W E Harding Company Inc

I can’t recommend Walter and his team enough. They are extremely professional and courteous and accommodating and, most importantly, honest. I won’t take my car anywhere else!

This place is a rip off! Take your car to Made in Japan in Campbell… At least they are reasonable! Walter Harding charges 40% MORE!

Mr. Harding has rescued me twice in the last year with all of my car troubles. I came to him after searching for a local and trustworthy shop that does work on Foreign cars, in this case, an Audi.
Not only did he work on my car with professionalism, but he also put me back on the road with one of his loaner cars. I did not have to miss any obligations I had set for myself. This is just scratching the surface of kindness.
I’ve been battling car troubles ever since I purchased a used automobile from the San Jose area. Mr. Harding has helped me along the way with his auto services but also with advice in legal matters regarding used cars or «lemons» per say. His advice lead me to being successful in the latter of these situations. No one I know does this, especially a person in the automobile industry.
In sum, I’ve had more car issues along the way and he’s been there for me since my first visit. He’s allowed me to tow my car to his facility, allowed for me to stage my car there while I debated on fixing it or not, he has also given be prices that are fair and well worth the work.
Mr Harding and his W. E Harding Shop that he represents is a genuine auto shop for all of your needs. His staff of mechanics are all knowledgable and friendlier than most. They do an awesome job!
Thank you, Mr Harding and staff! If it weren’t for you and your class acts, I would probably still be on the side of road!
I will always come back, not only for the service, but for the people that give this industry a chance to do good by others!
Thanks!

Hello everyone. I own Mercedes E500 since 2001. I’ve been going to W.E. Harding Co every time i need help with my car i go there. Last time they fix my engine shake. Now car runs like new. Definitely recommend this place.

Walter’s repair service is absolutely stellar. You don’t have to drive a high-​priced fancy car to benefit from his expertise. I took my 1995 Toyota Tercel to him a few days ago for an alignment, balance, and tire rotation, and since it was the first time I brought my car to him, he had his mechanics do a thorough overall inspection of my car, which I greatly appreciated.
I work downtown near his business, and I am fortunate to have such an excellent auto repair facility nearby. I plan on being a loyal customer of Walter’s for many years.

I’ve taken my cars to Walter for 29 years. I have always received professional and courteous service. In my profession I observe, research and analyze data, so any business that gets my money is thoroughly scrutinized, researched, and analyzed by me, before and during the process of our business together.
Some highlights:
–Walter answers every question thoroughly, and explains until I understand. I’m then able to make informed decisions. When I follow up with my own research on what he’s told me, what he’s told me has always been confirmed.
–His prices are actually quite decent. He has even let me know when I could get a part or have a particular service done elsewhere for less
–When needed, I have always been given a loaner car. Talk about peace of mind.
–Over the years I have run into long-​time (20, 30, 40+ years) customers countless times while at the shop; W.E. Harding Co appears to have a very devoted customer base.
I have often recommended W.E. Harding Co to others, and been thanked for it later. Also, I have heard his shop recommended in conversations. It’s a small world!
Why write a review now? Recently, I recommended Walter’s shop to another friend, who read the Unilocal reviews and was concerned by two negative reviews. I read them, and based on several factors, I can comfortably disregard them. Here’s why:
1) When people have negative experiences, they often tend to go into victim mode, blame others, and take no responsibility for their part in the problem. Thus, when they complain or make a negative review, they will tell ONLY the part of the story that makes them look innocent and victimized. (I do acknowledge that people are indeed sometimes entirely faultless in bad situations, however — that does absolutely happen, but not here.)
2) Let’s take Tyler T.‘s review: He says he took his and his wife’s car to Walter for years. Assuming he is a somewhat intelligent and discerning consumer, he would not have taken his car there repeatedly, for years, if he had gotten shoddy service. So let’s assume for years, Tyler T. was happy with the service.
Then a problem occurred, which when examined, shows a high likelihood of being inadvertently caused by Tyler T. himself. How? An aftermarket oil filter can indeed fall apart. Both a Google search and conversations with other mechanics on the topic easily reveal how this is not terribly uncommon when the vehicle owner tries to save money by doing an oil change himself or having a buddy do it, and/​or waits much too long to change the oil, and/​or uses an aftermarket filter. Just because the oil filter fits doesn’t mean it’s the correct quality. We all know there are discrepancies in the quality of products…
I wonder if Tyler T would be forthcoming in sharing the details of the oil changes prior to the problem with his car.
3) I prefer to be direct with people, so I told Walter that I’d seen the negative review on Unilocal and that I wondered what had happened. His response was professional, and amazingly, he did not put down Tyler T. in any way. Instead, he simply stated that the issue with the customer’s car had been investigated by his insurance company (so looks like Tyler T did file a claim) AND the Bureau of Automotive Repair at — Walter’s suggestion-​, and they found no fault with the actions of W.E. Harding Co. The Bureau is notoriously pro-​consumer, and highly punitive towards shyster automotive businesses.
The other negative review posted by «Marcus» in 2008 also looks like only one small part of a story.
Marcus stated that the diagnostics at W.E. Harding indicated a head gasket compromise. Typically this means coolant was found in the oil, which nearly always points to a blown head gasket, and/​or cracked head. (Again, research more than amply verifies this). Yes, the auxiliary water pump being shot certainly could have caused the lost puddle of coolant, HOWEVER that doesn’t explain or address the results of the diagnostic stating the head gasket was compromised.
Coolant overflowing into a puddle on the ground is coolant going someplace not leading to oil contamination. Diagnostics likely found coolant contaminating the oil, which means there was also a problem elsewhere, separate from the water pump problem.
I wonder what the state of the head gasket really ended up being, and if Marcus could update the end to that story… this was in 2008 so who knows if he even has the car anymore.
A crappy, shyster auto repair shop would not only have more than 2 negative reviews since 2007, it would probably have been shut down. I believe there is more to these negative review stories than it seems.
I’ll keep taking my car to W. E. Harding Co.

