"The GURU of air cooled!" Richard went out of his way more than once on my projects I've had through out the years. Never had to take it back twice for the same issue... Highly recommended! 1963 ragtop bug 1967 Kombi read more

I remember this guy. Paid him 5k plus for a new motor, and this(pictures of cap nut) just UNSCREWED itself on my commute home. My drive was a total of 6 miles mon-Fri and the incident happens not even 2 months after he gave the car back to me. I was lucky though. The car failed not even a mile from my place so I made it home without causing serious damage. I call him, show him the pic, and tells me to bring it in to the shop. My immediate question was if he was gonna charge me, he says "he had to see how much damage was caused before he can give me an answer". Absolutely not. Here's the interesting part. I go to a mechanic in motebello and explained what happened but didn't tell him who did the job. Took one look at the cap nut that was used and immediately said "that nut was EVENTUALLY going to come off due to its incorrect size and with the vibrations of the car. classic scam move". Did the same play with 2 other places. Showed them the pics along with the nut that Richard used and got the same effing response. Scammed When I first met him, he was sure to let me know that I'd see bad reviews online and played it off as a "live n learn" thing. Then I saw the greasy ass fingers prints he left on my car when he gave it back... you're why people are afraid of trusting mechanics. Stay away read more

Lizard Motorsports - Auto Repair Near Me - Downey, California

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I brought my stock '66 beetle in for the Lizard stance and I got it plus more. In addition, front disc brakes, new shiny wheels were added as well as the Lizard tune up. I feel like I have an extra gear now that Lizard has fixed it up nicely. I trusted Lizard and he didnt disappoint. Thank you Lizard and friends. read more

Lizard Motorsports - Before and After - Auto Repair Near Me - Downey, California

Where do I Begin I'm Looking on here. And reading all the mixed reviews. And Wanna Give My 2 Cents, Well Lizard built an engine for my VW and I couldn't be more pleased on how it came out. Lizard(Richard) was awesome and up front about everything I went back numerous times before I made a decision. and he told me to go fast cost money and it adds up. I was cool with it because money was no object for my baby. He Sent Pictures and kept communication and every thing was done in a week. And when it was all said in done it was a lot cheaper than I thought Lizard is well Known in the VW community. I will continue to send my friends and family to lizard for VW needs. I Guaranty if you take your VW there you will be Satisfied I was. This Guy Knows His Shit. And the Shit he Doesn't know he will Find out . read more

Bad customer service. Horrible communication. Makes appointments, then cancels without letting you know. Poor business ethics. Steer clear of this business read more

My car is a Daily Driver, runs great for Now. Lizards provides VW expertise in mechanics & Restorations. But I wont be going back there anytime soon, i choose to spend My money elsewhere read more

Lizard Motorsports - Now!! WATCHA!!! - Auto Repair Near Me - Downey, California

One of the best in the business, Lizard is one of a very few of a dying breed of VW specialist. Much more than the corner 'catch all' mechanic that's a jack of all trades master of non... Lizard unlike those other guys is a master craftsman that really knows his niches. One observation was his timeliness wasn't the best. However, is time isn't pressing. Pound for pound Lizard is one of the best. read more

Lizard rebuilt my '70 type 1 engine, and has performed major and minor work on my bug for the last 5 years. I wouldn't trust anyone else. He's fair and honest, and after getting ripped off by another "strictly VW" guy on the west side, Lizard has restored my faith in mechanics by "steering me straight" every time. I've recommended others to him and they've had the same experience, so it's not just me! He's fast - twice I dropped the bug off and he's made the fix before my ride showed up (really). I live in Topanga, so there are a lot of other VW guys that are closer than Downey, but I don't mind driving the 40 miles for the peace of mind. read more

Professional work, quick turn around. Had my car back the next day even though it needed alot of work. Car is running better than expected. Thank you Lizards. read more

I highly recommend Lizard Auto Parts. The owner Ricardo is extremely friendly and gives really good service. He gave me the best offer comparing to all the other mechanics that were too expensive and rude. He specify in mostly VW vehicles but he will check any vehicle if it's an urgent need like mine. Everything was on the last minute that he was able to take care of my problem right away. I have respect towards hard working mechanics that takes their time to do the job good. They are a huge lifesavers that I will come again if I ever need other mechanical work. read more

Lizard Motorsports - Auto Repair Near Me - Downey, California

First impression,the reviews are mixed. The could turn out really good or really bad. I couldn't be more please with how my came out. Richard really cares about details and it shows in his work. I'm happy to have found regular place to take my beetle. read more

Lizard is owner/operator/mechanic he's a cool character and he aims to please his customers.. highly recommended for your classic VW needs..

