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March 2023 by Alan M.
Had a few fuel/air delivery issues with my classic fuel injected Super Beetle. Brought it in for an assessment and had a diagnoses that afternoon. Brett worked up an estimate for parts and labor and went over my options. I gave him my choice and he went to work and finished the job as promised and stuck to the estimate. Old school shop. Very knowledgeable, honest and fair.
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June 2021 by Cindi Peck
Honest, knowledgeable, awesome people! Stayed below the quoted repair cost. Highly recommend there guys!!!
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April 2021 by Garrett G.
After many years of dealing with the poor workmanship of Canyon German Auto and it's owner Brett it's time to tell the story of their absolute poor mechanics work. On two separate occasions I took my VW Westfalia to CGA for a pre-check of the engine prior to leaving on camping trips. On both occasions my wife and I were stranded on the side of the road within hours of having the engine inspected. The first time I found that CGA had not inspected the engine at all and after my own visual inspection found rotted spark plug wires and connectors and those same wires laying across metal carburetor linkage that shorted the wires and caused a build up of gas in two of the cylinders almost causing a fire. The second occasion happened just 11 months later. After expressing my displeasure to Brett about the lack of detail and poor workmanship I unfortunately decided to give CGA another shot and a chance to redeem themselves. Unfortunately the results were the same. I had CGA inspect the engine again prior to another camping trip. CGA was to replace the ignition, remove one of two fuel line cut-off valves and lubricate the accelerator cable. The ignition was installed improperly causing my horn to sound every time I turned to the left. Driving like this was ridiculous and proof to me that Brett had not test driven the bus afterward. Additionally, unbeknownst to me CGA removed both fuel line shut off valves and reconfigured the fuel line causing gas to build up in the cylinders while the bus was at rest. And on top of that CGA moved my spark plug wires to once again rest on the carburetor linkage cause another short in the wires. Again, just hours after leaving his shop on Highway 1 near Santa Barbara massive amounts of smoke started billowing out of my bus. My wife and I had to pull over to a local mechanic. Once again two cylinders were dead, the wires shorted and gas had now filled the crank case, exhausted manifold and muffler. We had to stay at the mechanics shop in Santa Barbara for 3 hours while the mechanic replaced the wires and spark plugs and dried out the entire exhaust system of gas. All told, what should have been a simple 4 hour trip to Jalama State Beach took us 10 hours with our horn going off every time we turned left and our bus almost catching on fire. I finally stopped the horn by finding it under the front part of the bus and disconnecting the wires. I spent nearly $350 correcting the blunders of CGA and refused to pay Brett the original $400 for the non-existent service. Since all of this has happened I have had the misfortune of running into Brett in town. On one occasion while sitting down with my wife for lunch we were both verbally assaulted by Brett and his girlfriend. Once again, this morning I was peacefully eating breakfast and again verbally assaulted about paying a bill I refuse to pay because of poor workmanship. I'm now considering a restraining order against Brett. Brett and CGA have legal channels by which to attempt to remedy this if he so chooses. Verbally attacking me and my wife is not acceptable. I DO WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THIS REVIEW IS NOT OF THE BODY SHOP THAT RENTS SPACE FROM CANYON GERMAN AUTO. THE BODY SHOP DOES FINE WORK AND I WOULD AND STILL RECOMMEND SCOTT FOR ANY COLLISION TYPE WORK.
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September 2020 by DAVID JOSEPH
Quan and his team are quite possibly the best repair shop around. I have always had good experiences with them. They are fast, friendly, and prices are fantastic. I have had 4 vehicles in to see them in the last few months, three in the last week. Heres a recap.
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July 2020 by Dog Eater
They are very professional and answered all my questions
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September 2019 by Drew Moeller
Scott is the most trustworthy mechanic you could ask 4. Dont need to believe just do a price check bro. Hes the man and if he can't do it, then it's time to ditch your van ?
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August 2019 by ivan salas
Good quality work
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April 2019 by Galen Peterson
Brett is a Master Mechanic Bring your European Auto here for excellent Reair & Service!!!
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April 2019 by Chad Susag
If you need old school German car repairs. This is the ONLY place to go.
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December 2018 by Todd B.
This place has been around since the beginning of time and Brett has always been there. Back in the day when you had to figure things out the hard way, prior to everything being computerized. I was a young kid, always wanted to hang around there and I had aspirations to be a mechanic. I wanted to be a part of that place, but they laughed at me, always giving me subtle hints to get lost, so finally I did. All I could ever afford was to get my air dam repaired and repainted from scraping it so many times. I would remove it myself and take it in there, Brett would carry it back to the body shop and ask the short guy with the hair plugs "how much to squirt" (paint it) and $100 was cheap, even then. It was a one of a kind ALPINA air dam so I had to preserve it. But they were professionals, they knew what they were doing, working on all those 911's , 928's and everything else under the sun. That was 35 years ago. I haven't been down there since then but they knew what the hell the were doing in the 80's I know that. That makes everything a breeze to work on these days. I always looked up to them. Five (5) stars for all the crap they have to put up with in that town. Laguna has become a liberal sewer, just full of whiners throwing nickels around like manhole covers. I get a real kick out of the negative reviews, what a joke..
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September 2018 by Eliseo Martinez
Yeaaa....nice
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January 2018 by Bryan K.
Excellent work and detailed explanation of issues with my eurovan. Friendly and quickly completed the job. I am extremely satisfied
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July 2017 by Steve F.
I first started going to Canyon German Auto in the early 90's when I owned a 1961 VW Convertible and Brett was able to diagnose and correct electrical issues (6v system) that other mechanics simply could not figure out. I moved on to a used 1988 911 Targa in 1998 and Brett did the Pre-Purchase Inspection. That car now has over 175,000 miles and Brett has maintained the vehicle since day one, including a top half rebuild about 5 years ago. I have just returned for a 14 day/3400 mile road trip and the car ran as if it were new. Brett and Ron have tremendous knowledge on the mechanical and electrical components of these cars and how to keep them running. He is honest to a fault in assessing mechanical issues, and fair in his pricing quotes; I can highly recommend Brett and his team at Canyon German Auto.
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June 2016 by Richard G.
I just had my 1973 Karmann Ghia repaired at Canyon German. Its difficult to find technical expertise for old air cooled VW/ Porsches. The owner Brett, and his staff are first rate in dealing with exotic German autos, and collector cars. They will work on any exotic German hardware, including Porsche, BMW, Mercedes etc. They are also capable of repairing high end Italian Ferraris; I saw a Testa Rosa while I was picking up my car. If your high performance, street legal road machine was built by Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, and even stock VWs, needs to be repaired or serviced these guys are technically proficient. If you are on the cheap and looking for a $20 oil change and system check for your Japanese rice rocket, try Pep boys, this is not your shop. However, if you are looking for a real mechanic, and not just a parts changer, bring your exotic hardware here.
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April 2014 by G B
Brett and his mechanic crew do great work. My Vanagon is in the best hands in all of OC when he has it, they truly know every VW and Porsche inside and out from 60's models to current. I tested his knowledge several times and he is spot on. I drop it off with problems, get it back fixed well, with parts and hours accounted for. Not expensive either compared to other vw/porsche shops.
