I WAS BLOWN AWAY when Perry told me today that my transmission leak repair was FREE! Put simply, German Dreams corrected a previous situation that could have been easily overlooked. "To Err is Human." The bottom line is that I am thoroughly impressed with German Dreams and their handling of my repair visit -- not just because it was Free to me -- No, much more that; it's because they recognized a correlation between this visit and the last and wanted to rectify the situation... for that, I am extremely appreciative. I plan to return to German Dreams in a couple of months to have my rear brakes replaced. Thank you, Perry, George and the entire German Dreams Team for your professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction. read more

German dreams turned into a BAD DREAM!! This is my first and hopefully my last time posting a bad review on any company. My bad dream started with an estimate to fix my Audi @the price of $1500.00. After several estimates at or around the same price I chose to have them complete the job. Within two days the price skyrocketed to a new total of $7,000. I expressed my frustration and couldn't understand why this was not caught in the original diagnostic test when my original $1,500 estimate was given. I quickly realized I needed to get my vehicle and take it to another shop. To my surprise my vehicle was still disassembled and parts and pieces of the front end where scattered throughout the vehicle. When I asked why the vehicle was not put together I was given another $800.00 quote for them to put the parts back on. This was definitely a BAD DREAM and after taking my vehicle to another shop, my vehicle was fixed at the rate of $1000,00. That included the $100.00 tip for great honest service. read more

These guys are the best for air-cooled VWs! Brought my 70 beetle in to have brakes checked, and they figured out the problem and had it fixed in an hour. Very quick and helpful. They obviously love German cars and know how to work on them. Highly recommend. read more

I've been here a couple times, and both times have been quick, informative, and super helpful. Upfront, honest, and they're in no way pushy for sales. They reversed an issue caused by another shop's mechanic, and my car is now running beautifully. Great place. Highly recommended! read more

OMG! Perry, Eddie and Adam to the rescue! Yes, it took all three experts to fix my a/c problem the correct way. BONUS! I saved money by NOT taking it back to the VW dealer!! My beloved 2009 6cyl VW CC is as good as new, thanks to Eddie and Adam. Ah - to be cool, again. My car was fixed in the time quoted, for the price I was quoted, and I was treated with kindness and respect. Top notch shop, professional, friendly staff, 5 star service. So happy to have found my new go-to, local repair place. Thanks!! read more

They installed a tune on my car. Great experience, great people, great results. Outstanding service and they really care about their customers. read more

Righteous! I stumbled across GDP after we had one of those horrible major breakdowns while on the I-5 on our way down to L.A. for the New Year's holiday: Bad noise from the engine area, the dreaded red-colored battery light, and the suddenly spiking temperature gauge = "pull over immediately and shut off the engine!" CSAA's recommended shop in Bakersfield was 'Merican only, so we opted for a tow to the local VW dealership. The dealership service dept was very polite and nice and was able to accommodate us, and they provided us a loaner to use until the car was fixed -- wow, very good. Then we got home after the holiday and my local mechanic was shocked by the dealer's pricing; he promptly trolled up German Dreams Performance for me, and after a phone call to Perry, I learned that GDP could keep the same repair schedule and...GDP could do the same repair for less than 1/2 of what the dealer was charging (+$3,500)!!! :-0 ! No surprise here, I made some calls between the dealer and GDP, and Perry worked his magic, so I set up the service through GDP instead of the dealership. Sorry dealer, but I wasn't successful at negotiating the price down at first (truth is that the service manager brought it down but still not as low as GDP's price) and then we had a parts availability snafu (my fault), so I selected GDP to do the job. I mention all this because there was a lot of back and forth as I tried to do the right thing without getting seriously reamed, and Perry stuck with me through the whole mess. George (owner of GDP) I hope I'm not throwing you under the bus, but you guys rock and at a price that mere mortals can survive. Once I finally got the car towed to their shop (transfer from dealership), after 4am drive back to Bakersfield from the Bay Area, GDP managed to successfully complete the necessary repairs and got me back on the road by the end of that same day. This is a big deal, as it was a 7 hr repair, and they delivered without killing my budget!! Truth is that speed and price are only part of the equation, the real heart of the matter is the quality of the service, and during my conversations and my time chilling out while the work was being done, it became totally clear to me that these know their stuff inside and out, they are some seriously talented mechanics who really are into VW's and all German wheels, not just for every day cars, but they also are masters of turning the humble ride into a fire-breathing hammer ride (Ferrari smokin' Audi A4's for example) if that's what you want. Like I said, a righteous team at GDP. My tow guy, Richard, is a total VW nut, and he had been taking his old VW's into GDP and was really happy to say hi to George again. He definitely gives his stamp of approval to GDP, and that was comforting on the tow drive over. In fact, everyone I dealt with in Bakersfield were noticeably really nice, decent folks and I greatly appreciate that because of the adverse circumstances that lead me to spend so much unplanned quality time there -- Bakersfield folks, you really helped what was due to be a major suck experience, thank you! read more

