Passing through town, my BMW started giving me alternator problems. John diagnosed it quickly and quoted a very reasonable price. Within a few days I was back on the road and my car is running better than ever! John is very honest and knowledgeable - he took the time to go over the details of the job with me, and alert me to any little snags he ran into along the way. 10/10 I strongly recommend John at Higher Ground for your German car needs!

Very happy with his work ..clean shop perfessional.and very knowledgeable about my car would recommend his work to anybody 😊 Thank you john

Our 2007 BMW X3 broke down on a recent visit to the Tahoe area. Not knowing who to take it to for repairs, we had it towed to Higher Ground Autoworks. John was very honest and professional. He replaced our fuel pump which had failed and he suggested some items for us to be aware of in the future. He was easy to deal with and we appreciated his good work!

The owner is knowledgeable, honest and fair! Helped me in a pinch. I arrived and needed him to fix my vehicle right away being that I was from out of town. He made time for me and is a great person.

Wonderful experience with John at Higher Ground Autoworx. Very knowledgeable, honest, professional and friendly. Beside the annoying check engine light staring at us, we felt our Volvo lost its Turbo feature ( any acceleration at this point) and slowly dying. As we have only one family car - we started preparing ourselves for the verdict. Amazingly it took John just one glance under the hood to diagnose and fix the problem simply by tightening up some loose hoses. The fact that John specializes in German cars and not Swedish- makes it even more impressive Having to pay a fraction of what we were anticipating, plus getting the car back running within a day- we felt like by finding John and HGA we hit a jackpot! Big! :) Thank you John so very much. Were we lucky enough to be locals- John would have our business without hesitation. Highly recommended.

Went in because of my cars check engine light and was told before I even went in that it might cost up to $2000 to fix so I had him change my spark plugs for $325 only to find out a month after that the problem was my spark plugs and he didn’t change all of them probably to get more money out of me. Terrible service and guy was very rude.

John is amazing and does great work! Took the time to walk me though everything and sent photos along the way. (2005 BMW X3)

I love my car and its not your run of the mill Audi (B7 RS4) so I am very particular about where I take her for any type of service. Before coming to Higher Ground, I was driving to Reno to the dealership for every little thing. John is up front, honest, and thorough. He definitely knows his German cars! As a female, I feel like I always have to be watching my back for auto mechanics trying to take advantage of you assuming that you are ignorant about your car. Well that is certainly not the case here because John explains everything and wants you to understand what your car needs. I highly recommend this shop to anyone driving a BMW or Audi.

I was in Lake Tahoe for one day and needed an emergency repair for my Audi S4. Higher ground is the only Audi/BMW service in South Lake Tahoe and thus is extremely busy. John, the owner, provided the best service I could have wanted. Not only is he an exceptionally talented technician, hes attentive, honest and really a good guy. He repaired my car while I waited and I was able to catch a half day of skiing before driving 200 miles home. I am extremely grateful to John and would definitely have him service any of my cars in the future. I am so satisfied that I am considering scheduling a maintenance service on my next trip to Tahoe!

John was extremely helpful and fit me in quickly when my car broke down on Highway 50. He did a through diagnostic inspection and gave me the advice and help I needed to get me back home. Great guy with great service!

8/30/2018 Updated reviewJohn has done maintenance on my 2002 A4 Audi over the past five years. I am a summer resident in South Lake Tahoe and will postpone work needed until I come down from Vancouver WA. He takes the time to check and lets me know if anything needs to be taken care of soon or later on. This car is pushing 304,000k. I trust him when he says it should go to 350,000k.Thanks John ...Elizabeth5.0 star rating 7/27/2017 Previous review Jon has been taking care of my 2002 Audi since 2013. I live in Washington state and spend summer months at Lake Tahoe. I make sure to schedule any maintenance when I am there. I completely agree with all the other people who have rated him. Elizabeth Franklin

While every shop I talked to in town said no to looking at my VolkswagenEurovan John reluctantly agreed to even though he was quite busy. Im from out of town and broke down as I was about to leave on Sunday. I got it to him late Monday morning and he had it diagnosed by the end of the day and was able to get me back on the road by the end of the next day! For any locals, check him out with your imports...he knows his stuff! Thanks John!

