My Personal Experience with Auto Headquarter
 

So it all started when Brandon posted his first post here in BAIC as AutoHQ. I didn’t know much about AutoHQ except from the banner that shows up from time to time on the upper right hand corner. My first thought was… Is this a shady vendor trying to make a come back? :lol: Then he mentioned Kevin and how he used to work at a Subaru dealership. Then I remember when I was still ‘iBlueVirus’ I read about Kevin and his shop after he left the dealership. Although I’ve never met Kevin at the time I’ve heard good things about him. So I thought to myself, we’ll see how it goes.

Then shortly after, Brandon contacted me regarding a potential event at AutoHQ and it got me interested. However, I also saw few posts by Brandon, which made me pretty nervous in working with AutoHQ. But I figure, “hey, it’s the internet, you never know how/what it really is”. Never judge a book by its cover right? ;) I spoke with few folks about them and decided to give them a visit.

[img]http://www.detailaddict.com/images/gallery/20080716/DSC_0025.jpg[/img]

[b]Location[/b]… So they are located in 650 Broadway Redwood City. It wasn’t that difficult to find but you could miss it easily as you drive by it. Then again, first time I went to Speed Element, I also missed their parking lot. Once I pulled into the lot, it was packed with cars, so I had to park on the street. There are other shops in the lot as well and sharing a relatively small parking lot. But it’s big enough, I think, since those shops are not very active.

[img]http://www.detailaddict.com/images/gallery/20080716/DSC_0026.jpg[/img]

Once I walked in Brandon was just finishing up with Carlson Subaru and he looked at me sort of funny. But I think that’s because he kind of guessed who I was. We introduced each other and I waited for him to finish up with Carlson. Then we started talking about the potential event and what we both had in mind. Then Kevin stepped in for bit and we chatted for a while. I think feelings were mutual, we both wanted to check each other out and make sure we can actually trust and work with each other. Then I saw Sam (mulcible) working there, it was nice to see a familiar face.

[img]http://www.detailaddict.com/images/gallery/20080716/DSC_0007.jpg[/img]

Anyhow, long story short… First, [b]the shop[/b]… It’s a good size shop and seems to be well equipped for the job. [b]Sam[/b] is a good guy; still have much to learn about the mechanics, although he is WAAAY better than me, so I can’t really judge. And it appears that Kevin is ALWAYS there to make sure things are A-OKAY with Sam. [b]Kevin[/b] is a great guy and mechanic and easy to talk/work with. Now I don’t know where he ranks among other shops around here, but least I can tell that he is honest (to me, very important) and has vast experience with Subaru. Then of course, there is [b]Brandon[/b]… I think Glen probably summed it up for a lot of people…

[QUOTE=glenspen;2259452]I have no doubt in Kevin or Shiggy's skills, but the way your ramming it down our throats rather than letting competitive achievements and good word of mouth be what brings us to your shop leaves a sour taste.[/QUOTE]

Brandon might not always be right (I am sure none of us are always right), he might come out a bit strong, and maybe even crossing the line a bit. But I think a lot of that has to do with his character and his background. He is actually not a bad guy if you talk to him in person. He might not be the smoothest talker out there, but at the end of the day, he only means well. Keep in mind that READING text is very different from talking to someone in person. And he is not like Zoeb, being friends with everyone and their mother. :lol: j/k, sorry Zoeb.

I’ve been there twice now and I actually spend HOURS talking to Brandon and spend good amount of time with Kevin as well. Didn’t really talk to Sam since I already know the guy and he was slaving away anyways. ;)

Hint: There will be chances and reasons for you to visit the shops and check them out other then for your mechanical needs. ;)

I think I’ve been pretty honest and neutral in my write-up… Keep it civil please… :D

Leo

Good write up.
I assume you did not have any work done during this particlar visit?

Thanks Paul.

Nope... No work done, just chat, but Kevin did take a look at the ride on my first visit. That's how I get a 'feel' of Kevin's knowledge. But since no work was done, I can't necessary 'rank' where he stands.

Leo

[QUOTE=Paul@dbtuned;2260104]Good write up.
I assume you did not have any work done during this particlar visit?[/QUOTE]

It was good seeing you leo, and good write-up! It's nice seeing familiar faces around the shop, and kevin is always willing to get distracted from work to talk to i-clubbers!

I just stopped in to AHQ yesterday to get my 90k service done, and Kevin, Brandon, Sam, Bryan, and Shigenori were great. I had a few things that needed some work, and Kevin took the time to explain everything they were doing, even bringing out some of the parts that he had to remove to show me where the problems were. He gave me some great advice about how to deal with a dealership to try to get my leaky head gasket repaired under recall, and Brandon was nice enough to be patient with me while i wrote down some talking points to bring with me to the dealer. They offered to drop me off at a Starbucks while they were working on my car, and even let me interrupt their lunch while i was checking my maintenance records for service bulletins. The customer service was excellent, and leaving the parking lot, my car felt like it did when i first started it up 50k miles ago! This shop is number one on my list as long as I'm in the bay area.

thought I'd post their contact info on here too, not like anyone on i-club doesn't know, but just to be safe, and help with the search....

Auto Headquarter Motorsports
650 Broadway St. Unit 4A, Redwood City, CA 94063
650.368.3290
[url]http://autoheadquarter.com/[/url]

[QUOTE=scratch;2291567]I just stopped in to AHQ yesterday to get my 90k service done, and Kevin, Brandon, Sam, Bryan, and Shigenori were great. I had a few things that needed some work, and Kevin took the time to explain everything they were doing, even bringing out some of the parts that he had to remove to show me where the problems were. He gave me some great advice about how to deal with a dealership to try to get my leaky head gasket repaired under recall, and Brandon was nice enough to be patient with me while i wrote down some talking points to bring with me to the dealer. They offered to drop me off at a Starbucks while they were working on my car, and even let me interrupt their lunch while i was checking my maintenance records for service bulletins. The customer service was excellent, and leaving the parking lot, my car felt like it did when i first started it up 50k miles ago! This shop is number one on my list as long as I'm in the bay area.

thought I'd post their contact info on here too, not like anyone on i-club doesn't know, but just to be safe, and help with the search....

Auto Headquarter Motorsports
650 Broadway St. Unit 4A, Redwood City, CA 94063
650.368.3290
[url]http://autoheadquarter.com/[/url][/QUOTE]

Thank you so much for your nice review!

By the way, Shiggy was in Japan yesterday! But you will meet him if you want when he comes next for tuning, which I am soon to announce.