Underground (VW)

When I started this fifth version of Picayune, I had a section dedicated to the cool things to find in Austin and what sets this city apart from many others. Course I let this languish and sit around (much like my latest round of CD reviews).

Well, I want to kick off its debut with a glowing mention about my mechanic. Toby and his crew are the people to see when you want your VW fixed correctly, promptly and at a reasonable price. Austin currently has two dealerships and they’re only skilled at taking your money, then making you wonder why you bought a Volkswagen.

But through the years, Toby has always been good to me since he worked on my Golf GL for its 30K tune up to my recent bout of getting it to pass inspection this year. I never thought I would grow to adulthood and say I enjoy dealing with my mechanic (or the vet too). Sure, it still costs money to have Toby work on my car but it’s money I don’t feel is wasted when it comes to him. He is generous, honest and explains what he did without me feeling like a total idiot. Toby and his crew are very skilled at explaining in plain English what had to be done. What’s even better is that they know their VWs from the past to the present. One time, my co-worker David asked what he would be in for with his Jetta VR6 at 90K. Toby politely told him the trends he had seen for that model and what it took his crew to resolve it. I was impressed because it was a sincere explanation, not some nonsense he was bamboozling us on as he planned a trip to Cancun in the back of his mind.

So remember this. If you live in the Austin area and you own a VW or plan on getting one. Underground on North Lamar is the place to have it repaired unless you like being snookered by the dealership. Tell Toby I sent you. I don’t get a kickback or anything for it. I just believe that a good and trustworthy mechanic should be rewarded with more business.