in BMWs, Jaguars and Mercedes-Benz.

Prince is a tall, distinguished man with white hair and goatee. In his lap is a carefully manicured Shih Tzu, a distinctive-looking toy dog which Prince pats fondly while discussing repairs with his BMW with mechanic Somnuk "Nuk" Khamvongsa.

Prince, a former New York resident, is quite particular about the important things in life which is why, he says, he drives a BMW.

"It's the best car ever made," he said. "I've had Cadillacs and (Chrysler) New Yorkers, but BMW is the best."

A person who is discerning about everything from his pets to his attire probably is going to be equally selective about the person who works on his automobile.

"This guy right here has been taking care of my cars for 10 years, ever since I moved to Las Vegas," Prince said, indicating Khamvongsa. "I live five minutes from the BMW dealer in Green Valley, but I come all the way over here to have my car worked on."

Although there may be blue-collar workers who drive luxury cars, most owners of Ferraris, Porsches and Lexuses are in the upper-income bracket businessmen and women, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, athletes.

They can afford the best, and befitting their status they expect the best mechanics or "technicians" as mechanics often are called.

And they get the best treatment.

Steve Adelman wears surgeon's rubber gloves while changing the brake fluid on a Mercedes in the near-spotless shop at European Motor Car.

"So I don't get the inside of the car dirty," said the 56-year-old technician, who has been a Mercedes mechanic since 1969.

Adelman is a Los Angeles native who has lived in Las Vegas for 11 years. He declined to name his customers, many of whom consider him their personal mechanic.

"I work on some pretty high-ups' cars," he said. "I'm not allowed to say who."

One car waiting in the parking lot for repairs was a bulletproof, bombproof Mercedes. It is one in a fleet of high-security cars a casino keeps on hand for its high rollers.

Adelman's customers may be picky about their cars and about their mechanics, but not about money.

"Owners don't balk at the repair price," he said. "They just say, 'Fix it.' Owners of lesser cars may say, 'Patch it.'

"I worked on Volkswagens for awhile. The clientele are different. I've never had a problem with a Mercedes owner. I tell them what it needs and 99 percent just say, 'Fix it.'"

Marcello Tanasi, owner of Big Daddy's Garage at 4291 S. Polaris Ave., says he has three technicians who work on "high-end stuff -- Ferraris, Hummers, Porsches."

Among his clients are casino owners and executives, as well as celebrities and sports figures who like flashy, high-powered vehicles.

Tanasi, 33, also works on the cars at Dream Car Rentals, which has two locations on the Strip. Among its fleet of rentals are a Ferrari 348 Spider (which commands a $350 fee for five hours), a Dodge Viper ($200 per hour for five hours) and a Ferrari Modena ($1,500 a day, with a $5,000 deposit required).

"My clients are rich and powerful people, but we've always had a special attitude about how we treat customers, no matter who they are," Tanasi said. "We give people white-glove service. We pick up and deliver. We take calls at weird hours of the night."

Technicians who work on BMWs, Jaguars and other luxury cars may have to know more than those who work on less-expensive cars -- if for no other reason than the fact that luxury cars are more sophisticated and have more exotic extras.

"The age of the general mechanic is over," said Dan Durphy, a native of Alberta, Canada, who moved to Las Vegas five years ago and bought the garage that eventually became European Motor Car.

Teched out

Today's luxury cars are equipped with items shade-tree mechanics never would have dreamed of encountering 20 years ago -- sensors in the rear bumper that detect when the driver is too close to an object when backing up, navigation systems tied into satellites that allow motorists to find the nearest hospital or ATM machine, power-driven blinds that raise to block the sun with a press of a button, and pop-up roll bars.

Even the keys have changed. Many cars have keys that are programmed so that when the driver puts it into the ignition the seats, interior temperature and other comfort elements adjust themselves.

Eventually, keys may become obsolete.

"Mercedes is coming out with a new smart key that isn't really a key but a plastic chip that is encoded with information," Durphy, 56, said.

These days mechanics deal with cars whose suspension systems automatically adust to the road, or automobiles that may be programmed during the summer to suck out all of the hot air from the passenger compartment minutes before the driver gets behind the steering wheel. Thus, mechanics not only have to be good at changing head gaskets, they also have to be trained in computers.

"There's more computer power in today's cars than there was in Apollo 13," Durphy said.

He pointed to a BMW E36 convertible.

"Unless you can plug this into the technical information system, you can damage the convertible top if you try to repair it," Durphy said. "A general mechanic can't get anywhere near this car."

Durphy said his independent garage has the same diagnostic equipment as a dealership, including a portable computer that uses radio frequencies to tap into a car's electrical system to detect problems.

Dave Perren, 35, routinely uses the portable computer to guide him in analyzing a car. Because it uses radio frequencies, Perren can take the car out on the highway and get readings while under road conditions.

"When a shop says they can fix your car, you need to know what level of education their technicians have had, what information systems they have available and how they are staying up to date with the latest developments," Durphy said.

But car repair is only one part of running a garage that caters to movers and shakers.

Andrew "Andy" Mayes, a native of London who came to the United States in 1986, is a Jaguar specialist at Durphy's shop.

"Jaguar customers like to come back and talk to the mechanic," Mayes said. "In a dealership, sometimes you never see the mechanic."

Durphy noted that there are no signs telling customers they can't enter the shop area for insurance reasons.

"That's the biggest bunch of garbage," he said. "I have no problem walking you back to show you the problem and to explain what needs to be done."

Influential friends

And there is the matter of networking that goes on among the exclusive customers, one of whom bought a new BMW in 2000 for $86,000 and recently asked Durphy to sell it for him.

Durphy doesn't yet have a dealer's license, though he is in the process of getting one. But he often puts customers in touch with each other.

"This client's wife got tired of the car and he asked me to find a buyer," he said. "One of my other customers just bought it for $49,000. She's a businesswoman with companies here and in California."

Prince brought his car into the shop one day two years ago. He wasn't feeling well, suffering from acid reflux.

Durphy gave him the home telephone number of a doctor who is one of the garage's clients. Prince called him and the next day the retired businessman began treatment.

"Having a good relationship with customers is what it's all about," Durphy said.

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