Walnut Creek Customs

I was referred to WC Customs in 2007 by my trusted, long term mechanic at A-​1 Brake and Tire. I have been a loyal client ever since. Over the years, they have installed and reinstalled several car audio systems, all with high quality results. Recently my daughter’s car deck stopped operating correctly, and it was just out of the warranty period. Dan replaced the deck at no charge, and he really didn’t have to since it was over a year. I highly recommend this shop.

Dan’s shop has provided a variety of services to us over the past few years. He has changed tops on a Jeep Wrangler, tinted glass on a couple cars, treated the paint on a brand new black VW GTI with a coating designed to protect the paint and resist deterioration from long term outdoor exposures on a Florida dock, and installed a back-​up camera and center console touch screen entertainment system for our 2014 Mustang.
Every job performed was professionally completed on time and within the estimate provided. Follow-​up services have been unsurpassed. We love the Jeep top Dan recommended so much that we’ve sold the OEM top. Everything else they have done for us has been absolutely great.
Auto shops just do not provide better services that those provided by Walnut Creek Customs. We are truly appreciative of the consistently fine services we’ve received.

I was just motivated to write this review as I started the process of totally undoing/​redoing everything I paid Walnut Creek Customs $ 1000 to do so that it would be done right and I would not have to worry about it. What a mistake.
The job was to install two alternators (provided by me) into the factory a/​c and factory alternator location. The specs of the alternators were disclosed to them when the estimate was given and they had the units in their possession for the entire job. When they finished I was left with a belt slipping and snapping nightmare.
The car is factory equipped with 2 v-​belts, which are inferior to the modern day serpentine belt in terms of durability, noise, and consistency of belt tension. When changing so many components it would make sense to do a full conversion to the modern belt system, but WCC never proposed it. Instead they installed everything so that each high output alternator was driven by only 1 of the 2 v belts. This means that there is not nearly enough belt traction for each alternator to generate its full power. What’s worse is that one alternator (the higher output of the two) is mounted such that it is impossible to attach another belt, the path is blocked by a mounting point. The result: The 200a unit was generating a maximum of ~100a, and the 320a unit was around ~120a after I clamped them under load @ peak output RPM.
The alternators themselves were each «mounted» with eye bolts on one side. This causes the alternators to vibrate shake independently of the belts and the rest of the system, fatiguing the belts and causing premature failure. The icing on the cake was the 8 AWG wire they used on the 200a alternator’s positive post, which results in a ~5% voltage drop. Cool. Literally. They didn’t even put some heatshrink on the cable. 4Awg cable is at most $ 2.50 including ring terminals.
In the end I’m most upset that they didn’t just tell me they couldn’t do this. They either had no clue that the work they were doing was a joke, or they just wanted to make it look /​run good enough to get me out of the door, which is a sad standard to practice. If you want something done right, don’t rely on Walnut Creek Customs.

Final price was exactly what he estimated– turnaround was within a day, work was on point! The guys are professionals.
Note: I came in to have my 05 GMC Truck radio replaced and factory speakers checked out because they weren’t playing. Turned out my factory amp shorted out, they fixed and didn’t even charge me labor or didn’t try to just sell me another one. Love the NEW deck and My truck is good to go!
I also have a new g550, S6 Audi, and Prius– these guys didn’t even know that and they treated me like I had a Lamborghini or something– they just earned all my business.
Dan is the Man!

This is my first Unilocal review, period. It took exceptionally good service to motivate me. The job involved integrating the original navigation system of my Lexus SC430 with a high quality rear view back-​up camera. This has probably never been done before in this model of Lexus. The challenging task took almost 3X the estimated job time and was all done for the original very reasonal $ estimate. Dan was very gracious and showed no frustration about all the extra work. This young man seems to be a natural wizard with car electronics. Conscientious, very knowledgeable, and apparently highly skilled, Dan and Walnut Creek Customs is the premier shop to work on your automobile.
Barry M.

I came to Dan with a request to add custom mood lights on my SUV. He and his team did a great job wiring the lights under the seats and creating custom work around both video monitors on the ceiling. He also replaced the dealer running boards with fancy drop down boards with lights that turn on when the doors open.
I had to come back once to have him look at one side that stopped working, but he immediately reviewed the wiring found the problem and fixed right away. Now my SUV is pretty awesome with RGB lights that flash to the beat of music and many other settings.

Dan installed an OEM console in my Golf and did a superb job. I would definitely come here again and recommend them to others.

I have had tires and wheels as well as a tonneau cover installed on my Toyota Tundra here over the past couple of months.
What i know about customizing an automobile could be fit into a thimble however because of the owner Dan, i felt like i knew exactly what i was getting into in addition to the pros and cons of my options. From the very beginning of my dealings with him, it was clear he was very knowledgeable however he also had the ability to put that knowledge into terms that a novice could easily understand. Even after the work had been done and he had been paid, he gladly answered questions with the same enthusiasm and patience as before he made the sale.
In addition, on all occasions where he quoted me an approximate price… the ultimate price came in less. This created huge goodwill for me.
I would suggest this business without reservation to anyone who asked me about it.
Thanks Dan for a great experience.

I’ve used WCC to install or move stereos and radar detectors in 3 cars over the years.
It’s reassuring to see all sorts of new and vintage cars being worked on: these guys are craftsmen and the finished job is always impeccable.
Though they may not be the cheapest, I doubt there’s anyone better in the Bay Area for custom installs.
Thanks Dan!

