Griffin Motorwerke

I happened upon Griffin Motorworke by accident, had never dealt with them before.
My first impression was not only their courteous and highly professional attitude but the cleanliness of the entire facility and the shop floor!
YOU COULD EAT OFF OF THE SHOPS FLOOR! It is meticulously kept!
I was indeed impressed, then my repair experience, it was Flawless, Seamless and Exacting to say the least.
Their collective knowledge, Especially Terry, the owner, extreme professionalism and mechanical abilities are without parallel.
I would seriously recommend them to any and everyone and do exactly that constantly.
To find an honest, exacting and professional automotive repair facility such as Griffin Motorworke is NOT THE NORM TODAY!
I have sold them short with ONLY A FIVE STAR RATING!!!

This is the only place that I take my Audi. If you want to get your car worked on and have it done properly the first time, you should come here!

This is a very professional ran auto mechanic shop. Terry Griffin, the owner is an absolute pleasure to work with, because he takes his profession and clients very seriously. They work on German cars, such as VW, AUDI and Porsche, plus I saw some vintage American cars there, as well as several recaro seats and other items such as race shoes and parts. I recommend this shop to anyone who drives a car that they work on, you won’t be disappointed.

I thought I was taking my Audi S4 to a German car specialist but just had problems at Griffin.
First problem was I’d booked the car in for all brakes to be upgraded, but when I took the car in, they found they’d ordered the wrong rear brake parts, so they could only fit the new front brakes. I’d have to go back again for the rear brakes. They didn’t ever re-​order the correct parts or call me for that to be done.
Second problem was the adjustable front suspension control arms they fitted, coming loose after about 3 months. That could’ve resulted in a bad accident, but luckily came apart while I was driving slowly. They did pay for the tow but didn’t apologize for the poor fitment of the parts and the potential dangerous situation it put me in. They did conveniently find and fix an expensive oil leak though. I left a thousand dollars the worse off and not happy.
They are quite often busy on the phone and not able to provide a decent update on the work done either.
I won’t be going back to Griffin Motorwerks.

This isn’t your average shop, it’s a place you end up wanting to hang out at, and make friends. Terry, Curly and the techs including Nate are awesome people to work with, and are now folks I consider friends. They’ve bailed me out many times both on and off the race track with both of my Audis. Come to get an oil change and alignment, and maybe a Milltek exhaust system and some BBS wheels. Leave with a better car and some good stories and friends!

visited griffin motorwerke yesterday to get a PPI done on a B8 A4 i was looking at purchasing. Terry got me all set up and was able to fit me in right away when i got there. while the car was on the lift being inspected, Terry took me around the shop on a tour, showed me their dyno room, parts, and the awesome selection of Recaro seats and various wheels they had. they took their time and did a thorough PPI inspection for me. i must say this is a very immaculate, clean, well kept, and professional shop. and they have just about anything and everything you need for your VAGcar. will definitely be back to get my big turbo monster on their dyno once its finished and to pick up some of those awesome recaro seats.

I don’t really leave Unilocal reviews very often. I have been a customer here for a little over a year and had an 09 A4. I would like to say that Terry and Curly are the best, nicest, and most importantly most honest mechanics I have ever worked with. EVER. I highly recommend them to anyone that has a german car that is in need of service.
I went to them with an issue that another mechanic had done on my car before I had known better, another mechanic advertising that they work on these cars for an oil leak. Well they fixed it so great that it practically dumped oil everywhere.
These guys went through and corrected that persons shoddy work. And my car ran like new again. Unfortunately it was purchased used from a shady dealer and was having some new issues, about a year later, noises coming from my timing case and Terry who I highly praised let me know that the factory seal on said case had appeared to be tampered with at some point in time not during my ownership of the vehicle. But most importantly he was willing to take the time with me who was obviously panicked to take a peek at it on the spot.
I was very upset but happy that my mechanic would tell me this to save me heartache and wallet ache with the A4. I joked and said the car would morph into a new TDI, and it did, and I will be seeing them for all my mechanical needs.
They are the best in my opinion. Terry and they people at Griffin are awesome, love what they do, and it shows. If I could give 10 stars for customer service and quality of work I would.

