At 03:21 AM 1/26/97 -0600, you wrote:
>At 00:35 26/01/1997 -0600, you wrote:
>>Maggie,
>>
>>Fred's Garage in Redwood City is unbeatable.  I know, the name might make=
>=20
>>one wonder, but they positively rule over any mechanic I have ever had=20
>>for any car, period.  They are all German trained mechanics, work on=20
>>nothing but VW's and Audi's and only charge about $30. per hour.  They=20
>>treat you like a human being and are scruptiously honest.  Very few=20
>>services that I have paid for inspire the loyalty I feel for Fred's. 
>>Charles
>>'83.5 GL Westy=20
>
>
>I agree on this, when I lived in Menlo Park from 91 to 1993, it took me a
>long time to get these very good and nice mechanics. At that time, I've
>owned a '84 and a '85 Vanagon GL. I had misfiring on the '84, sometimes it
>would die completely, I got 2 tuneup at =A7=A3$@* mechanics for nothing and=
> at
>Fred's, they found the problem very quickly. The guy just changed the spark
>plugs caps, not even the wires, and the van ran like a dream! I had these
>misfires for weeks before that. The price was almost nothing. Even if you
>live far from them, it's definitely worth the trip as Charles says.
>Right now, I don't have these kind of problems since my Syncro is a TD
>engine. No more misfires, shorts, etc, but still cooling problems anyway.
>The head gasket needs to be replaced, oh  well....:(
>
>Philippe Oudot=20
>'89 GL Syncro TD Oettinger 16"
>French Syncro Club
>

One of my neighbors has his own garage, works *only* on American iron; he's
quite  competent working on our US vehicle, but won't touch the Vanagon (&
he's German!).  Anyhow he told me the best/only place in the bay area for
German cars is Fred's in Redwood City, bar none & period. (usual
disclaimers/etc.).

Austin