Chirco Performance Restoration

$ 1700 mistake! Don’t go here if you can help it. I had my beautiful pink and white (with matching interior) 1970 beetle towed to Chirco to learn that I needed a new transmission. The goons in the garage quoted me $ 1000, and it ended up costing more because the larger sized tranny they used to replace my old one needed a longer choke, but instead of properly installing a longer choke they jimmied the short one by attaching a length of wire and welding it with two bolts on both ends to make it work. So, they had to keep my beetle a few days longer to do perform this «FIX». THEN, I had given the goons a short list of small items I needed: install a new horn, fix windshield wiper relay, put a pin in a door hinge, and then pin the front door panels to the door frame because they were loose on the bottom. The goons in the garage decided that because my panels were crumbling they couldn’t pin anything, so what did they do? They drilled four screws right through my beautiful matching upholstery on each door to make the panels stay on the door frame! Incredible! The owner did not even apologize for his goon’s mistake, and asked me with much hesitation how I wanted to be compensated for the damage. I assumed that new upholstery would have sufficed, but the owner only offered that he would pay a third party to remove the screws and try to pull the upholstery tighter around the panels, but he would NOT pay for new upholstery. They took my money without even batting an eye. I will NEVER go back, and I will advise everyone to stay away unless you want to pay a lot of money for goon labor and Chinese parts.

Ordered parts for My 69 Vert, waited almost 2 weeks still no parts. Finally received parts and what should have been a matching set was 2 different brands and completely different in looks and quality. 1 a Wolfsburg West and 1 Empi. Spoke with Joe Chirco personally and was promised that he would correct the problem and get the Correct items out to me (not Empi products). That was a month ago. I was informed today that he will not be correcting the issue and basicly you Shit out of Luck. So now im treated like the bad guy or shall I say GIRL because i ordered parts and expected to receive what I ordered. Will never shop there again.

Been here a few times over the past months. It is the place for getting parts for old air-​cooled VWs. That said, they don’t have everything, especially if you’re still running original 6V electrics. Regardless, great folks with a sweet shop.
There’s also a multi-​car service bay. I had them do some welding work on my 1962 Ghia. Job was done quickly, professionally, and for a reasonable cost.
The real feather in the cap here though are the events. Oh the events! Bugtoberfest (B-​fest) is simply not to be missed! What a great time! Smaller events are also held though. Went to a great one that was a benefit for a dog shelter. Great cause and I left with a clean car and a clean dog. Fun times at an auto garage? And npr isn’t even an underwriter!

Although I have yet to personally purchase anything from here, my boyfriend is a regular. This is basically THE place to go if you are in Tucson and own a VW. Those are always breaking down, and Chirco always has the parts or can find you the parts to fix just about anything. My boyfriend has a VW Rail and a ’65 bug, so we are there a lot. Once a year in October they have Bugtoberfest which is a huge VW show that folks come from afar to be a part of. Really neat stuff, and usually some very rare cars will be there. They have a swapmeet around the back where you can pick up some cheap stuff, and also camping on the side for the out of towners. This is the show to go to if you are interested in purchasing an older VW. If you talk to the guys at the store about things you are looking for, they will keep an eye out for things for you. My boyfriend recently got a great deal on paddle tires from one of the guys there.

i always stop in here with tommy. s when he needs parts for the buggy. they owners are really nice and so are all the workers. i especially love every october when they have bugtoberfest car show, its a now 3 day event with a camp out next door for 3 nights with live music and vw bus campers called the red barn round up starting on the friday before the show, then saturday is a cruise and bbq and of course day 2 of red barn round up, then up bright and early sunday for the carshow. i have gone for 5 years now and love it and love the vw community they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet.

I ordered a tow bar for my VW. It shipped the next day. When it arrived, the two pins had somehow gotten lost in transit. I called Don. He immediately shipped a new set — free– no questions asked. These guys are awesome.