Called Walnut Creek Customs and the owner, Dan, immediately picked up. He spent a long time going over my options for a remote/​hidden radar detector install. His quoted prices were a little more than average, but well within reason. Seems very responsive and extremely knowledgable. You should expect to pay a bit more for great workmanship… I will update this review — once I actually use them in a few weeks.

Went in to get my Windows tinted a few days ago. Had shopped around for a few places around the Bay Area, and either the prices were outrageous, or they wouldn’t work on an Audi, or it wasn’t really practical in terms of distance from Walnut Creek, or the Unilocal Reviews weren’t good. Fortunately, Walnut Creek Customs scored in terms of Price, location, and relative ease for making the appointment, etc.
Interacted with Dan, the owner, via email in terms of making the appointment, so that was niceand simple. Able to drop the car off prior to heading into work in the morning and then picked it up on the way home. Only issue I had was that I was told there was a key drop off box for when I left the car, but there was none. So had to simply leave my car unlocked and key in the car on the floor. The area appears to be a safe area so wasn’t much concern on my part in doing so.
So far the tinted windows look good, although still requires a few more days for the tint to «cure» and then I’ll be able to start rolling the windows down. But I can’t detect and bubbles or areas of concern so I feel confident in giving Walnut Creek Customs 4 stars. I’d have no hesitation in recommending to any of my family or friends. Thanks.

I am very happy with the customer service and results I received here. My car looks brand new after it was badly scratched. Pricing was fair and Dan went out of his way to make sure I was happy with the work done.

Brought my 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse to Walnut Creek Customs to have swirl marks removed from my Black in color car. They did a killer job and car looks brand new. Also decided to have all the windows tinted at 35%. ALSO LOOKS KILLER. This is one of a kind custom shop. B

Brought my 330i in at lunch to get my windows tinted, picked up a few hours later, AWESOME job with the windows. I got 50% all the way around and am very pleased with the work done. I would definitely recommend WCC to anyone in the area who is all about their car and wants great work done.

Sent an appointment request online to get my VW GTI tinted. Dan got back to me within a couple hours and had an appointment for me the next morning. I pulled into the shop and Dan was waiting for me. We talked for a minute about what I was looking for and I could tell he knew what he was talking about. This is the 5^th or 6^th car I’ve had tinted since high school so I have seen some good work and some sub par. But I felt very confident leaving my car with this shop.
About 4 hours later I went to pick it up and my suspicions were confirmed. Absolutely great job! I couldn’t be happier with the work. Thx WCC!

I just had a reminder of what great customer service is!
1. do as you say!
2. finish your project on time!
3. service with a smile
Thanks to Dan for installing my new truck window. Not only was he the best price around He was ready when I drooped off my truck and had it done on time.
This place is a FULL custom shop They do it all to your car
Wow just Wow

Dan,
You need the importance of returning phone calls.

If you want rock bottom prices and the quickest turnaround then look elsewhere. If you want the best then go to Walnut Creek Customs.
I spent hours researching top-​rated shop in the Bay when I decided to replace the stock navigation and add parking sensors to my Porsche. Out of all the places I called Dan at WCC was hands down the most knowledgeable guy I spoke with. I don’t say this lightly because when it comes to my toys I tend to research every minute detail and Dan was the only person who not only knew everything I was talking about, but even taught me a few things I didn’t. Moreover, at no point did Dan try to upsell me. He was also very candid about his experiences with various installs. This frank and relaxed attitude is sadly rare in the car audio world.
After dropping my car off on Saturday Dan told me it would be ready by Monday. It wasn’t. I wound up picking it up on Tuesday, but we weren’t done yet. Dan told me that he wasn’t satisfied with how the new fiberglass dash piece came out and needed me to come back for a couple hours another day so he could refinish it. Oridinarily this would piss me off. I expect deadlines to be met, especially when I’m not cutting corners on cost. Nevertheless I didn’t mind WCC taking longer becuase their promise is perfection, not speed.
The dash piece he constructed is truly one of a kind. It wraps the new head unit like a glove and fully preserves the center console’s stock appearance. Likewise, the parking sensors were matched to the exact color of my car and positioned to provide optimum coverage. I think it’s a better system than what Porsche itself offered. Finally, WCC optimized my car’s stock Bose speakers for the new amp and they sound stupendous. I was really impressed at the range and depth.
What Dan and his team do is as much art as science. For those who want the best there are few better choices in Northern California.

I made a huge mistake and originally had a jl audio stealthbox installed in my tacoma at East Bay Autospa. I only realized how bad it was when I came to WCC and had them adjust my amp. My subs instantly sounded 5 times better. After that I ran to the bank and got a grand cash and asked Dan to install some jl c5 component speakers. I get pure joy every time I turn on my system. I will always come back here for any custo
Work or stereo install.

Dan I suggest you become computer literate:
Audi has seen this in 5 other vehicles where the tint was not installed properly due to not covering the amp.
As for Heat treated tint, you have to wash the back window properly before you apply the tint which is liquid, and this liquid caused damage over time. Which if you read in the forms below it didn’t happen right away.
Cheers mate!
Once again I will spell this out. Our tint film is heat activated and does not… More «
Once again I will spell this out. Our tint film is heat activated and does not use any liquid. So how does this mysterious liquid damage an amplifier? What this customer is not telling you is that his problem started happening almost a year after the work was done. I contacted his Audi dealership and explained to them how we do our tinting and they said well it probably was caused by something else, especially since the tinting was done quite long ago and the problem had just came up with in the past few weeks.