Motorworks Restoration in Colorado

[Wanderlust1969]

Me curious. Does any of you have had positive experiences with Motorworks Restoration in Colorado Springs?

I have had real nightmares with Motorworks Restoration.

Last year my 1969 VW bus underwent restoration at Motorworks Restoration for almost 3 months.

My bus left the restoration in worst, worst, worst condition. Technically, my bus was falling apart. Half an hour after my bus left Motorworks, my right front tire came off and my bus crashed down on a busy street. They had forgotten to tighten the wheel.

I discovered that they had replaced my German parts with inferior and/or non-OEM parts without my knowledge. For example, they replaced my German windshield I had bought 2 years earlier with a Chinese windshield without my knowledge. I discovered that they also had replaced my German flycatcher behind the grill with a worn out hairnet without my knowledge.

They also took my parts away without bothering to replace and to tell me. For example, they took my speakers and speaker box away without my knowledge.

I discovered that they had installed a new pop tent incorrectly. They insisted they had done it correctly. I had to contact the president of GoWesty who sold the tent...he said Motorworks had done it in non-Westy way so that he would not cover warrantly on the tent. I forwarded his comments to Motorworks Restoration. Finally it convinced them to redo it.

I kept discoverng their workmanship defects and defective parts...installed rivets incorrectly in vent windows...installed the sliding door seal incorrectly by turning it around..replaced my German driver and passenger windows with non-OEM windows..as a result, both of the mirrors flew away from my bus...also, the driver door and the passenger door were about to fly away as they had not tightened the door bolts. too, too, too many to list here.

Again, too many to list their workmanship defects.

My bus and I had been stranded in Colorado for 8 months.. Every time my bus left Colorado Springs, it broke down. My bus had had never problems with travelling all over the USA until after Motorworks did restoration work on my bus.

My bus has not yet been 1 year old since it rolled out of Motorworks Restoration. Rust has already shown up on my bus due to their lack of prepainting preparation.

Last week my new mechanic in Calif informed me that my bus has 1 German rear brake drum in good condition but has 3 worn-out Brazil front and rear brake drums. What?? Where were my other 3 German brake drums? Yesterday I took a look at the Brazil brake drums and didn't recognize it as mine. It made me wonder if the Motorworks had also taken out my German brake drums in good condition and replaced with worn out Brazil drums without my knowledge.

I've been spending other thousands of dollars to have the other mechanics to fix the Motorworks Restoration's poor workmanship defects and to replace their inferior parts with German parts. Also, I've just spent another thousand to replace the Brazil brake drums which are not mine with German brake drums. it will cost some hundreds to install new speakers and a speaker box as Motorworks had never returned my original speakers and box to my bus.

So buyer beware...I would not recommend the Motorworks Restoration of Colorado Springs.

[Wanderlust1969]

".. replaced my German driver and passenger windows with non-OEM windows..as a result, both of the mirrors flew away from my bus."

Correction: replaced my German driver and passenger MIRRORS with non-OEM MIRRORS..as a result, both of the mirrors flew away from my bus.

[VwMomofthree]

First I would like to say-I have had a totally different experience. Because I do not have the "thousands of dollars" you seem to have Jeremy has worked with me graciously. He has installed complete window and door seals. When I mentioned that one of the windows tint had been damaged in the process he sent it over and had it re-tinted as soon as I was able to return the vehicle to him. At not cost to me!

I just had a complete carpet install and sound deadening throughout. He showed me pictures of the process and I am completely satisfied. I never felt like he was trying to pull one over on me or take advantage.

I saw your van in the shop on several occasions in various stages of repair and everytime I saw it, it did not look as if it was shody work being done.
As a matter of fact all of the vehicles I have seen in his shop are a work of art.

What I also seem to recall is that you did not have a full restoration done to it and it was a partial. Which means, yes you could have rust coming through and maybe the parts that are on your van are the ones you brought it in with.
I also saw the windsheild that you are complaining about and I am wondering if you are so picky about the clear glass you now see out of, what is wrong with your eyes.
All of this is as a result of your choice to not have it fully restored!

