German Car Depot

Always great service and repairs. Reasonable priced and knowledgeable mechanics.

Highly recommend

I was looking to get an oil change for my car and I looked on Yelp and I found this place it had amazing reviews. I want to thank the owner Alan for being so helpful and honest I'm very happy with the service that they have provided they did excellent work in a timely manner.

I came to the German Car Depot (GCD) for repairs related to the gasoline smell in my car. GCD replaced the fuel rail, coils, and plugs for a cost of over 2k. Upon leaving, there was a constant tapping noise not previously there. I called and returned to see if it was safe to use the car.

The manager and mechanic listened to the car and, within a few minutes, concluded it was the timing chain. They suggested I trade my car in since buying an engine was expensive. They said if the car stops running, I can "expect to only get $600-$800 for it." The vehicle had less than 60,000 miles.
For a second opinion, I dropped the car off at a nearby shop. The mechanic quickly concluded that the timing chain was not an issue and asked where the other repairs were done. The second shop then called GCD to see if they removed the injectors, which would explain the noise. GCD responded, "Absolutely not." An absolute misrepresentation! In fact, the noise stemmed from the seals not being put back on after the injectors were removed. Once the second shop replaced the two cylinders, the noise disappeared. The cost was over $1.2k.

The idea that German Car Depot would try to convince me that I needed to spend 10k for a new engine is terrible just to cover up their mistake is beyond scamming. My reasonable request was reimbursement for what I paid and the cost of a car rental. The owner said he would get back to me - but he never did! I'm done with this shop! Do not trust them!

Overpriced and long wait despite appointment. They call themselves German are depot but all I have seen are a bunch of beat up cars and the entire place is fairly run down.

Would not recommend.

Volkswagen -- Folks Car, or "The People's Car". Yeah, I'm not sure about that, just from the difficulty of self repair! What I'm sure about is German Car Depot!

I consider myself a car guy. I do the majority of my own work yet when my family grew from one VW (my wife) to TWO VW's (my daughter), I was a little bummed. Why? Because German engineering is, in my opinion, slightly over-engineered! When I did the brakes on both cars, I needed, even for a 2001, a computer to compress the rear caliper piston. That's when I knew, when my daughter's water pump on her 01 Jetta went out, I wasn't going to mess with it. It's a timing job -- my garage has a lot of tools, but I don't want to spend a weekend cursing when German Car Depot can charge me reasonably and have it done in a day. That's just what they did.

Monday the water pump goes out. Tuesday I called them and they actually have a tow service they partner with so the car was towed to their shop. The tow driver, Frankie, was excellent by the way. Wednesday, Eddie calls me up and states that my suspicions are correct--the water pump. Gives me a quote and says that they'll start ASAP on it. Friday I pick it up and meet Eddie. Nicest guy you'll meet, especially in the car repair industry. Gave my daughter some pointers on maintaining her 22 year old People's Car and even complimented how great it was for its age.

To some of the complaints I've seen, I've owned either Japanese or American cars. Know this: if you're getting a German car, it'll be pricey to repair. Parts are expensive. Which is why I personally won't own one, even though my lovely ladies do. Also, as mentioned, a simple water pump is a relatively intense job...on a 22 year old car! I can't imagine a newer one. I've had experiences at Audi AND VW dealers and I trust German Car Depot more than them. As well, their labor rate seems to be almost half of what the dealership charges.

I spent over $10K for a list of repairs that had nothing to do with my car not starting and instrument panel malfunctions, most likely due a reversed battery polarity. They had my car for over two months. They claimed it was due to a bad ground with my backup camera (which is an OEM VW Part).
When I got it back the rear window defroster didn't work and certain functions of the instrument panel were missing which I had before all this.
I took it to Autobahn Performance and had it diagnosed.