I have a 71 VW bus I had my dad working on it for a long time and we could not get it to idle. After a month of frustration I took my bus to Lizard and he fix the problem in like five minutes. From that day on he has been my mechanic ,servicing the engine to putting in a new transmission .He has been my go to guy for the past five years .His prices are reasonable and he does great work. I would recommend him to anyone. read more

Great service. What a stand up guy, i was hesitant at first due to the bad reviews but im glad i went to him. He fixed my electrical gremlins and fixed my leak from my axle tubes. I highly recommend lizard and will be going to him for all my vdub fixes. Thanks lizard! read more

Scammer alert! He "LOST" my father-in-law's very rare '69 VW type 3 square back. Super rare VW very hard to find. He's known to take rare parts.. read the other reviews. So Richard (owner of lizard motorsports) told my dad the the painter went M.I.A. with his car ALONG with 3 other cars. Richard said the guy picked up the car from Lizard Motorsports so he wasn't able to give the painters location OR the name of whoever picked up the car. Just no information at all. Super irresponsible. So all these cars are missing right? And he's still taking clients .. yeah.. disrespectful to say the least. Finally, a year later.. Richard gives my dad the money back he gave him to fix the car plus $5,000 for the car he "lost" This was my dads first car and no amount of money could replace the sentimental value of that car. Not to mention 5 grand is nothing. This man is a liar and a thief and from reading the other reviews.. if he DOES fix your car and returns it to you, he doesn't even do a good job. read more

First impression and gut instincts are usually the best way to decide if you are making a good decision. Well I didn't go with either one. After a couple recommendations for Lizard's Motorsports, to take care of our classic VW to be repaired after an accident, we decided to have Richard (the owner operator) fix our VW. He assured us that he would take care of all the body and mechanical problems due to the accident. Our insurance had given us an estimate of the repairs for the body and paint and left the claim open to have the adjuster come to the shop once the vehicle was ready for mechanical inspection. Body and paint were completed but the mechanical issues were never addressed. We had asked that he also check the engine over for any needed repairs and we would pay the additional amount, but a phone call was never received in regards to cost of repairs. The communication between shop and client was almost non-existent. A call was received late on a Friday that the vehicle was ready for pickup. We were not able to go and requested to come the next day. Which did not sit well with Richard. And both agreed to meet Monday. Upon arrival the following Monday, we were greeted by Richard and assured the vehicle was completely repaired and ready to go home. Motor ran great the first time it started right up. After addressing a few issues with the paint we were on our way home 3 hours later. Almost half way home 18 miles from the body shop, the VW had a loud knock from the drive train and started to run extremely poorly. By the way, the accident was a direct side impact to the passenger rear tire area. We called Richard and said we were having issues and was there anything he could do to help. (The real short version), He then said in not so many words, it is our problem and it was not his fault. "WoW"! I said he either fixes it or we will see him in small claims court. The vehicle was towed back to Lizard's Motorsports and we were called a few hours later that the CV joints were bad (that wasn't the problem either) and it would cost extra money to fix. By the way the insurance company would have paid the bill. I said put it back together and we will see you in the morning. Upon pickup our VW no longer ran as Richard said it was "out of gas" (yeah right). We had to push the car out to the tow truck to be picked up again and taken home. Later that day a good friend of a friend got us to a reputable shop and our classic VW is getting the mechanical repairs that were never addressed so the vehicle could get back on the road and driven safely. read more

