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Ministry of Transport
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
12 reviews for Ministry of Transport
Another positive experience with Dan. A friend of mine recently mentioned having work done elsewhere with a cheaper hourly rate, and sadly money is tight, so I did call around for estimates before taking my car in.
Even on the phone there's a difference. The woman spoke clearly and was easy to understand, not rushed like the other guys. She gave me a quote and told me they were busy, but to call if I wanted to come in tomorrow.
The next morning I've decided the Ministry is definitely the place I want to bring my business, so I called and spoke to Dan. He said I could bring the car in in the afternoon and they could have it for me by the end of the day. At the time I spoke to him, he didn't have the part, and gave me the option of either picking one up myself and bringing it down, or having him order it. The part was actually cheaper through Dan than through Autozone, so I had him go ahead and order it.
I brought my car in and Dan greeted me immediately, knowing who I was from the car description and phone conversation even though I hadn't given him my name. They started work immediately, and he said it would be ready in 20-30 minutes, clearly shorter than (and therefore cheaper than) the hour quote I was given the day before!
Dan's very personable and respectful, listens, and answers questions without beating about the bush, as well as offering additional helpful information. I definitely feel I can trust him with my car. He stands out above the rest.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/22/2008
Four stars, only because I haven't actually had any work done by him so I can't judge that. I'll… Read more »
Dan is indeed "The Man". And Ministry of Transport is THE Place to go for honest, fair and competent auto repair in the South Bay area. It is a relief to have found MOT. Dan has earned our trust and confidence after two visits to his shop for service.
You won't go wrong taking your car to Ministry of Transport. They are incredibly nice folks, fair and honest. Dan has the experience to look beyond the symptoms of car problems to analyze the underlying, root cause. He is sensitive to the customer's budget in his recommendations for repairs. Where some shops and most dealerships would have replaced more parts, Dan fixed what broke and suggested we wait and see about other issues. That approach earned my trust.
Dan is the most honest mechanic I've dealt with besides my own Dad....Okay, even more so than my Dad, as I remember the time he said I couldn't put a 350 in my 76 camaro to replace the 305 because it wouldn't fit (guess he knew how fast I drive, and wasn't about to give me more power!)
Anyway, back to Dan and MOT. The highest level of integrity I have experienced. Won't do unnecessary work, makes good recommendations on what can wait if experiencing budget issues. MOT will not be the cheapest place you can get work done but it will be hands down, THE BEST! Friendly, informative and quick to get back with information and suggestions.
Due to my race car driving abilities up and down bear creek road, I needed a new clutch. Work was done quickly, had my car back within a couple of days, and my car runs lovely now. And Now that Dan must know my Dad isn't nearby, he filled up my oil without me even asking...That is Service!
(go M.E.A.N)
Where to start...
I found Ministry of Transport by using Yelp! so thanks to all you fellow Yelpers. I needed a second opinion on some work that the dealer was proposing for our '03 Jetta. Thankfully, finding MOT allowed us to forego the unneeded, and expensive, repairs.
Dan owns and drives a '02 Jetta so knows all about them. He said there was NOTHING wrong with the car and it didn't need a thing. I was charged only for the diagnostics about 0.5 of an hour. That beats the heck out of the $4000+ the dealer was proposing for a rebuilt transmission swap.
I had been putting off having the timing belt replaced as the dealer wanted somewhere north of $1400 to do the work, even with my "good customer" discount. Dan gave me a quote that was much more reasonable. Wow! What a savings!
At about the same time the car developed an intermittent problem with the ignition. It would misfire under hard acceleration, but not all the time. Dan tried a couple of things and took the least expensive approach. Each time he gave the car a clean bill of health but within a few days I'd see the problem again. Back in February when I called he said to bring it back when I could afford to leave it for a couple of days. Over the course of about a week it got progressively worse, meaning more frequent. I figured it would be easier to diagnose if it happened more regularly. I made an appointment for the following Monday. On Sunday, the problem disappeared. So I never brought the car in.
In the mean time our '98 Suburban's brakes started making an all too familiar chirping noise. We took it in to Dan and MOT. Just as suspected, it needed new brake pads. Ours was the last or next to last year that they put passenger car brakes on this heavy truck. Dan changed out the brake pads and we had our vehicle back at about half the price of what the dealer charged us in the past. Should have switched years ago.
About a week ago, the Jetta started acting up again. It became a bit more consistent so set up an appointment. Since he'd checked so many other things, it was time to bite the bullet and spend $300 for an ignition part. (coil pack) He made the replacement and found something rather interesting in doing so. His part was identical to the one on the vehicle, yet the bolts were too long to secure the part properly. He had to thread some washers and nuts under the head of the bolt so that it would hold the part securely against the engine. This explained the intermittent nature of the problem. As the engine changed speed and vibration, or as the vehicle hit bumps, it affected or didn't affect the part, causing the symptoms to come and go.
How in the world did the part get mounted with bolts that were too long? Well, we had a "major" service performed at the dealer just before we started having the problem back in November. I don't know if the technician used the wrong parts, forgot a spacer, the part was different from the original or what, but they were the last ones to touch the vehicle's engine before we started having the problem. Thank you to Dan and his team for taking the time, and having the perseverance, to figure this problem out.
Dan is the man to go to for VW repair.
