Buggy House

If you have a pre 1974 bus or bug you’ll find tons
here. Not so much for my 1977 Westfalia, but still great place to come to.

If ya got a Bug this is the place! They Know there stuff!

To make it short… there is no better place to bring your 1965 VW-​Camper for a tune-​up!!! ‘Heinz’ has been in desperate need for another tune-​up, which I try to get done once a year. But that is very often difficult to do when you are travellin’ a lot! Thanks to the Buggy house I got a quick appointment set up. Work was done in a day. ‘Heinz’ is tuned into another year of reliability on the road. Thanks to the Buggy house for high Quality work!!!

Back for more work. This time they lowered my squareback and fixed a few small things for me. Sent me photos during the process and text me to keep me updated. This place rules and they know their shit.

I love the Buggy House. I bought a 1973 VW Super Beetle in February of 2013. When I’d purchased the Beetle, I’d noticed that the man left some receipts in the car and most of the receipts were from the Buggy House. After purchasing the Beetle, a friend of mine suggested that I change my points to an electronic ignition and suggested that I get the conversion kit from the Buggy House. The guys were great. I’d purchased the kit and had them put it in. They gave me a reasonable price and very fast service.
Later on, I had them change my muffler. I love it. I never worry about them trying to take advantage of my limited knowledge of my Beetle’s inter-​workings.
The only time I’m in Hayward is to purchase something from or have work done by them. Last week it just so happened that I was in Hayward on other business. Some kind of way my gas cable got caught on something and my car just kept idling. I stopped by the Buggy House and they took my car in right away to be fixed. They barely charged me anything. For this act of kindness, I’m eternally grateful to them.
I’ve been to others who work on Beetles, but The Buggy House is my very favorite business when it comes to working on my Beetle. I go to them for most of the work needed for my Beetle. They’re honest, reasonable, reliable, and fast.

Found this place after I bought my first bug. I have to admit that I did not have a lot of knowledge on the subject of bugs and thought since this place was around the corner from me, that I would give them a try. I had done a Unilocal search and saw they had good reviews. I ending up having a full tune up done and found out that the carbs on my bug where shot. In speaking with James, he suggest that they were not worth rebuilding so he sold me a new pair. I had a few other items replaced so after everything was said and done, the grand total I ended up paying was about $ 1700.00. James had indicated that there was a dead spot which caused a small amount of lag in between shifting, so I might want to rebuild at a later date.
After a month, my car started acting funny and brought it back to them and found out that the carbs they sold me were bad and leaking fuel which could of lead to my bug catching fire and destroying what I worked so hard for. James swapped them out with a EMPI pair. He didn’t even attempt to tell me what other brands were out there or give me options. He just slapped on another pair without asking me.
When it comes to parts, they had just about everything I needed. As for having work done there, you have to make an appointment which takes anywhere from two weeks to a whole month before they can take your car. I brought my car in last month to have them check a noise that was coming from the engine. James (The owner or co-​owner) didn’t even bother looking at my car. He just told me to start the engine and just by hearing it indicated that my engine wasn’t balanced and this would be the perfect time for me to do a rebuild. I asked him how much and he told me he would run some numbers but would get back to me in a day or so. That was about a month ago and he still hasn’t returned any of my calls. The last straw was when I left about 4 or 5 messages with Sean to have him call me. According to Sean, he left the notes on his desk, but I guess they didn’t mean enough for him to call me. It was apparent they didn’t want or care to have my business. You would think someone who has spent more than 2 grand in parts and service on your business with the intention of spending more money was worth calling back, but I guess not.
I thought customer service was suppose to be key when running a business. I guess not in the case of The Buggy House. My suggestion is if you just want to buy parts for your car and do your own work… They are the place for you. If you want them to do the work and can wait two weeks to a month for them to service your car, by all means… take it to them. If you need immediate service and someone that will return calls and and not give you attitude as well as put the customer first, you should avoid The Buggy House and take your car to another place. Trust me taking your car here you will only be met with attitude from the owner (James) and get the run around. Do yourself a favor and try Tassi Inc. or Bugformance Motorsports.

I’ve been going to Buggy House since I moved to CA a few years ago. I’ve only used them for parts and minor machine work, but they’re great. Sean (at the front desk) knows his stuff and if he doesn’t know something, James probably will.
It’s a great place, and worth supporting over the internet parts places. They’ll ship to you too, if you’re too lazy (like I sometimes am) to pick up the parts.

if you have a bug you should go there

I just wanted to share a recent interview I did with the Buggy House. Thanks Sean, James and Kevin for being a great vintage Volkswagen shop.

Another A+ visit to buggy house. Even though they build engines they offer advice for the diyer! Love the new crew, Sean is great, honest, and fair! Hard to find these days.

