Kirk and Steve were patient and helpful in getting me the parts I needed, and were willing to try to fit me in on a rush job for a road trip clutch replacement even though they were booked solid (I ended up going with a closer mechanic). Then when I stopped by to pick up my parts, my van suddenly wouldn't start! Even though it was after closing time, they lent me a portable jumper, then when that didn't work, Kirk slid under the van and almost immediately traced it to a ground bolt that had been left loose by the other mechanic. He tightened it and off we went! I can't speak to the speed and thoroughness of their repair jobs, but I would definitely be willing to try them out based on the passion and knowledge they exhibited. read more

Kirk and his team did a fantastic job sorting out my Westy. They kept me up to date throughout the process. They also were very helpful in getting me good deals on used parts to help with costs. read more

North Westy - Dropping Buck at NorthWesty after hours. - Auto Repair Near Me - Renton, Washington

Best place to bring your Vanagon! Kirk is the absolute best with these vehicles. Anything one needs done, he has done it! Everything is top notch! I will never take my van anywhere else! read more

It is with sadness that I part ways with North Westy. I have been working with them for almost 2 years and have spent somewhere north of $25,000 in the repair and renovation of my Westfalia. Ultimately, that loyalty only translated into being blown off repeatedly. At the outset, the customer service was wonderful and personal; it's a small shop and Kirk does much of the work himself. Even when things went repeatedly wrong, (multiple delays getting the service done, repeat visits for repairs that in retrospect were preventable, lack of return phone calls), Dave and Kirk were sincere in their apologies. Things that went right: Solid subaru engine conversion Flawless body work Perfectly fitting custom pop up tent Brake upgrade Things that went miserably wrong: Delays in getting the engine conversion, not a week or two but approximately 4 months after it was started! Once received the starter had to be upgraded to the tune of $600 "extra" because the original didn't have the kick to turn over the new engine. "Yeah, that happens a lot." I brought the van back because the engine kept losing power at highway speeds. At first they were baffled by the problem. But the last time I brought it in Dave says that they'd similar problems with a fuel control sensor in "lots of other conversions" and all they had to do was put the sensor in instead of trying to fix it with a software patch. (I'm paraphrasing here.) Three months in a row, and what has ultimately lead to finding another shop, has been the horrible service trying to get a cruise control installed. First they were investigating the best unit, then they forgot to order it, then when I left my van there for a week, they simply did not take the time to install it. This last time, like many others, they billed me for an hour's work when they had the van for a week. When I called to ask if it was done, they responded, "sorry, can you leave it another day?" So ultimately, these guys are great if you have lots of money and infinite patience. I have unfortunately run out of both. read more

Friendly staff. They undoubtedly know about Vanagons, but they do not specialize in early or late bay window vw buses. Mine was scheduled for a new poptop and front beam with disc brakes. They quoted me 20 hours labor plus parts. They would have it done within the month. I did finally get it back 5 months later, and it still wasn't done. I had to put it on a car carrier to get it back home. They hadn't aligned it, the brake lights mysteriously didn't work, the shifter linkage had not been adjusted and could only use first and third gear, the alarm wires had been cut, and all the ball joint boots were all torn. I had to pay an auto electrician over $1,000 to fix what damage they had caused to get my brake lights and alarm working again. The precision alignment shop said it had not been aligned, and since it was bent, it was and is NOT align-able. VW shop had to re-plumb the brake booster and fix the shifter. I still need new ball joints, and now new tires since it doesn't track straight. The poptop was ok, but it seems that they had not done much prep work...or finish work. Sad part is that I had driven it up from California without incident and after five months in their shop it couldn't be driven back. None of the mechanics or electricians who worked on it were impressed with the work, quality, or price. I do have pictures, receipts, and mechanics' names. I'm guessing from other reviews they can do a good job. I'm not sure why I didn't get the same treatment. I wouldn't go back. I would have guessed a VW Westfalia read more

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A must stop for any Vanagon owner. We drove out to Seattle from Montana ostensibly to get out of town - but truth be told we wanted to see this place and meet Kirk for ourselves. Vanagon forums (i.e: The Samba) rave about the knowledge flowing through this shop and we weren't disappointed. We were able to pick up a few pieces for our '82 Westfalia that we, quite simply, couldn't find anywhere else. We even ended up picking up a few vanity pieces for the van just because the prices were unbeatable - even online. Let's be honest though - the real value here is the owner, Kirk. He didn't know us from Adam and I'm sure it became obviously very quickly that we was talking to two relative amateurs. That said, Kirk took the time to walk us through his shop, van specifics/options and his own rich personal history. This is obviously a labor of love for him. He is a man clearly capable to doing a great many things (and has). And yet here he is - building a shop and capable crew around him to help keep the VW passions of the rest of us stoked. Every other VW shop we visited in the area asked us if we'd stopped by North Westy yet - a good sign that he's respected amongst his peers as well. The shop has a reputation for being THE place to to have any sort of conversion done. Seattle, cherish these moments. People of Kirk's ilk tend to be dreamers and soon wander. By every indication Kirk isn't going anywhere until he feels he has imparted his passions and vast knowledge into every facet of his business. The experience for us was enough to warrant a review, however, it would behoove you to stop in and let the experience speak for itself. read more

