Good Carma

Simply extraordinary. Most notably, because of their knowledge and experience with the sophisticated systems that comprise today’s cars, they have the very unique capacity to not only provide me with informed, thoughtful, and practical insights relative to what needs to be done to maintain my car, but do so in a way that leaves me with a more thorough understanding overall. In short, I always leave their shop feeling satisfied with the service I received, but — more importantly — I also feel empowered. This is truly added value and what makes the folks at Good Carma clearly stand above the rest.

Honest, good quality work! I stumbled on this garage on my drives to play golf at Columbia. They are the best and now I can hit the coffee shop next door while they service my car. I also recommended this place to my boss who drives an Audi and always complains about other service providers. I’m completely confident they will exceed his expectations and save him some money (maybe that will help during my next quarterly review :)

We have been taking our 2001 Volkswagen Golf at Good Carma since 2007. They have been doing a good job and have gained our trust. However, in Sept 2015, didn’t do a service that meets their reputation and it ended up costing us a total of $ 2,500! We were left feeling disrespected and that our trust was violated.
We hadn’t driven the car for one year and we brought it to them for inspection. We told them a few things that we knew were not working, but also specifically asked if we should invest in the car or buy a new one. We trusted their expertise.
Their estimate was approx. $ 5000 to fix «everything» that was wrong, out of which $ 2,100 will be to make the car safe. After deliberation, we asked them to fix $ 2K worth of issues. We then spent another $ 500 on other things that the car needed, like a new tire and new hatch glass.
A week later, check engine light goes on. Not a big deal. In Nov first week, we brought the car back in to check the check engine light and fix a couple other things they had diagnosed earlier. This time, they identified another $ 5,000 worth of stuff to be fixed. Basic things like Timing Belt, Spark Plugs and load bearing on left wheel. I don’t know much about cars, but I don’t think that timing belt doesn’t crack within 4 weeks. When asked why they didn’t catch this earlier, they said they have fired the technician who worked on the car in Sept, as he was incompetent and apologized, but that’s it.
So in 6 weeks, we ended up spending $ 2,500 on that car and ended up buying a new car anyway. Had they provided a thorough diagnosis which they should have, we could have used that money to make better automotive investment.
Jordan has been nice enough to talk to us. He acknowledged their oversight. We asked him if they could pay us back the labor, since the technician was fired and our trust felt violated. While he has been very empathetic, calm and patient throughout this, he said his hands are tied and I need to talk to the owner, Bill Jaap for compensation. His best offer is $ 500 to buy that car off us. Unfortunately, Bill won’t answer my calls or even call me back. We’ve tried to get hold of him atleast 25 times over 3 weeks.
This incident has been frustrating and stressful and we are left feeling disrespected as a customer. With a name like «Good Carma» and a reputation that precedes them, it’s unfortunate that they didn’t take accountability for providing incompetent and negligent advice/​service to the customer and then failed to put a closure on the situation by having a conversation with the customer.
Unfortunately, I don’t recommend Good Carma anymore. Maintaining the reputation that they have, is a lot harder job than they anticipated.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times? Well, I guess you’ve got to hand it to them. Us VW drivers (or former VW drivers like yours truly) love our cars, but also know that they have a tendency to start nickel and diming us slowly and steadily. Good Carma is one of many institutions in the Twin Cities metro that have tapped into this steady stream of cash. Sadly, this is the sort of shop that treats their customers like they were born yesterday.
I had a much-​beloved Golf that required the standard degree of maintenance, and out of a certain mix of necessity and convenience (I worked up in NE at the time), I found myself calling Good Carma on a few different occasions. The first time or two I visited, things went as I’d expect; especially for a shop charging slightly more than the others.
But there are a few (my last 2, in fact) experiences there that really go beyond the pale. The first time around, I went in for a relatively simple job. I can’t exactly recall what it was, to tell you the truth. What I do recall is that they ended up upselling me on a repair that I wasn’t looking for, claiming that my car was «leaking oil» as a result. I’ve never been one to shirk on doing things correctly or completely the first time around so I agreed on the upsell and patiently waited the 5 days it took for them to fix my car.
When I went in to pick the car up, everything seemed to be in position. I wrote out a sizable check and optimistically hopped into my (so I thought) nicely-​repaired car. On the ride home, I thought I smelled burning oil. Since the oil leak that my car supposedly suffered from had been so expertly repaired, I knew it couldn’t be me. So I went about my nightly tasks, only stopping when the unthinkable happened. I turned a corner and my oil light came on, ostensibly because the oil level dropped below the threshold as what was left sloshed in the pan. I got home, fetched a flashlight and took a glance underneath the car to see what I dreaded. It looked like an oil bomb had exploded underneath my car. I had no idea what was going on, but slept on it and got on the horn to my pals at Good Carma the next day.
Rather than apologizing profusely, I was told that the issue very likely had nothing to do with the work they had done. And if I could get the car over there that day, they «might» be able to look at it later. This required agonizingly limping it over with a few quarts of oil on hand to keep the engine lubricated as it spattered oil all over its engine compartment.
The good news is that the car made it. And somebody in there confirmed that the issue was indeed caused by a defective part. And to their credit, they set things right for me, though the car smelled of burned oil until the day I sold it. And I always had to wonder whether or not I really needed the work that they upsold me on. I checked my oil regularly and never noticed it being down more than the expected amount.
Another interesting anecdote is that I heard the company’s spiel about a repair they’d done on a different customer’s car on an occasion that I waited for my car to be brought out. It’s clear that customers are not held in the highest of esteem over at GC.
And the final bit of hilarity that drove the nail into the Good Carma coffin was when my original exhaust rusted through. Figuring they owed me at least one solid favor after the oil debacle, I went in. I received the same indifferent treatment as ever, and was told that I needed a $ 1200 cat-​back replacement, if I was «lucky.» The way they saw it, I’d need to replace the cat, too, for another $ 800 or so.
I know a steaming load of bull when I smell it. I took the job to a shop with more scruples and they welded in a new piece of metal for me for pennies. It held beautifully until the day I sold the car.
My advice to you? Take your work to South Central Imports or VW Man and save yourself the drama.

