One of my good friends turned me on to D&J Auto, and I am so glad he did! In the desert of shady auto mechanics, it's nice to find someone who actually cares about the customer and the cars they bring in.. Super easy to find in a nice neighborhood in Fountain Valley, and you can't miss the signage out front! When you walk through the door, you are greeted by the lady at the front desk who is super friendly. Damian, the owner, personally comes right out to see what you need and how he can take care of you. I appreciate courtesy and friendliness, and this place has it in spades. And apparently I'm not the only one, if you read any of the Volkswagen magazines, you have likely seen D&Js handiwork in the pages. They can turn a VW from a junker into a super sleek Street machine with the power to back it up. Additionally, they took second place in EMPI's engine battle for 2024. Damian and his son Nathan are a true class act. In this day and age where people just want to get you in, take your money and send you on your way and never look back, it is nice to find a shop that actually cares about the person driving the car rather than the car itself. If you happen to live in Fountain Valley or need something done to your car, whether it's strictly some motor work, or a complete Roundup rebuild, these are the guys you want to check out. Bottom line? Like no fooling, D&J Auto is a rarity in this world. If you live in SoCal, you definitely need to come check them out. It is well worth your visit and you know you'll be spending your money in the right place with people who actually care for you and not just how big your bank account is. read more

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Was recommended by a my friend Jason at HB Hotrods needed a valves adjustment on my 1966 Chevy Impala SS 396 now I know it's not a VW but these guys knew exactly how and what to do. I took it in for a much needed valve adjustment Now I'm going to say I'm very particular about who and what touches my car. I dealt mainly with Jason he was very professional and knowledgeable. The shop was clean and orderly you can tell they care about the shop. That made me feel really comfortable when I got my car back it definitely ran quiter and smoother. They never tried to up sell or tell what improvements to make. As a matter of fact I asked them if this was your what would you do. He gave me a honest answer and I really appreciated that. I will definitely come back and use them again for any mechanical needs I may have. Thanks again D&J Auto read more

D & J Auto - 1966 impala SS 396 - Auto Repair Near Me - Fountain Valley, California

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To find a trustworthy Auto repair shop is hard, but add on an air cooled VW quality and extremely knowledgeable repair shop, now that's virtually impossible. Not with Damian and his well built team of experts. Quality not quantity seems to be their approach and build long lasting valued relationships with their customers. Not the lowest priced shop in town, thank goodness. Instead they provide a value proposition to maintain and or increase the value of your VW. Not easy to find this level of quality anymore. Thank you Damian and your team for providing quality service to the So. Cal. VW enthusiasts. read more

They charge 140.00 per hour to work on Volkswagens. Most places charge 90.00 and thats still too much to fix one of the easiest cars.

Damian and the guys over his shop have gone above and beyond exceeding my expectations on the full restoration of my VW beetle. They're highly knowledgeable and skilled in their craft, and have also educated me so much along the way. I'm extremely impressed at the quality and speed of the work they have accomplished so far. Damian has been totally upfront about pricing and scope of work never making me feel mislead. I highly recommend this shop and his team for anyone serious about their VW read more

Damian and the crew there are VW enthusiasts as well as top notch Notchback mechanics! I had a great experience taking my car there. Kelly from Surf City VW Club recommended them to me. And they came thru for me! Knowledgeable, helpful and welcoming would round out my impression of these guys. Something they all should be proud of. Thanks guys. read more

This has to be the best VW Restoration shop this side of Germany. Call Damian. He is very knowledgable, honest, and has a very talented crew of professionals. It is worth the trip to visit the shop in Fountain Valley and see all the wonderful projects under restoration. Ask to see my '71 Karmann Ghia. read more

These guys are honest and reliable. Hard to find these days I would 1000 percent recommend these guys. They go out of there way to get your car in the shop and taken care of ASAP. read more

Never any BS. Just great service on VWs. Fair prices for the qaulity work. Damian loves VWs as much as we all do, and he and his team are talented and diligent it getting things just right. Love this place. read more

To say D & J Auto did a great job would be an understatement! Damian kept me informed during the whole process and there work is first class!! I can't recommend them enough! They are my new go to!!! read more