NO complaints what so ever. took in a 2003 VW GTI with serious need of maintenance. Got a better quote than other German specialty shops w/ less work hours to be billed for. They were transparent in where they ordered from, what they paid for and how much they paid for it. All placed on the final itemized bill. Service was professional but not uptight. Very relaxed environment w/ no pressuring to do something that isn't needed while still giving the option to do work on the fly as they noticed it. Example: Part of my maintenance was gasket covers, when they removed the coil packs they noticed the spark plugs were going out. Said they'd replace at part cost since they were already in there. Same with numerous other parts that go out b/c they are plastic or rubber. Hoses, and other stuff at the sort. Overall, I'd be 100% comfortable recommending them to anyone w/ a german vehicle. read more

The staff at German Dreams went out of their way to fix my car and keep the total cost very reasonable. It's always a challenge to find a trustworthy mechanic, but I felt very trusting of their assessment and their work. They also helped set up a hotel stay for me, since the parts had to be delivered from LA, and the owner even drove me to the hotel... very unexpected, beyond the call of duty, and very much appreciated. I wish I had a German Dreams in my city. read more

I waited over 3 hours for a simple oil change. Why? Because they forgot to check if they had enough oil in stock...so I had to sit around and wait for it to be delivered. I was literally the only customer here in those three hours so they definitely weren't busy, Once the oil finally got here, they remained on their computer watching YouTube videos instead of doing the work I paid for. Next time I'll just go to the dealership. read more

I waited a while to do this review because I wanted to make sure the work done here was done well enough to last. My expectations were minimal due to the fact of my car being over 25yrs old. I had air conditioning work done on a 94' VW Golf from German Dreams and it was far less expensive than all the quotes I received from various automotive air conditioning shops from around town.... Five in total actually. They all wanted $1800-$2400 and my vehicle blue books for around that price! I was quoted well under those amounts and they were referred to me by a trusted friend so I went ahead and let them do it. I even had them fix my door locks for an additional fee but it was minimal compared to previous quotes from other repair shops as well.... Which is why I never had it fixed till now. Long story short, everything was done for a very reasonable price and the work is definitely sound and lasting. I ran the air conditioning all summer with zero issues and my doors all work excellent now thanks to German Dreams. They ain't super cheap, they ain't super expensive, they are just plain ol' fair and honest and they definitely know their stuff!! read more

A lot to be said here. Last Thursday, my son was driving his Porsche 928 S4 from South OC up to Santa Cruz on the 5 fwy and lost power about 1 hour North of Bakersfield and more than 150 miles from home. Being totally screwed, I chose to have the car towed back to Bakersfield and pulled up Yelp to start calling Porsche mechanics that are 3 hours North of me . . . Not an optimal situation! The first thing I saw on Yelp was the German Dreams 5 star review The reviews were compelling so I called and discussed my predicament with George (the owner) and he was very reassuring in his confidence in resolving our problem. Although AAA could not get to his shop by closing time at 5pm, George, Perry and his crew kept the shop open knowing that my car (and my son) were inbound. As soon as the tow truck arrived, my son said that George and his crew literally began diagnosis (keep in mind this was 30 minutes past closing). George immediately brought a cold drink to my kid since he knew he'd been sitting on the side of the interstate for a couple of hours in 95° temps. The complexity of the 928 drivetrain and electrics can establish a "blank check" situation for the unwitting owner but George quickly established it was a fuel delivery problem, likely from the fuel pump, relay..... or both! As soon as the triage was complete George called me (since I'm the $$$ man) and explained his suspicions, estimate, parts availability, etc... Total class act, very professional and lacking the all-too-familiar condescending delivery from some mechanics and engineers. Since the car had to remain over the weekend waiting on a OE part, George drove my son to the Amtrak station so he could hobble down south after being beat-up by the driving experience. (Forgot to mention, George took my son by a big-fat burrito shop on the way to the station so he could recharge before the train journey). The job extended into the following Monday (due to parts availability) and since George was leaving town for a pre-set trip, Perry picked up the baton and followed through to completion. As promised, the parts were delivered on-time and installed promptly (within a couple of hours) and Perry called me to let me know the fix was complete. Anyone who knows this car is aware of the sometimes exorbitant membership fees that go with maintenance. German Dreams delivered a quality repair, via a remote experience, on time, within our expected budget and with a service level that is experienced at the Ritz Carlton. Nicely done, you are competent mechanics doing really great business. If I lived in this area, this would undoubtedly be my go to wrench! read more