I was passing through on my way back to California when my alternator belt broke. I towed them here the next day and they had me on the road by the afternoon! They were super kind and even offered me Vegan food since food options around me were limited! The whole staff were super awesome and even let my dog hang out while they ordered my parts and fixed my Vanagon! I wish I lived in WA just for them! They made a potential crisis for me into no big deal. Now im on my way trekking back to california! Thanks for the coolest mug, I will def be back if I'm back up this way :). read more

I want to be able to recommend them. The guys seem very nice. I brought my 84 Westy to them to install some mirrors and change the fuel/brake lines and clean up engine bay wiring (I installed the subie conversion myself, a 2.5 a few years ago. Until they worked on it it ran perfectly). Got the van back home (I live in Tacoma) and all seemed well. Then I noticed wires hanging down from the engine bay. Opened it up and saw that they disconnected my O2 sensors. No biggie. Then I noticed a vacuum hole wasn't hooked up and two other wires were disconnected. Called them up and they had no idea what I was referring to. Fixed all of that myself. Then a few weeks later my fuel pump started acting up. Got a pump and filter from GoWesty but still had fuel pump noise. I was planning on taking a vacation with the van in a week so I called up north Westy and they said they could get it in and fixed in time. Had it towed there. It took them a week longer then what they said to get it done. After they knew when my deadline (for my vacation) was. I had to repeatedly call to get updates on the progress because they weren't calling me back when they said they would. They kept trying to blame the fuel pump (because I didn't buy Bosch) even though I repeatedly told them the old pump was Bosch and it was doing the same thing. I asked them to pressure test the system, which they said they did, and I finally asked if they checked the fuel pressure regulator. Which they hadn't. Finally they said that was the problem and that it was fixed. Too late for my vacation but at least I got it fixed. Or so I thought. Had it towed back and after 5min of running it was doing the same thing (fuel pump squealing). I called the shop and asked to talk to the owner several times only to be told that he wasn't available or they wouldn't let me speak to him. All and all I spent over $2000 at this shop in a few months time and had to forfeit a vacation. I won't be returning to the shop. To date the owner has not called me back. Took the van to a different shop and found out the vacuum hoses had cracks in them. $3 fix. read more

Great repair shop for our 1982 Westfalia! Our brakes needed replacing and luckily we were traveling in the area, they took us same-day without appointment and got the work done same-day too. We did have a minor noise issue so we took the van back the following morning and they did the fix for free in an hour. Considering there's only a handful of employees who work here, the turnaround time is very impressive. This shop is one of the most well-known shops in the business and we were referred by multiple people who had work done previously by North Westy. We hope to do bigger projects with them in the future (they do Synchro conversions which we are interested in, in addition to basically anything else you need for a van)! read more

My husband and I got married a month ago, and for our honeymoon we flew up to Seattle and picked up our 1985 Vanagon we had bought to drive it home down the coast. We stopped at North Westy to pick up a bracket we needed. When we got there Eric was super nice and helpful finding us the perfect bracket to work for our old school awning. We also met the owner Kirk who took his time right on the spot to look at our refrigerator we couldn't get started, and our fuel lines that we were concerned about. They ended up squeezing us the next morning to replace our fuel lines so we could keep going on our honeymoon as soon as possible. We ended up buying a new awning (old one turned out to be a piece of crap), got some cup holders, and even a cute van water container. I cannot recommend them more, and wish their shop was in California! Eric even helped us pick out good stops along the way to visit on our trip home! Honest shop, honest people, and lots of pretty vans to see! THANK YOU! read more

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These guys are awesome!! I was in from Texas to purchase a Westy and ran into mechanical issues. I found North Westy on Google and had my Vanagon towed over there. Kirk and the boys jumped in to save the day. By the end of it all, I got myself a bare metal restored North Westy Syncro to drive back to Texas and a new SVX motor in the original Westy. They are the BEST! Thanks guys!! read more

Wow. I recently bought a 1983 Vanagon and over the weekend the throttle cable snapped. North Westy had the part on hand and went the extra mile to to squeeze me in. They had it fixed in a day for a great price. These guys are the real deal. Like I said. Wow. read more

I called North-Westy for an update on my order. Steve said it would be delivered today. I asked him why he did not respond to my emails or send me the tracking information as I requested. He apologized. I did receive the awning today. The brackets are unfinished and as is I would have to put metal against my paint, half of the bolts are missing and there are no nuts. I went out and bought new nuts and bolts. Additionally I fabricated some rubber to go protect the paint on my van. This is just icing on the cake to my bad experience. I hope your experience is not like mine. read more