Garage 808

Garage 808 BMW & MINI SPECIALIST - knowledgeable and affordable out-of-Motorplan alternative to going to a dealership. Since August 2011. Tel: 021 820 3319.
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Address: 16 Boulevard Park Way, Unit 4, Boulevard Park, Bellville. email: [email protected] A mechanical repair workshop, specializing in BMW's and Mini's. If we can't help you, we'll refer you to someone who can.

Thank you CapeTalk for hosting us last night!
15/07/2026

Thank you CapeTalk for hosting us last night!

,It's Tuesday, the 14th of July 2026. Adele Admin had the grand total of 3 and a half hours sleep last night. Colin-the...
14/07/2026

,

It's Tuesday, the 14th of July 2026.

Adele Admin had the grand total of 3 and a half hours sleep last night. Colin-the-Main-Konyn had about double that... maybe. Therefore the degree of productivity today, was a miracle in itself.

Of course, the gala was on tonight at the Nedbank Awards Ceremony held at the CapeTalk studios in Green Point. The founders made their way there, after closing shop a touch earlier. To be met by a beautiful piano performance by jazz artist Melorie Jane.

Speeches by three of the judges, a tangible nervous tension in the air. An anticipation of who would be announced as the winner. would like to congratulate South African Naturals Beauty Brand, a natural skincare company, for being the 2026 winner of this year's Western Cape leg of the competition. The judges jetset back to Gauteng early tomorrow morning for another round of final judging, before the 702 Awards Ceremony on Thursday evening. A total of 740 entries. 30 finalists in total. 15 in the Western Cape. 15 in Gauteng. One winner each.

Of course, A.A. couldn't pass up on the opportunities to photograph just about everything. Colin felt like it was at 2-minute intervals. :-D The intensity of the anticipation, not knowing what to expect, the overwhelmingly kind support from our 808 community... it all culminated in an unexpectedly flat feeling after the formalities was said and done.

And we reminded ourselves that winning a competition doesn't make us any better at what we're already doing. Being chosen as a finalist out of hundreds of entries, is a huge compliment and acknowledgement of how far we've come with 808. Being part of such a lovely event, remembering what it used to be like...

Evenings after work and Saturdays, Colin used to work on clients' cars after a full day at his day job. We didn't have much, and those extra bits of income, literally barely kept the pot cooking. And so, one client after the next told someone, who told someone. Until the privates generated more than the full time job. And we took a giant leap of faith, when God said "go".

We remember the first three years of 808 - just the founders. A.A. had a pair of overalls and gloves at the ready. Late nights, sometimes in tears as we were exhausted and at our wits' end. Having employed apprentices, qualified mechanics, and finding our way to eventually being blessed with Danie 007 as a team member. Seriously considering closing shop in 2022... and then giving it one last go.

There were far too many nitty gritty conversations, doubts, challenges and concerns to mention. Yet, through it all, we held onto our faith in the Lord, remained true to our values and persevered. The majority of our clients being absolute gems. Their kindness and support sometimes being great healing to our frayed hearts - without them having a cooking clue of what we were going through.

So, sitting at the awards ceremony tonight, remembering the years, had us realize that as life-changing as it would've been to have been crowned the winner tonight, the disappointment of that not happening is no reflection on who we are as Team 808. Trusting for faaaar more sleep tonight, we'll get up tomorrow, and again and again and again. And will continue growing our relationships and continue giving our utmost best.

Thank you to each person who sent best wishes, prayers and general good vibes. The best is yet to come!

Team 808 over and out.

(S.D.G.)

Aaaahhhh! It's the first time we see the kiekies taken in the CapeTalk studio when we went for the live interview with L...
14/07/2026

Aaaahhhh! It's the first time we see the kiekies taken in the CapeTalk studio when we went for the live interview with Lester Kiewit and Judge Thuli from Mint Fresh Advisory Services. We love it! :-D :-)

Nedbank 2026 competition update:Juuuust in case you missed it: has been chosen as 1 of the 15 finalists in this year...
14/07/2026

Nedbank 2026 competition update:

Juuuust in case you missed it: has been chosen as 1 of the 15 finalists in this year's competition. The final judging round was yesterday, with the panel representing Nedbank, Mint Fresh Advisory Services and Primedia / CapeTalk.