"BEWARE OF THIS SCAM ARTIST" Spent a good amount of money on body work at Lizard Motorsports. Took over 4 months for the work after the first time he said he would be a few weeks, as Richard kept putting it off every single time to do engine work instead. Maybe since body repair isn't his specialty? Work wasn't that great, took a lot of short cuts, and I spent a lot of money on good replacement metal panels only to be hacked for a few pieces off of it. The work looks amatuer at best. He hired some paisa to finish the rest because he appeared stuck on what he was trying to do.  I do not recommend Lizard Motorsports to anyone. Very bad lack of communication, and not once was I called to know the update about anything, and I even showed up unnacounced at times only to find my bus in the corner after Richard just said he was working on it. He's a big liar, so please anyone thinking about going to Lizard Motorsports, please don't!!! read more

Lizard Is a great guy for all your VW needs. He is great for your basic needs and a full restoration. Lizard does quality work and takes pride in what he does. My bus is running great I can't wait to get the full restoration done with him and his crew. read more

Lizard Motorsports - My bus after new tranny and fresh welded floors. Next step paint and body. - Auto Repair Near Me - Downey, California

Always work with my schedule. Always gets the job done. Stands by his work. Been going to Richard for a few years now for all my routine maintenance and whenever something on my 65 needs replacing. He gets it done. read more

I have a 1956 VW beetle. Ever since I bought it, Lizard (Richard) has been the only person (aside from me) to do any work to it. I've been bringing my bug to Lizard for the past 5 years and he has never let me down. He keeps it real and doesn't b/s you. His prices are fair for the quality of work he does. read more

My van broke down 75 mikes after Richard "fixed" it. He refuses to honor his work. Never again.

Scam artist. Does not get the job done when he says he will and keeps rare parts. Worst part is he wont refund money and will refuse to look for parts that he "lost." "Lost" about $500-$600 dollars worth of carburator parts. VW COMMUNITY BEWARE!!! I've come to find out hes done this to many other people in the VW community. SCAM ARTIST. read more

Glad I didn't take my car here. This place total sucks. I went to Mike's VW and he did a great job and was very afordable for quality of work that was done 1-562-857-3977 read more

Watch out for this guy. Richard seems like a nice guy when you first meet him but when I brought in my Porsche 914 for him to fix an oil leak, he wanted to pull the motor and reseal it. While he had the motor apart, he found a little wear on one of the cylinder walls so I had him replace all cylinders and barrels. When he gave my car back to me 4 months later, it ran so bad I could barley drive it home and it still leaked oil. I called him several times and he would never call me back. Finally, I stopped into his shop and he just had one excuse after another on why my car ran so bad. I ended up replacing the carburetors, distributor, fuel pump and nothing helped. I am going to have to pull the motor and have someone go through it and find out what he did to it. His lack of compassion and his unwillingness to correct the problem was a total shock. Like I said, he seems like a nice guy but don't be fooled like I was. read more

lizard! great guy, Did an awesome job on my bug.

Lizards a dope shop, me and my brother both have bugs and drive right passed goldmine vw shop in Whittier all the way to Downey to see lizard, pretty stand up guy, and good prices. First tookmy car to randy at goldmine vw in Whittier( I live 2 mins away) and had to have everything redone at lizards. Now I go there and haven't had any problems. Quality work every time. read more

Found this cat by accident. Driving down woodruff approximately 6 years ago. I own a 67 bug restored but ALWAYS had issues. Every since I met,( who I now call a good friend) "Lizard" my bug has ran great, daily driver Corona to Downey, narrowed beem, freeway flyer, w/ a 1776 44 webbers little cam work, with "thumbs up" from other drivers as well as vw community. He is honest straight forward trust me I've been through many mechanics, this is the first car I ever purchased as a teenager, restored this time by Lizard with absolutely NO gliches. Let Lizard put his hands on your VW and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. read more

I don't write many reviews but I had to write this one. I took a VW Karmann Ghia to Lizard to get worked on. The car needed alot of mechanical. After talking to Lizard I decided to get it done in one shot . He re-sealed the engine changed my transmission to a freeeway flyer, changed clutch and rebuilt my carburetor. When I got the car back I could not have been happier. Car drove great and I had nothing to complain about. If you are looking for someone to fix or restore your VW Lizard is the man to see. I had a chance to see what he does and he does a great job. His prices are very reasonable and his workmanship is great. Paul and Ben were also great help with all the questions I had. I will be taking the car for other things in the future . I trust leaving the car to get worked on and I am glad I met Lizard. In life you need a great mechanic and i found mine. Great Job Guys. read more