Karmakanix

Cliff and team were excellent! Polite, professional and great pricing. Highly recommend them and will use them again. (Hopefully, not to soon)
Follow up: Well day after I picked up my Audi the tire pressure light goes on and they didn’t reset maintenance interval alert so I’m back. Stay tuned…
…was able to finish up in about 10 minutes as I waited. Removed 1 star from my original 5 star because if I lived any farther it would have been a hassle to go back.

THEY SAVED MY DIESEL CAR. And they did not know me. Ok, for reasons that will not be discussed, non diesel fuel was put in my diesel car. Ethanol, in fact, which is the WORST. I thought my car was a goner. My normal garage was closed for the holidays. Despair. Much fear. It was cold and dark. I was in a panic. How many times would CSAA tow me, anyway?! Then I found these guys on Unilocal. They were REALLY NICE AND REALLY COMPASSIONATE. And, they saved my car. They did. They took out the bad and put in the good. I think it was Christmas Eve, seriously, and they did not charge me some unreasonable crazy amount even though I was helpless and desperate. Clean big shop, very professional seeming. Not glitzy and annoying, just clean and professional. One guy who works there had never heard the word «defenestrate.» So it was also a journey into rare word territory, as well.

Cliff was so informative and gave us exceptional service when we brought in our Audi Q5 for an oil change! He was extremely thorough and made sure we were up to speed with upcoming maintenance for our vehicle! It’s good to know that they specialize in Audi cars! 5 stars across the board!

I received two warnings about this place, one from my landlord, another from a rival shop in town that couldn’t see me on short notice. I don’t think they were quite that bad, but they could do a better job on expectations management, i.e. «underpromise, overdeliver.» It took them significantly longer to get back to me with a diagnosis than promised.
Diagnosis itself was overly thorough and rather than find the exact problem they were more interested in doing a full replacement for all possible problem areas, resulting in an estimate of over $ 1200. More likely a small, single component is a the root cause so I’ve opted to fix it myself.

I’ve taken my VW TDI to this shop a couple of times. I usually do all my own work, and generally have a distrust of shops, that they won’t do things right, so I do them myself. However, I trusted Karmakanix with brake work and suspension work, and they did a perfect job. I felt they took all my concerns very seriously, they kept me informed on estimates for the work and progress of the job, and I could tell & see the work was done properly. Kudos to Nino for excellent customer service, and the shop mechanics for outstanding work. I’ll be bringing the car back for other «big» jobs now that I feel comfortable having them do work on it.

The guys at Karmakanix continue to be my go-​to mechanics for my Jetta. I’ve always been seriously impressed by their professionalism and courtesy (including the free shuttle from BART). They’ve taken the time to explain procedures and get me in and out on-​time and for the right price.
It can be hard to find a good mechanic you can trust. I completely endorse these guys and will continue to get all my service needs here.

I took my ’96 Passat TDI here for years until I decided to sell it. They’ve always given me great service. They have recommended lower-​cost repair options, let me pay in installments, explained their repair recommendations well, offered loaner cars, given their time to talk to me at length about using biodiesel, etc.
If I get another VW, I’ll definitely continue using Karmakanix.

They have been taking care of my New Beetle 2000 for over a decade now. Love these guys!!!

Todd takes care of my 2001 Porsche Boxster like it’s his own. Nino is the man. These guys are professional, honest, and care about the work they do. On the major jobs like the clutch, the pricing was fair and I could source my own OEM parts that they gladly installed; whatever I couldn’t source, Nino would price match. They keep the car in shape and pay attention to the details without pressing me to fix superfluous crap. Can’t ask for anything more.

I have owned two 87 VW vans for going on two decades. One is a Vangon Carat and the other is a Westphalia Syncro. Over the years I have had them serviced and repaired by a number of different shops in the bay area. Some very good ones and some really scary ones.
Karmakanix is a standout. Steve KNOWS VWs.
Everyone on his team is professional, communicative, knowledgable, courteous and respectful. That for me adds up to trustworthy. Which is what we are all really after. Are they cheap, no, but why are you looking for cheap. Cheap will just piss you off in the long run.

Nino, Cliff and the rest of the team at Karmakanix are awesome! They have serviced my Audi wagon for the last 8 years, always providing friendly and professional service. They are honest and recommend repairs only when needed. would highly recommend them.

I live in Pleasanton and needed to get the power window fixed on my wife’s ’08 VW Beetle. No shops in our area seemed willing or interested in working on the window mechanism, expect the VW Dealer and that wasn’t an option due to past shady service in the past and insane prices. I broadened my search and found tons of great reviews for Karmakanix. When I called they took the time to discuss the issue with me and were confident they could fix it at a reasonable price. So I drove all the way from Pleasanton to Berkeley to get it fixed and I’m glad I did! Everyone there was polite and professional. The shop is huge and clean. They gave me a ride to and from Bart, and had the repair done the same day. Awesome service! I will be back.

Can’t always trust Unilocal reviews — I mean anyone can comment!
That said these folks have always been as good as it gets. From repairs to general maintenance, they’ve never let me down. Parts too! I’ve had nothing but good experiences from Karmakanix (though I can never spell their name without looking it up!)
Thanks.

The mechanics and front office staff at Karmakanix are simply the best. They have serviced my 2002 VW GTI since I bought the car in 2003, and they have always given me fair, thorough and honest advice. They answer all my questions and take the time to explain things clearly. Even when I moved from East Bay to SF in 2011, I still kept going to these guys because nobody else compares. Fantastic customer service. Recent example: I barely drive my car these days (use MUNI and husband’s car) and so when I went in for my scheduled oil change this week they looked at the car and the mileage and said no need for oil change at this time. Told me to come back in January. Just cleaned the wipers, refilled all my fluids and sent me on my way free of charge. VW (and Audi) specialists, and I would never go anywhere else.

I took my car in because i felt something to be wrong with the suspension. Turned out to be the shocks and the alignment was off. Sounds simple enough to diagnose and fix. Apparently not. They had to keep my car for 3 whole days! I was quoted 1600 for the whole job. I felt that was extremely high and said that, but he assured me this was the highest it could possibly be because that was with every single additional bushing and what not that could possibly need replacing. Apparently they all needed to be replaced… surrreee.
I call back after receiving a missed call at the end of the 3 days, to pick up my car and pay. They said it would cost 1850. I had to haggle with him down to 1650. Part of the reason the first quote seemed so high was because the alignment that they outsourced costs 200 dollars (so they say) even though he told me on the phone it would cost me $ 25(around what an alignment should cost) I had to haggle with him down to 1650 which still included the high cost of alignment. Because i guess that’s how repair shops work, its more of a bargaining system.
That’s not all! The alignment is still totally off, pulling hard to the left! The most dangerous direction because it could lead you into oncoming traffic. When i tell him it almost caused an accident he sarcastically asks if I’m letting go of the wheel. Of course not but if you stop steering to the right the car will go towards oncoming traffic. a hole…
These guys are pirates, and they’re good at swindling you out of a shit load of money. Unfortunately i have to go back in to deal with this alignment issue that I’m sure they’ll try to charge me for. Save yourself a lot of money and post traumatic stress from how much you’ll be raped by coming here.

I already like these guys.
I saw the good Unilocal reviews and I like that.
So I contacted Parts to see if they could get what I need at a fair price. The manager told me, no sweat, by the end of the day. Last minute I head up and Caesar really takes a minute to make sure I’m getting the right stuff, cause frankly I don’t know, can’t even see the darn parts on the car.
He has everything I need as promised and a great attitude. Score!
Affordable German parts and service isn’t super plentiful in the area.
Unilocal steered me in the right direction once again.
CLEAN shop too, knowledgeable approachable folks working there.
Good Karma at Karmakanix, that’s what i felt.

Had to take in my Eurovan for service for the first time. The guys are very knowledgeable when it comes to German engineering. Clean shop, courteous service, and without breaking the bank. Thanks Guys

Went to Karmakanix for the first time to get an oil change and headlight replaced on my Boxster. Overall, I had a really great experience. Nino was very courteous and explained everything thoroughly. I didn’t feel like I was getting ripped off or sold on something I didn’t need. As a first time customer, I received a free inspection and, given that my car just hit 60K miles, I was anticipating being told that I needed a slew of repairs. But Karmakanix was honest enough to let me know my car was in good shape and didn’t need anything replaced until later down the road. I will definitely be bringing my car back here for all my future car repair needs.

My partner and I had been looking for a Westfalia for months and finally found a great one. The owners were willing to let a mechanic check it out but wanted to do it sooner rather than later because of all the interest and offers. We called a couple of places but they couldn’t get us in for two weeks. I called Steve at Karmakanix on a Friday and he and his team were able to get us in on the following Monday.
The guys we met at the shop were all friendly and Steve was very knowledgeable on the van. He sat down with us and went over all that needed or should be repaired/​upgraded, and sent me home with an estimate for all the work, which was prioritized so we knew what to do first. The service and response we received from these guys was great and we plan on doing more business with them.
Additionally, the prices seem fair on the work after doing a little shopping around. We plan to update our review once we get actual work completed since it can be hard to find a good Westfalia mechanic. Note: I believe they only work on water-​cooled Westfalias for those looking for a shop.

This is THE place to go if you have a Volkswagen TDI. They know and love VW’s and Audi’s like their own children. Ok maybe that’s a bit extreme but I like going to a place that specializes in my kinda car. They have parts ready to go and they know what kind of problems are common to my vw.
If you put biodiesel in your TDI they also know what to look for to make sure the switch is going ok for your engine and parts.
Nino and Gary have always been great. They don’t talk down to you. I have been to unnamed car mechanics places where they talk down to me because I’m a woman or because they want to be opaque about what they’re charging me for. Karmakanix is always clear about what they’re doing on your car and they’ll take the time to explain the exact problems.
Also, they can replace your car key battery much more cheaply than at the dealer. You just pay the cost of the battery.
In the last eight years they’ve been our one-​stop car mechanic. We only had one problem once when they installed a fuel pump incorrectly. They were of course quick to fix the problem and give us a credit for the cost of the tow.
They aren’t the cheapest but they aren’t the most expensive either. ($ 125/​hr for labor). And they will give you a discount if the problem ends up taking less time than they expected.
Having a mechanic you can trust is definitely worth it!