Moe Jaffal’s passion for cars was obvious early. As a boy, the future owner of Wayne’s German Motors would take apart every toy car he could get his hands on. And from the moment he started tinkering with his first real engine, it was obvious he was a natural.
“I started turning wrenches when I was 14 with my father,” Jaffal says. “He taught me how to do regular maintenance on the car, oil changes and stuff like that. I picked up on it at an early age.”
After tuning up engines at a Clifton auto shop, Jaffal’s passion for high-end German automotives pulled him towards Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes Dealerships.
“I specialize in these cars because I've worked around them my whole life,” Jaffal says. “I'm very comfortable working on them.”
Today, Jaffal puts his passion for precision automotives and 20-plus years of experience with Volkswagens, Audis, BMWs and Mercedes to work at German Motors, Wayne’s premiere destination for repairs and performance upgrades on BMWs and other high-end European vehicles.
Working at dealerships, Jafall had ample time to spend with the cars he loved the most. Seizing the opportunity, Jafall mastered high-end maintenance, including notoriously complex automotive systems.
“I'm really good with electrical repairs,” Jaffal says. “I was told that anybody could replace a component on an engine. The hard part is actually diagnostics and electrical repairs. I was told that if you could fix any electrical repair, you can pretty much fix anything on the car. So that's my specialty.”
After two years at Volkswagen Gensinger, he moved up the chain of command at Audi, BMW, and Mercedes dealerships, graduating from technician to team leader and then shop foreman. But dealerships couldn’t contain his ambitions.
“I always wanted to open up my own shop,” Jaffal says. “I like doing this. It's not because of the money. It's not because I want to be popular or anything like that. I do it with a passion.”
For two years, he worked 16-hour days, splitting time between a Mercedes dealership’s garage and his own shop in South Hackensack before opening German Motors in 2017.
While German Motors isn’t Wayne’s only automotive shop, Jaffal says it offers service that’s unique for the area. “I've worked for dealerships and brands,” he says. “I have all their experience and that's hard to come by. You can't open up a shop and just know about these cars. This takes years of experience, let alone the software that you need to use on these cars,”
Jaffal prides himself on offering dealership-level car care while charging a fraction of a dealership’s repair cost. “I give customers a better price with the same quality of work, if not better,” he says. But the low rates don’t reflect lack of service. Jaffal stresses that German Motors goes the extra mile. “I treat every customer here the same,” he says. I give them a lot more attention than the dealer would give them. And then the price is so much better.”
Jafall takes a personal approach to automotive care. After working alone at the shop, he hired Miguel, Carlos and Adrian, technicians who know BMWs and Mercedes well enough for Jafall’s comfort.
“I had a hard time trusting other people working on my customers’ cars,” he says. “I was very particular about that, but I finally found a couple of people that can help me out.”
German Motors goes the extra mile for customers, from complimentary detailing cars that have undergone major repairs or filling up a customer’s gas tank. Jaffal says the goal is bigger than giving a customer a working car. It’s about providing peace of mind.
“I've never had a customer leave upset,” Jaffal says.
German Motors is located at 536 Alps Road in Wayne. They can be reached by phone at 973-706-7196