Terry is the best mechanic I have ever worked with period.
Why? This isn’t his job, it’s his passion. He is a true automotive enthusiast. I’m pretty sure if you were to cut him 110 octane gasoline would leak out of him.
Terry has been working on my vehicles for over 10 years. I tried 3 – 4 other VW mechanics in the Bay Area before I discovered him. (New Dimensions, AVS, Broadway VW) Not only did they not care to strike up a report with their customers none of the did a very good job on my car.
Not only is he the best mechanic of the bunch, he is the most honest as well. He has always taken fantastic care of me and all my vehicles. One time I called him on the phone to schedule an appt for my car, and he was there at the shop at 8pm and took my call. I described the problem over the phone, and he told me to stop at a car parts place, which tools to get and what supplies i would need to fix it myself since I was 250 miles away. It totally solved the problem.
Most recently he rebuilt a 1979 VW bus engine and transmission for me — and when I say rebuilt, that’s a true understatement it went in a tired underpowered 50hp brick who’s top speed was barely 60, and came back a superpowered torque monster at 200hp (I don’t dare floor it yet without upgrading the brakes) but it cruises easily at 80 now.
I’d give him 11 stars if I could. He is simply the best. I honestly can’t sing his praises high enough. He is the rockstar of auto mechanics.

updating my review for excellent warranty service.
After a string of bad luck, which may or may not have anything to do with this shop or a particular mechanic that may or may not be working there, Griffin is back in my favor for no-​fuss warranty work they just did for me. Thanks guys!

Thanks guys for getting my r32’s suspension sorted out. I just had a set of Bilstein HD’s and new set of Falcon tires put on. It really made my day to have my car feeling like it wanted to go through some corners again. Next stop will be a Haldex controller and some new rims. Thanks again guys, great service, super clean shop and good advice, especially if you are wanting to do some upgrades. If you don’t know/​care about the difference between mediocre and great performance, you should go elsewhere. Griffin doesn’t do Mediocre.

These guys blow the local Audi dealer out of the water. They are friendly (even though I have a 99 Audi) almost always have what I need in stock even when the dealer doesn’t, and don’t seem to mind helping me self diagnose. Simply the best around!

I’ve taken my car, an 07 Audi S4, into Griffin Motorwerke twice. The first time I had a warped valve cover gasket. I talked to Curly on the phone, and he clearly knew what he was talking about and offered the best price of the half dozen shops I called. The work was done quickly and held up. A year and a half later, my car had more issues — it was misfiring, so I brought it in again, with little notice, and they diagnosed and repaired it in a couple days. I’ve been really with their service, and Curly’s always been very friendly and helpful. Their prices are very fair and they don’t try to sell you on unneeded repairs.

*Honesty*
My first car was a 1988 (yes 88!) VW Rabbit GTI. Griffin did some modification /​enhancements, and the regular tune-​ups on it back then (I reached over 250K miles on that car). I now have a Cayenne, and only allow Griffin to touch it for the regular maintenance, tune-​ups, and brakes. Terry is a straight forward guy who knows his stuff as well as his team and their work. Enough said — 5 stars

One of those places which leaves you spellbound! I had to get a few mods done for my VW GTI. The job was done with utmost perfection and in a timely manner. Although my assignment was small compared to what they do generally, Terry stayed back late in a Saturday afternoon (when they are generally closed).
Apart from the job on my car, talking to Terry was quite a learning experience for a amateur enthusiast like me. The man carries a lot of experience and loves to talk! Stories of his personal experiences left me overwhelmed!
The store is stuffed with all kinds of performance add-​ons you could think of. I am definitely coming back here for all future mods to my car! 5 stars :)

I recently decided to evaluate Griffin Motorwerke when I was having some issues getting an appointment at my other shop. I am glad I did. Terry the owner took a very personalized approach to taking care of my problem as well as the rest of his staff. I would also like to say that this shop does have a bit of colorful personality, so if you are an uptight individual that is used to going to the Mercedes Dealership it might not be the place for you. On the other hand if you want to go somewhere where service is met with a more relaxed professional approach I believe this would be a great choice. Terry is a character, and in my book that is a big plus, much more interesting than some uptight individual. Also he is a genuine nice guy who is passionate about provided the best in Class service for Mercedes, BMW, VW, and in my case my beloved Volvo C30. Terry has exceeded my expectations and I am very pleased to have found them. They have a new loyal customer, and honestly I am hard to please.

I’ve been going to Griffin Motorwerke for a number of years after a recommendation from a gear head co-​worker. I’ve received great service each visit. The one thing I really like about this place is that it seems like a place where the workers really want to work. Terri, Curly, and others are there because they enjoy their work. I was waiting for some paperwork and watching the interaction between the Staff and the mechanics. It was fun to watch as it seemed they were all working hard to solve a mechanical mystery and collaborating while they worked on an issue.
I’m an engineer but not a gear head. I’m always interested to see how technical people interact with females. I feel that’s another plus of this shop. I never feel talked down to. I had a recent issue w/​failing a smog test due to fault codes. I had my theory about a few things. Talked to Curly about it and he explained technical details to me just as I believe he would have talked to anyone (gear head or not). So, that’s another plus in my book.
Their new shop is really lovely and nice. Much more convenient then the old location. I’ve recommended friends to Griffin and will continue to do so.

Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. They gave me a great price on my Recaro Speed seat as well!

This is the place to go if you want your car to get the best service with knowledgeable, no nonsense people! They take better care of my car than the high end dealership!

You guys rock. Car emergencies happen and when my car broke down recently on a road trip, these guys really helped me out. Terry is great. I will always bring my car here from now on. Thanks!

I was really disappointed with a recent service at this shop. I brought my 82 VW Vanagon in before a long road trip to have it inspected and have two specific things fixed: a transmission leak and a starting/​stalling issue. While Terry the owner is quite knowledgeable about these old vans, the guys that do the work are not. I spent over $ 1100 for the service and a day later I noticed a puddle on the driveway where the transmission still leaked. then the van broke down in the middle of the roadtrip and we had to have it serviced for a week in Oregon because the starting/​stalling issue was not fixed either (in the end it was an engine issue, something that had been going for a long time yet Griffin did not even suggest this). I was thankful to find a shop on the road that fixed the issue for good, and taught me a TON about my van.
when I returned to Griffin after the trip to explain my frustration with the job they did (or did NOT do) Terry got very defensive and rude about the situation. I am sure the things they did fix were right, but if they never addressed the issues I brought it in for fully after keeping my van there for 3 days and charging me $ 1100+ I certainly would not return nor recommend this shop.

I can’t speak to all the recent negative reviews but from my experience Terry, Curly and the rest of the crew down at Griffin Motorwerke has been nothing but fantastic to me over the 4+ years I’ve brought my 2007 S4 to them for work.
These guys really know cars especially Audis and their passion and care really shows for it. Yes their rates can be expensive but hey you get what you pay for right?
The team down there has never tried to rip me off and has always given me honest advice whether it was regarding repairs or installing a wicked downpipes and catback system.
Yes the team there can be blunt but their downright friendliness and honestly quickly warms up on you. And anyways I’d rather them be blunt and honest with me than nice and exploitative. Griffin recently moved and though I haven’t checked out their place yet, looking at my previous experiences with them I’d highly recommend Terry and his team for service or performance upgrade… heck I’d still be going here if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m now in the South Bay.

I’m not sure what rock Elton «the reviewer» climbed out of, but he is probably one of the low grade mechanics down the street. I’ve been a customer of Griffin for over half a decade and his team is the only team I trust my classic 928 to handle.
As to honesty, I’ve had Terry come in way under his original estimate a number of times as he found a part at a better price and passed the savings on to me. More than that, the one time I thought I had needed a serious repair he came back with a solution that saved me a ¹⁄₃ of the cost — and he didn’t have to as I fully believed I needed the repair.
I have also seen him back his work. When a new part failed soon after they put it in, Griffin not only replace the part but also did it at no additional cost.
I said this on my original review and I will say it again — If you are the jiffy lube, gloss it over, do not really care about your car, let’s do this as cheaply as I possibly can type, you are at the wrong shop — go to Costco. If you have a performance car or prefer to treat your car like it is one — go here.
I would also be highly suspect of people claiming they went here and got «ripped off». There is at least one garage claiming to specialize in Porsche work trying to steal Griffin’s customer base. I know — I’ve gotten their stupid flyers on my windshield at BART (which I *hate* btw). That competitor appears to over promise, over charge and under deliver.
I have seen Griffin stand by their work. They build long term relationships with their customers and you don’t get that by being any other way than honest, fair and good at what you do.

I started going to Griffin in 2002 when I got my VW GTI, it had a few little upgrades/​modifications and they always took great care of it.
What I like the most is that they are REALLY passionate about what they do, which is reflected in their work. I have found them to be fair and honest, and they have always stood behind their work. For example — a part they put on wound up being defective after a couple of months and they had to re-​do the job — it was many hours of labor I did NOT have to pay for twice.
Yes, there is swearing and explicit banter. It’s an auto-​shop, not a day-​care! If you don’t sweat that part you can actually learn a lot about your car.
I sold the GTI recently, and for now I have to go to the Mercedes dealer for my service-​which I find completely BORING. I’m looking forward to the day when I can bring a car to these guys again, hopefully an R8… Sigh.