From: todd@cleo.abt.com (Todd Nix)
Newsgroups: austin.general,rec.autos.vw
Subject: Summary of VW Service Survey
Summary: Motormania and Boer's top the list
Keywords: VW, repair, service
Date: 29 Dec 92 17:05:15 GMT
Distribution: austin
Organization: Alternative Broadcast Technology

Here's a summary of the replies to my VW service survey.

                            PLUS        MINUS
Motormania                   2
Boer's German Motorwerks     2            1
George's Wagon Works         1
Lipschy                                   1
Charles Maund                1            2

Thanks to all who replied. Looks like Motormania and Boer's are the
two places to go. I'll probably call them both and have a chat    
before I take my car in. I was kinda surprised by the one semi-negative
comment about Boer's...I'm trying to follow it up for more detail.
I'd also like to have a larger sample size. I can repost a new summary
in a few weeks if I get enough new information.

Does anyone have an email address for VW of America? Just curious.

Has anyone tried any of the following? 
I just pulled them out of the yellow pages:

Austin VeeDub               1111 Old Bastrop Highway        385-2462
Autobahn Specialist         9817 Beck Cir                   836-2093
Autobahn Auto Sales         706 N Lamar                     473-2545
European Import             9705 Burnet                     837-1525
International Auto Repair   4900 IH 35                      459-3986
Kenny Hill's Autowerks      2127 Goodrich                   445-0101

---
From adf@cs.utexas.edu Mon Dec 28 22:31:00 1992

We take both our VW`s to George`s Wagon Works off of S. Congress.
They do a good job and we are much happier with them than we were
with Boer`s (which used to be the Bug Corner)

---
From john@bs24.dsg.ti.com Mon Dec 28 11:46:06 1992

I take my 1976 Audi Fox to Motormania located on Hwy 620 about 3 miles South
of Hwy 183.  Roger Fennel and his brother Tom, do very good work and I don't 
have any complaints.

---
From: osborn@cs.utexas.edu (John Howard Osborn)

Well, I don't know ANYTHING about those weird water-cooled VWs,
but I always took (*) my bug to Boer's German Motorworks on
Burnet at, I think, 51st or North Loop.  (Look them up.)

They always did really good work *AND* were really cool about it too.
When I took it in for some other problem, they said that my brakes
needed work too, which I knew already.  I pleaded poverty and they
(Mike?) said that if they got any worse to bring my bug in, they'd
fix them, and I could pay whenever I could.  That certainly goes
above-and-beyond as far as I'm concerned so I have no problems
with endorsing them for anything VW related.  (I think they also work
on Audi and other weird stuff like Opels, too.)

---
From rcp@SLCS.SLB.COM Wed Dec 23 22:56:45 1992

The place to go is Roger Fennel at Motormania (formerly Beetlemania)
on 620 across from St. Thomas More. Phone 331-0877.

---
From ross!ross.com!tony@cs.utexas.edu Wed Dec 23 15:19:18 1992

    have you considered Boers German Motorwerks? It is
in the survey. I took my 1987 GTI there this year and was
very pleased with the work they did. The workers are
dedicated professionals and they provide a friendly service.
COMMENTS   : Helpful staff. Willing to suggest cheaper alternatives. Very
             knowledgeable on VWs.

---
From tony@ross.com

SHOP NAME  : Charles Maund
RATING     : VERY POOR
COMMENTS   : Expensive.  Rude and inefficient staff.  Gave me a lame excuse
             for not doing manufacturer's warranty work that they should
             have done for free.  For every problem I wanted fixed, they
             tried to sell me new parts for parts that weren't broken.
             If you have your car serviced here, beware.

---
From tony@ross.com

SHOP NAME  : Lipschy
RATING     : VERY POOR
COMMENTS   : Two visits for repairs to Volkswagen '87 GTI. Outrageous quotes for
        routine repairs, like brake work and wheel alignment (2-3 times pricier
        than "generic" repair shops). One highly questionable diagnosis (strut
        bearing plates cause of inner wall tire wear?). Warranty work took four
        days (A/C evaporator). Summary: only go there if you have to (ie, 
        warranty work).

---
From rpp386!jfh@cs.utexas.edu Fri Dec 25 20:02:51 1992

(regarding Charles Maund...the VW, etc. dealer on Research)

if you are talking about the olds dealership, you might want
to give them another look.  i take my pontiac to them now
that bill munday has completely pissed me off.  in all of my
trips to charles maund, i've never had a bad experience.  i
like them enough that my next car will probably be an olds
from them.  

---
From todd@cleo.abt.com
 
SHOP NAME  : Charles Maund
RATING     : ATROCIOUS
COMMENTS   : I used to go to Continental but the VW franchise moved to
             Maund. I called to get an appointment for a routine maintenance
             plus suspension alignment. It started off bad when I called
             for a simple appointment and got put on hold for 10 minutes.
             When I showed up, the guy sat there doing paper work ignoring me.
             After waiting for 30 minutes he finally decided to take my
             keys, of course he had not written down anything that I had
             given him over the phone. I was told it would be ready by 5
             that afternoon. I called at 5 and he tells me that they hadn't
             even started on it! Can you believe? I threw a fit...what was
             the point of making an appointment? I got a call 30 minutes
             later...they actually had started and it would be done
             tomorrow but they weren't going to fix the suspension because
             my tire were worn unevenly. Well, duh! how do you think I
             diagnosed that the suspension need ed work idiot. I went in
             the next morning having basically paid $50 for an oil change
             and rising blood pressure. I'm going to try to convince VW
             America that they aren't going to sell many cars in Austin
             if they don't get there dealers in line.

-- 
Todd Nix                                                           todd@abt.com
 Movement1981-1982Power,Corruption,andLiesLowLifeBrotherhoodSubstanceTechnique