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December 2021 by Aaron Bateman
Brought my VW dune buggy to Stan… Had let it sit for a few years and needed a bunch of work. Rates were reasonable and his work is flawless. Thing runs like a top! Thanks Stan!!
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March 2021 by Justin Goedde
I recently acquired a 1960 Beetle that had been garaged for about 20 years. I dropped the car off to Stan with a laundry list of repairs from brakes and engine tuning, to wiring issues and seat belt installation. He gave me a fair quote for the work and completed everything in a reasonable amount of time. Stan communicated with me throughout the process and was overall pleasant to work with, which is a huge plus. As a first time VW and classic car owner, he gave me some great maintenance tips and a few specific things to keep an eye.The final bill did come out to a bit more than we originally discussed, but I believe Stan’s experience and quality is worth it. I could see and feel a marked improvement in my cars performance and handling after picking it up from Stan’s garage.
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March 2021 by Andrew B.
Knowledgeable and friendly, Stan has been very helpful since I relocated from the Bay Area to the Bay State. If you have a vintage VW and you are looking for someone with expertise and integrity, Stan is The Man!
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July 2020 by Justin G.
I recently acquired a 1960 Beetle that had been garaged for about 20 years. I dropped the car off to Stan with a laundry list of repairs from brakes and engine tuning, to wiring issues and seat belt installation. He gave me a fair quote for the work and completed everything in a reasonable amount of time. Stan communicated with me throughout the process and was overall pleasant to work with, which is a huge plus. As a first time VW and classic car owner, he gave me some great maintenance tips and a few specific things to keep an eye. The final bill did come out to a bit more than we originally discussed, but I believe Stan's experience and quality is worth it. I could see and feel a marked improvement in my cars performance and handling after picking it up from Stan's garage.
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July 2020 by Steve R
This is an uncomfortable thing for me to do. I really don't like posting negative reviews, but this case definitely warrants one. Stan's site says he's a Volkswagen specialist and he might very well be one, but he's not an expert and there is a difference. As a specialist he chooses to work almost exclusively on VW's, but an expert is someone who brings special knowledge, experience and expertise on VW's and that's the difference. I met Stan at a VW show in CT and I decided I'd bring my 65 Beetle to his shop, which is an hour and a half from my home. When I dropped my car off the two major items I wanted him to address were a bog in the carburetor and a clunking noise in the rear under certain conditions. Other than that I told him to feel free to trouble shoot to see if there was anything else amiss. And we specifically talked about, and I ordered, door stops for my car because it had none when I bought it. Two months later, after having mailed him several checks he called and said the car was ready for pick up. When I arrived on a Friday in June I was excited because the weather was going to be great all weekend and I had visions of cruising around all weekend in my newly sorted out bug. Stan went over the bill and everything he had done and I gave him the last check. We went out to the parking lot and I saw that the door stops were still in the package on the passenger side floor. But I was raring to go so I just thanked Stan and jumped in and headed out with my wife following in her car. We didn't make it a mile away. The car was actually running worse than when I dropped it off! It had the same drivability issues only worse and the thump was still there! (Remember, these were the two main reasons I brought him the car.) We turned around and brought it back just as Stan was pulling out in a dune buggy with some guys. He stopped and I told him it wasn't running right. He said he'd be right back and off they went. It was getting dark, but a few minutes later they came back and I told him what the car was doing. He went into his shop and grabbed a screwdriver and we and headed out leaving my wife there in the chase car. We drove around stopping several times so Stan could try to make the car more drivable, which he did, but it was still slightly worse than when I had left it with him two months ago! To be fair he did a fine job on a few basic maintenance items (new brake drums, leaky axle seal, replacing a fuel line, stuff like that.) But that's all stuff that I could have had done at a shop a half mile from my house and for a lot less money. I drove an hour and a half out to Stan because he was the Volkswagen specialist. Bottom line I spent $3,874, most of it ($3,240) was for labor, for his "expertise" and the car was running a little worse than when I dropped it off with him two months ago! I called him the next day and said, "Hey this is an uncomfortable phone call, but the car still isn't running right" and he went on to give me recommendations on things that I could do to make it run better. On the carb issue he recommended a dual carb set up that he said he had recently done for another client that he said he had charged $1,100 in labor to do. He said he thought that I could do it and that it was about a 3 out of 10 for difficulty. Isn't this what YOU were supposed to do while you had the car for two months?!? Do yourself a favor and avoid this guy.
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March 2020 by Putnam Murdock
Great service! Thank you
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March 2020 by Putnam Murdock
Great service! Thank you
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July 2019 by Daniel Ritzenthaler
Was very clear explaining what he was doing and why. Suggested simper/easier fixes. Also shared a lot of recommendations for what could be done ourselves and who to talk for related things (upholstery, etc).
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July 2018 by Donald Buchholtz
Stan had been taking care of my VW-engined Speedster replica for at least four years. I haven’t had any major issues to deal with, and that’s the point. The car has been running better than ever and fires up first thing in the spring after six months in the cold. Stan’s done a great job anticipating small things to take care of before they become big things. He’s honest, dependable and fair.
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July 2018 by Tina Castle
Stan got my 1965 Bus back on the road after having sat for 7 years. He has a vast knowledge of all things aircooled VW. I would highly recommend using Stan if you are looking for someone who knows aircooled VW's.
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July 2018 by Chris Bunnell
Stan's great. Very knowledgeable and transparent. I have a '73 Ghia that was neglected for years, from a service and maintenance standpoint, and had become undriveable. Stan has brought it back to a safe and reliable condition, and is now driving great.
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July 2017 by Andrew The Idiot
Stan may well be a nice guy but he's not a professional mechanic. He's a business man that found an underserved market that he is an enthusiast/hobbyist of. He does knows vintage VW, factory-period details & can swap mechanical parts but that's not a professional mechanic. That's a hobbyist. At his hourly rate$ he should have professional ASE level knowledge of German engines. The issue is this leads to problems with customers (like me) that are soaked for far more hours than each job/tack should take... why should he learn on mine or your dime. He should hire real German auto mechanics and stay in the business office selling parts and vintage manuals.In my case I had a list of items I had asked to be looked at. He over booked his hours by 1.5 to 2x times too much on each item. Stan's sat on my car for about 6 weeks and didn't get more than a half dozen of them before I 'pulled-the-plug' & got my car. I don't mind paying a high rate, as that's typical for shops that work on nice cars. BUT to learn after the experience that I was dealing with a backyard mechanic representing himself as a pro and was soaked on each task of my entire bill was shocking. If you just need someone to change the oil on an old German car or buy some vintage period correct part this place may be ok but if its anything slightly more complex or a hair more than some stock maintenance/part swap STAY AWAY!!! He has no ability to diagnose issues....BTW, They left my car outside, day & night, the whole time in a dirt lot (I have way too much $$ in my car- she's a bit of show queen) and came back full of light scratches... disappointing!
