Repair shops for VW's in Houston - NOT DEALERS

Does anyone know any reputable repair shops in Houston that know Passat TDI and are reasonably priced? Taking the vehicle to VW dealerships are expensive to "check" systems and perform a few minor/major items. I prefer not to utilize dealerships that make a living on regular maintenance that others can perform for a fraction of the cost of a dealership.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

I use a place called Auto Care Today in Spring, 281*221*7791

He does good work, and doesn't try to sell a bunch of unecessary services and parts. Believe me, I've been burnt by two other supposedly great VW shops in Houston, and I won't even set foot at Archer again... Indy is the only way.

This guy is pretty low tech, and doesn't have a big flashy shop, but he does good work. Also works on our mercedes as well, and probably saved us thousands over any other place over the years.

Christian and crew at Vdub Autohaus aka Das Autohaus in Spring - TDI Club listed mechanic.

I drive from the NASA area to his shop, so that ought to be a good enough recommendation.

Thanks guys! Too bad they are both in Spring and a bit of a drive for us, but no one said it would be easy!!

I have always taken my gas VW's to Silvio's Autohaus in midtown. He works on TDIs. I can't say whether he is cheap, but he is good at diagnosing problems and not recommending unnecessary work.

When I lived in Houston, I spent the several hours driving to Austin to have Robby do a timing belt for me. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=412056&highlight=BEW

I watched him do it (never did a timing belt before, and wanted to learn), and he was great to learn from.

I have a STRONG dislike of Vdub Autohaus. I was looking at buying a MKIV 5speed wagon from a small dealer (some Romanian guy running a lot out of his house up in North Houston, he has TDI's listed all the time). He told me he was selling it for a guy with a shop, and it wasn't his. This should have been a red flag to me. Anyways I negotiated a price, and told them I would get financing for it. I then go through the process (credit report pulled, which is a negative impact on your credit scores) only to find out the "owner" of the car was the owner of Vdub, and the title wasnt in his name. As such, USAA wouldn't loan the amount. Basically he bought the car cheap because of a broken timing belt, and was then selling it without the title in his name. I thought it was shady, although I should have backed out when the dealer was selling for his buddy.

kydsid said:

Christian and crew at Vdub Autohaus aka Das Autohaus in Spring - TDI Club listed mechanic.

I drive from the NASA area to his shop, so that ought to be a good enough recommendation.

Click to expand...

Christian sure knows his stuff and did a great job on my 40k miles service. After explaining a problem he advised my rear shocks required replacement and with new tires on order I have them changed out and yes they were bad. Two shocks and pillow mounts are not cheap! More than the 40k miles service! Parts are not cheap on this car!

I ended up taking my 2013 Jetta to Vdub Autohaus to put on the panzer skid plate and a few more things.
Got to talk to Christian and saw that he is an extremely passionate individual. He knows his car extremely well and really loves what he does.
The pricing is fair, I will definitely go back.
Super happy customer here

Federico

I called Das Autohaus in Spring yesterday to ask if they could replace my RCV because I'm having the infamous intermittent AC issue, and they said since I couldn't make it during business hours I could night drop my car. Also asked about getting an estimate for a DPF/EGR install because I'm looking at that in the next couple months. They said no problem, so I thought everything was cool.

This morning I get a call about 9:15 saying they got my car and will check it out. About 1pm I get a text saying my car is in the shop getting inspected and I'd get an email with a quote. Sweet!

At 4:30 I called to follow up because it's over an hour drive and I'm borrowing my wife's car, and it's almost rush hour. They say the inspection isn't done yet...
At this point I asked if they would stay open late so I could actually get to them and pay and get my car and stuff, and they said they won't but they'll leave my car unlocked on the street and take payment over the phone...

At 5:20 I get a call asking if I got the email quote, so I check it... $1,800 to replace the entire AC system! I ask about the RCV, and they say they replace those all the time and they don't last, but somehow replacing the whole system is better. I let them run the card I keep in my car and let it end, only paying for the inspection.

I did get a better inspection report than I expected in an email, but not as good as I would have liked. They did, however, only charge me $110 for something they could have told me in the first place over the phone. And I never got my rawtek install quote.

I know they have a good reputation here, and I assume I just got a statistical aberration, but right now it's hard to convince myself to come back here.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Or could take it to BAR Tuning on dixie drive. Mike can do the Malone tune for you or APR tune as well. Also the rawtek install or custom. They built a sweet downpipe for my 99 e300 TD...

For preventive maintenance plan ahead and take your TDI to Robby (runonbeer.com) in Austin if you like. A person with honesty, care and knowledge.

Besides, who in the Houston area does not like to go to the Hill Country from time to time for a change of scenery

Of course there are other TDI gurus in Dallas and San Antonio area for preventive maintenance.

tikal said:

For preventive maintenance plan ahead and take your TDI to Robby (runonbeer.com) in Austin if you like. A person with honesty, care and knowledge.

Besides, who in the Houston area does not like to go to the Hill Country from time to time for a change of scenery

Of course there are other TDI gurus in Dallas and San Antonio area for preventive maintenance.

Click to expand...

Second this. Robby is the guy to go to. Houston is filled with scumbag mechanics that cannot hack it with domestic cars, let alone a TDI.

I have used him for all my tdi's over the last decade with excellent results. Recently bought a Beetle for $1200 with a TB issue. He rebuilt the head etc and got everything back up and running. I will be taking it back in, in a week or so for a full suspension refit and 2" lift plus new DLC 520 injectors. Excellent work and reasonable prices, can't recommend him enough if you are close enough to get here.

Does anyone have any more info on Silvio's Autohaus in midtown?

I have been taking my 2011 Jetta to Christian @ Vdub Autohaus for the past few years, and he has left a bad taste in my mouth recently. I'm looking for other non-dealer options around Houston and would be great if I could find something in the city since it's much closer to me than Spring.

RunOnBeer

+1 for Robby @ RunOnBeer in Austin...he replaced my dual mass flywheel on the DSG back in 2013 or 2014

Car runs perfectly to this day

If you just want timing belt work I am available in the Houston metro area.