Berkeley Auto Repair

Well, I drive a Saab - not quite the target audience. But I've been looking to improve the handling, and Curly has been very helpful getting me the right alignment - convincing me to get the camber bolts so I could adjust the front, and shimming the rear as well. Dramatically better handling. Maybe not the cheapest place, but they sure seem to pay attention to what they are doing, and very willing to discuss things.

This could get long, but I'll try and shorten it up. About 6 months ago I had an issue with another local repair shop. That other shop tore down my engine to find a problem and do a "repair". After taking it back to correct the problem at my dealership (in Concord), I asked Terry for a third party opinion on the problem with my engine. He confirmed that, like the dealership, he didn't believe that the problem was as stated by the other repair shop. I thanked him for his time and told him that I would be back when I needed work done again. Recently my car was having issues with acceleration, and I thought it might somehow be related. No such luck. I took it back in for Griffin to look at. Terry informed me that my clutch was slipping and that it would need to be replaced. It took 5 minutes and didn't cost me a dime to find out (unlike the other place). I told him I'd be back when I could no longer stand it. The following week my time was up, frustrated I walked in and asked if they could do the work while I was out of town for a few days. They finished the work in two days, charged me exactly what they said it would cost (i.e. no hidden charges). Since then the vehicle is back to it's old self, like the day i drove it off the lot. Since this is a recent repair I only gave 4 stars, pending some more "road testing" on my part. But I have little doubt that I will eventually change it to 5 stars...

Been coming here for about 10 years to het my cars tuned up. They are a little pricy but they are well worth it. Not many shops that I know of that can guarantee and stand by their products. And they won't sell you things that you don't need.

It's pretty clear - you either love 'em or hate 'em. I'm in the former camp. First, they have kept both my Lexus' rolling along - SC400 for almost 245k miles and the convertible just hit 100k. I like working with folks who care about performance. No, they're not the cheapest, but neither is the Lexus dealer. I've been a customer for 10 years, I've had stuff go wrong, but they have always made it right. This is a rough and tumble place (except for the way cool waiting room of Recaro seats - super comfy) but they can take it too when I give them worse than they give me. It's just how they have fun - and I like it.

Great work & honest staff! This place saved me almost $200 on brakes when compared to the quote from my friendly, neighborhood, rip off Volvo dealership. The guys down there are personable and above all, they are real experts when it come to Audi/Volvo/VW. My car was finished in a matter of hours so no need to waste time or money on a loaner ride. Sweet!

Very good service. I took my GTI in to replace my clutch and flywheel. They took the time to explain everything to me. Terry and his crew are great guys who love what they do and it shows. They are VW/Audi enthusiasts themselves. They gave me a great discount, and I saved a lot compared to going to a dealership. Everything was laid out clearly on the work order, so it was easy to tell I wasn't getting ripped off, unlike those confusing dealership printouts. They got the job done on time and my new clutch works great. I would definitely go back. The best thing is how down to earth they are, not intimidating at all. But I caution they like to joke around and aren't very PC, that's just they way it is. Still, a bunch of good guys, and I'd recommend them to anyone. They also work on Japanese cars too. Also, they fixed my squeaky doors for free. Terry said it sounded like a crypt door, lol, I got a kick outta that.

A good trustworthy mechanic is about as hard to come by as a job in this economy, and these guys are so good that they make the latter seem possible. I've taken my car here for a number of repairs, and the prices have always been fair for the work performed. They weren't always able to fix every problem (in their defense though, the problems they couldn't always fix were electrical which many shops can't fix, let alone diagnose), but I paid a fraction of the cost compared to other shops. Case in point - I brought my Audi to them a couple months ago because the fuel gauge was acting erratically. Terry (one of the owners) and the guys proceeded to check everything under the sun to figure out what was wrong. I did pay for some of the diagnostic, but not nearly equal to the time they spent working on the car (if you own an Audi, you know the fiasco electrical problems can be!). In the end, it was determined to be a faulty fuel gauge contained within the instrument cluster. I didn't want to pay for a new cluster so Curly offered to remove the cluster, send it out to an independent guy, who rebuilds instrument clusters, to see if it could be repaired instead of replaced - at no cost to me. In the end, the independent shop couldn't repair the gauge, but I had lost nothing. Most shops I've dealt with would have charged me for such a service or simply refused to look into having it repaired and just quoted the $1,000 for a new one. I appreciated the extra time and attention these guys provided to try and save me money, especially when it was at their own expense. I recently moved out of Berkeley, but I still commute to these guys to have any maintenance done on my car. Good jobs may be hard to find, but for anyone living in the east bay, a good mechanic doesn't have to be.

Great Service, Very knowledgable. A store owned and operated by someone who does it right and isn't afraid to be a real person not some kiss ass!! Thanks Griffin Motorsports

I just stopped by around 1 hour ago and picked up my MOTUL and Redline fluids for my RX7 here. This was the closest redline dealer I could find to Oakland. The customer service was friendly and prompt, no waiting and watching employees stare off into space or BS. They are well staffed and specialize in AUDI and VW from the looks of the lot. Glad I got rid my my Audi but if I still owned one and was to lazy or incapable to work on it myself, I would take it here. Thanks Griffin Motorsports.

Remember, you get what you pay for. If you sold your German car and have moved on, why are you even posting here(YOU IDIOT!).. These guys work their a$$es off to make your car as good as it can get. The performance slant of the shop makes them by far better at what they do than a boring a$$ "lumpity bump repair shop". Terry is a legend and Curly is THE MAN! They always advise me on what the latest cool thing is for my current car and have gone the extra mile time and time again to make sure it is set up properly for HPDE's. They support the Audi Club ("quattro club" he,he,he). P.E.