More love for the dudes at Buggy House. I got drop spindles for my VW for Mother’s day and for some reason my bug didn’t wanna cooperate.
The guys at BH offered a second set and the left side still wouldn’t work. So the dudes offered us to come out to our house to look at it. My husband talked to them on the phone and they are patient and know their sh*t about Vdubs. They lent us a tool to check the frame and even gave us the camber adjusters for free to see if that fixed the problem. Mind you nothing is for free but the thought of this kind of old school business was real cool. So I sent them the check for the parts and a big THANK YOU finally I can cruise around Livermore with style.
Go to the Buggy House for REALLY GREAT customer service and Volkswagen knowledge. Thanks Shawn and staff.

I love the Buggy House! Whenever my 72 Bug or my husband’s 74 Bug run into trouble this is where we go. Accept no substitutes! We have had others work on our cars, but often with poor results – even work that had to be redone because the mechanic didn’t know what he was doing with these babies. When I drive off from the Buggy House, I know my car will be trouble-​free.

Not sure why this place is getting 5 star ratings. I don’t think they rate even one star.
I drove all the way in from San Francisco — twice — to get parts and advice and was treated very rudely. Was it because I’m a VW novice? Was it because I chose not to buy a few overpriced parts? I told them to just check the computer before pulling them off the rack but… Was it because I wanted the correct part for my year not just some generic replacement?
Had a problem with a 12V replacement armature that would not spin in the stator (6V armature worked just fine) and was met with incredulity from the staff, «Um, I’ve never heard of this before but I guess I’ll take your word for it…». Not a welcoming, «come on back in and we’ll figure this out». Yeah, I want to drive 40 miles and pay bridge tolls just to bother you guys. Give me a break… BTW, the exact problem was documented by another guy on
.
The sales guys at the counter overall were pretty good. However, the mechanic /​owner was the worst. When I came in the second time for assistance with the armature issue the guy comes out of the back and makes a big issue about me interrupting his lunch. Can’t be disturbed during lunch? Am I — a customer — wasting your time? Just want to deal with gearheads? Close the shop until you’re done. Don’t forget, you are a business and the Internet is far more convenient than dealing with people like this.
My impression is that all they want is your money — don’t evaluate, just point, buy, and leave. Well, that’s the last of my money they’ll ever see. Do yourself a favor and just order parts from Wolfsburg West that way, if there is a problem, you can get expert advice and deal directly with the supplier.

The current incarnation of the Buggy House is the best yet. James and Sean will take care of you and your car. They won’t hold your hand, but they know their business and will tell you what you need to know. Pricing is honest and very fair. I never have a worry that they’re selling me something I don’t need, or charging me for something that they didn’t need to do.
James built my motor a few years ago and keeps it running like a top. He may seem a little gruff at first, but once you get to know him you can tell that he takes pride in his work. Sean mans the counter up front and is very friendly, helpful and accomodating. I’ll be coming here as long as I own a VW.
They’re busy these days (as they should be), so make an appointment now!

Today I took my air cooled bug to the ‘Buggy House” — what a great place!!!
James did an awesome job with «finding the issues» with the bug. Honest feedback — took the time to explain the problems and the importance of fixing necessary items. Bug runs sweet now — and the repairs were done at a great price. I will only take my bug here for repairs. Honest and Patient — with a novice like myself. Sean did a great job looking for a hard to find part that I needed too. Hard to find repair shops that care about the customer like the «Buggy Shop»!!!

Just another customer who can’t get enough of this place. I am rebuilding a VW for the first time in my life and Sean, James the two Kevins are all incredibly helpful. With all the great advice I have been getting here I know I will be on the right path to a new hobby.

I am a car guy and i just got a bug and these guys are so helpful and the quality of there work and parts are second to none

With very few OLD VW specialty shops in my area, the Buggy House is the place to go. These guys know their stuff. I needed a new alternator along with a laundry list of misc. stuff I needed done to my classic bug. I was leaving out of town but they kept it safe for me until I could come and pick it up. If you live near here and have an old VW, ya gotta stop by and take a look.

The best place in the bay to go for aircooled VW parts. They have been running this shop since the good old hippie days!

The holy grail of specialty auto-​supply stores. Mostly devoted to Volkswagens (the place is decorated with framed old Bug ads), but they’ll listen to you kindly no matter what you’re talking about. Run by a huge bearded dude who knows his stuff and is spiritually devoted to bugs (when thinking about your problem, he even mutters to himself in the cadences of a VW engine). We drove up in the dune buggy, and half of the staff ended up in the parking lot poking and exclaiming and asking questions. A little out of the way, but they’ll have that Karmann Ghia side mirror you wanted, or a vintage VW gas cap in perfect condition. Or, for that matter, the fuel lines, cylinders or roof racks. Even for my volvo – as I was heading out the door, the guy remembered our other car and sold me a new set of wiper blades.