What I can say is I don't think, where ever you get any work done to that beautiful van, you will ever be satisfied.

Shame on you for posting this.
Karma is a powerful thing!

[jmit01]

[larsiezwei]

[quote]

[RockyMtnSpottedFever]

Howdy,

Had a 63 convertible bug completed last year....very happy. I have my wifes original first car at Motorworks now for a health check making it road worthy as my son's first car.

Jeremy has always been spot on with me. Prompt, reliable and a pretty good all around guy producing some great results.

Happy motoring!

[Richard Davies]

Motorworks Restorations have worked on my '66 Bug and the work was always the very best. I have visited their premises and seen the show quality vehicles they turn out.
I suggest you visit their website to see their work. The images are true restorations they have carried out. Hot VWs would not feature vehicles they have restored ,such as the Tupe 3 Notch and the Okrasa Ghia if the work was not the very best.
I'm sorry to see this lady had a bad experience, however this is not the impression I have had with Motorworks Restorations.
I have owned airooled VWs since 1974 and worked in the VW business since 1978. Furthermore I have visited most of the California restoration shops and the top German Resto shops such as Tafel near Dusseldorf. I have also worked with Henk at HH Hot Rod in Arnhem, Holland, Roland at Cagero in Switzerland and Bob at BBT in Belgium, so I do know a quality restoration when I see it.

[scooter8]

I have known Jeremy and his staff and done business with Motorworks for 6+yrs and I too have had a totally different experience than what Wanderlust1969 has expressed. Every time I have ever asked Jeremy and his crew to do work for me it has been top notch and professional. I know Jeremy personally and know what his work ethics are and the comments above are not Jeremy. There is more to this.

[bitchinbluebug]

Im baffled by this post! My experience with Motorworks Restorations has been fantastic. Jeremy and his staff have been professional and friendly. Ive had my VW restored by Jeremy and had several other VWs repaired there. Jeremy and his staff are fantastic guys and we have formed freindships from it. I wont take my Volkswagens anywhere else.

So wanderlust1969, my questions for you are:
How often did you show up at Motorworks see what was taking place on your VW? When you were billed every week or two did you review your bill to see what parts were bought? Jeremy only buys quality parts UNLESS you request otherwise.

So to all who read this and are interested in having Motorworks Restorations work on their Volkswagons, there is no better place to go. Just look at their website, visit the shop, meet the guys and you will know you've come to the right place.

As for you wanderlust1969, put down the pipe, catch your flying mirrors and tell us what really happened because Karma and your english teacher are gonna get you!!

[Wanderlust1969]

Thanks for your feedback. (I am using my mobile smartphone and texting here.)

I will see if I can post here on the Samba.com my pictures of my van showing the Motorworks Restorations' defective workmanship and inferior parts. Also, the pictures will show that the Motorworks Restorations caused some senseless damages to my fridge door and bench seat cabinet furniture I had taken good care of for years in spite of the fact that I had requested the Motorworks Restorations a few times please cushion the furniture with blankets. (Today it’s hard to find the fridge door and the furniture.)

I will check the pictures of my van on the Motorworks Restorations website. I think that you'll see the speakers on the driver and passenger doors in my van prior to the restoration and the absence of the speakers after the restoration. If not, I will try to post my pictures of the speakers prior to the restoration and after restoration.

I have the statements of the mechanics in Denver and Colorado Springs regarding Motorworks Restorations' incorrectly installing the doors including the sliding door, the vent window rivets, driver and passenger non-OEM mirrors, new rust appearing immediately on the newly restored passenger door inside under the new seal. My pictures will show that all the new door seals kept peeling off and allowing rain to leak into my van.

Also, I have the statement from the Airhead parts store in Ventura, CA that the Motorworks Restorations incorrectly installed the mirrors that eventually flew off my van. They said that it's the Motorworks Restorations' responsibility to replace the mirrors at their own expense, which they had never done. Also, there I learned that the Motorworks Restorations had overcharged me each mirror by $10, totaling $20.
I had already taken my van to Motorworks Restorations and i had them fix the mirrors a few times. Yet the same mirrors kept flying away.

