Multi-brand workshop, São Cosme, Gondomar
Every carleaves aftera road test.
Fernando Viana spent years testing Mercedes-Benz cars before he opened his own workshop. Diagnosis, servicing and repairs on every make, with photos and videos of each step and the price before any extra job.
R. Nossa Sra. Fátima 1, Gondomar
- Google average
- 4.8
- reviews
- 98
- years in the trade
- 36+
Road-test sheet
No.SG-0420
- Plate
- __-__-__
- Km
- ______
- Date
- __/__/____
- Technician
- F. Viana
- 01Cold start
- 02Idle
- 03Gearbox, every gear
- 04Braking
- 05Steering and alignment
- 06Noises and vibrations
Result
Approved
F. Viana
Tested and signed

Demo illustration
One sheet, every make
What goes on the sheet
Each job is an item on the sheet: what is checked, what is done, and a note from the workshop. Tap an item to open it.
Road-test sheet
No.SG-0420
Demo illustrationThe fault codes say where to look; the drive says the rest. A noise, a vibration, a light on the dash: it is found before anything is replaced, so you only pay for what the car needs.
Demo illustrationA proper service done in detail and documented in photos, so you see the before and after. Parts are original or of equivalent quality, your choice, with the price stated.
Demo illustrationTiming belt changes, engine faults and the problems other shops told you to live with. Every finding comes with a photo or video and its price before the work goes ahead.
Demo illustrationEverything that keeps the car straight and stops it in time, checked on the lift and confirmed on the road. Realistic prices, original parts.
Demo illustrationYears at a Mercedes-Benz dealer, from 24-hour roadside assistance to quality control and road-testing. CLK, E-Class W211, SLK R170, A and C-Class are regulars.
Demo illustrationCars people love get treated like the workshop's own. Porsche 911 996, Honda Civic Type R, SLKs and classics come in for servicing and the jobs that need patience.

01 / 06
Diagnosis
Computer diagnosis, then the road test and the ear
From diagnosis to handover
How a job goes
The same route for every car, whether it is a service or a fault nobody could find.
- KM0
Diagnosis
The car is checked and driven. You get an explanation in plain words.
- KM1
Photos, video and the price
What was found is sent to your phone, with what it costs to fix.
- KM2
Only with your OK
Nothing beyond what was agreed is done. If something else comes up, you hear about it first.
- KM3
Original parts
Original or equivalent quality, your choice, and the price is the one you were given.
- KM4
Road test
Before handover the car goes out on the road with the technician who repaired it.
- KM5
Handover on the agreed date
The car comes back clean, on the day agreed, with the job explained.
In the trade for 36+ years
The route that leads to Star Garage
Fernando Viana started where most mechanics start: changing filters, discs and pads in a workshop in Porto. He wanted more than that.
Stop 01
Workshop in Porto
The first jobs: filters, discs and pads.
Stop 02
Fiat
Into a brand workshop.
Stop 03
Mitsubishi
Put on the rally team. Plenty of Lancer Evolutions passed through his hands.
Stop 04
SEAT
Some more years at another brand.
Stop 05
Mercedes-Benz, C. Santos
Mechanic by day, then 24-hour assistance, then quality control and road-testing the cars.
Stop 06
Star Garage
His own workshop in São Cosme, Gondomar.
Newspaper clipping
The ad on the floor
Changing the pads on a car, he laid an old newspaper on the floor to catch the dirt. In it was an ad: Mercedes needed mechanics. The ad was more than a month old. He applied anyway, and was called in for an interview straight away.
— As told by a customer who has known him since the start

Today the diplomas from several brands hang at the reception, and the workshop is the same as the reviews describe it: clean, tidy and always full of cars.
F. Viana
In numbers
- years in the trade
- 36+
- years in the trade
- average on Google
- 4.8
- average on Google
- Google reviews
- 98
- Google reviews
- customers drive to get here
- 60 km
- customers drive to get here
The workshop
4.8 on Google, 98 reviews
What customers write
After a flood my car arrived at this workshop not even starting, with a diagnosis that the engine was done for. Fernando Viana took it in at the end of the afternoon and the next day I drove out with it running normally. No engine replacement. And better still, at a really fair price.
I took it in for the timing belt and a service, all very simple. But on the test drive Fernando picked up a resonance in 1st gear that nobody had noticed. It was a broken bearing that was damaging the rest of the gearbox. He kept sending me videos and information.
Honesty, transparency, organisation, professionalism. Fernando was transparent from the start and kept me up to date on every detail with photos and videos. He met every deadline we agreed and fitted all original parts at completely realistic prices.
Qualified, a Mercedes quality-control background. Great price, below average. I'd just been quoted 200 € elsewhere for the diagnosis alone. Viana found it was only the alternator chain in 10 seconds, if that.
My car was drinking coolant and another mechanic told me to keep driving it like that. Fernando kept me informed with photos and videos, and whenever something needed work he told me, with the price. Three weeks later the car is as good as new.
I trusted my Porsche to Star Garage. It came back spotless and Fernando explained the whole diagnosis clearly. The diplomas from several brands at the reception show the years of training behind it.
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Questions
Before you bring the car
Yes, it is a multi-brand workshop. Mercedes-Benz is the specialty, after about 15 years inside the brand, and Porsche, the VW group, Peugeot, Honda and classics come in all the time.
Contact
Bring the car to São Cosme
Behind the fuel forecourt on Rua Nossa Senhora de Fátima. Call first to arrange a day.
- Opening hours
- Monday to Friday09:00–12:30, 14:00–19:00
- Saturday09:00–12:30
- SundayClosed