A++ service. John has worked on my car a few times (2004 VW GTI 1.8T). He knows his way inside and out of Euro cars. From fixing my brake switch wiring, brakes, timing belt and water pump among many other things. Hes professional, straight to the point and honest. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs their car fixed! I really dont trust anyone else around here to fix my car besides him.

The owner/operator John is about as arrogant as a person can be, has no idea whatsoever how to have any compassion or personal interest in a would-be customer. His principal interest is 2-fold: 1)telling you what an expert he is on German made cars (as if he is the only one on earth) & 2)making all the money he possibly can on his repairs, which border on rip-off prices; a reasonable profit is not on his radar. Example: I was given a repair estimate of $1200 for a repair of an X & I was informed that it would not include a 4-wheel alignment that would be needed after the repair was done. An appointment wss made. The day before the appointment John called me & left a message for me. He wanted to confirm that I would bring my car in for the repair BEFORE he would order the necessary parts, as they would need to be special ordered. From other conversations Ive had with John, I knew he would NOT order the parts without hearing from me, as he would not want to be out the $ if I did not go forward with the repair. By the time I listened to his message, I knew it was too late for him to order them & anticipated a reschedule on the repair. I called him & said I was sorry for not getting back to him sooner, but I also understood it was too late to get the parts. I also said, since I had made an appointment at a dealership for the alignment some days after the repair was going to be done, I would just have all the work done at the dealer, I would call & tell them what I needed done before the alignment. I later got a call from John wherein he expressed his displeasure, in no uncertain terms, about my decision & adding that he was now going to lose $30 to pay for return shipping on the parts he had ordered for my repair. Im positive he did not order the parts as he did not hear back from me in time to do so, & I know his way of doing business is such that he wouldnt spend that much money without a confirmation as it was more than several hundred dollars. This was purely an attempt to lay a guilt trip on me since he was not going to do the work. Well John, Im sure youre reading this, so let me tell you - you lost waaay more than $30; you lost a customer. Ill never step foot in your shop again. The way you treat people as inferior to you with all your arrogance, & your absolute rudeness before you hung up on me, not allowing me to say a word... JFYI, the dealer did all the work you were going to AND the alignment for $816 out the door. Why on earth should I ever let you touch my car again? As you said to me before hanging up on me: Have a good one yourself.

John communicated very well with me. He charges fair prices so you dont have to go down the hill for auto work. This is the only place in town for european fixes, he charges fair anyway and keeps the shop busy, but still doesnt take long on repairs with appointment. I will be back.

Ive been coming here since I purchased my Audi S4. Since day one, the service has been excellent. You cant beat Johns knowledge of German cars and his reliable service.

Great place to take your foreign, especially German, vehicles. Takes pride in doing great work and doing it right.

John knows what hes doing and always takes care of us.

The Lexus dealer wanted $700 to replace my rear struts on my RX300. To my utter astonishment, Higher Ground replaced and installed new, American made, struts for $40. The Lexus dealer wanted $1,200 to replace my HID headlights. Higher Ground sent me to a guy who polished the glass on my headlights and made them look brand new, for $60.

John is the only one I will let near our cars. He has worked on our B7 A4, and now our B8.5 S5. John is up front, honest and takes the time to show you what he is talking about. He saved a sample of our oil to show us a strange discoloration and metal fragments, then showed us the high pressure fuel pump damage from another car that he believed was the culprit. He put smoke in our headlight assembly to check for leaks (ended up being a loose bulb gasket), saving us hundreds from having to buy a new one. Take your Audi or BMW here, as a local, Ill never go to the dealership again.

Best mechanic ever! BMW expert service

John did an inspection of our BMW as we had a light go on during our travels. He let us know it was not an emergency but that our car needed brake fluid service. No charge and quick response. Thank you!

This guys worked on my Audis for the last 12 to 15 years and always does great work for a great price!

Best Audi repair service in South Shore.

Don’t come here, over charges just cause he’s a one man show.

Everywhere I went, no one wanted to touch my car,because its a BMW, the day I give up John shows up, and asks me questions about my car,I needed an oil leak fix, etc. Love the price he quoted . He does an amazing Job. Im very happy with his service! Will be back!