Tassi Inc

If you have a VW, take it here. They know their stuff and will give you the fairest price possible. I TOTALLY trust these guys. My check engine and electrical lights lit up on my dash. I took my Jetta wagon somewhere nearby. It was fixed for a week. Then the lights came back on again. After paying almost $ 450 the first time, they told me now I needed to shell out another $ 700. Or they could reset the computer. Of course I took the free option. I took the car back to them 3 more times, each time the lights would go off for 1 – 5 days, then come back on. The guys at Tassi fixed my car, and got me a part for $ 200 less than the price quoted to me from the other place. I’m so glad my friend recommended them to me. So I’m passing on the good advice!

This shop is great. Not only did they install my shift bushings and align my linkages when other shops were quick to suspect the transmission, these guys were super fast. I got a call in two hours that my truck was ready to be picked up. They also answered my random questions and have shown to be experts when it comes to old VW’s.

We decided to take a lunch stop in San Francisco on our drive from LA to Seattle. Unfortunately our air cooled Vanagon couldn’t start after lunch. After calling around to local mechanics, Tassi came recommended so we gave them a call and they let us tow our VW over. It was late in the afternoon and the shop was closing, but they were very accommodating and let us sleep in our van in their driveway and promised to take care of us first thing in the morning.
The van basically started right-​up in the morning after tinkering with the starter wires. They suspected that the starter wire was loose so they just fastened it. No services was actually done to our car — but they did teach me how to bypass the ignition and crank the engine using a wire under the car just in case the issue came back when we were on the road.
Call it good (or bad) timing, but our sliding door actually broke off the day before we had starting issues. Since the starting issue was diagnosed very quickly, they were able to pull door parts from a car on their lot and got our sliding door working again! They also adjusted our awning (it was rubbing against the pop-​top causing damage) and even allowed us to pick random accessories from their older Vanagons too.
All in all, an excellent VW shop! When it comes down to it, we came over in a tow truck and left happily driving away within less than 24 hours. We had a really positive experience with these guys. Their customer service is top notch and I definitely recommend Tassi if you’re in the bay area. The only reason why they didn’t get 5 star rating is because the root of my starting issue was not fixed. We continued to experience starting hiccups on our drive to Seattle, but we were able to keep it moving since they showed me the hotwire trick. We finally got the starting issue resolved in Portland, with the addition of a relay next to the starter.

My first visit to this shop was a rousing success. My 2002 Jetta had a broken armrest… I was leaning on it get out of the car… not too smart on my part. Sounds like no big deal to fix, but Serramonte VW wanted $ 826 for a new one. You read that right. Tassi had a used one, installed it in an hour and Bruce charged me $ 60. Needless to say Bruce is the man! His shop is totally non-​corporate and personal. He gave me some tips and info about my car that I didn’t get anywhere else. My new VW maintenance headquarters!

I have known Bruce (the owner) and have gone to Tassi since 1997. Though I no longer have an old VW (had a 74 Beetle and 84 Westfalia), I have a Toyota now. Bruce is one of the nicest guys I have ever met, he is the laid-​back surfer type and a person who wants to make his customers happy.
First of all, Tassi is not the perfect mechanic. I have yet to find one. The garages that are super clean and tidy with nice waiting rooms, coffee, etc are expensive. The garages that are unorganized, maybe a bit dirty, etc are cheap. Tassi falls into the latter category, if you are used to the former you will be disappointed. But if you want reasonable prices, Tassi is really tough to beat, I think Bruce beats everyone on price by a long shot.
One of the main things I like about Bruce is that he is really good about finding alternatives to new (and pricey) parts, Bruce is very good with having used parts in stock and finding good quality aftermarket parts that do the job. He will keep your old VW running well if you are on a limited budget.
That being said, old VWs are well… old. If you are driving a 30 – 40 year old car, you can’t expect the same reliability as a new Toyota. You are gonna have issues. Some of these issues are very tough to diagnose. Bruce knows old VWs as well as anyone, but sometimes even he gets stumped. What I have found is that Bruce always does what it takes to solve the problem, but sometimes it takes a while. So you need to be a bit flexible on schedule. Honestly if you are not flexible with your old VW, you probably shouldn’t own one. I think some of the folks posting bad reviews fail to see this connection.
If I buy another old VW again, I will be going back to the folks at Tassi.

