The ones I have worked with have mostly done a very good job very quickly and for a very reasonable amount of dirhams. Usually in Tiznit or Taroudant.
My only gripe, and this goes for much of Morocco, is that I can never leave anything in the car. Nothing. If they suggest you leave your stuff in a secure room in their house, politely say no. Even if the panelbeater appears to be a totally straight guy, and even if he is - don't do it. Things can get 'complicated'.
One trip I left my 4x4 with Mohamed in Tiznit on a Sunday night. He was supposed to weld the rear doors, rear wheel wells and make new rocker panels +lower paint job +some small stuff like exhaust repair and oil and filters change.
I took the bus to Rabat, got the visa, stayed in Essaouira and came back Tuesday night. And he was done! And it looked very good! 2500 Dh.
But somehow my laptop was lost, although I kept it near.

Yes, come across others like that but in this case I'm talking about a fridge-freezer, bicycles etc, my only way out might be to padlock them onto the framework of the van! Small belongings are always kept with me!

Guy's name is Hamed.

Heading east on Bin Barka, cross Mohamed VI into Takadoum. Cross Ave Souss and its your fourth right. 100 meters on your right. He's not a specialist in anything - he's pleasant, ham-fisted and effective. Cheap and quick. He has a buddy down the street with a machine shop with a good press - 30 ton I think.

Zero English spoken, but good enough French. 06 615 867 10.

Frustratingly disorganized but once he's on it, and if you can keep him on it, everything works out just fine.

There's also a good bodywork place in the same general area, but I have no idea about phone #. If you're in need, PM me and I'll show you where it is. Same goes for tires.

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Living in Rabat. Exploring in a Land Rover. PM me for practical local questions.

Thanks for that, would make a life a lot easier if I can get this done in Rabat whilst applying for the Mauri visa at the same time!

The dent is over 3 panels, not sure if they can sort it out as it's a narrow gouge where it sleepily went into a central reservation in Germany (not guilty!!)

Will PM you

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Yes Takadoum, that¨s the place to get repairs in Rabat, and close to the Mauritanian embassy. Not the best garages, only let them do small stuff.
Havent found any good place to stay nearby, so I usually go to Salé medina, where you get more for your money than in Rabat.

I'm going to add: it's best only to let them do stuff that you can check yourself. Make sure that they used new parts (instead of just charging you for them) and make sure they did it right. These guys aren't subtle, and they are in a hurry. They use a lot of hammers!

And I just saw your comment below about leaving stuff in the car. Yeah. Leave nothing in the car. Clean out the change from under the seats if you want to keep it. Though I have to say also that once my car came back from a garage in Cairo with a big bud in the ashtray. It was like when housekeeping leaves you chocolates in your hotel room except not really.

Anyway, Hamed (above) has been honest, cheap and effective.

Here's another guy. He's at a big garage that services quite a few fleet vehicles for some foreign organizations:

Aich, 06 66 72 34 00. I've never used them, but I'm guessing that while expensive, they are probably more capable of doing big jobs.

Other than that, I've always heard that you should head south - Casa, Marakesh etc - for decent mechanics. And there's a bunch mentioned in this thread.

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Living in Rabat. Exploring in a Land Rover. PM me for practical local questions.

Just a note to enhance existing comments on this excellent workshop.

They moved to a nearby facility in summer 2016. Updated (WGS84) coordinates: N 31º 40.717’, W 8º 02.882’. Phone: +212 (0) 661145645 and +212 (0) 524355558.

Reference person: Zakaria Trifhate. Very knowledgeable professional. And a fine person.

They deal with the maintenance, repair and preparation of all makes of 4x4. They even build buggies using Vortec engines!

Cheers,

Cutrex

Was looking for a good garage in Laayoune, and after a lot of circling around this "quartier mécanique" found this garage. It isn't actually called Lucas spares (unless you meant another garage altogether) but a poster with this name hangs on a wall here.