W.E. Harding knew the complicated systems in my 2008 BMW and provided top-​notch service. They are not a discount operation, but they do the job right and will be honest with you. Every customer that was there seemed to know and love them.

Mr. Harding is completely dedicated to this business and it shows. Always honest, always detailed. I never like having to take my car to the mechanic but when I have to, I always feel like my car is in good hands here.

Walter is truly as good as it gets with car mechanics. This man oozes honesty and integrity, a trait typically not common in this line of work. He is ethical, competent, honest, and just a Grade A individual. He is by far and above the best car garage I have ever come across, and I am pretty sure I will never come across anyone line him in his line of work ever again. Just hope he has a really really long life :-). Thank you Walter for all you do for us.

Such a Great man! Bless his heart!

Great service and good prices

The best service! Best knowledge. Drove me home when my wife refused to either take me or pick me up. Thanks Walter!

I first met Walter Harding over twenty years ago, when I was shopping for a used Porsche. His name kept coming up as THE guy to go to for expert service on these cars. Walter personally inspected a couple Porsches for me and told me not to buy either of them; if he were out to make a lot of money on someone, I suspect his advice would have been different. Well, I didn’t listen to Walter :-) and bought one of the Porsches he recommended against because I just loved that particular car, and was willing to put a little money into it for the pleasure of driving and owning one of these awesome rides. As Walter put it at the time, «A Porsche isn’t a car; it’s a love affair.» He certainly was right. Over the years, Walter has saved me money and kept that love affair going. I still own that car, largely due to the expert diagnostic skills, meticulous work, and great customer service that is the rule, not the exception, at W.E. Harding Co.
Walter’s mechanics do absolutely top-​notch work. Walter has always offered me options that align with my priorities and budget. I’ve never felt pressured to do anything I didn’t want to do, and Walter has often saved me money by repairing things that I did not have budget to replace. On the rare occasion that something did not go as planned, Walter has always made it right.
I’ve never brought a problem to Walter that he and his staff could not solve. Most of Walter’s mechanics have been with him for ten years or more; as a result, they know me and my cars personally. When an issue arises, they aren’t starting from scratch; they literally know from experience the individual characteristics of each of my vehicles, allowing them to troubleshoot more quickly and effectively than someone who has never seen the car before.
I’ll admit, I’ve never taken my Porsche to anyone else. I was never dissatisfied with any work from W.E. Harding and was not about to let a lesser shop screw up this finely-​tuned machine. But eventually I wanted a car for ski trips and bought a brand new Subaru 4WD wagon. While I was not dissatisfied with dealer service, it was always more of a hassle than going to Walter’s shop. I’d have to get there at 7 am and wait around for a half hour just to do a bunch of paperwork then go through the same thing to get it back. I can bring my car to Harding Co at any time, just drop off the keys and be on my way. If I break down at night, I can park (or tow) the car outside Walter’s shop and let him know by phone what’s wrong with it. Sometimes, when I’ve been in a hurry, Walter has let me just take the car and pay by credit card over the phone later on that day. So when the warranty expired on my Subaru, I started bringing it to Walter, too. I now have over 160,000 miles on my Subaru, it still passes smog first time every time at a test-​only station, and it still gets the same mileage it did as new. When there have been issues, Walter’s guys have resolved them permanently, without fanfare or undue expense. And they treat the Subaru just as well as the Porsche :-) which, incidentally is running strong at around 150K miles.
Over the years, I’ve seen far more expensive cars than mine in that shop. But Walter’s never treated me or anyone else any lesser for what they drive or what they have. And he always stands behind his work unequivocally.
I recommend W.E. Harding Company heartily without reservation or hesitation.