D & J Auto - Auto Repair Near Me - Fountain Valley, California

Damien upgraded our 73 Super Beetle to the next level with dual-Weber carbs. He added a deep oil sump & powder-coated the tin to keep the engine plenty cool with the added horsepower. My beetle runs like a champ and I've got all the power I need on the highways. Damien goes over the whole car to make sure everything is just right & your car is safe. Thank you so much Damien! You are the man! read more

D & J Auto - Auto Repair Near Me - Fountain Valley, California

After a failed experience at PCH GARAGE Sunset Beach, a friend recommended this business. Nov 17th I called advised if my brakes and check overall car can be seen. Today, Nov 18th 0800 I mounted my road bike and dropped of the bug. Damian took invoice 1 hour later called me with diagnostic. Brake line damage spilled brake fluid just needs brake adjustment put brake fluid bleed it and replace busted hose. Test driven and works perfect. He also assess other recommended work and gave me written estimates. Now, I am not a mechanic but this is exactly what I would expect. My good friend Drew recommended this place. My son 15 1/2 next month can't wait to have permit and start driving this bug. For his safety and my peace of mind I will return to this shop for bug maintenance. Very very satisfied. Thank you all. read more

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Damian was sooo knowledgeable. The phone was answered right away. I got to speak to the mechanic on the phone to troubleshoot, and as he predicted, it was a clutch cable. Where else can you get service like this. I wish voting with six stars was possible. read more

Great Business to get your car fixed from honest people they really care about your automobile,keep up the great work.

The owner totally ripped me off. I dropped off my non-running bus that's been sitting for a long time to check it out and to give me an estimate how much it is to fix. All they did was a compression test and they then charged me $190 after letting me wait for a week before they "looked" at it. I didn't get an estimate, receipt or anything. The only thing they told me was that compression is bad. I'm really disappointed and would not recommend this place. $190 is a total scam! read more

D&J is one of the most respected VW restoration houses in SoCal. Top quality work, but Damien is busy and the job can take a while - but well worth the wait. My 64 bus came out perfect and I couldn't be happier. Keep engaged and there wont be any surprises and you'll get a job done right!!! I'm a big fan!!! read more

I took my 1967 VW bug that had alot of problems (electrical and mechanical) with it when I bought the car in the beginning of this year. I found Damian and his crew to be extremely knowledgeable about vintage VW's and they also did a wonderful job fixing everything and working with my budget. I am very happy with there service and would recommend them to anyone. read more

I DO NOT RECOMMEND D & J AUTO.. Damien (the owner) is maybe the most arrogant person I have ever met. D & j Auto worked on three of my cars. Their work can be good and can also be very very bad. All three of my cars came back to me with big scratches in the paint. My last car I picked up about 6 months ago. I had Damien and his team install a transmission and a motor. In removing the motor because of a clutch problem that Damien said he fixed but could not tell me what the problem was, I noticed a missing motor mount.. Enough said.. If you do choose D & J auto make sure you get every and all quotes up front and in writing. Check your car and take pictures before leaving your car with Damien. read more

