Hans’ Foreign Auto

Finding a quality service mechanic’s shop is not as easy as it should be, but a shop owner, Tom, who we trust and have used in the past, recommended Hans Foreign Auto, operated by Frank. Tom couldn’t get to my car in the time frame we needed. We are moving back East so we need a knowledgeable person to go through both our VW Bug and our VW Sportswagon before heading on the road that will end 2,353 miles later.
Frank scoured the Sportswagon for issues, serviced what needed to be and handed me the key that same day. My wife heard about my experience and begged to have the same for her Bug that will also be making the trip. We left the Bug overnight and surprised Frank with its presence the next morning. Pressed for time, Frank couldn’t get to it until the end of the day and it was he underneath the hoisted Bug conducting its service – just so we can have it for our trip.
I feel confident of the mechanical service, the parts and materials used, and the orderliness of the shop. Unlike so many shops, Frank takes in the amount of work he can handle per day thereby avoiding a junkyard look of vehicles stacked all around the shop. But most importantly, Frank and his mechanic have solid experience, excellent customer service, speak in layman’s terms to avoid customer confusion, and they just enjoy people. Definitely five stars in my book.

Thank you for performing my 40k maintenance at significantly less than the dealer would have charged! Hans’ Foreign Auto got me in for service with only a few days notice, when all other places I called could not fit me in.

What you want from a mechanic is technical competence and honesty — Zach at Hans Foreign auto has these in spades. I’ve had many great experiences working with Zach but this last episode exemplified his willingness to go several steps beyond the average mechanic.
A couple months ago Zach took the engine out of my engine out and sent the bottom half to local machine shop to have it rebuilt. A few month later (after engine was rebuilt and reinstalled) Zach noticed that the crank shaft was sitting at the edge of catastrophic failure. The machine shop (who shall remain un-​named) refused to honor their service contract and left Zach with nothing. Now I know a good many mechanics that at that point, looking at several thousands of dollars in parts and full week’s worth of work, who would have simply put the oil pan back on and pretend that they never saw the crank shaft problem — not Zach. I took on the full burden of the issue, bought another engine and did the transplant, free of charge.
This is quite simply, extraordinary.

Ok, HFA… I’m gonna get personal on you and you deserve it! A shop of your honesty, technical know-​how, and customer service is to be applauded, celebrated, and shared with others.
On a personal note, I had to be treated for a serious illness at Providence Medical Center a few blocks up the street. I was, in all honesty, in a life or death situation, and the treatment requires me to be hospitalized for a week. I had to travel from Medford, Oregon to Portland (4.5 hours to be exact) for this treatment by car, and then have a driver take me back home when it was complete.
So, when you arrive in Portland and your much loved, but not-​so-​trusty 2002 VW Eurovan (Stan) decides to rear its electrical-​problem head, you know it’s not going to be good. On my last visit to Providence, I had noted HFA as a possible option in case of an emergency, and I’m glad I did. A quick phone call to a gentleman named Frank from my hospital bed, and he knew he could help. He was confident, but not cocky, and extremely honest sounding – he was all I could bank on from my position, but I took it. I quickly learned he knew his VW’s; After getting Stan the Van to Frank, he was able to exceed expectations and call me back within just a few hours of dropping it off with a detailed, thorough, and empathetic (read: not cheap) repair report. His explanation, his honesty, and his commitment to getting it done with his partner to help out our situation really gave me confidence – and this coming from a guy who is very picky about his shops. They didn’t have much time to order the parts and install them before the weekend, but he knew it could happen and he made it happen… He mad absolutely sure it would be ready, and his tech, named Zach, was right there with him all along. I’ll be honest, it’s not easy to shell out the big bucks over the phone when you don’t know how it will turn out – rest assured, these guys are for real – not the shady type.
Zach talked me through the repair as well and interacted with my mother, who picked up the vehicle. Based on my thorough knowledge of these pain-​in-​the-​arse vans, and my great local shop in Medford (Aaaron’s AutoWerks), I knew this place was for real, and I knew that my repair was done with excellence, care, and professionalism on the customer service side. My mother, an older woman, felt safe, totally respected, and seemed to have a great interaction with everyone at the shop.
They offered a very nice new customer discount and refused to accept a tip when we offered it. These guys are A+ from the bottom of my heart, you really saved us a lot of pain and discomfort in the long run; had we been unable to repair Stan the Van, we would have still been up there a few days after my discharge. Yikes.
Cheers – you have my business anytime I need a great shop in PDX!

I love these guys and won’t trust anyone else to work on my 06 Jetta. They always get the job done in a timely fashion and for a reasonable cost. As long as I have my car, Hans will have my business!

I have been driving VW my whole life. I found Hans last yer and will never take my cars anywhere else! Zach and Frank are the best. Quality care and professional service at its finest!

I can’t say enough good things about taking my car here. Such nice guys, very good at explaining issues and checking in with you while doing repairs. They also totally hooked me up with a radiator after mine was totally shot and had just paid to get a new timing belt put in. Felt like family service from people who didn’t even know me. I will definitely be coming back.

I’m finding out 8 months later what a bunch of after market part using, bolt stripping hacks these guys are!

I can’t say if they are good mechanics or not, I didn’t get to find out. I was 20 minutes late to the appointment and they wouldn’t look at my car. I took off work an hour early to get there.

This is a great place to bring Volkswagens for auto repair.
When I bought a 2001 VW Cabrio in April 2008 I was told that there might be a small problem with the car. Once in awhile on the freeway there would be small hiccups. The previous owners took it around to several shops but none were able to diagnose the problem, although they sold them very expensive new parts that didn’t really enhance performance. They thought it was fixed but warned that it might reoccur.
Well, driving down the freeway about two weeks after I bought the car I experienced one of the hiccups. I took it to an auto place I’d taken my previous car (Kia Sephia) and they admitted they didn’t have a clue. They told me they’d have to experience the problem for diagnosis but since the hiccups were so random they couldn’t really do anything, especially since it was a German made car. They told me the engine is completely different than American made cars so they were at a complete loss. At least they were honest.
So, I began my Internet search for a place that knows about Volkswagens. I read several reviews on various sites saying that Hans’ Foreign Auto Service was the best place for Volkswagens so I made an appointment.
The mechanic went above and beyond what any of the other shops’ mechanics did. After listening to my description of the problem, he drove the car around for awhile until he experienced the hiccups firsthand. There was just a small part that needed to be replaced. The entire transaction was considerably inexpensive compared to the hundreds the previous owners spent with no results.
The car hasn’t hiccuped since Hans’ fixed the problem.
Since then, I’ve taken my car in for a tune up and other small repairs. Yesterday I took my car in because the check engine light was on. They quickly found the problem was the gas cap was loose. I feel very silly I didn’t check that (part of the problem of not pumping one’s own gas) but I didn’t even think that would affect the check engine indicator. They were very quick, very friendly and professional and didn’t charge me.
I also appreciate that when I call to schedule appointments I’m often able to see them the same day or the next. Also, I think they are very reasonable. I see so many Volkswagens on the road so I was surprised when I bought my Cabrio that so few places service them.
Since this is a small shop there isn’t much of a waiting area but there are a few local coffee shops within a short walking distance where you can be more comfortable while you wait.
I am very grateful to know that if I ever have a problem with my car I can always take it to Hans’ where they are both knowledgeable and friendly.

I miss living in NE when it comes to auto repair. Han’s is honest and does great work on European cars, even Saabs. Highly recommended.