Those who defend Jeremy and his shop need to directly ask Jeremy and his dad about the front left tire coming off about half an hour just after my van rolled out of his shop. While I was driving my newly restored van home from his shop on an I-25 freeway, I was feeling my van shaking excessively. I had to exit the freeway and the van suddenly stopped on the busy street. It won't start. I paged Jeremy. He sent his dad to meet me being stranded in my van stuck on the busy street. His dad got in my van and started it. As he was about to drive, the front left tire came off and the van crashed down. It caused some damage to the fender, brake drum, some steering and other parts. He paged Jeremy. Jeremy had my van towed back to his shop. Wow. I could have gotten killed on the busy freeway. I learned that the Motorworks Restoration had not tightened the tire. (From the mechanic in Colorado I learned that they also had not tighten the driver and passenger doors that were about to fly away anytime.)

The Motorworks Restorations replaced my new German clear windshield I had bought from California and installed one year earlier with their Chinese tinted windshield without my knowledge. When I came pick my van at his shop, I immediately noticed the tinted windshield I had never seen before. The Motorworks Restorations said they had broken my new German windshield. They had NEVER told me before. The tinted Chinese windshield caused a lot of distortions and interfered with night driving. I had to duck my head under the tinted windshield at all times. It's like wearing half-sunglasses. Since they had broken my German clear windshield, they should have replaced a same quality, not cheap Chinese and unwanted dark tint. In some other states the dark tint is banned.)

Also, they had replaced my German plastic flycatcher behind the grill with the worn-out hairnet without my knowledge. About one month after my van had rolled out of the Motorworks restoration shop I discovered the worn-out hair net when I removed the grill for washing. I was shocked. I called the Motorworks Restorations. They said they had broken my German plastic flycatcher and had to replace it with the worn-out hair net they got from the other bus at their shop. Six months earlier I had washed my plastic flycatcher...still in good condition.

I came to realize that they might have replaced my other German parts with inferior parts and/or non-German parts without telling me. I asked the Motorworks Restorations if they had also replaced my other German parts without my knowledge. Instead, Jeremy and his dad were attempting to coerce me to sign a form called "Mutual Agreement to Release Liability". I had brought a friend with me. We were very shocked. Jeremy and his dad were twisting my arms for about 45 minutes. I asked them to hire a lawyer for me to interpret the form. Immediately they backed off. End of discussion. Soon my new VW mechanics in Colorado and I kept discovering more of the Motorworks Restoration's defective workmanship and my missing German parts while my van and I were being stranded in Colorado for other months and months as it had been unsafe driving. Driver and passenger mirrors kept flying off a few times. The missing German nuts and bolts cause many poor fittings in my van. Rainwater was leaking through the new door seals and the new window seals and was flooding on the floor around the clutch, brake and accelerator, creating slippery on the pedals. The mechanic in Colorado tried his best to re-glue the driver door seal. He referred me back to Motorworks Restorations to deal with incorrectly installed window rivets and the mirrors.

One more thing – on the day I came pick up my newly restored van at the Motorworks Restorations I noticed my original German jack set missing under the passenger seat. I asked them where my jack set was. They said they had never seen it. I showed them my picture of the jack set. They were looking for it and found it they had misplaced somewhere else. Also I noticed that my two Volkswagen Window Louver seal covers were missing from my van. They said they had never seen it before. I showed their picture of my window louver seal covers in my van on their Motorworks Restorations website. They claimed that they had never seen the covers before. I gave them a technical name for the cover and referred them to the Samba.com. They found a pair of the seal covers via the Samba.com.

I will check if I can post my pictures here.

[[email protected]]

I've known Jeremy for 20+ years and he is a 100% stand up guy. Jeremy would never, ever, intentionally steal anything from his customers. Sure, mistakes can happen but I'm sure he did his best to solve any problems. And, as someone else alluded to earlier, OE German Bus parts aren't always available so sometime you have to use the best quality you can get. I am also sure there is more to this story.

