Fred's Garage Inc

I have been taking my 2002 VW Eurovan for maintenance service, to Freds Garage since January 2006 or when the car had 55,655 miles on it.

They seemed to do good work and were reasonable, but from the very start I had concerns about their unorganized and haphazard
approach to service. Despite the fact that they are forgetful they don't keep records and every time you go in it is as if it is the first time the car is being serviced with no past history or record of work done. You have to keep reminding them of the work they did.

At 60,000 miles they changed the fluid in the transmission of my car and despite the fact that I took the car for service every 5K miles after that, including major tuneups at 80K and 100K, at 108K after I had been complaining about the transmission behaving strange intermittently, and they had said they would keep an eye on the transmission, Tom did finally checked out the transmission and told me that I needed a new one for $6K. At that point I thought I might as well drive the car until the transmission died before replacing it and just asked them to change the fluid. Tom changed the fluid and told me that it was extremely low and felt slimy and gritty. I started to think about why the fluid level would be so low since I had regularly taken the car for maintenance service to Fred's. I took the car back at 115K for another service and asked them to check the fluid level which they found to be low by half a quart. It immediately became obvious that this was what had happened the first time they changed the fluid at 60K . The fluid level was slightly low so it operated at higher temperatures and eventually burnt off and became excessively low and caused internal damage. They failed to check the fluid level as is stated in the service manual and top it off despite the fact that I took it in for service every 5K miles.

I finally took the car to a transmission re-builder at 118K who rebuilt it for $3.5K and told me point blank that the only reason the transmission failed was low fluid level for a prolonged period of time which had damaged the clutches and contaminated an internal valve.

Fred's Garage have yet to acknowledge their negligence.

If you take your car to Fred's make sure you have a maintenance schedule from a dealer and be vigilant in telling them what to do and what to look for.

Posted 11/02/09 | Report Abuse

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I am very impressed with this place! I have a 1981 Vanagon and after my first repair here I would not take it anywhere else. They found my problem, fixed it, kept my van an extra day to make sure that the problem was really solved, and then they charged me far less than I expected. My VW is running great and my wallet is not empty! They took their time but did the job right. Very highly recommended!

Posted 09/03/09 | Report Abuse

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This is by far one of the best car repair places. What makes Fred's Garage the absolute best is their honesty and rapid service. I delivered my car today with the certainty that I needed to spend over 1000 dollars in replacing gaskets and few other things. I told them that there were several problems. After few hours, they called me back and told me that the full repair was 68 dollars. Just a tune up. And this is not the first time. Few years ago, with a different VW car I had the same situation. They also fixed it with honesty and great professional care.

Posted 04/06/09 | Report Abuse

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I am a VW person and have been for years. I considered buying a new car this year - a car I really liked but when I found out Tom and John do not service anything else I chose not to buy a new car. I trust them, I take my car in and say, "Do whatever you want to do or think I need. You don't have to call me." When I return it could be any price but they never take advantage of anyone. I will drive VW until I die and it is because of this garage. I will be 75 this summer.

Posted 05/09/07 | Report Abuse

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We have a 98 Jetta, which we have serviced regularly at Freds and also had timing belts and water pumps replaced. While it is hard to get through on the phone, the service is excellent and the prices are pretty fair. We will continue to use their services.

Posted 02/26/07 | Report Abuse

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Contrary to DW's review, I could not say enough good things about Fred's. The business has been in the same family since it started. I am the second generation of my family to bring my VW's to Fred's and I would NEVER go anywhere else. They are more then honest, give free fixes, and their over all price is too cheap. The second generation of Fred's have been more helpful then the first.
They are a very busy business, but always find time to help me out, even with the small stuff. They never make me feel stupid for all of my "girl" questions,either. On the off times that my original problem was not fixed, they not only took me right away, they refunded my first repair!
They are the best and the Peninsula is lucky to have a true family run auto repair shop.

Posted 09/21/06 | Report Abuse

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I just had a bad experiance with the short stout guy with more than a bit of attitude.

the work they do is very good, except for the fact that they replace and charge you for parts, although small, did not need to be replaced.

Posted 08/06/06 | Report Abuse

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Fred's Garage is hands down the best VW repair shop on the Peninsula. John and Tom, who run the shop, are very courteous, know every VW model in and out, and they run a honest business - which unfortunately cannot be said for many of the Dealerships in this area (I personally had a lot of bad experiences). Not so at Fred's: They charge very reasonable rates (full maintenance service on my '98 GTI was half of what the dealer wanted to charge), always do their work in time and deliver outstanding quality. I highly recommend this shop to everyone who drives a VW.

Posted 06/07/06 | Report Abuse

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Since we have our '89 Volkswagon which we use for our camping trips Fred's is taking care of the car. They are specialized in VW and they really know about these cars. The difference with them: They are reliable and friendly. What they fixed always worked. I'll let them do also the regular services because I just know they take care about it.
By the way: If you are going to buy a used VW Vanagon or a Westfalia and you're not an expert for those cars. Let Fred's take a look at it. They offer a pre-purchase check and it is really worth it.

Posted 05/14/06 | Report Abuse

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I was having a lot of problems with my Jetta, the signal indicators stopped working. All I had to do was visit Freds and they fixed it. They are good at Volswagen and I regulary visit them for all my car problems. One of the things to notice was the pleasant way they handle all their customers.

Posted 04/25/05 | Report Abuse

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Fred's Garage specializes in Volkswagon Repair. They are fast, friendly and knowlegeable. Also they are right off of 101 and conveniently located within walking distance of the Redwood City Cal Train.I left my '71 bug convertible there for front end work and picked it up fixed, the next day. While they may be a bit expensive, compared to doing it yourself, they do know what they are doing and have the time to explain it to you. They gave me a complete breakdown of each thing I needed done and how much each would cost and how urgent each was. I was then able to pick and choose which job's I wanted done. Their repair yard is stuffed with VW's, many of them pre-'79, in various stages of repair, dribbling out onto the street, which gives the garage a friendly feel. Also they take the time to check and recheck your car to make sure everything is really working.I will definitely bring my car there again.

Posted 01/10/05 | Report Abuse

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