Beetlesmith’s Valley Auto Service

I received a coupon in the mail for Beetlesmith’s and thought I would give them a try. It would be my first time getting service outside of the dealer and I wanted to save a few bucks.
I made an appointment for a Friday and dropped the car off on Thursday so I didn’t have to get up so early. The service I requested was a 60K service, fix a sunroof leak, change a burned out bulb, and replace the wipers. They entered my info and said they would call me at noon the next day for a quote on the sunroof leak. Didn’t get a call by 4PM the next day, so I called and they said it would be done shortly. When I arrived the car was done. They fixed the leak by unclogging a drain and charged me $ 40. After I paid I went to my car and right away noticed a 6″ vertical scratch down the center of the driver side door. I went back in and let them know. The mechanic came out and looked, wiped it with a rag and wax. Didn’t help. He said to come back and they would buff it out with a powered buffer.
Two weeks later I had the time so I made an appointment for noon on a Thursday. When I arrived the person at the front asked if I was leaving it. Said it might be a couple hours. Had to call my wife. About 2 hours later I get the call that it’s done. When I arrive the scratch was still there and it didn’t look like they did anything more than wipe it down with a rag again. I was so fed up with the lack of service I got my keys and left.
Now I mentioned the dealer before because even after getting a basic oil change/​check-​up, I can tell there was work done on my car. It always runs better. Not so much from Beetlesmith. In fact, my car runs worse. For the first time ever, it died while I was idling at a light. Thankfully it restarted and I made it to work without issue, but it’s still troubling. After the first good rain this fall, I checked my headliner and it was soaked. So that $ 40 I paid was for nothing, and who knows if they actually did anything. The wipers I asked for weren’t replaced either.
So the only thing I got from trying out Beetlesmith was a $ 3 bulb, wasted time, and a 6″ scratch that I will get to see every time I get in my car.
I will not be going back and I don’t recommend them.

This is my third visit to Beetlesmith and I’m extremely satisfied with the quality of work performed, the timeliness of the work done, and the fact that Beetlesmith only recommended work that needed to be done, and did not try to upsell on unnecessary services, and charged fairly for the services performed. I recommend Beetlesmith without reservation for German cars, both BMW and Audi.

On a cross-​country road trip someone told me that a headlight was out. I stopped in at Beetlesmith’s on a whim because my GPS told me that it was the closest auto repair place to where I was. They took me without an appointment, had the headlight replaced in about 10 minutes (I wasn’t first in line) and didn’t ask me to pay. «Enjoy your trip!» I didn’t think such things were done gratis any more. I’m pleasantly surprised!

My white car came back covered in dirty finger prints from the mechanic. All over the hood area as well as the drivers door. Even my buddies & I avoid doing that while doing DIY stuff. Other than that they were quick but otherwise nothing special and a bit over priced and quick to push unnecessary extra work I’d already declined on previous calls.

This is my first/​last time using this place. Had I known it was going to take 2 hours for an oil change I would have gone elsewhere. I made an early appointment (on a Monday because I was told that it is very busy later in the week) in the hope that I would be done fairly quickly. I was wrong. It took 2 hours for an oil change! Two hours; really? What really bothered me was the fact that when I called to make the appointment no one had mentioned that it would be better to just drop off your car instead if waiting for it. Even though I expressed my desire to wait for my car when I made my appointment. Secondly, once I was there no one went out of their way to give me a update as to when my car would be ready. I felt like I constantly hunt people down to get an answer. A little customer service goes a long way. I will find another place to have my vehicle serviced.

Gave my vehicle back dirty (smudged with oil on the inside) and without all of the work done. They could never keep straight who I was and which car was mine… TOTALLY not worth going to. In the words of our tow-​truck driver, just because a shop is AAA approved does not make it a good shop!

I made a purchase from Jerry Smith and he has yet to make full delivery of what we agreed to. Multiple phone calls over many months and a visit to see him personally and still nothing. He will tell you one thing and do another.

I originally took my Jeep to Beetlesmith after I was in an accident. They did a great job, took care of me and my Jeep, fought with the insurance company, etc. I was very pleased with them.
A year later, the paint on my bumper started flaking off. Literally just flaking off. I called and spoke with Brad… who once again was great during my accident a year earlier. He had me drop my Jeep off and said it would be fixed and he’s not sure how that could have happened.
While they had my Jeep, I figured they could replace my horn that seemed to be going. I mentioned this to them on Monday (the day I dropped it off) and Brad said it would be fixed. I asked for an estimate, they said they would call me back. The next day, no call back… I call again for an estimate… they said they would call me back. So on Wednesday when I still didn’t know how much it was going to cost me, I call again and when I ask for an update on my car, the receptionist says «we still have that?».my response «you better.». Then she tells me that the paint has been finished as well as the oil change and they’ll start working on my horn.
I NEVER mentioned anything to them about an oil change and I still didn’t have an estimate on my horn. Again, I spoke with Brad… told him he better not have done an oil change as I never said anything about an oil change and I had it done the day before I dropped it off to them at the dealership. He said he must have misunderstood me. He gave me my estimate on my horn and said it would be done at the end of the day.
When I picked up my Jeep, the horn didn’t get done. He said he didn’t have enough time to fix it. Yet on Monday he said he would have it done for me… I picked it up 3 days later.
I will NEVER bring my Jeep back. They didn’t listen, had horrible customer service, didn’t even know that they still had my car. They never called me like they said they would, I was car-​less for 3 days and they didn’t even complete the job they said they could do.
Days later, I found a receipt from «Staples» in my passenger seat. I certainly didn’t go to Staples. I am livid at the thought that they took MY car to run THEIR errands.

I’ve had BeetleSmith change the oil on my Touareg once in the past. After finally being fed up with local VW dealers I came back and they did a great job replacing my alternator for $ 600 less than the dealer.

I can always rely on them to repair my car right. I even took it in for a routine checkup before a trip, and they were more than happy to take a look for no charge. I really appreciate their service as well. They took me home while my car was there over night, and then picked me up the next day. I definitely trust them to be honest with pricing and not try and gouge. They are more than happy to explain what needed to be fixed, and don’t make me feel dumb for asking questions. When it came time for new tires, I shopped around other places to see if I could get a good deal, because sometimes it can be cheaper elsewhere, but Vally Auto had the lowest prices for some good quality uniroyal tires without all the fees. I’m definitely going to be a loyal customer.

Owner Jerry Smith is a fellow Kiwanian. No we don’t grow kiwis.
When I first received his business card, I thought by the name that they only served VW Beetle’s. Hmm, that’s a declining niche, I thought.
Turns out they’ve been servicing folks cars since 1967 as a family business. Well, I finally made it by for an oil change. Brad Johnson, the service manager recommended I have my rear brakes replaced and quoted around $ 200. A little while later I got a call, «your brakes are fine, they were just real dirty, we’ve cleaned em up.» At no charge. There is nothing like having a lawyer, doctor, and auto mechanic you can trust (and maybe a good psychiatrist?). I’ve checked one of them off the list now, and if you live in the area, you can too!