[Erik G]

Why all the brand new first time posters in this thread? Not accusing, just curious, how all of a sudden someone that has never posted before, would come straight to this thread to post. I'm curious when 1 pesron does that, and there are 4 right here. that smells fishy. As for the comment on Hot VW's doing a feature? come on now, I've seen some magazine cars in person that were straight up garbage.

Let this be a lesson to anyone. Every shop I have ever had to take a car to for repair, I have written on the estimate, that I want all parts returned to me. If a brake drum was replaced, I want the old one. You should always always do this. always. In CA, I think they actually have to put a spot on the estamate for you to check if you want them

If this guys story is true, it sucks. If there is something that we aren't being told... maybe the owner of the shop can shed some light. Perhaps a total amt limit, or some other situation that would explain the original post.

Id also like to know whats going on with 4 brand new people that have never posted, coming stright here to post
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[Bart Dunn]

I've met Jeremy on numerous occasions & I'm not a new poster, he is almost always at the Colorado VW shows, and have dealt with him in his professional capacity. I've very much found him to be a standout in the world of VW businesses. He's thorough, courteous, knowledgeable, and very skilled. He usually brings a "naked" car or two to the shows (no interior, etc.) to demonstrate his metalwork. Very impressive stuff, and more and more of his cars show up at the shows.
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[jmit01]

[Erik G]

no. I don't believe for a minute that 4 brand new users, randomly click and see something about their local shop, within hours of the original post, and join up in attempt to discredit the original poster. not for one minute. It's a classic tactic to send people in here to discredit someone with a problem, or to do it yourself with multiple log in's. We see it all the time unfortunately

[Aquabat]

I'm not a brand new poster, so maybe what I have to say will carry some weight.

I've owned several different vintage VWs and been to many, many shops in the Springs. Motorworks is by far the most friendly and professional shop I've encountered. The level of work they've performed on my beetle and bus is superb. Every time I've had the smallest question the staff at motorworks, and in particularly Jeremy, have been more than happy to answer them. Unlike some shops I've encountered they don't talk down to newbies with newbie questions. This is the part I have to make clear, I have never, NEVER seen them cut corners, even when it comes to the smallest details. Everyone I know/ have encountered who takes their vehicle there, from basic maintenance to major repairs, has nothing but good things to say about them. I can't speak to the posters experience except to say that I really can't believe a word of it.

Also every time they have replaced a major component with a new one they returned the old one to me without being asked.

[MotorworksRestos]

To the Samba Community,

We are saddened that Wanderlust1969, after many months of no communication, has chosen to communicate with us by making accusations and questioning our integrity to The Samba worldwide community. The last we heard from Debra until this month was back in September, 2010. She had been back to our shop eight times between April and September, each time to add additional restoration work on top of her demands for adjustments or corrections on the original restoration.

We also regret that out of the hundreds of people who have been customers of Motorworks Restorations, Inc. during our nine years of operation, we can honestly say that none of them have ever been as negative, accusatory, or seemingly dissatisfied as Debra has been since picking up her (partially) restored van one year ago this month – April 6, 2010. Though she did not choose to do a complete restoration with us, with the original restoration work and the subsequent additions she made since then, she has a beautiful forty two year old van. We truly wish she would enjoy it more.

We have no desire to put ANY customer in a bad light in a public forum. If anyone would like a detailed account of the facts on this case, they can email [email protected] for a complete record and accounting of nine documented service visits Debra made to our shop since she first received her vehicle.

We are hurt and saddened by the exaggerated accusations, particularly the ones dealing with our integrity and honesty. We categorically state that at no time did anyone from Motorworks Restorations, Inc. purposely steal or misrepresent the quality of any part or property related to this project. The record of this project on our website and the testimonials on our reputation and service record speak for themselves.

Respectfully submitted:
Jeremy Vreeman – President
Jerry Vreeman - Vice President
Motorworks Restorations, Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.motorworksrestorations.com

[Erik G]

[ibjack]

Bravo Jeremy.
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[bitchinbluebug]

Well said Jeremy!



Gee, now I have 2 posts............