Trafton Foreign Auto

This is the only place I will be taking my VW to be worked on. Thanks to the team here we were able to get my car back in tip top condition! Would recommend this shop to all VW owners like myself! Pleasure doing business & look forward to continuing my business here for years to come!

Traftons has stood the test of time. I needed clarification about work done and recommended about my vehicle, and I received a courteous and helpful response, which can be difficult from some businesses. This is a great shop with a dedicated, long-​term staff.

Trafton proved hands down that we could trust them to do the best thing for my little beetle convertible. We are new to the Portland area and were promptly lied to by the VW dealer Herzog-​Meier. After having Trafton look at my car they quickly fixed the issue and only charged me for the exact problem. Her zig-​Meier gave me an estimate of $ 5000!
Trafton was careful, researched our issue and took time to make sure they found out the reason my engine light was on. They even put on ceramic brake pads at the same price as regular pads. They have earned my trust! They are honest and reliable! Thank goodness I found them! They have earned my business!!!

I am an active duty servicer member and was in town for a limited time and needed some work done on my 1987 vanagon and i was having a hard time finding a shop that could squeeze me in before i had to ship out to Honolulu. Daniel went out of his way to get me in and he worked with my timeline. His guys spent hours troubleshooting a difficult electrical problem with the cooling fan and got it fixed quick. These guys were recommended to me by my dad who has a vanagon and he was right they know their vanagons. Anyone who owns a vanagon knows that when the work is above your paygrade it is crucial to have a mechanic with vanagon specific experience. great job! Great guys! Honest mechanics.

My bug was my very first car– 12 years later I am still trusting her to the folks at Trafton. Even though it changed hands not much has changed. I miss Bill but he’d be glad to see his customers being well taken care of by the next generation of VW enthusiasts. One thing that has changed is the communication with the shop– wow! I love that I can get emailed invoices and work with the shop via email instead of having to keep trying to get through on the 1 phone line wondering if I should just drive up to get someone’s attention. Those days are over and communication is amazing with Dan. Try them out — you won’t be let down.

Can’t say enough how awesome these guys are: honest, reliable, friendly, and knowledgeable. They’ve taken good care of me and my Eos on a few occasions. I get all of my non dealer-​required maintenance at this facility.

This is the only shop I’ll take my 81 air-​cooled Westy to. I’ve had a few negative experiences with other local shops, and since I discovered Trafton’s, I’ve been a loyal customer. I’m very particular about who I’ll let work on my van when I can’t fix it myself. I wasn’t sure what to expect when Bill sold the shop to Daniel a couple years ago– and felt a bit apprehensive at first, but I have to say, I’m SO impressed! They’re very responsive, easy to communicate with, fast, professional, and thorough! I just had some work done, and my van hasn’t run this well in years! Thank goodness there’s a trustworthy, honest shop that works on air-​cooled VW’s! There aren’t many, and this one is a GEM!

Since my last review of Trafton’s, it’s under new management, but in true Bill Trafton fashion, he passed it onto somebody great. These guys are good, knowledgeable, and passionate, and are carrying the torch beautifully! Friendly and helpful, too. Steve fixed my old bus better than ever. It was a bit of a backyard Frankenstein monster, and he knew exactly what to do. I’ve been around and this is the ONLY place in town for early VW work.

They go above and beyond!
I could write a novel here about how great they have been to work with. They are extremely knowledgeable. They returned my car better than expected and under-​budget. Great communication and customer service. I will definitely be bringing my car back here in the future.
As a bonus, Daniel knows his way around the neighborhood. We asked him where to go for breakfast and he gave us a great recommendation.