TURN AROUND - WALK AWAY. I regret that I am even having to write this negative review. Working with the owner, Damian at D&J auto who are Volkswagon Specialists, has been the most uncomfortable and frustrating business dealing I have ever experienced and I will never use his services again. Back in January 2014 I took my 1972 VW Superbeetle to him for restoration, 8 months later I got the car back and still have to take it to another VW place to complete the project. Please be patient and read all of my lengthy complaint. He took notes on a yellow pad of what we intended to do. I let him know what amount of money I wanted to spend and gave him $3000 to get started. He nodded enthusiastically, yet he never gave me an invoice with an estimate of costs. When I came to the shop several months later to start making further payments - I received the first paperwork and cost breakdown for mechanical work only. The cost for just the mechanical work was already over my budget - and we hadn't even started the interior. Our communications and dealings got very tense from then on. I did say we were in no hurry, but somehow time became his bargaining chip that contributed to further misunderstandings about money and a completion date. We continued to have misunderstandings about what was agreed upon. Our meetings consisted of "He said, I said". I was so distraught over our meetings together I left crying once. There was never an upfront formal work order to sign and agree - the only paper trail was the original yellow sheet with his notations that I never saw again after our first meeting. The interior restoration was another nightmare. Two days before the deadline to pick up the car, he found issues that he needed to fix - already having the car for 4 months to complete the interior portion. He would tell me, "as soon as we get all the interior parts I can put it all together in a few days." This dialogue went on and on, I felt as though my car was held hostage. I was upset emotionally every time I had to follow up on how the car was coming along. Damian had gone beyond budge just with the mechanical issues - I had to trim the budget for the interior, but Damian never said we couldn't accomplish what was originally planned - so when I finally came to pick up the car things weren't done and there had been no discussion about it. Just surprise - "Oh well we couldn't do that." What an unfortunate way to treat a customer. Knowing this car was a surprise for my daughter for her 16th birthday - it was incomplete AND he added to the final receipt that there is no warranty for any of the services. The right front tire still scraped loudly as when I brought it in even after all this work. -- $11,000 dollars later and no warranty for his work. The day after picking up the car it died. Fuel sender wires had been messed with while exchanging the speedo- No return spring on the accelerator pedal (it fell backwards onto the floor), no retractable seat belts as agreed, replaced the steering wheel but didn't add the signal cancellation ring. scraping on wheel hub was still there after complete suspension refitting (found out tires were odd sizes and mismatched causing the scraping noise - but never communicated this to me) clutch was slipping and needed replacing. (as a VW specialist how did he miss these things?) My now new mechanic noticed the slipping right away. He is also finished the missing interior parts, completed a tune-up so the car wouldn't die every time we tried to drive it and rewire/replace the fuel sender and clutch and a new set of tires. read more

DO NOT TAKE YOUR VEHICLE THERE. My experience with D and J was incredibly frustrating and excruciatingly long. I have a 1977 fully restored bus that had the right side of the cab crushed in. When I took it to D and J, the owner Damien told me it would require a new clip (front end) to be installed and the time to do so would be 3-4 weeks. My insurance adjuster came out to look at it with him and he was given a work estimate for approximately $7000. The estimate also indicated the work would take that amount of time. In addition to that work, we had some rust working through in the rear quarter panel that I asked be taken care of at the same time. I was assured that after the work was complete, we would never even know it had been in an accident and "Once we get going on it, our attention will be on it and it will go quickly," he said. It took a couple of weeks for him to find a suitable clip and they were running behind on another similar job so, the beginning of the work was delayed a few weeks. Skip ahead to week 17 when I finally got it back and fully functioning. That "3-4 week" estimate was not even close. After the fifth week when nothing was being done on it, I started stopping by once a week to check in and a few weeks later it turned to twice a week just to try to keep things moving along. The work dragged until my wife and I had a sit down meeting with Damien after the 13th week. At that time, he told us he had an additional $2000 into it and was fighting with the insurance company for payment. The irony is that he did not use the full clip so I'm not sure what justified the additional $2000. In addition, the painter wanted $1500 to paint the rear quarter panel and Damien was charging us $350 for the work his shop did to prep it. What! $1850 to fix a rust spot that was the diameter of a baseball? Really?!! It was then that he promised to get the cost of that reduced and to have it done within a week...which it was not until a few weeks later. When I went to pick it up, I noticed that the paint tint did not match. Damien agreed and he sent it back to the painter. I had the feeling that he knew it didn't before I got there but waited for me to point it out. The second time I picked it up, I found a lot of over-spray as well as a lot of rust spots on the roof that I missed the first time. These were from D and J's cutting and grinding of the bus frame. (Those little metal flakes fly everywhere and rust quickly.) It had to go back to the painter again and Damien said he would have the top taken care of by his detailer. The third time, the top was better but it still had rust spots on it and was not back to the condition I brought it to him. He insisted that there was already rust spots in it which there were not. We had it painted a few years ago and I keep garaged and in immaculate condition and I know for a fact they were not there. In addition, the detailer had torn the sun roof seal and it was hanging down. (I am not sure how Damien missed that but, he did.) So, it went back into his shop for the sun roof seal replacement and I again went home without my vehicle. The fourth time I picked it up, the seal had been replaced and he instructed me to take make an appointment with his detailer to have the roof color sanded at his expense and that "we were done." I had to drive it 40 minutes to the detailer, leave it for half a day, and 40 minutes back to pick it up. After I got it back from the detailer (this would make the fifth time) and was able to spend a few days to thoroughly examine it better I found that D and J took short cuts when it came to reassembling the interior and I had to take a day and a half to do the work myself. It is slow, overpriced, not nearly as detailed oriented they said they are. We found Damien to be condescending and unable to fulfill his promises. His service and attitude were so bad that I filed a complaint with the State of California/Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). The BAR informed me that shops must legally provide a copy of an estimate to the vehicles owner and a final invoice to the owner which I was not given. In addition, Damian promised at the beginning of the project that his shop would take pictures of the bus as it was being worked on so we would have visual evidence of everything that was done. He refused to give these to me as well. The BAR intervened on my behalf and negotiated with him to give me a copy of the original estimate, the final invoice, and a memory stick containing the promised pictures. I had previously written negative reviews about his shop and posted them on Yelp and D and J's Facebook page. Damien asked me to take down those down and in return, he would mail me those three items. Reluctantly, I took down the reviews and now after several weeks I still have not received all three so I am re-posting to both Yelp, D and J's Facebook page. AVOID this business!!!! read more