Super disorganized. Had to make several trips for work that they said was done. Once the part they said they had installed arrived as I was in the lobby…

Love it! Have 66 beetle and am kind of new to it. I really loved how patient he was and how he told me what was wrong and what needed to be done. I felt like they truly care about the customer. Other places before tried to overcharge me but he gets it done quick and easy. He walks you through the problem and tell you what to look out for if it comes to happen again. Called them for some simple question while I was at the auto part store buying oil, and they were friendly to answer. They care about your car and want you to have a good running car. I recommend calling ahead of time and letting them know the problem. Love this place!

Man oh man do i love this place. The people here are so nice and helpful it amazes me!
We went in to get some work done and they diagnosed and explained exactly what they needed to do.
We also had an emergency repair that needed to get done and they kindly took and fixed the beetle the same day within hours on a day that they weren’t even open.
No shop will do that ever. I was so thankful for them to help me out like that. They make you feel like family. Great people, great service. Two thumbs up and a seal of approval.

Noticed something wrong with my left blinker, signal. I pull up, talk with owner. Ted checks it out, replaces bulb. It works as it should, I’m in and out $ 20. All good.

I originally went to tassi’s, they supposed to be the VW specialist, I had my transmission rebuild on my 86 vanagon 11 months later crapped out, took it back to them to honor their warranty, it’s now 2 months later they have not touched my van they keep telling me next week, my van still in the same spot and they keep telling me they’re tired of pushing it around, I just hope they fix my trans so I could get the hell out of there and never come back incompetent liars that didn’t have any problem taking my money when I bought a transmission from them, but now it seems they’re taking their time honoring the warranty, or they just don’t want to do it because they already got my money, stay away from this place, I just didn’t know any other VW place around

IF ONLY YOU COULD GIVE A ZERO, they’d get a minus zero
1. They FAIL TO STAND BEHIND THEIR WORK
2. As others have mentioned, you go in with a problem and after $$$ the problem is either unresolved, or they forget to put some other part back together properly.
3. The place is filthy and disorganized, and what you see is pretty much what you get.
4. Once they have your vehicle (as others have commented) they can be (but are not always) completely unresponsive.
4. The owner is more interested in his daily surfing than running a competent business.
Took my Westy in for new transmission. $ 1,800 = fair price. Less than 4,000 miles later the new (rebuilt) tranny is failing. Think they’d stand by their work? OH NO. «you are outside the warranty period» (it had been a couple of years) «perhaps it’s the clutch» — so they replace the (perfectly good) clutch for $ 4 – 500.
I have been a long term customer. I barely drive the Westy… only for camping trips, so the 4k miles are all easy highway miles. After pleading with Bruce (the owner) no movement. No accommodation. Jeeeze — they installed a faulty transmission for crying out loud.
End of the day, as much as we hate to drive across a bridge, best Vanagon shop is Valley Wagonworks in San Rafael. Competent, clean, fair pricing, and very responsive owners and employees.
WARNING. Leave your priceless classic VW at Tassi at your own risk!

Lets just say they are the reason I got rid of my beloved VW Eurovan.
everytime I took it in — the reason got fixed but another problem would be made.
I never once left feeling content. Oil all over my seats — smoker working on my van — broken wing mirror.
the final straw came when they LOST my van and didn’t know where it was.
I was told it would be fixed in a week as it was an insurance claim — and it took 3 weeks.
I didn’t want to write a review but I think you should know what you are getting.
no one will take responsibility and they pass you around from one to another.
If you love your VW — be careful who you trust it to.
They do love a VW — I just don’t think they have any care for the customer.