Last year I took my Audi A6 to W E Harding Company last year after my water pump went out. I decided to take it to W E Harding, as the location of my car overheating was close to them and my work location. As I needed to get the water pump replaced, I decided to have the timing belt replaced as well, which is pretty standard. Their quote was rather exorbitant, but I just wanted it fixed and did not want to deal with the logistics of transferring a non-​operable vehicle to my regular mechanic.
One of W E Harding’s diagnostics indicated that my head gasket might have been compromised, as my engine’s coolant had to be continually filled. They believed that it was being burned in the cylinders because of a faulty head gasket. They suggested that I replace the head gasket, which would have involved removing the engine and me forking over $ 3000 – 4000 in parts and labor. I decided I wanted a second opinion on this before making such a large commitment.
After they completed the timing belt and water pump replacement, I noticed a sound coming from the timing belt area and asked them about it. Mr. Harding indicated that is a normal sound and is within tolerances. Well that is great that it is within tolerances, but the sound was not there prior to my water pump going out and sounds like shit to me. Nonetheless, he did not offer to open things back up to look for any problems. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, as I might have been hypersensitive to my vehicle’s noises because of the recent problems.
One day after work, I went to my car and discovered a pool of coolant. This time I took it to my regular mechanic and told him about the previous work done and the diagnostic given by W E Harding. After about an hour of looking at the car, he informed me that it was not a head gasket, but that the auxiliary water pump was shot. He discovered this by simply pressurizing the system, which seems like a basic step, especially if you are a professional. Nonetheless, replacing this $ 169 part remedied the issue of the missing coolant. In addition, he indicated that the noise coming from the timing belt was the result of it being overly tightened. Of course, to fix that involves replacing the timing belt, so I guess I will have to deal with the noise for some 60K miles.
Bottom line is that the folks at W E Harding were trying to hustle me into paying for an unnecessary service or they were incompetent in knowing what needed to be fixed. Either one is a deal breaker for me and I will never go back to this shop again.
My regular mechanic by the way is David at Four B Auto in Santa Clara (408−855−8575). Great guy, great shop, and great service.

I asked Mr. Harding if he would work on my Toyota Camry, given that his shop has the reputation for working on luxury cars. His response was, «Sir, the Toyota IS a luxury car.» He is 100% honest and 100% competent. I haven’t compared prices, but feel no need to.

W.E. Harding is a reputable garage for specializing in luxury and sports cars. (German-​Skilled Technicians ASE-​Master Technicians)
I took my Audi A6 there for a standard 7.5K service. While still expensive, I saved $ 100 off the the dealer price for the exact same service.
I’ve had a number of problems fixed by them — from new brakes to a new axle. Every time I’ve been in for service, they have fixed my car in a timely manner, they left my car in a clean condition, and were pleasant to work with. The prices are not cheap, but I guess doing things right isn’t cheap.
W E Harding is a smaller auto garage (Walter Harding answers the phones), they seem very competent, and it beats going to the dealership.