Kovacs Motors

I couldn’t recommend Kovacs any more highly! They did an outstanding job on my car and went above & beyond to make me a proud driver again. The manager Tom is a true professional and knows the business. Great on all levels!

We are not big « Unilocalers» but have to rave about Kovacs! Tom is incredibly helpful, prompt and professional. We drive all the way from Tahoe just to work with him. With Tom we know the job will be done correctly. He eliminates all the stress and pressure of dealing with insurance and he is a pleasure to work with. We definitely recommend Tom and Kovacs Motors.

Love Kovacs!
Tom always takes such great care of every problem with a great solution.
He takes all of the stress out of car repair, its very priceless to know you are in good hands, with a business where you can trust the work and every detail of the problem and solution are shared with you in a very no nonsense style together with your best options for now and future care of your ride so you leave every time a smarter car owner and knowing what to do when to do to avoid future problems.
You are in great hands here and these are the Best of the Best people best at what they do, they are honest and with great sense of humor so the entire experience is very nice, no stress.
At one point we took the VW to another known german shop in marin…4−5 times, each time they kept it for the day and could find nothing wrong but the problem continued to occur.
Then we took it to Adam Kovacs, such an Amazzzing talented brilliant mechanic he is. he figured out the problem in less than 5 mins!!!
Watching these guys work you know they are pros.
Ask for Tom, he will take great care of you. He will present you with all the options and why each option is better or not as good. he will break it down for you.
Tom and Adam and the great team at Kovacs are Best of the Best, long time in the business and Best at what they do + they are honest, nice and a pleasure to work with.

I had a great experience with Kovaks Motors. I brought my car in because I had several deep scratches in the rear bumper as well as torn rubber which needed to be replaced. I was told by two other body shops that the bumper would definitely need replacement. Tom took a look at my car and said that he could repair it without replacement. He noted that they try to do repairs instead of replacement to avoid adding to the land fill. The price was very fair and the bumper looks perfect just as he told me it would. I was amazed when I saw it and could not be happier. Definitely recommend!

I was about to trade in my BMW 3 series. I had a few too many bumps and bruises and needed body work done — in a short time frame.
I had been to referred to this shop and Tom Johnston in particular.
He reviewed my car — brought several of the mechanics to see the issues.
They immediately «got it» and scheduled my car for work — pricing was more than fair.
I have recommended their services!

Avoid this garage at all cost! These guys are rip-​off merchants. I took my Audi to fix a coolant leak and after spending $ 700 for work that was «invisible» I drove the car 3 miles only to have coolant leak all over my driveway. I ended up buying a new $ 12 coolant reservoir cap and hey presto, problem solved! They also claimed to do work that was never actually done too, so basically they are untrustworthy.

RIP OFF ALERT! I have been a customer for years and I am done with their tricks. You get a quote bring the car in and magically it costs way more than you expected. Seriously just go to the dealer the prices are the same and you get what you paid for. I don’t know what the story is here they use to be great, but over the past several months I experienced nothing but astronomical invoices compared to what I was quoted before bringing the car in. CHECK THE DATES OF THESE REVIEWS!

I was on a cross country trip from NYC and I needed a simple oil change for my VW Tiguan. The dealership was rude, overbooked, and offered that I leave the car for the DAY. Since I was basically living out of my car and had no place to go, that was not an option.
I looked up Kovac’s, went straight over there, and was dealt with immediately. Oil changed while I hung out. Reasonable price. Nice guys.
Thanks Kovac’s for reminding my why I never go back to the dealerships with my cars.
–Ben C., NYC

After over 7 years of going to Kovacs, I shudder to think what will happen if I ever have to move away or lose this valuable resource. They really have been the best possible auto shop and while some may experience the occasional hiccup, the value, quality, and customer experience averaged over time with this shop has been *way* better than the competition.

I’m a Saab owner — but belong to Audi Club Golden Gate (Separate plug: ACGG: s High Performance Driving Schools are excellent)
The Kovac’s team is superb — When I ran into trouble with my brakes at Thunderhill this past weekend, Adam very quickly provided support. This is the 2^nd time they have cheerfully, and accurately, helped me.
Very clear about the technical issues, no attempt to hard sell — all in all, very helpful (even if you don’t own a VW Group product)

I have been a satisfied customer at Kovacs for over 5 years. I bought my first A4 from Adam and have been happy ever since. John makes my life easier as he is always responsive, helpful and schedules me in. He even went out of his way a couple of times when I was in need of help. The mechanics are professional, fast and trustworthy. I always bring my car in with great confidence and no doubt that I get the best service. I highly recommend Adam Kovacs and his team!!! Thanks for the great service!!!

If I could give Kovacs Motors ten stars, I would. They did an excellent job servicing my beloved Audi wagon. I was immediately impressed by the mechanics’ knowledge, competency and clear communication as to what the car needed and why. Later, I used Kovacs to sell beloved wagon and again, they gave me top-​notch service. John is a true professional — honest, responsive and just a super friendly, nice man. 10 stars! (There, i did it.)

