Classic Volkswagen

**creanium** · 11-21-2007, 01:01 PM

Classic Volkswagen
1600 Auto Park Way S
Escondido, CA 92029

Phone: (760) 745-7551

Website: http://www.classicvw.com/

**Euro** · 11-21-2007 01:01 PM

**GtIrOb01** · 11-22-2007, 10:54 AM

This is where I bought my car. Only place around that had a Matchstick Red GTI with beige interior (at the time). Too far for me to drive for service work.... otherwise Id have been there for that stuff too.

**netnet** · 11-22-2007, 04:57 PM

Classic Service Department is the BEST!!!

They have always taken care of me (service advisor John)
Just ask Joel, they make him install parts for me at our GTG's.
Best Customer Service around.

**joe18tbo112** · 11-24-2007, 10:32 PM

umm....well they could pay me more but otherwise i like em... hee hee

**T-Red** · 11-24-2007, 10:36 PM

Allen Rawson was the best service advisor, but I think he's gone now. Roger Killian is okay. The best thing is, if you think one service advisor is giving you bad information, they don't gang up against you. If one is wrong, it's likely that one of the others is better informed. For example, Will an after-market clutch work better than the OE one if the engine is modded? What bolts must be replaced when a new waterpump is installed?

Despite all the dumb questions they probably get every day, they still seem willing to listen to the good questions. I appreciate that.

The techs seem better than the average for VW dealerships, but that is not an unqualified endorsement.

I picked up my car from them once, and immediately noticed an unrelated problem that didn't exist previously. I took it right back and they fixed it at no charge, even though there is no way they would have even touched that vacuum hose.

**joe18tbo112** · 11-24-2007, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by T-Red

Allen Rawson was the best service advisor, but I think he's gone now. Roger Killian is okay. The best thing is, if you think one service advisor is giving you bad information, they don't gang up against you. If one is wrong, it's likely that one of the others is better informed. For example, Will an after-market clutch work better than the OE one if the engine is modded? What bolts must be replaced when a new waterpump is installed?

Despite all the dumb questions they probably get every day, they still seem willing to listen to the good questions. I appreciate that.

The techs seem better than the average for VW dealerships, but that is not an unqualified endorsement.

I picked up my car from them once, and immediately noticed an unrelated problem that didn't exist previously. I took it right back and they fixed it at no charge, even though there is no way they would have even touched that vacuum hose.

what do u drive? have i worked on your car? Allen was a good advisor as far as selling. He would be the first one to throw you under the bus though... anything to make himself look good. Roger is very knowledgable. He used to own his own shop and used to work on cars way back in the day.

**T-Red** · 11-24-2007, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by joe18tbo112

what do u drive? have i worked on your car? Allen was a good advisor as far as selling. He would be the first one to throw you under the bus though... anything to make himself look good. Roger is very knowledgable. He used to own his own shop and used to work on cars way back in the day.

If you've worked on a red Golf TDI that needed a clutch last spring, or a water pump a few months ago, that was mine. Classic also installed an alternator pulley about 3 years ago, then the alternator itself needed replacing about 18 months later. Those are, I think, the only four times I've had my Golf in there since the warranty expired.

**joe18tbo112** · 11-26-2007, 08:43 PM

oh... i heard about the clutch a few months ago. didn't know that was you. i've never worked on it. i think your car has always gone to the other side. we have 2 shops sorta. a north side and a south side. I'm on the north.

**T-Red** · 11-26-2007, 09:55 PM

Well, whoever worked on it did an okay job. But I still have doubts that all the torque-to-yield bolts were replaced when the waterpump was changed. Yes, the TB was changed too, but I don't consider it a full TB change and will have the job done again by my own preferred mechanic in another 30k-50k miles.

I'm not sure about the clutch job -- I still have trouble getting in or out of 1st gear, most of the time. Or maybe it's a slave cylinder that is slowly failing... very slowly, for 30k+ miles now.

Still, Classic is the only dealership in SD County that I trust. I'm not willing to experiment with the others.

**joe18tbo112** · 11-26-2007, 10:34 PM

that isn't a problem of the clutch but the tranny... try switching to the sychromesh gear oil. we've done it in many cars with good results, mine included. It could be a number of things in the tranny causing it, but the oil seems to help.

**dylan5990** · 10-22-2008, 01:10 PM

well the service is pretty good but i took my car there to get the speedo fixed and told them that it wasnt the speed sensor that was messed up because i had already had that replaced 3 times and it never fixed the problem. but they still only changed the speed sensor... and my speedo still doesnt work

**T-Red** · 10-22-2008, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by T-Red

Well, whoever worked on it did an okay job. But I still have doubts that all the torque-to-yield bolts were replaced when the waterpump was changed. Yes, the TB was changed too, but I don't consider it a full TB change and will have the job done again by my own preferred mechanic in another 30k-50k miles.

I'm not sure about the clutch job -- I still have trouble getting in or out of 1st gear, most of the time. Or maybe it's a slave cylinder that is slowly failing... very slowly, for 30k+ miles now.

Still, Classic is the only dealership in SD County that I trust. I'm not willing to experiment with the others.

I forgot all about this thread.

I wrote the above on Nov 26th 2007. On December 31st 2007 my timing belt failed because of a faulty part. The repairs ended up costing me about $2300 and I lost a week of work and another $600-700.

I spent quite a bit of time one afternoon with several of the service people, and THEIR consensus was that they could not have been the ones to install that faulty part. One guy even claimed that it wasn't necessary to remove that large toothed idler in order to replace the water pump. I suppose I could have gone out to the car and retrieved my Bentley manual, then showed them where it describes the process of replacing the water pump.

I still don't know whether everyone at Classic is ignorant or dishonest... or maybe a combination of both. But that episode turned around my opinion regarding Classic. I know there are folks who regard them as the best or one of the best in San Diego County. But I can never recommend them to anyone, for any kind of work. I would not go there even for warranty repairs -- I would rather pay to have the work done properly at an independent garage, than allow them to work on my car for free.

**PassatBoy101** · 03-31-2009, 05:26 PM

I was in there in 2006 with a tranny problem and had an extended warranty take care of it. Who was the biggest pain in the but but Sharon(who used to work there) took great care and got in several phone fights with warranty company for me. Warranty tried to put in used trannies and 3 were bad in a row. Got a new tranny in it. If you were working there at the time you probably know about that ordeal. 6 weeks without a car. Ended up working out. Richard and Sergio are awesome at the parts department.