My son's VW Jetta almost overheated on the way down the 5 near Lost Hills (driving home to LA from the Bay Area). I had him test a few things while he was in and around Lost Hills, but alas in the middle of December and 60 degrees out, it was still running way too warm. And too warm to drive to a proper foreign car mechanic (since Dad was too far away to help). So I had him stop the car and I check out the reviews on Yelp. I feel fortunate to have found German Dreams. They sent a flatbed tow truck to pick up the Jetta; over 50 miles each way. The tow was put on the invoice. The guys at German Dreams did a great job, asked the right questions I would ask, looked at the things I would have looked at and then properly diagnosed the problem. It took about a day to fix, the price was not what I'd call cheap, but it was fair and I knew it was fixed properly with the correct parts. I sent my son back to Bakersfield from downtown LA on Greyhound ($15.00 ride!!) and the shop picked him up from the Bakersfield station. All in all it was mostly painless. I'd highly recommend these guys for knowledge and service. BONUS: they called State Farm Road Service and filed a tow claim on our behalf, I didn't have to deal with it. The 100 mile round trip $160.00 tow bill was approved today! (for those in and around urban areas, towing is roughly in the range of $6.00 to $10.00 per mile, so this was a bargain! read more

Fantastic air-cooled VW spot! Traveling west in my '69 Beetle from ABQ to San Francisco I started to have some mysterious sputtering engine issues somewhere West of Kingman, AZ, but managed to get to Mojave, CA for an overnight stay at the also fantastic Mojave Desert Inn (see a separate review elsewhere/somewhere!). Initially I thought I got ahold of some bad gas back in Kingman, but after fueling up with 91 octane 20 miles down the road in Tehachapi, the problem was persisting and worsening. By the time I hit stop and go traffic in Bakersfield it was obvious I was going to need some help. So I Googled "air cooled vw" on my phone and German Dreams became my dream come true. I hobbled up and was warmly greeted by George and asked what was up. Explaining that I was long distance traveling and "in a bit of a pickle", I explained my issues, noting that I had done a mini-tune on the motor that very morning in Mojave (I typically do all of my own basic maintenance on the car but once in awhile I come across a problem that I just can't seem to nail down). I knew I had an intake/vacuum leak somewhere but was unable to figure out where exactly. George listened intently, wrote up a quick work order, and assured me they'd get to it ASAP and get me back on the road THAT DAY. Granted, one can't expect to just pull up and be tended to immediately, and after all, I'd just landed right at lunchtime. But George and the others were gracious hosts and we traded VW & dog stories for the odd hour or so that it took to take care of the business ahead of me and for "reinforcements" to return from lunch. Once George pulled the car in he *immediately* honed in on the offending part - a loose electronic idle cut-off jet on the carburetor. I thought, "duh! why didnt I think to check that?!?!" (VW nerds will know what I mean). And beyond that - he gladly tutored me on the basics of tuning my particular carburetor (the relatively obscure, single model year/US only Solex 30 PICT-3, for which I have found NO decent reference material online - and aside from simple, one-screw idle adjustments I have done zero work on that carb for 20 odd years). So not only did I receive same-day, timely service - I also got a great lesson in some basic maintenance that was heretofore missing from my mechanical vocabulary. Furthermore, I was not handed a laundry list of parts that I didn't need - just a carb/intake manifold gasket). I was back on the road and eating In 'N Out for lunch within 2 hours and only 50 odd dollars poorer for the experience. The car ran GREAT and with GUSTO all the way back to San Francisco. So here is my shout of praise far and wide for all to hear that German Dreams is THE place to go if you own a VW. I will most definitely return even if only to say hello if I'm passing through (a Westfalia Vanagon w/ Subaru conversion is in the works as we speak.) FOREVER thankful that a VW/Porsche centric shop of this caliber and kindness exists in the world!!! THANK YOU! read more