K&S Associates has over 25 years of history servicing foreign cars in the Baltimore area. K&S guarantees its work for aprts and labor for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.

From its humble beginning 28 years ago, K&S Associates of Baltimore has evolved into one of the city's leading automotive repair shops. And its success stems from a decision made at the "get-go" by Amir Kahn and his business partner. The decision: to limit their business to a few types of cars.

That's still Amir's philosophy today - and it has paid off.

Amir recalls that he and his business partner started by rebuilding Volkswagen and Volvo engines inside a three-car garage. They also repaired and serviced a few Volvo boat engines.

Amir Kahn, owner of K&S Associates, and his crew of 20 technicians dedicate themselves to excellence. Their customers keep coming back for good, hoest work at a reasonable price.

"By restricting repair work to only a few types of cars, we were able to achieve consistency in our diagnostic techniques and offer our customers outstanding service," Amir said.

The shop went through four alley garages with walls knocked out before moving to a larger site in 1983. Without jeopardizing its reputation as specialists, K&S added BMWs and Saabs to its list of cars to repair.

"With such specific knowledge of a limited number of cars, we built K&S into one of the most respected foreign car repair shops in Baltimore," Amir said.

In 1986, K&S moved to its current location on Falls Road. In 1987, Amir's business partner left K&S. However, the business pushed on and grew strong as a mechanical and body and paint shop with 20 employees dedicated to the principle of good, honest work for a reasonable price. In 2008, K&S plans on adding another 2,500 square feet to its building to make room for several additional lifts and a new vehicle wash bay.

Robert Cox, painter, puts a clear coat on this car in the spray booth at K&S Associates.

Looking back, long before K&S was a gleam in his eye, Amir was always the type of person who liked to work with his hands. Being fairly technically inclined, he began repairing cars while studying mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Amir liked working with people, and he knew he didn't want to work at a desk job in a big corporation. And so, he found himself working in the automotive industry.

"I realized it could provide a good income and a great sense of accomplishment," Amir explained.

Today, K&S Associates is a full-service mechanical and collision shop. Amir and his technicians do any and all types of repair and service on Volvo, SAAB, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Audi, Honda and Acura vehicles. With a dedicated crew of auto enthusiasts, Amir himself wears many hats while running K&S. His responsibilities range from technical duties - including repairs, testing and vehicle diagnostics - to customer service. This includes writing estimates as well as dealing with customer and insurance company representatives. Amir also handles company and employee issues, which include administrative decisions and bureaucratic issues. These may include dealing with city, state, insurance and environmental issues.

John Carr, body shop technician, does some welding to fix this car's front end.

So what keeps customers coming back to K&S Associates? K&S Associates is a unique shop. It does mechanical and collision work, and because of its specialized niche, Amir and his team acquire the expertise and factory equipment they need to solve tough problems and fix cars properly.

"We have invested heavily - in both time and money - in factory scan tools, computers, software and subscriptions to allow us to diagnose and repair today's vehicles," Amir said.

K&S Associates' philosophy is to do the best job possible to repair its customers' vehicles properly. Its customers are important to the staff. The staff's main focus is to be thorough in checking, maintaining and repairing vehicles. K&S has built its reputation on its knack for finding the real problem and fixing it instead of fixing one thing after another, and at the end of the day - with so many parts and labor bought - the customer is ready to get rid of his or her car and get a new one.

Darlene Yeager, customer service, is one of the friendly faces you'll see at K&S Associates.

"I've also always felt it is our job as shop owners to help each other with technical advice and tools as needed to help repair cars properly," Amir said.

Amir and his team at K&S acknowledge that the automotive repair industry hasn't always had the best reputation. This is why they believe in a group effort to ensure proper diagnosis of problems, making sure repairs are done completely and good ethics are employed. K&S Associates also believes this will raise the bar for the industry and will benefit each business.

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