Here is their diagnostics:
Make: VOLKSWAGEN Model: Passat
Year: 2012 Displacement: 2.480000L
VIN: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Odometer: 119920 km
Registration No. N/A Vehicle Software Version: V10.23
Pre Scan 03/15/2024 09:01:26
System(19) Status(12)
09 Electronic Central Electric Fault | 3
15 Airbag Fault | 2
19 Data Bus OBD Interface Fault | 1
37 Navigation Fault | 2
4F Electronic Central Electrical System 2 Fault | 1
52 Passenger's Door Electronics Fault | 1
56 Radio Fault | 2
01 Engine Electronics No Fault
02 Transmission Electronics No Fault
03 Brake Electronics No Fault
08 Climate Control Module No Fault
16 Steering Column Electronics Systems No Fault
17 Instrument Cluster No Fault
25 Anti-Theft Immobilizer No Fault
2E Media Player 3 No Fault
42 Driver's Door Electronics No Fault
47 Sound System No Fault
61 Battery Regulation No Fault
77 Telephone No Fault
DTC
System Code Description Status
09 Electronic Central Electric 00984 Left Tail Light Lamp Open Or
Short To Plus
09 Electronic Central Electric 01299 Diagnostic Interface For Data Bus
No Or
Incorrect
Basic Setting
/ Adaptation
09 Electronic Central Electric 01800 Light Switch Implausible
Signal
15 Airbag B101614
Front Passenger Side Airbag Disabled Indicator
Lamp - Open Circuit/Short Circuit To Ground
(GND)
Passive/Spor
adic
15 Airbag U042300 Invalid Data Received From - Instrument Panel
Cluster Control Module Active/Static
19 Data Bus OBD Interface 01044 Control Module Incorrectly Coded
37 Navigation 02635 Tuner Not Enabled/Activated
37 Navigation 02873 Rearview Camera System Control Module
No
Signal/Comm
unication
4F Electronic Central Electrical
System 2 01044 Control Module Incorrectly Coded
52 Passenger's Door
Electronics B11EE54 Motor For Rear Window Regulator - No Basic
Setting
Passive/Spor
adic
56 Radio 02635 Tuner Not Enabled/Activated
56 Radio 02873 Rearview Camera System Control Module
No
Signal/Comm
unication

German Car Depot told me I would be getting a "new car" when completed.
Now granted, I did need required maintenance. But after spending $10K you'd expect for everything to be perfect.

The Electronics was not programmed properly, which they fixed. I had to pay an additional $495 for Autobahn Performance to have it programmed properly.

Not a happy customer of German Car Depot after having gone there for years.

These guys did a great job on my BMW . It was my First time there and had to trust that they would do only what was needed. They did. Received complete diagnostic then a follow up phone call . Totally professional business. Thanks guys! I'll recommend you to all that I know!

I dropped off my car cause it needed some work done on it. When I got the car back it was covered in sap and other stuff. I went home to see if I could clean it. I'm not clay baring my car for hours and hours. I called the place and they told me to bring it back in. When I got there, the first thing they told me I was a liar, I dropped of the car like that, and even one person said he won't wash that "piece of shit" again. Nice thing to say after I just paid almost 1600$.
Funny enough before they do work they take pictures of the car inside and out so this stuff don't happen.
You can clearly see that there was nothing on my car when it was dropped off that day. THEY TOOK THE PICTURES. So when I showed the pictures THEY TOOK of my car when dropped it off and when I picked it up ARE 100% different.
Even after showing proof of it they didn't wanna admit they were wrong, or say sorry for calling me a liar. They just kept saying "that doesn't happen over night" it was there for 24hours, it rained heavy that evening. Never going back again. Waste of time and energy dealing with stupid people. Go try another place to take ur car if u don't want dirty, nasty people working and driving your car.

At first, this place was great. I would drive 45 minutes to drop and pick up my car. With time, staff became rude and prices jumped up. They do good work but it's not worth the drive anymore.

We miss Mr. Mueller, but he left the shop in good hands. still super service from nice people