And tonight is the Awards Event, when the winner will be announced! Therefore, the workshop will be closing at 4pm today (Tuesday, the 14th of July).

Be sure to catch the behind the scenes scoops on our journal post later tonight. :-)

,It's Monday, the 13th of July 2026.Pheweeeee!!! What a day!! Danie 007 is at the training facility this week, working ...
13/07/2026

,

It's Monday, the 13th of July 2026.

Pheweeeee!!! What a day!!

Danie 007 is at the training facility this week, working through the last module of his 4-year training journey. If all goes well, there will be another week of revision next month, before the trade test. Exciting times for him - and the team as a whole. We are so very proud of him.

But that does leave the founders to fly solo again. Thankfully, only for a week. Firstly, having a catch-up session on Saturday was so worth it, as the gift of sighting the ever elusive olive thrushes, was like catching a glimpse of the Lochness Monster. For more than a month now, the team have heard them singing away around the periphery, but actually SEEING them... well, it just didn't happen. Come Saturday, and there were 3! It looked like the juvenile was as eager to see the paparazzi than the bird viewing paparazzi was to see it.

Fast forward to this morning, it felt like it had snowed on 's roof. Colin-the-Main-Konyn made an executive decision to bring the heater out of hibernation. Adele Admin agreed that it was an excellent idea.

But not even the toasty office could keep us inside once Russell, our Snap on Dealer Cape Town. arrived. We were like kids in a candy store. Excellent quality tools for excellent quality cars. :-) A jam-packed just-over-half-a-day's work, led to the sightseeing journey back to the CapeTalk studios for the final round of judging in the Nedbank competition.

Things We See in Traffic did not disappoint. A yellow Ferrari shining bright against the misty Cape Town backdrop. Talk about the Cape Town backdrop... how blessed are we to live here? Table Mountain looked ever majestic. And once we found our parking spot, the Caddy was in good company. Another Italian stallion in the form of a Maserati. Things We See in Parking Lots, then?

And then it was time for Today's Main Event. Seeing the crew setting up for tomorrow night's Awards Evening stirred up great excitement. But first, it was time to meet the judges. A.A. experienced about two hours of severe tummy butterflies earlier the afternoon. But sitting there, a peace that transcends all understanding saturated her being. Whoever prayed us through: thank you. :-) It was FELT. :-)

That PowerPoint presentation we submitted last week, was the starting point of the conversation. Five minutes to talk the panel through all of that. What joy to be so in love with our business, that it mostly just rolled off the tongue. And then the questions from the panel. It was certainly the fastest 15 minutes EVER! Felt like it was gone in 60 seconds. Tatum, CapeTalk's commercial manager, said it was like speed dating. :-D A.A. concurred.

There's scripture that says you have not because you ask not. And so, Adele asked if the panel would be okay to form part of our journal post tonight. And they were so kind in agreeing. Even pulling Colin into the room to be part of the kiekie.

We are super grateful for this opportunity. What an adventure the team is on! We are thankful that the conversation allowed us the opportunity to share how much our clients have been and still is an integral part of this journey. How important our relationships with clients and suppliers are. How God has been and remains at the centre of it all. Whatever happens tomorrow night at the Awards Ceremony, we know that we know, we're on the right path with . And gratitude abounds to be able to share this with our 808 community.

Thank you to each person who sent us messages of encouragement today, for this afternoon's final round of judging. We appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

A very excited Team 808 over and out.

(S.D.G.)

Clients’ Questions: Ring-ring… ring-ring…Garage 808… Hello!New client: Hello… do you only fit agents’ parts? 808: Most o...
13/07/2026

Clients’ Questions:

Ring-ring… ring-ring…

Garage 808… Hello!

New client: Hello… do you only fit agents’ parts?

808: Most of the parts we fit to the BMW’s and MINI’s we work on, are purchased from the agents. However, having been in the industry for so long, we also know which brands make very good quality after-market parts. And then we’ll combine agents’ and after-market parts for some repairs and services. On certain repairs, we’ll quote you on agents’ AND after-market parts, so you get to choose which parts are fitted to your car.

