I've lived in Austin a while, owned several VWs (including my current
Project Vanagon - Vincent), and have been in the car and motorcycle
business. I've worked in both dealerships and independent shops. Below, in
order of preference, is who you should take the Vanagon to for a check out:

1)  Kenny Hill's Autowerks - Absolute #1 choice. Kenny is a great guy and he
knows what he is doing. He always works hard to keep his customers happy. If
you go there, tell him that I recommended his shop to you (I don't get
anything out of this, except perhaps some goodwill somewhere down the line).

2) Austin VeeDub - They know their stuff, and they have seen a lot of
Vanagons go through there. They also have a HUGE salvage yard out back. If
you ever need used parts it is a great place to go hunting (hey, sometimes I
just go down there to walk around when I am bored - you never know what you
will find).

3)  German Auto Center - Good reputation, but I don't know if they know
anything about Vanagons.

Send me a p-mail and I will fill you in on the rest. Once again, I think
that Kenny Hill is your best bet, with Austin VeeDub a strong second.

Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce
motorbruce@hotmail.com

>From: Andy Stalick <andystalick@GMAIL.COM>
>Reply-To: Andy Stalick <andystalick@GMAIL.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Austin, Texas mechanics
>Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 11:15:15 -0500
>
>Hello all-
>
>I'm going to look at an 86 Multivan/Weekender tonight. Everything
>sounds great, and all the usual gotchas have been fixed by the current
>owner, but I'm thinking I might want to have a mechanic give it the
>once-over before I buy.
>
>The mechanics referral page on the Car Talk site lists:
>
>Underground VW
>Kenny Hill's Autowerks
>German Auto Center
>Austin VeeDub
>Crabtree VW Repair