This review is long overdue. First off, let me observe that Tassi has no real local competition. My legacy VW shops – City Automotive, Bug’n’Hare – are long gone. So, thank God for Tassi and for Bruce, Brian, and Duncan. This friendly bunch and their quirky crew know how to treat old souls and their almost-​as-​old vehicles. If you spend more than 20 minutes on-​premise you’ll be sure to meet some of their devoted fans and eavesdrop on this or that war story featuring an aging Vanagon or the like. But don’t expect a precision operation or white-​glove garage. Hardly. Fixing old VW’s is a work of devotion. I suggest you do what I did: yield to a relaxed timetable and proprietor Bruce’s good judgement and you will be rewarded.
My ’74 Beetle was spared a total loss claim by a supremely circumspect USAA adjuster. It needed most of a front-​end and most of its antique moving parts/​underpinnings – plus at the very least a new right-​front fender, hub, wheel, and tire. Ten weeks later, it emerged from the Tassi spa with a full-​body zhuzh and paint job, including intricately patched rear-​body vent sections which had suffered 30 yrs of deep rust decay. But there was more to this makeover: all new chassis molding, window gaskets, assorted rubber accents, and new running boards; freshly spray-​painted wheels, well-​scrubbed replacement (used) tires, and a new odometer (nice touch!).
USAA covered the collision damage; I covered the betterment. Tassi delivered way beyond expectation and well under even my most modest math. Count me as a loyal customer for at least another 30 years.

If you are one of us keeping classic VW’s out and about these are the guys to see. I live in Oakland so they are way out of the way but after using other places much closer I take my ’75 Van in to them. Their work is good and the prices always surprise me by not being higher. They’ve got parts others don’t have and I’d be just as glad to take in newer VW if I had one., Fair, economical and just good. These old things are hard and very old and people who expect miracles for their old piece of junk get angry if they can’t make a pig into a unicorn every time and gripe on Unilocal.Unilocal is mostly for those who bitch.

in the middle of the Tassi run-​around. So brought my car in for a carb tune-​up and next thing i know I apparently have a bad motor that needs the top-​end rebuilt. I let them rebuild the top-​end and come back to pick it up. parts are missing and not put back together completely. I confronted them with this and they helped me get it all back together. I took off and heard a terrible noise coming from the motor. took it back and they told me they need to check this out. few days later they tell me there is more damage then they thought. I asked why they DID NOT notice this the first time, secondly why did they tell me this car was done.
it was clear to me and should be clear to any mechanic that knows classic vw’s that there was something terribly wrong. they acted like they didn’t know why. so I still want to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them work on it more. due to of 10+ years of great service at Tassi I wanted to trust them.
This is where the story gets worse. i went to pick it up today after specifically pointing out to them earlier i was upset about my car not being put back together completely not to mention my stereo being stolen in the first round, but I found the exact same failures. My car was incomplete and on top of that it still sounded terrible. They claim it is my carburetors being worn out, but this sound is not coming from the carbs. this sounds like a «Loose Cam Gear Noise or Flywheel» and it is sooooo obvious anyone who drives these old vws would know right away that something is wrong. However they claim they never noticed it. This has to be either the most incompetent gaggle of mechanics I have ever dealt with or they really are trying to pull one over on me.
(Edit I removed the last part of this review due to the fact that the issue was resolved for the most part today) I am not entirely sure if I will use tassi again other then parts or simple jobs due to convenience of being close to my house. However I still find it very frustrating that the noise was very obvious and they imo pretended to not hear it. It was not a serious noise since it turned out to be the muffler slamming up against the body of the car. They installed this muffler for me brand new and did not even notice it was sitting on the body of the car nor did they hear the noise it was making when the car ran. I thought it was something serious which from the way they treated this job it very well could of been. Now its not entirely their fault the MFG of the muffler made it a bit to long to fit the cut-​out. However if they were a competent shop with a ounce of detail they would not only see the problem before they returned the car to me, but hear the noise on a proper test drive. In conclusion I have never dealt with such chaos with my classic vw’s and I have owned at least 15 different beetles and type 3’s so I have had my fair share of shop repairs. This was just one really difficult nightmare of a situation and makes it hard for me to have the same respect I used to have for Tassi.

