Really Really bad place. I took my car into Iowa Vdubs Repair in December to have the Head Gaskets replaced. The first red flag was that no one EVER answers the phone. The Voice mail system states they have been having trouble with their phones and it just goes straight to voicemail. I should have taken this red flag much more seriously. I have a 1987 Vanagon with a subaru engine conversion. When I initially reached out to Jose in December 2019, I asked him if he felt confident in completing this project and he assured me that he felt confident in the project, as he had done this project with subaru conversions before. He then assured me it would be done the beginning of January. FIVE MONTHS LATER IT STILL WASN'T COMPLETED. I was living in Iowa during this time and needed to go home for a family emergency in February and Jose assured me he would have the car done in February so that I could drive back to California in it. He delayed completion once again and I had to buy a plane ticket home (During COVID) and Jose had no sympathy, let alone any urgency to get the Vanagon completed. The months of February and March, I would call Jose's office every other day to check on the progress of the completion and there was ALWAYS an excuse as to why they had not yet completed it. Finally during the first week of April, Jose said the Vanagon would be ready to pick up the end of the week. So once again (During COVID), I purchased a flight to fly from California to Iowa to pick up the Volkswagen. When I arrived at the Shop, Jose said he couldn't get the Vanagon to start. I was appauled, not only because he lied to me but because I was taking a risk of traveling during the pandemic and Jose didn't care at all. He was still making excuses as to why the Vanagon didn't start. He even said the reason it wasn't starting was because the "Engine Wiring Harness" was fried. This wasn't true because The Vanagon still started to the day I dropped it off in December, It was the head gaskets that needed to be replaced (not the wiring harness!!). Throughout the next 6 weeks (beginning of April to middle of May), I was in Iowa waiting for the Vanagon to be completed. I was staying in Ames and would drive an hour and a half twice a week down to the shop in Prole to check on the volkswagen because I didn't trust the conversations with Jose over the phone (when I could actually get a hold of him). When I would go down to the shop, the lobby was always extremely messy with boxes and parts all over the place. He had one mechanic working on the cars in the shop, who didn't have any mechanic experience. The mechanic that was working with Jose told me he had been working on a pipeline until a couple weeks ago and had never worked in an automechanic shop. Jose then told me that the "Engine Wiring Harness" needed to be replaced and asked ME to find a wiring harness for him. During this time Jose kept asking for money to cover his costs. I ended up giving him $1750 in a down payment so that he could pay for parts. As I finally found a harness and was about to purchase it for Jose, he was soldering the wires together. The issue was not the Engine Wiring Harness!!! The issue was the head gaskets!! Jose soldered the wiring harness and the Vanagon still did not start. That was a $750 part that he ruined because he didn't know why the Vanagon wasn't starting. And he asked me to pay him for his labor!! I was getting extremely frustrated with Jose because he kept making excuses as to why the Vanagon wasn't starting and it had now been 6 MONTHS since I had initially dropped off the Vanagon. Finally one day during the middle of May, Jose told me he didn't know what else to do, and told me I needed to get the Vanagon off of his property because he couldn't fix it. Not only did I not know if he had actually replaced the head gaskets, but he couldn't even start the Vanagon at all. The Vanagon was running when I dropped it off!! I ending up spending $1,200 to tow the Vanagon out to San Diego to California Westy's to complete the job, and Jose didn't help financially with it at all. Not only did he not help, but he kept asking when the transport truck would arrive because he wanted it off his property and it had only been a week. Jose also made a dent and two severe scratches on the paint during the time the vanagon was in the shop and he denied it and said he didn't have the tools to fix it. HE ALSO STOLE two memorabilia watches that were in the back closet. 2009 Emerald Bowl Watch USC vs Boston College and 2017 Liberty Bowl Watch ISU vs Memphis. He denied that as well. California Westy's fixed the problem within three weeks. I was sent pictures of the head gaskets and it is visible that Jose didn't do any type of work on the head gaskets. The reason the vanagon didn't start was because Jose put the timing belt on backwards - a basic installation for a mechanic. Really bad experience and I'm now in debt thousands of dollars because of Jose. read more

