My wife and I found ourselves push-starting our Vanagon while on vacation. We were planning on heading through New York and didn't want to deal with the hassle of ensuring enough space and parking on a hill. We called dozens of shops that wouldn't work on such a special vehicle or were booked out 3 weeks.
My wife found Kevin's info and gave him a call. We were several hours away. He said to come on in and he'd get us up and running as quickly as possible.
We pulled in to his lot which is like a hospital for Vanagons and old VWs - a really cool lot that is worth a stop even if you don't need work.
It was late when we arrived, but Kevin waited for us and did an initial triage of our issues while the music was kicking out of his garage. He showed us the bathroom and gave us a plug to plug-in while we camped in his lot. He then drove us to the train station and gave us some recommendations for something to do in Center City.
The next day, he did a full diagnosis and even let me get as dirty as I wanted observing. He allows you to be as hands-off or hands-on as you like, and will explain every step if you ask him to. It was diagnosed as a starter solenoid and he ran it down the street to the reconditioning shop.
While we were there, he recommended another small upgrade (electronic ignition). Our home shop recommended this as well, and also mentioned a brand. Kevin uses the same brand, which gave us the confidence to go ahead and do it.
After getting some quotes for additional work, we decided that we might as well have Kevin and his team do it as well. The cost and quality were unbeatable, and he's unfortunately 9 hours out of our normal area, so now was as good a time as any.
After performing the work, he went on a test drive with us and asked us if things felt better, worse, or the same. I really liked this part - his desire is to make you happy and he wants to make sure he's made a notable impact.
He made some recommendations for future work I can try myself and how to get the most bang for my buck with upgrades. He also offered himself as a resource in the future that we could reach out to.
Next time we're in town, we're going to get dinner with him just because he's such a great guy.
This is the mechanic you're looking for. He knows EVERYTHING about these vans (and vintage VWs in general). He's trustworthy, honest, fair, accurate, warm, and fun. Go see Kevin! read more