The garage is called Extratec, and is run by Mohamed the chef. N27 09.226 W013 12.336. Mohamed dispatched an assistant to help me chase the parts around town. Once the parts were sourced the job was done quickly and professionally. Repair of the clutch slave cylinder on a Toyota HJ61 - took 30 minutes, cost 250 dirham plus repair kit (30 dh) and a bottle of brake fluid another 30 dh. Photo of the garage attached.

I then changed oil and filters at a no-name garage around the corner. My filters, oil 160 dh per 5l, job 40 dh (including blowing the air filter). There are dozens of small garages around the area, and after looking for parts with a local mechanic I think I know every spare parts shop in Laayoune.

Why did i not change oil at Extratec? They only do Motul, and it's 68 dh per litre.

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https://famous-walker.dreamwidth.org - in Russian but with lots of photos

Yassine Auto Diak (23°41'41.4"N 15°56'22.3"W) is a great resource. Guy knows everyone you need in town, got me coolant, matching spark plugs, a guy to look at my radiator, copies of our bike keys, a relay for my friend etc. He is an electrical guy by trade but he has a lot of mechanical knowledge as well. He also has a friend who owns a moto shop who did the majority of replacing my cylinder, piston and head. Just go to him and he will sort you out

Here you have an updated list of places where to get a vehicle repaired in Morocco and Western Sahara.
Waypoints file available for download.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/afrikia....56142184413033

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Carpe Diem

Suzu Baarik in Missour is very helpful, and easy enough to recognise running around in his ancient green Renault (see photo). My CB500 reg/rec fried itself last year (the only spare I'd given the much consideration to taking, and didn't!), but I was back on the road with a brand new replacement within 45 mins thanks to him. I don't have a phone number or address for him, but he can be found on Facebook.

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If someone needs moto mechanics in this city here are two addresses I used in the past

Meknès Cycles

23, bd Idriss II
MEKNES
Phone: 05 35 52 28 01

This is the oldest moto shop in town. Generally known as Tomazino. Name of original owner who was from a foreign country, cant remember which. The gentleman who took over has been there forever....and is very knowledgeable. They mostly do chinese bikes now but they can help and they can fix stuff and make things work. I remember years ago, this is the spot where I go to check out XTs, Suzuki PE, RM, Quads, the cool stuff!

I have a friend who used to service his bmw there (chain, tires, fork oil, oil change, carbs, etc.) if you need help finding the address, locals know the place as Tomazino. I used him to service my 650 that refused to start, he got it running and checked/adjusted valves. He asked 350 DH. A bit steep for local market but I was happy work was done and his employee cleaned the bike thoroughly. It was really dirty from Ait Bougemez mud and dirt. I ended up paying 300 DH.

The other one is:

Cycles Marhraoui Tayeb
39, bd Hassan II
MEKNES
05 35 52 29 35

Picture of original owner (ex boxing champion) his son is the one in charge now. Went here once to buy a battery for my Kawasaki. Even though parts for Kawasaki were not readily available (brand is not officially imported there) he managed to get me a battery that worked. He mostly does scooters and small bikes but was willing to help. Also bought a moto chain/lock, I was worried about the bike, decent quality for fair price.


these two shops are not far from each other in downtown Meknes. If you are there try to check out Cinema Camera, about two blocks from Cycles Marhraoui. A beautiful Art Deco monument. One of the oldest movie theaters in the country. Go inside they are happy to let people see the architecture and ceiling inside.

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Life is tough...it's a whole lot tougher when you're stupid...

Plus 1 to Tim's comment above - the long-distance service from MotoPlus I received was superb, see this post.

Michael

Welded back rear step of LR taken off in chott around Lac Iriki,took off and inspected rear transfer seal, regreased front and rear drives,cleaned air filter. And supplied and fitted new second battery incl new harness for Dh1800 while i waited

Hi all
Should have added that Iriki Garage is located in Zagora.
At the roundabout at the South end of the high street turn left and you will find them.
The owner is affectionately known as Doctor Aziz by many offroaders.Last time i saw him last week he had the rear of an old motor home jacked up in the street with both sets of leaf springs in the operating theatres
Yes...help is even extended to them