Iowa Vdubs Repair - This was what the head gaskets looked like after Jose had "completed them" - Auto Repair Near Me - Prole, Iowa

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The worst. Nightmare situation. Jose, the owner, lied numerous times. Took 10 months to get my car back and it wasn't even fixed all the way- had to bring it back yet again. Unbelievable. I would never ever recommend this place and I warn anyone against taking your car in. A friend of my family is now experiencing the same nightmare I went through. Jose uses very young employees to do his work, and they don't seem competent at all. You wouldn't believe the hell I went through with this guy and this place. read more

I took car in for a new fuel pump. Called and talked to someone, and ask that they not put in a $354 pump from NAPA assured they wouldn't, and they didn't . However when talking with whoever answered they mentioned a 20% discount. Their home page shows a senior and military discount. They had no way of knowing I was in the military, but surely they could tell I was a senior, since I am 77. No where on my statement is there any indication of a discount. You'd think they would be pleased to point that out. Probably won't go back read more

Jose the owner was everything but professional when I took my car in there. Don't go to him unless you want conned into paying for parts and repairs you don't need. His mechanics are incompetent as well. He did nothing but waste my time and misdiagnose my vehicle. Disregarded everything I told him while talking on the phone. Was beyond upset with him when I went to pick my car up. Don't let him check your stuff out. He'll try To talk you into working with his banks to get a loan when you want to leave. Pushy, condescending, unprofessional, and horrible are a few adjectives that describe my experience at his shop. He's not even worthy of a whole star. Don't believe me. Take your vehicle in with something more than a basic repair and find out for yourself!! He'll lie about running diagnostic tests and instead pull straws from his hat in hopes that youre ignorant enough to give him the go ahead with his shoddy work. read more

Worst experience of my life. They screwed up my car. I got new wheel bearings installed form these people. While going home i felt something is not done correctly and also different sort of warnings showed up on my dashboard. I went to the Discount Tires and they showed me rear wheel bearings work was done poorly and the rear tires were literally dancing. I don't know what would have damaged because of that. Since then my car's steering is shaking very bad. I went there again to get that issue fixed and they charged me like anything. The issue is still not fixed and that drives me crazy. They don't have any standard pricing and don't know how to talk with customers. They don't take phone calls too. Don't go there unless you don't like your car. I am highly disappointed and not recommending this place to anyone. read more

Jose Ortega is a knowledgable and hardworking mechanic with many years of experience. I found him when my 1990 Westfalia camper wouldn't start after camping in a campground outside Des Moines, IA. Although he was busy, he found time to see my van. As it turns out, a couple of parts had gone out (Hall generator, control panel and the front radiator fan) which were a challenge to find and get overnighted to Des Moines. I ended up in a hotel in Des Moines for a week. Jose was diligent about tracking down the parts and kept in touch with me; consulted with me as well as my mechanic at Peace Vans (Seattle, WA). I drove off feeling very confident in his work. In addition, he called me a few days later to make sure I had made it home okay! Thank you Jose! read more

I got my timing belt done there for my Jetta TDI. What he quoted me at is what I paid. However there was an issue after the fact about a broken engine mount bolt, but he did sent a tow truck out and fixed everything for free, even fixed the turbo for me which had nothing to do with the engine mount bolt. Car runs great now. All in all he quoted me at a price he kept, he made a mistake but took responsibly and fixed for free. No complaints. read more

WORST SERVICE EVER! Took my car in for a simple oil change. When I got it back it would almost die at 2200 rpm and was pouring out black smoke. The owner said he would take a look and then once he had the car wanted to charge $95 to look at what he did to it. Not happy I authorized the charge in hopes that he would find the issue. When I called back to discuss it he hung up on me. When I showed up to get my car he just handed me the key and said there ya go... and then attempted to lecture me. I had authorized other repairs which were not completed. If you don't like your car and want to be mistreated or lectured too this is the place for you! read more