Florante Ubalde of Luxurion FF Auto Services Centre. JONATHAN YBERA/EXPAT MEDIA

A low-key warehouse in Al Quoz holds Dubai’s best-kept secret. It is where savvy luxury car owners go for car repairs. This is Luxurion FF Auto Services Centre. Florante Ubalde, the owner and Dubai’s master mechanic, has taken the driver’s seat to help hundreds of luxury car owners get professional but affordable automotive repair. Some of his clients include influencers and VIPs. Repair jobs have been on overdrive, fueled largely by Florante’s reputation and his team’s track record for honest and reliable service. Outside the warehouse, we spot rows of luxury wheels waiting for the Luxurion touch. We spot a Bentley, several Mercedes Benz, a couple of Jaguars, some BMWs. Inside, there’s a Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati and more. Speaking to Expatmedia.net, Florante says Luxurion is the culmination of his lifelong dream. “I come from a family of mechanics. This is second nature to me,” he says, adding that he grew up seeing his mechanic dad’s passion for fixing engines. Florante was the top trainer of Mercedes Benz in the Philippines before he was headhunted to work in Dubai in 1998. He initially worked in the emirate as a mechanic before being promoted to team leader, to supervisor and finally as manager. “I was running the repair shop on my own, and bringing in clients. That’s when I knew I was ready to open my own,” he says. And just when things were starting to look hopeful, Florante felt like he was hit by a bus when his mother died in January 2020, followed by his father a few months later. “I couldn’t even travel because I didn’t have money,” he says wistfully. The pandemic also threw another curve ball. “We didn’t know where the next meal would come, or where to get the money to pay for the rent or my children’s tuition,” says Florante, who lives in Dubai with his wife and their four children. He kept himself strong with the thought that his misfortune was not going to be permanent. “As I always say, life is like an elevator. Sometimes you are in the basement. Sometimes you are in the rooftop,” Florante muses. He was resolved to launch Luxurion in the middle of the pandemic. “Everyone else thought it was a bad idea, but I felt it was the perfect time. First of all, the rents were cheap. Suppliers were open to giving you a credit line. I saw the opportunity there. Then I knew people would be in their homes because they couldn’t go anywhere. Especially the locals. They would have a lot of time in their hands and would surely have their cars sent for checks and repairs,” Florante says. He got to work with a Filipino investor and former client who became his business partner. He then went out to look for the perfect warehouse. “I signed the lease, and my family and I got started on building the place from scratch. To save on costs, I tiled the floor myself and set up the workstations, while my sons helped in painting the walls,” he recalls. His brazen business move paid off, and business has been booming since day one. Florante’s family also work with him. His wife is the chief accountant while his eldest son is the sales supervisor. He is supported by a 20-strong team of professional mechanics whom he headhunted. Florante’s Luxurion has expanded to two warehouses, and he is planning to open a third one within the year to accommodate his growing clientele.

Wallet-friendly luxury repair

Luxurion specializes in automotive troubleshooting, repair work and diagnostics of luxury cars. The company also covers body works, leather seat repairs, detailing, paint protection, ceramic coating and other aesthetics. “My toughest job was from a client from the royal family. He dropped off his car and said he needed it the next day. Our jobs usually take a week, but saying no wasn’t an option, so my assistant mechanic and I ended up working in the garage all night so we could complete the job by 8am,” Florante recalls. The most expensive car he has worked with was a Rolls Royce that cost Dh3.2 million. “It had an oil leak. The owner was given high quotation from a service center. He brought it here and we charged him less than 50 percent of what they were charging. He was so happy and has been a repeat client ever since,” Florante says. Florante says his ultimate goal with Luxurion is to give everyone access to enjoy luxury cars without deflating their pockets. “Owning a luxury car is quite possible in the UAE, with the secondhand market, but many would not pick these cars because of the maintenance costs. We’re here to minimize that expense for them,” he says. He advises motorists to scrutinize second-hand luxury cars before buying them. “On the outside, they may look okay but you won’t know they might have an accident history, or the engine is tampered. This is why I always recommend that before they buy any car, they bring it to a workshop so that mechanics can check and give a detailed report,” he says. Florante says he wants Luxurion to be a safe space for all petrol heads, “They can come to us for reliable repairs that will not hurt their wallet. And while most of our clients are luxury car owners, it doesn’t mean we won’t serve someone driving household brands. Every job is a challenge for us. Once a car enters our workshop, we won’t stop until the problem is solved.” A condensed version of this story also appears in the Expat Media Special Edition magazine. Reach out to Luxurion via luxurionff.com
For all the latest news from the UAE and the world, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube page