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Kotter's VW Service

4.5 (84 reviews)
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Services - Kotter's VW Service

Auto diagnosis or inspection

Auto maintenance

Auto fluids and filters maintenance

12 More Services

Oil changes

Auto repairs

Auto battery or electrical system repair

Auto brake repair

Auto engine repair

Auto exhaust repair

Auto HVAC repair

Auto light repair

Auto steering and suspension repair

Auto transmission repair

Routine automotive maintenance

Transmission leak inspection

Kotter's VW Service Photos

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Recommended Reviews - Kotter's VW Service

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Reviews With Photos

Scott U.

I brought my '75 Superbeetle in for what I thought would be a tune up and brake adjustment. The engine ran well but lacked power and speed. After Robert looked it over, it turns out I needed a new clutch and a new brake job, including master cylinder and brake lines. Though way more than I expected, I gave Tim the OK to do what needed to be done. When I picked my car up, I couldn't believe the difference. It now has power through all gears, the fuel injected engine is running better than I can remember and the brakes are strong. Even though the car is nearly 50 years old, it's running like I imagine it did when new. For anyone looking for a mechanic for their classic VW, Tim and his crew are the real deal. My car has seen many mechanics in the North County over the 27 years that I've owned it and I can say that Kotter's is the best. Good VW mechanics are a dying breed, so I'm thankful to have found Kotter's VW.

They'll work on the weird cars, too! Happy Halloween!
John B.

Brought my 68 project car to Kotter's at the recommendation of someone on a social media forum. I had been to another shop in another part of town and wasn't overly impressed. Kotter's, and Robert especially, were great and have a new customer in me! I'd blown a spark plug, and tried to fix it myself (major novice with engines, especially air cooled). Things weren't quite right and I suspected I needed a new head. They were a little busy and took my number and said they'd be in touch the following week. Sure enough, the following Monday he called up and I brought the car in. I expected them to need it a few days, if not a week. By that afternoon Rob had called me and told me it was good to go. He replaced adjustment screws on my valves, adjusted said valves, and checked my points and timing. The car is running great now, and in fact better than it ever has! It may need a new head or engine rebuild down the line, but we agreed it's good to drive for now as it's just a weekend cruiser for me. Come to find out, he adjusted my brakes and topped off my tire pressure too. An all around tune up, and all for a great price! I highly recommend the shop. They're obviously very knowledgeable and very accommodating. They do a lot of work in-house, such as engine rebuilds, vs other places who ship stuff out or buy rebuilt parts.

Brad M.

I am a loyal customer of Kotter's VW Service. Tim and Robert have taken excellent care of my 77' Surf Bus and I cannot recommend them enough. If you own a late model VW you need not look further for quality work.

Ryan S.

Holy moly. What can I say about Tim and the boys ! I literally followed a nice sounding 77 bus to ask the owner who did her work and she pulled into Kotter's. I ask the women in he parking lot if her bus ran good and did these guys do the work.. she said "I love this place and yes it runs great!" So that's how I found Tim. Now for the first time my 78 westy is cruising at 70mph and going to Carlsbad from temecula every weekend!! I love all the patina bugs the mechanics drive too by the way!! Thanks Tim !!! It's amazing with that extra 30° will do for timing

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4 months ago

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18 days ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

Very responsive. Got me in right away. Very knowledgeable regarding my 72 Super Beetle. Will return. Thanks

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

Great work! These guys went above and beyond for me. I will happily bring my TDI back for future repairs and maintenance.

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4 years ago

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13 years ago

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6 years ago

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12 years ago

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7 years ago

Awesome shop if you ask me. Tim is awesome ,,, and his crew is great. I recommend for all your vw work...

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10 years ago

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Page 1 of 3

Ask the Community - Kotter's VW Service

Review Highlights - Kotter's VW Service

. Tim clearly has a passion for VWs and it shows in his work and his cool office with lots of VW memorabilia

Mentioned in 44 reviews

Read more highlights

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Call me a fan! After…read moreover 30 years, my trusted, go-to mechanic closed his shop. I was at a loss for where to find another honest, reliable, knowledgeable auto mechanic shop. After a lot of Yelp research, I found Escondido Auto Tech. I brought my vehicles for a smog and got great service each time. Found them easy to work with too. Next, I brought in my car for maintenance and a list of repairs and items to check on. Let me not bore with the mundane details, just know: -they took good care of the car, addressing every item on my list. -Frank, the service manager, took the time to discuss the list of repairs with me and explained what they would do-to make sure we were on the same page with everything. He listens! In fact, when he received the list (which I'd emailed ahead of time) he immediately spotted a safety issue and reached out to me to get it addressed promptly. -they finished the work AHEAD of the promised completion time -took the trouble to score parts at a lower price than quoted (and passed on the savings!) -provided a detailed completed work order with information I about my vehicle that I found valuable. Like I said, call me a fan!