I’ve been taking my 2003 VW Beetle to Tassi for about 3 years for repairs. At first glance, Tassi looks like a VW graveyard (It’s actually not! Those cars are Angels cuz their parts save you and me money). They are very much old time VW enthusiasts and it’s very much a «Pop Shop»…minus the Mom. They know their stuff, get the work done, and the 1^st time I went there the mechanic drew me a picture of what was wrong with my car! I also appreciate that they talk to you with respect which can be hard to come by in their industry.
Tips for being serviced at Tassi:
–Call a day or two before to give a heads up your coming in to let them know your cars illnesses
–Being your car in early! Preferably VERY close to opening time.
–Be ok with not having your car for a day! ;) They aren’t the fastest, but if you appreciate quality work and great prices you can wait.

After having several things worked on by Tassi on my Westfalia I felt I had to post a review.
The good: their prices are probably the lowest in the bay area for a volkswagen specialty shop and Bruce is knowledgeable and very nice. Unfortunately, he’s too busy to be involved with every car that comes in there, so most likely you’ll get someone else who is most likely a hack… read on…
The bad: my major gripes are that I brought my van here several times to have a stuttering and slow start issue diagnosed. They tried a few things and then said they fixed it. When I brought it back, they said they didn’t experience it and that it was running fine. I then brought it to Valley Wagonworks who immediately diagnosed the problem, a blown spark plug wire and rotor cap! My westfalia was running on 3 of 4 cylinders… How could any competent mechanic miss that??? it now runs like a dream, cruses at 75 all day long…
The other major problem I had with them was they billed me for many things they didn’t do. Again, not because they are dishonest — they are very nice and trustworthy. It’s just that they’re incompetent at times and have too many things going on. They’re too nice to say no to people so they accept jobs they can’t do and get overwhelmed. Without going into details, there were about $ 600 worth of things they said they did that I saw weren’t done when I got home. Of course I drove it back the next day, they were very apologetic and fixed it that day… however, if you’re not car savvy, you may not know when someone doesn’t change cables and parts they claim they do… if I didn’t pop open my hood and check it out myself, i’d still be driving around with the shot parts i thought they replaced!
Bottom line — if it’s a simple task, like «replace my alternator,» you should be fine with them. if it’s a tricky problem or a laundry list of things you want done, go with the pros, like Valley Wagonworks or Bus Lab. It’s a shame too because you can tell that back in the day these guys were among the best before they got so busy and disorganized!

There is something priceless about a certain vintage of VW vehicles. They have an intangible value that only the owners and admirers of these VWs understand.
Tassi understands this. The specialize in keeping these vehicles on the road. The pictures show the amazing stock of recycled parts. This inventory is there to save the customer money.
I’ve been here twice. Once was to buy a clutch alignment tool for my 84 Vanagon. He sold it to me for $ 1! Very cool.
The second time, I went there on blind faith when my van decided to stop and needed to be towed. The transaxle had come loose from the wheel and stripped and snapped bolts to come completely detached. The repair was a greasy job that required a mechanic’s touch to extract bolts and repair threads. He charged me the minimum he could at $ 125 total. He also got it done in less than a day.
If you are looking for a shiny repair shop that doesn’t charge you anything, go buy a new car under warranty and go to the dealer for repairs.
If you are looking for a shop that understands the beauty in these old VWs, go to Tassi’s.

After getting my Jetta, I decided I wanted to take car of all my car troubles on my own, without going to family friends to help with my car. My dad had suggested Tassis. The first time I brought it in, Carlo had taken a look at the car and was really friendly and didn’t talk to me like I was stupid and we discussed a couple things that could be done to fix it up.
I had taken in the car the first time and the things that had to be fixed were, it just took a long week and half. Kind of pricey but not much to complain about
The second time I brought it in, it took a week for me to get anyone on the phone to update me on the car, but when I got it back it seemed to be fine, the temp gage was working, and the water light was off. Then within two months the light was back on and more problems raised; whether it was their fault or not their was no communication. I called ten times in one week before getting a straight answer; then they said they had talked to my dad days earlier which was a lie because they didn’t have his contact info, just mine and my mothers.
All I have to say is the only person that didn’t seem to be jerking me around was the mechanic Carlo. They may know what they are doing; but if you don’t know much about cars yourself don’t trust them. They will let your car sit for days, and not give you the time of day if they think you are stupid.
SO ANYWAYS TIME FOR A NEW SHOP! AND A NEW CAR WITHOUT THIER HASSLE!

Awesome