I bought a used '93 VW Eurovan, Ruby, and she quit on me on my birthday. So I got towed to Big O Tires and they couldn't work on the car so they called Dan, who they have a relationship with. He came over to Big O, told them what was wrong and that he could fix it if I towed it to his shop (2 miles away)! Now that is service. I had it towed there and he fixed the problem and pointed out a few other could-be issues and said he hoped to not see me soon:)
I took it there again to get the oil changed and things checked out, and he gave me a ride to work and then took care of Ruby. Not being used to driving an older car, I didn't put oil in her nearly enough! doh! But Dan explained the mechanics of the engine and the reason why it made the sounds it made with low oil and that won't happen again!
I'd trust him with just about any vehicle. He is knowledgeable, consults with others to figure out an issue if he isn't sure, has a great staff of mechanics and has an 'art gallery' on the wall of his shop! What more could a girl want?
He didn't oversell, and is very methodical. I would definitely recommend him to any VW owners
One of the most highly skilled auto shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had the timing belt break on my VW Passat. I took the car apart and was planning to put it back. I had the cylinder head done and bought most of the parts. Then I got too busy and the car sat around. Another shop did not want to touch the car. When I called Dan, he did not hesitate. When I met Dan, my first impression was there was a very kind soul I was dealing with. Dan was working on what I believe was a 1930s Rolls Royce and there was a mid 1960s Jag on the hoist. Geez I was in heaven. I was impressed!
You know you are working with highly competent people when you do not hear excuses on why something isn't getting done. Not once did I hear a complaint or excuse. I got the car back last week and it runs like a charm. I am very happy. I'm planning on taking my 190SL to him next.
Dan, the owner, saved me from having to buy myself a new car. After all the top rated auto mechanics (Yarnell's and Auto Tec) couldn't diagnose or fix the problem, and after Frontier Infiniti continued to deny there was a stall problem with their own car (Infiniti), Dan pulled through and showed why he's a master mechanic.
I used to think that mechanics that specialized in foreign cars or specialized in makes of cars were the people to take my car in for repair. Well I am wrong. Those may be the right people to go to for a common problem or a tune up but what if you have a problem that is obscure, such as your car stalls when idle issue?
What I like about Ministry of Transport is the owner is also the mechanic that works on your car. You talk to Dan, then he tests your car, and fixes you car. None of this talk to some service consultant or some expert and have them relay the message to their mechanics. It is all interpretation of what the mechanic who fixes your car hears.
Dan broke down the problem of my car in plain English. He called me to explain what he found, and then got my approval to go ahead with the fix after giving me the actual price I would pay for the fix. Do not let the location or business scare you, Dan is the master mechanic you want to take your car to when no one else can fix it. Actually if I had known before, I would not even have wasted my time or money getting my car fixed elsewhere.
Infiniti said only they had the special machines that could troubleshoot my car. Well obviously there "special" machines could not do the job. Dan hooked up my car to the reader and it spit out three codes, which no one else seemed to have found or told me about. He explained those three codes. The first two fixed were for new coolant sensor and new thermostat. He said it might also be related to the knock sensor but did not want to charge me more money in case it was not, so he left it at that. The car lasted me exactly 89 days, 1 day prior to the warranty expiring. I took the car back in and Dan honored the warranty. He scanned the car again, saw that it was the knock sensor causing the problem, and replaced it for me the same day.
When everyone else could not reproduce or thought it was the Idle Air Control valve, Dan could not reproduce the stall either but he did a heck of a job to diagnose the issues and produced results. Action talks, bull$hit walks.
Ministry of Transport is awesome. Dan is the man!
I took my Jetta to him after the check engine light came on and another mechanic found oil leaking into other parts of my engine.
Dan did a ton of research about my oil problem and printed out online bulletin board postings about a defect in VW engines where the engine leaks oil due to bad rings in the cylinders. He also printed out VW specific documentation of how they troubleshoot it and what they look for before offering to repair the engine. I was totally surprised he would take the time to research my problem and then hand me all the information.
I highly recommend Dan for any repairs to your car. He's a real mechanic, not some guy who has a car repair manual and a computer to tell him what's broken.
I made an appointment to bring my beetle here. This was the first time I would bring my car to a non-dealer. After reading all the 5 star reviews I figured I would give "Dan" a try. I had an 8am appointment. I arrived and the gate was closed. I called and left a message that I was waiting. I waited for 20 min and no one showed up so I left. I didn't get a call back from them till noon that day. They apologized and didn't really give an explanation on why no one was around. I find that very unprofessional for a business. They asked if I wanted to reschedule and I said I would think about it. As far as customer service goes they get 1 star, but I gave an extra star since I can't review on how they actually service cars since I didn't use them.
Dan totally rules. Seriously. I used to work in SF and took my car (2002 Passat Wagon) to Advanced. Now I've found my South Bay alternative. Dan is friendly, knowledgeable, and he has a nice dog. My car is fixed for very little money, but I also hung out and really enjoyed that. Send this man some business--and avoid the headaches of going to Suckyvale VW or Boardwalk.
Worth a try. Dan will take the the time to explain the details. Small operation (2 mechanics including Dan, wife working the office?) working on alot of projects. Had him install SS clutch line at my request on my MR2 Spyder that Yarnell's would not touch. Working good so far. Will give him first shot at other maintenance/projects. Keep you posted.
Ditto the above remarks about Dan's ability to explain matters. I took my care to Mr.Brakes on Main Street in Milpitas and was told that I needed $1000 in work; turn rotors, replace brake cylinder, etc. Something didn't sound right and Dan squared me away without having to do any of the work that I was quoted by Mr.Brakes.