I have an Audi A6 that I adore but frankly I know very little about cars. Lucky for me John and the guys at Kovacs know everything there is to know. I have taken my car there numerous times with fast and quality results. I have compared prices at other shops inthe Bay Area and their prices are very reasonable. I have such trust in them I keep their number programmed in my phone just in case of an emergency as they have always been reliable and helpful. As someone who tends to be intimidated taking my car in to the shop, these guys make the process comfortable and easy. I would highly recommend them to anyone with an Audi or VW.

This review is dated, but supports comments by other reviewers about finding unrelated and unnecessary things to charge you for.
The last and final time I went here was for an A/​C recharge and oil change. They tried to sell me a $ 4000 steering rack replacement, insisting that the boot was «totally shredded» and that my steering could go out at any time — scare tactics to close the deal. I’m not an idiot and I’m not blind — it only takes a flashlight to get a good look at the boot in question, not that they offered to show it to me. It’s now two years later and the steering rack boot has yet to develop even the slightest indication of a crack. This place is dishonest, I will never go back.

I am am writing an update per the request of the owner, Adam Kovacs. Simply put he makes a great point about my previous review, which is about customer service and not the quality of their work. Their work is great and if you have issues with your German auto give them a shot. But back to the service, from my previous review you can gather I had less than a stellar customer service experience. This caught both the attention of John and Adam. John called and repeatedly apologized for not calling me back. He than said he hadn’t received any of my emails, and offered me his personal email. Which I appreciate and found to be a heartfelt gesture. However I am only left to wonder why I can not reach him by his work email? Spam perhaps! Adams email was typical, however it was refreshing to hear from a business owner.
However it was over dinner with the fam (the family that Unilocal together stays together… no?) that I shared my service recovery efforts put forth by Kovacs staff and the elusive power of Unilocal.When I was faced with the question will you go back? Part of me says yes (the service is great)… then again part of me foresees that proverbial elephant lingering in the room upon my arrival (next to the swanky Audi R8).
With that I concluded «Dam you Unilocal… you giveth the power to complain and be heard; but taketh the ability to return»

Once the warranty is up don’t even think about going to the dealer! Kovacs is more knowledgeable, honest, convienient, kind and you won’t get a better price anywhere! They not only made me feel comfortable and confident with their service, but they went over and above the call of duty to help me get a transmission issue resolved through audi of america.
They made me feel like I was one of their family. I can’t recomend Kovacs highly enough!

Way better than the DEALER!
I’ve owned German cars for over 20 years, VW, Audi, BMW, and now MINI. Dealers think because you buy nice cars you have a lot of money, and I was tired of being taken advantage of by so-​called experts who seemed to always tell me I needed a new this or that. My 1992 BMW 325i has over 250,000 miles on it, and thanks to Adam Kovacs and his crew, it still runs great. Best car I’ve ever owned.
Good mechanics who you can trust are hard to find. It has been a long time since I dreaded going to get my car fixed, wondering how much they’d try to convince me I needed this time. Now I just go and see Adam; he gets it that if he doesn’t rip his customers off for short-​term gain, he’ll have them for life.

So I thought this place was great at first, they were just so nice, yeah well, John’s niceness is just a cover up for their shoddy work and crook like behavior. To make a very long story short, don’t go here. They don’t stand behind their work, are overpriced, do a shoddy job, and generally just aren’t people I would trust with my car ever again. Don’t be fooled by the hype, these guys are no good for you, your wallet, or your car. If you can’t even install headlights properly, what can you do?

I’m a stereotypical girl when it comes to cars! I hate jump starting my car — it freaks me out. The only thing I really know how to do is pump gas, check my tire pressure, and check my oil. It’s sad but true. So when I acquired my aunt’s 2002 beetle I was at the will of her old mechanic. Thankfully Kovacs is great. I don’t feel manipulated into extra work, they don’t over charge me, and they make me feel like I’m actually doing the right thing with my car. I just called to schedule a tune up and was told that I only needed an oil change! What mechanic does that?
My only complaint is that they don’t have a place in the city!

Like a lot of the customer base at Kovacs I started coming her when my warranty came up at Sonnen. Matt at Sonnen was incredible but he is just not capable of fixing the mess that is the Sonnen dealership.
My first problem was a blown headlight. The guys at Kovacs fixed it in a half hour or so. When I asked how much, «no charge.» What? That was $ 80 worth of labor at Sonnen even if the bulb was only 5 bucks. Their response «it’s not your fault we didn’t know how to do that quicker. Don’t worry about it.»
Needless to say I have been going back since. They are always super friendly, always remember me, and generally can squeeze me in around my lunch break.
It’s also right across the street from my old Middle School so I can sit outside and reminisce when waiting for my car. Ahh, Davidson. Those were good times, minus the constant battle for the toggles on my parka, those were good times.