Dropped it off to have them check eveything for our trailer hauling road trip coming up, 100k mile…read moretune-up & breaks checked. This was our 1st time here and they are now our only go-to. They didn't oversell me (like our last mechanic place did constantly telling me I needed something fixed and it wasn't needed), very professional and did our whole list of service in a day.

Joe & Sons Transmissions - Tony takes care of this amazing Corvette too!

Joe & Sons Transmissions

(23 reviews)

Team here is awesome. Cynthia communicates very well and is very nice. Called around to find me…read morethe best deal possible for the quality parts I needed. Tony introduced himself and was very thorough with his inspection. 21 year old Vette with less than 18k miles on original motor. Made his recommendations and didn't try to upsell anything. Respectful staff, fast, efficient, and takes care of you. Like any place, be kind and you'll get that in return. Very experienced shop with loyal customers. They gained another. Should be all you need to know. Just listen to the recommendations they give. Not an ounce of rudeness from anyone at the staff here. If you experience that then I would question your own character. See you guys again! Update: Went back for rotors and brakes. Was welcomed kindly and took me in right away (appointment of course). Full replacement of rotors and brakes took less than 2 hours with top quality service. Great place with a family atmosphere. Will return again and highly recommend them to all in the future.

Do NOT bother going there. They do NOT care about prospective customers. Called and talked to…read moreCynthia, asked for price of a rebuild or possibly a remanufactured transmission for my car, she asked for my VIN number saying she'd call me back. 2 days later, no call. So I caller her back, she said she was still working on it and would call me back. 2 full days to get pricing? Ridiculous! It's been days now since I called and she never called me back. This is NO way to treat a potential customer. It tells me everything I need to know about what kind of people they are. So glad I didn't take my car there! ** My response to Owner's reply: I did not need a diagnostic fee, since I had already had that done. NOT true that I was "frustrated" about that. I simply told them that. I was then told I needed to pay $600 for them to tear my transmission down and then give me an estimate. Which is absurd. IF you rebuild transmissions for a living, you should be able to give the customer a "ballpark" estimate, meaning from "as low as to as high as" numbers. Other shops do that. I did NOT "demand" anything, I simply told them that. That's when I asked for a total replacement cost, and Cynthia said she'd give me the price for that. And never did. So they make decisions on which customers to work with based on a couple of phone calls? Wow... you don't know me enough to judge and make that premature, uncalled for decision. Again, glad I didn't go there! You've been warned!

Metro Transmission & Automotive - L-R    Ricky, Miguel, Rick, Michelle, Darrell, Robert

Metro Transmission & Automotive

(146 reviews)

I really just wanted to say Thank You again for the fast and excellent service! Our livelihood…read moredepends on our vehicle and I appreciate your understanding with how important our vehicle is to us.

Had a transmission rebuilt here about 3 years ago, i owned the van for 8 years at this point,and…read moretrans lasted 160k after the rebuild it never seemed to shift right into second gear, if throttling at a normal speed going up a hill it would shift into second at about 10 mph and the rpms would rise and fall with throttle position, and wouldnt really gain speed, would always have to manually shift it back to first until a higher speed, 20-30. Took videos of rpms and speeds sent to them. They scanned it and no codes. Test drove and they said it was fine. Well. It lasted about 50k And second gear started to shudder pretty bad. It also would shudder in reverse on steep inclines. Not sure if related. I get it. No codes = nothing wrong but then again when it went out last time there was no codes either, and it was barely drivable. I have owned this since new and am pretty aware of how my vehicles operate. Do majority of my own vehicle repairs since dealers and other mechanice seem to use parts cannons and not truly diagnosing. Got a new factory trans installed and now it feels like it used to, same hill starts easy throttle holds first until about 25-30, second is solid. Little to no rpm swings with throttle position except it goes better up hills now. 3 stars only because the trans lasted only 50k, under heavy use, original 160k. But this time i made sure they knew i wanted it to last another 150k and opted for new factory not rebuild. Cost way more this time but i feel it is right now. I do highly recommend them but i am upset it didnt last longer, either due to them or the rebuild shop.

Kotter's VW Service - autorepair - Updated May 2026

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