You also have the option to request that we only fit original parts from the agents. We’ll note this on the car’s folder – and will do so every time the car comes in. Either way, you’ll have peace of mind that good quality parts are fitted, ensuring value for money and longevity of your vehicle.

New client: Ah, splendidly marvelous! Thank you for that.

808: You're welcome. 🙂

13/07/2026

Garage 808 will be closing at 2:30pm today, to attend the final round of judging in the Nedbank competition.

,It's Friday, the 10th of July 2026.There's no denying it. The team is taaaaaiiiiiyerrrrd. It's been a crazy daisy week...
10/07/2026

,

It's Friday, the 10th of July 2026.

There's no denying it. The team is taaaaaiiiiiyerrrrd. It's been a crazy daisy week and today was no exception.

Every nooooow and then, a car arrives and then one thing breaks. And then another. And then another. And it's purely the car revealing all its issues, but not necessarily all at once. What started as a coolant leak, lead to another coolant leak. Granted, that's not uncommon in the least. Water follows the path of least resistance. Once that failed component is replaced, the next weak link will be exposed. But then a globe went. And then the battery gave up the ghost. Again, kudos to that original agents' battery for lasting 13 years!!! And once all the above were sorted and it looked like the breakdown could go for a final test drive, an odd sound started chiming up from the engine bay. Really?! NOW the breather valve makes its voice heard? A new tappet cover required.

We really feel for clients who go through sessions such as these with their cars. Because apart from the globe, each item has been on the worst case scenario side of prices. Fortunately, most clients have an understanding that cars break. It's age and mileage. It's wear and tear. But it is also super unfortunate when it happens all in one shot.

Another client who entrusted his car to us for some major repairs, was very grateful to be collecting it on his birthday - after it, too needed a battery before proceeding safely. On top of a turbo repair, an oil filter housing replacement and a front timing case cover oil leak, for good measure. We caught wind of the Friday birthday a few days ago - and Colin-the-Main-Konyn suggested we bless him with a sweet treat. Being , a Siya (later) cold beverage and a tiny Woolies cake, was the perfect solution.

It's the nature of the industry we're in. We make a living off broken cars. Cars needing services. Car owners wanting more power. So then when a 420i F36 Gran Coupé LCi arrived, looking particularly sharp, it had us all grinning like people whose teeth were getting hot. What a super colour! And that front end smile is just too cheeky. A beautiful beast.

With Danie 007 doing his final week of training at the training facility next week, Colin and Adele will be flying solo. And the Nedbank competition's final round of judging with the entire panel on Monday, has been moved to later than expected. It also means that the shop will have to close early, as there will be no-one to keep the doors open until the usual tjaila time at 5. This also means that the founders will be playing catch-up over the weekend. Catch-up on pre-VAT payment admin, and catch-up on time that will be lost on Monday. Small sacrifices for the bigger picture. And then there's another coaching session awaiting tomorrow as well! Come oooon, brains! Get some good rest and resets tonight, so we can take it all in again tomorrow.

Team 808 over and out.

Oh ya, and GOOOOO BOKKKEEEEE!!!!!
(S.D.G.)

And just one more for today: It was a 328i F30 with an N20 engine, and an automatic gearbox. Something sounded a bit... ...
10/07/2026

And just one more for today:

It was a 328i F30 with an N20 engine, and an automatic gearbox. Something sounded a bit... off...

Upon determining where the noise was coming from, and stripping, we found a missing dowel, a damaged dowel, a broken centre pin on the torque converter. And a shredded flex plate. It was quite a mess - but also completely fixable.

Sometimes the fuel gauge on the cluster will show a tank on quarter full... but then the car fails to proceed. One of th...
10/07/2026

Sometimes the fuel gauge on the cluster will show a tank on quarter full... but then the car fails to proceed. One of the many reasons this could happen, is when the tracks on the fuel level sensors inside the fuel tank, are dirty and contaminated.

Often, a good clean will resolve the issue, if the sensors are not damaged. It's also a good idea to use a good quality injector cleaner once a year. We have NF petrol and diesel injector cleaners available.

Address

16 Boulevard Park Way, Unit 4
Bellville
7530

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27218203319

Website

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