TURN AROUND - WALK AWAY IS RIGHT! I never write reviews but felt obligated so other VW owners don't get scammed. The reviews here are either 5 stars or 1 stars with nothing in between which should already be sounding alarms. Took my bug for a restore and almost 6 months later nothing was done. He removed my engine and without my approval dismantled and threw away my parts. Yes, you read that right! When I pulled the plug he returned me a box of parts and the engine vin didn't even match. He even threw away my Weber carbs claiming they were cracked which they NEVER were. If you don't believe me, look up my small claims case where I was able to beat him in court and he paid up. Don't believe me still, call the Bureau of Automotive Repair where I filed a complaint. When I was researching for the small claims case I spoke with area shops and none had a positive word about this shop. Was told by a previous customer that the owner moonlights at a supermarket which explains the sketchy repair shop. A waste of time and money!!! read more

D & J Auto - Before - Auto Repair Near Me - Fountain Valley, California

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If you truly want your classic VW BUS or BUG fixed the correct way without cutting corners then go to Damian at D & J Auto! I unfornately went to other so called VW Specialist by the name of M... West, etc. and they had me wait 3 weeks for them just to put "bandaids" on the problems and when I tried to pick up my so-called fixed bus... 3 times...I had to bring it back because it stalled everytime I stopped! Damian noticed all the issues... dropped the tranny & rebuilt it (runs awesome with no leaks), corrected the axle leak, brakes, etc. He walked me through all my options so I could make the best choices. My bus has never ran better!!! Damian is a true professional!! read more

Living in Germany I frequently come to OC to see my friends and as a collector I usually buy older cars because of the dry climate there. From my personal experience with D & J over the years Damian is not only a very experienced VW specialist - all the work he and his crew do is simply first class. Special work (like engine balancing, boring etc.) is done by specialized sub-contractors, just like here in Germany. Everybody needs his time to do a good and perfect job - "haste makes waste" ! Personally I do not want a quick delivery with a crummy and incomplete job done - I prefer the D & J ideal of doing the best job possible at a reasonable price . Damian and his staff at D & J are definitely experienced specialists who do great, reliable work - from own experience I can highly recommend their experienced suggestions and the results of their work ! And btw: in my opinion Damian is definitely generous with his customers. My summary: great, helpful and experienced people who do great work ! ! If possible I'd give them 6 instead of 5 stars ! For Volkswagens D & J is definitely # 1 - check them out yourself ! read more