Great service, couldn’t be happier. Very communicative through the process, didn’t feel like they were looking for «add on» sales. Later, West Side…

Not just competent service but valuable help in prioritizing your cars need. Very helpful for those on a budget.
Good Carma is (on more than average) quick and kind. Heck I send my Mother to Bill & Co what better endorsement can I offer! M.J.McGirl

These guys are friendly, knowledgable, and go the extra mile to satisfy the customer! I’m soooooooooo impressed with the quality if their work!!!

Would love to try this place based on Unilocal reviews. However, I called to talk to them and the answer was «Well, we are not open on weekends and we’re 1.5 weeks out right now» — not exactly welcoming. Hours are 8:30 — 5:30 M-​F which pretty much rules out me being able to get my car over there during hours when I’m not expected to be at work. Disappointing.

Love these guys! I discovered my headlight was broken while driving from Billings MT. A nice shop in Bismarck could not help and referred me to the VW dealer in Fargo. I called ahead and they acted as if I was bothering them by calling. They grudgingly gave me the name of another shop in Fargo who treated me the same way.
I have friends in MSP so I decided to drive in the daylight and get to MSP. Dave at Good Carma was great. I called him from Bismarck. He searched for a local part to no avail and ordered in a new headlight for me to be shipped overnight. I was on the road by 1030 the next morning. No muss no fuss and two free cups of coffee.
Love these guys.

I brought the wheels in January 2011 for a 60k checkup. Midday I receive a call telling me I need to replace my timing belt for an extra $ 800. Ok, you’re the experts. End of day I get a call back saying they overtightened the belt and need to keep the car over the weekend and it will be re-​done Monday. GC acted like they were doing me a favor mentioned it would be no extra cost– gee thanks! A few months later out in the burbs the car locks up, can only go in reverse, and I have to tow it to a shop I trust in Nordeast. In the morning my new mechanic explains there was a bolt lodged in the gears, it didn’t just randomly fall in there, someone dropped it in there by mistake last time it was being serviced. I was very lucky my new mechanic didn’t want to charge me at all, I had roadside assistance or the tow would’ve been $ 300+ and my engine wasn’t damaged. I understand mistakes happen but two strikes and you’re out.

Every time I come back from getting my Passat Wagon serviced at Good Carma I think, «I should write a review!» Today I am. The guys at GC are consistently great. The They’re friendly and they’re straight-​shooters. The mechanics do quality work and frequently tell me things I didn’t know about my car. If you call with a question they can diagnose over the phone, they’ll quote you a price. If it’s bad news, they’ll tell you. If there’s a way to save you money or time, they will tell you that too. I went in to get a brake job last fall and they told me I didn’t need one for another 5K miles. They wouldn’t do the work because it didn’t need to be done.
I used to worry about the dealership or a repair shop ripping me off. I never think about it with Good Carma. I guess that’s why they say «what comes around goes around.» If you’re wondering, give ‘em a try.

The guys at Good Carma are as good as they come. We take our VW here, and it’s definitely a finnicky car. Warning lights would occasionally flash + beep loudly at us, and as soon as we took it to Good Carma the problems stopped. They fairly and accurately diagnose the problem, and tell you exactly what needs to be done, no more and no less. They are knowledgeable, efficient, and super nice, and clearly enjoy what they do without the pretense that I’m so used to at car shops. We support NE businesses as much as humanly possible, and we ALWAYS feel good about patronizing to Good Carma.
GC is the best local car-​repair place I’ve been to, and miles above the chains that permeate the repair market. You’ll actually feel GOOD about getting your car fixed! Their prices are better than anywhere we have ever gone, and the owners and staff seem to appreciate genuinely each and every customer who comes in their doors. Thanks for making our crazy little car run!

Good Carma performed a pre-​purchase inspection on a used VW I was considering. The selling dealer told me it would be a waste of time in light of their own thorough inspection. I figured the $ 100 spent would be worth the peace of mind. What an understatement!
The Good Carma guys caught about $ 1500 worth of items needing attention, and advised me that if the dealer would repair these items, the car was a solid buy. The dealer preformed a re-​inspection, after which they agreed to perform the repairs identified by Good Carma. Score!
While waiting for my job to be completed, I had the opportunity to observe the service advisors interaction with customers. I was impressed that they took the time to listen to their customers, and didn’t always recommend the quick/​expensive/​easy fix. The service area itself was well organized and clean. These are signs of a shop that is squared away.
I’m glad to have found a VW shop that I can trust.

Quality service for your VW or Audi. The clutch job took longer than estimated, but it was worth the wait. They did a great job with the clutch, and, they took care of some other issues that showed up along the way. One of the problems that they solved was a long-​term heating problem that my previous mechanics hadn’t been able to figure out. Great job guys!