San Diego Westy

If I could give Pete and the crew 6 stars I would! They not only are amazing at fixing ailing Westies but they provide excellent customer service and are great at keeping you up to speed with how work is progressing. These guys are exceptionally honest and diligent — I wouldn’t go anywhere else!

We were on a summer road trip with our Westy and on our way to San Diego when we started having some overheating issues on the van. I contacted Pete a few days before arriving and he promptly replied to ask his a few things to prepare for our arrivals and getting the repairs done as efficiently as possible.
As for the repairs themselves, we had work done for much less than anticipated and Pete explained everything such that we felt very confident but also, more educated about our van.
Highly recommended!

Wouldn’t go anywhere else. Owning a 27 year old Vanagon is a dream come true for me, but repairs get expensive if you can’t do the work yourself. Pete and his guys are thorough and honest. Pete helped me navigate what repairs needed to get done right away and what repairs could wait. «Missy» sputtered into their shop and purred out.

Pete and his crew were amazing. They helped us when stranded on New years eve! He is someone who obviously cares about his work and his customers. He put in all kinds of overtime to get us on the road again. He is honest and thorough — we had a tough situation and he really went the extra mile to help us! We were very grateful for all his work.

Pete did a great job for me a couple years ago on my transmission replacement on my 85 Weekender. The work was prompt, his quote was right on, and when he told me my clutch look ok, he didn’t make me feel like a bad owner or otherwise cheap by leaving in my existing clutch. And he was right, it has served me another 30k miles. The transmission has been great the past 2 years, no issues at all. I’ve met him at a few of the VW meetups locally and he is a really nice guy. Glad to see his business is doing well.

Pete and Tim did an AMAZING job basically rebuilding my 1985 Vanagon! It was a huge project involving the following new or fully rebuilt components: engine, transmission, exhaust, catalytic converter, fuel lines, clutch, transaxle, differential, steering rack, tie rods, power steering, brakes, cv joints, radiator, odometer, air flow meter, alternator.
Plus other miscellaneous like brake lights, horn, a/​c removal, blinkers, hubcaps, and of course full diagnostics and first thousand mile oil change.
Fitting new or like new parts to 30 year old parts and expecting them to work perfectly can be tricky. In some cases the mere act of disassembling one piece necessitated replacement of a different one (I’m a weirdo and wanted all air conditioning components ripped out so there was that). But the guys were always very upfront about possible road blocks and pricing and I always had the option to leave old parts as is. They were very honest about what they would leave and what they would replace and they were great about clearly outlining why. I have a better understanding of my car and it’s parts now than I ever have. I could even point to the engine and name several of its components!
I feel like my van will run forever! It feels amazing! I can’t tell you how much I love my car. My husband thought I was crazy for rebuilding this van but now he gets it. He gets it.
The ’85 Vanagon is my dream car. Seriously. I’m one of the lucky ones that gets to drive my dream car every day! (I have more than one dream car, calm down, but this van is at the top, even above the ’63 Corvette or 2014 Bugatti.)
When you have a car you love and adore I highly recommend taking it to a specialist. In this case, for those Vanagon junkies out there, you know who you are, take it to Tim and Pete!
Thanks guys! I’ll send postcards from the road!

San Diego Westy is the shop that all Vanagon owners dream of having within towing distance. Pete the owner of San Diego Westy is a true stand up guy. He is extremely knowledgeable, fairly prices and a true Vanagon enthusiast. If your Vanagon needs the healing touch and you live in the San Diego area just give Pete a call.

I first met Pete a little over 2 years ago when he gave me a door panel for my Vanagon. I offered to pay for it, but he said it wasn’t in perfect shape and I could just take it. He was extremely nice, and I was hoping to give him a little business, but at the time I was doing all of my own work on my van. You can see my tent install video here…
Anyway, long story short, I don’t have time to do work on my van anymore, and so I’ve finally brought the van to Pete.
I was in need of an automatic transmission, and I was very reluctant to give the van to another mechanic other than myself. It’s part of the family!
I first called Pete in September, but his shop was busy and after that he was out of town for a bit. It took a bit of patience and coordination to get things lined up, but don’t let that discourage you. I think my timing was off with his vacation, but I’m glad I waited and I didn’t go elsewhere. The van is back and running great. He knows Vanagons inside and out, as does Tim who works in his shop. Once the transmission was delivered to the shop I had van back in just a couple of days. Quality work!
I’m sorry to say that my limited time will curtail my van projects, but I’m happy that I’ve found a reliable, honest, and trustworthy person to help me stay on the road!

If you are looking for great workmanship, epic integrity and fulfilled commitments, this is the shop. Peter Adams can relate to the passion we all have for our Westies since he travels in one himself. He is straight forward and delivers.
I highly recommend him to all Westy owners. We all need a compassionate doctor, an accurate tax accountant and a reliable Westy mechanic! There he is! Peter Adams.

Top notch service is all I can say! Went there with my van leaking coolant all over the place on a Friday before a holiday weekend. Pete and his guys fixed it right away and had my van fixed later that afternoon before the Holiday weekend. I can’t say they can do this for everybody obviously, depending on repair, but guys are as good as it gets and really know Vans.

Pete is a Vanagon Whisperer! Not only is he exceptional with Vanagon diagnosis and repair, he is patient and generous when sharing his knowledge!
Pete has squeezed me in when he’s busy, diagnosed over the phone when I’ve had problems and breakdowns, and been very clear and fair about what work will cost and how long it will take to complete.
Both Pete and Mark have gone above and beyond to keep me on the road in my ’88 Vanagon, Wanda. Long live San Diego Westy!

My husband and I bought a ’84 Westfalia Vanagon in Northern California and it needed a LOT of work, I know nothing about car other than how to drive them. Pete worked on Honey Pot (thats her name) with care and honesty. He is fair and tells it how it is.
He also did an emergency house call, well not really house call, my husband and I were leaving for our first camping trip in the Honey Pot and doing some last minute shipping at Wal-​Mart. When we got back in the car ready to go and geared up Honey wouldn’t start, NOTHING. No way, really?! So Mark (husband) called Pete, and we get a mini diagnosis over the phone, and since we were only 15 minutes away from the shop, Pete drove out to the parking lot we were stranded in and helped us. Seriously? Who does that? We were impressed. He fixed Honey in 5 minutes and we were off! It was a disconnected wire on the starter or something like that.
Needless to say Pete is the best, honest, nice, and reasonably priced.

True quality service can be found here.
Peter is true to his word — he saved our Westy and our trip — I would highly recommend him and his services to any Westy owner.
Trifecta — Good, Fast and Fair priced!
Pete is one of those guys I would recommend to anyone considering VW van repair and service. He saved our trip, and probably saved us $ 5k in repairs.
We showed up on his door step with a very sick VW 02 Westy. The transmission was slipping badly, the check engine light came on — we were 8k miles into our summer adventure and more than 1500 miles from home. Yikes! After some research, many calls and additional sourcing for some parts Pete called us back with a plan. He worked us into his schedule, did exactly what he said would for what he said he would do it for AND got it done on time.
We made it home, with no issues. And to boot, Pete even called and checked in on us to make sure we arrived safely and he would like to follow the outcome of our vans issues as we ultimately try to remedy the original failure.
Pete loves what he does and it shows.
Cheers and thanks Pete!

I’ve brought my Vanagon here twice for two different issues and I wouldn’t trust anyone else to work on it — Pete knows Vanagons. Both times I got excellent, friendly customer service and left satisfied. Definitely recommended.