Burned Down My Bus and Will Not Take Responsibility !!!!!!!!!!! Run from this Shop! Read all of the other reviews and believe them D & J and Damien serviced my bus and then with in the first 10 miles it burned down and he told me he is not responsible. My Family was endangered and my bus is gone and he has shirked his responsibility to fix this issue. I am so disappointed. I am a contractor, if the tables were turned and I worked on his house and then it burned down, I think he would expect me to stand up and be responsible and I would. I am sad for his moral compass. I have had my restored 1970 VW bus serviced at D & J auto for the past 5 Years. I have owned the vehicle for almost 10 years. It runs very nice and has had very little mechanical issue as I have owned the vehicle. I Found D & J because they are a VW specialty shop that works mainly on Bugs & Busses. They are located near my Office and convenient for me to service my Vehicle. Recently when my wife was driving the car the gear shifter complete sheared off. This was a shifter that D & J had installed about 4 years prior. We had the car towed to his property and he re-installed a used shifter to replace the new shifter that was previously installed. I asked Damien (Owner of the Shop) while the vehicle was there, to service the vehicle, Oil change, Tune Up ect.... I also informed him that there was a gassy smell in the car and asked him to diagnose the smell. I told him that I was not sure if the smell was from the exhaust or something else. Damien called me back and told me that he had looked all through the car and that there was no issue. He stated that he saw some residue near the gas cap and that he replaced the gas cap. I informed him that I felt that this was a much larger issue than that and that I wanted him to test drive the car and really find out where the issue was. He stated that he did and that there was no issue and that the car was safe to drive. I picked up the car on Monday, July 22nd and drove the car 8 Miles to my house and parked the car. I then went out of town until Saturday July 27th. On Saturday I loaded my family into the car to go to dinner at about 4:30 pm. We drove half a block and then the engine died, and the car began to smoke. I got out of the car and opened up the engine compartment and discovered that there was a fire in the engine compartment. I removed my family from the car, Called 911 and proceeded to watch the car completely engulf in flames. The vehicle is a total loss. I estimate the worth to be approx $25,000. I had the burned remains of the vehicle towed to D & J Auto. I met with Damien the owner and informed him that I felt that this was his fault and that I wanted him to either write me a check, put this on his insurance as a claim on his insurance, or replace the Bus. He called me on Tuesday July 30th and informed me that he would not take responsibility for this issue and to come and pick up the bus. I feel that D & J Auto is not fit to be working on people's vehicles. Damien endangered my entire family and my small children and created a significant financial loss to me. I noticed there have been other complaints to BAR about this shop. I was not aware of until this issue happened. Had I known I would not have had Damien work on my Vehicle. I would really appreciate some assistance from BAR to hold this shop accountable. I am a general contractor and if I worked on someone's home and then the home burned down. I would be the responsible party. This is why we all carry liability insurance. I have asked Damien to give me his Insurance information. He told me he would, but he has not sent it to me. I want to resolve this as quickly and peacefully as possible. read more

I have been bringing my son's 1970 VW Bus in to D&J Auto for the last year or so. Unfortunately I did not find D&J first and other mechanics that worked on it were obviously not experienced with this type of vehicle. Damien (the owner) is extremely helpful, friendly and knowlegable. He got the bus running great and his costs were very reasonable. I especially appreciated the explaination of what was done and why and the time he took to go through the bus with my son. From my experience with Damien, I would have to say that he loves what he does and that he takes a great deal of pride in his work. read more

D & J Auto is such an amazing business! He got me parts for my '69 bug for cheaper than any body else and they worked perfectly. The customer service was the best I've seen in a long time. He really enjoys what he does. I recommend this company to any VW owner. Thank you so much Damian! read more

Douglas I just think you had a bad day. They are so bad yet you took three cars there? I found Damian to be a well informed good guy that is just looking out for the best in his customers, which I find rare in mechanics these days. I would refer and of my friends to D and J Auto. If you want to talk about bad, give Dr. J Auto a try in Huntington Beach, they are almost criminal! read more

I brought my 1961 VW bus to D&J auto for a complete restoration, and now have a prize-winner! This past weekend the bus took "Best VW modified" in The Huntington Beach - Beach Cruisers Car Show. My experience at D&J was just amazing. I had begun my VW work at another VW shop which overcharged and under-delivered. Damian at D&J offered to fix the motor that was badly rebuilt for a minimal charge, and he was also able to help me plan and finish a complete restoration of the entire bus. Damian advised me throughout the project, and suggested options as we went forward. It was exactly the service I would expect from a winning business and a business-owner who cares about his customers! Damian and his staff are very aware that quality work brings return customers and referrals, and they all assure work is well done, within quoted prices, and on time. I was kept current on what was going to happen, what could come next, how long it would take, and what it would cost. There were no surprises on cost, quality, or schedule. D&J is an excellent experience in a field not well regarded for those attributes! read more