There’s been changes at the House of Trafton. They appear good.
You’ll notice the small things when you drive up. The sign out front has been updated; it now reads ‘TRAFTON’S VW’, simple black letters centered in a white background. The big iron cross on the west side of the building is gone; the merry gallimaufry of old cannibalized Veedubs in the back has been simplified.
Stepping into the shop, though, was a revelation. One of the charming things about visiting Trafton’s was the decades of … stuff … that lined the place. You could tell that Serious Mechanics had worked there for a very long time. One of the consolations of waiting to pay whatever bill you owed was the strange pleasure of looking at all of that cruft.
The place has been thoroughly, and I mean THOROUGHLY, cleaned. To the walls. New coat of paint, the whole nine yards.
Now, if you detect a bit of apprehension here, then I must plead guilty. After all, those of you who trust your cars to a mechanic (that is, all of us eventually) know a couple of things; you’re going to be spending considerable money and part of your identity is out of commission until that money gets spent. This is why a mechanic who you’re on the same wavelength with is worth his or her weight in platinum. Bill was that sort of mechanic. He dug everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. So when it became clear that Bill was no longer there, everything became (at least) a semi-​unknown quantity. Was I going to get the same level of service?
Well, ya’ll WILL notice that I five-​starred the review. Allow me to lead you out of this thicket of doubt I’ve lead you into.
There’s a new fellah behind the counter managing the place. His name is Dan and he’s a sure hand. He listened to our problem (the windshield wipers, we feared, had given up their last) and chatted with us at a knowledgeable and friendly level. My wife led the discussion; she’s the mechanical adept in the family, not me. She felt Dan’s approach to the situation was much like Bill’s would have been, and in fact Dan told us that Bill had actually been retired for the last two years and was taking his time to make sure he sold the business to just the right sort of person.
After our experience we think he may have chosen well.
The wiper motor, as it turned out, just needed a clean and relube. Marcos, from the old crew, is still there and I think he did the work. And Dan handled us, really, much the same way that Bill would have.
And he drives a 72 VW Type I, just like I do. So, that’s a win for you right there.
Bottom line: Bill sold the business and took the VW Museum with him. We wish him well and will miss him, but he sold the business to a worthy new owner who will do competent work. Recommended.

I came back and was again treated great! I need work on things I don’t want to touch I was in need of a new muffler! I saw what they went through to get the work done! Thank you Trafton’s team! My bug has great heat, no smells, runs so smooth, starts better, and is so quiet now! They gave me some words of wisdom and sent me down the road a happy man!

they have old, mossy vans in the back lot. each one is filled with a different type of vw part.
there are a lot of doors, fenders, etc.
and maybe even parts cars that you can pick off of.
It is great.

I have taken my 1963 Beetle into Bill a couple of times for various issues and have always been pleased. Bill Trafton is a stand up guy and a very knowledgable mechanic (he has been in the VW business for over 40 years). He always is trying to save you money and get you back on the road as cheaply as possible.
A few tips:
–He is always busy so call ahead and set an appointment
–He loves to talk, so be sure to set some time aside to listen to his interesting stories
If you have an air-​cooled or water-​cooled VW you won’t be disappointed with Trafton’s.

I recently purchased a 99 Golf which I love dearly. I started having tranny problems and Trafton came highly recommended. I now know why. They are all so friendly and knowledgeable, and their prices are fair. Bill has a deep rooted love for VWs and it shows. He took the time to go over options, and I never felt pressured. Even the shop itself is awesome, with all sorts of kitsch and memorabilia. If you need your dub serviced, go here first.

WOW! We just moved from Texas with my BF 98 VW beetle and my Mazda. The beetle broke down after we got here and started running really bad. Turns out our horrible mechanic in Jefferson Texas LOHMANS (another review had screwed up alot. But, the BF needed his beetle this Saturday so he can see his son. I called and the owner was extremely nice and told me to bring it in Thursday. We brought it in Thursday (side note-​the garage is awesome this guy loves him some VWS and he has so much real memorabilia about cars, bikes, planes, WW@ he is just so awesome) where was I oh yeah we got there at 8am the owner talked to us for about 30 minutes telling us about his business and history (very cool) and we asked if he could have it ready by Saturday he said they would run the diagnostic and call. He called about 12 pm same day and said that he had it running enough to last until we could get it back in to fix some other non essential problems. So for 420 dollars and in one day they have our beetle running in EXCELLENT condition and they were there this morning Friday for us to get it and even took an out of town check. THANK YOU!