KCR Transmissions - [email protected] - kcr

[KevinBug]

Let me start by saying that the transmission that I purchased from KCR Transmissions has so far performed well and I have no reason to believe that it will not continue to do so.

But the question I ask myself after dealing with this company is "Would I buy another transmission from KCR?" My answer is NO. Why? Their communication totally sucks. When my order was a week late I heard nothing from them. At two weeks past due I still heard nothing. My emails went ignored and my messages on their machine were not returned. At three weeks late I finally got hold of Kevin and he told me it was shipping. It didn't ship until another week had passed.

From what I can tell over the phone, when I was able to get them on the line, their shop is unorganized and one guy seems to be doing everything. I did not even get a receipt with my purchase and at this point do not expect to get one even after asking several times. I can understand a business being busy. Back orders happen, etc. and for a small business it can get overwhelming. I understand. Communication is all I was looking for. A simple email or phone call. I was not in a hurry for this transmission, the delays were not a big deal. All I wanted was a little communication. I didn't need hand holding either. I also felt like I had to hound them to get my core refund.

As far as the quality of their work? It seems great, and their prices are great as well. And were their communication better I could recommend them highly. But I cannot.
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'74 Super

[Eric Outland]

I purchased a 1970 Tranny about a year ago from Kevin at His shop in riverside=KCR. Told him over the Phone what I needed and he stated "give me about a week". I called him back 7 day's later Kevin at KCR said it's done. So I drove to Riverside and picked up my Trans for my 1970 Vert. I forgot to bring my nose cone from my old trans in and kevin said no problem just bring it in ASAP. So I went home the next day I drove back to His shop gave him my old nose cone, and he gave me my written reciept and Warranty.

Granted Kevin at KCR transmissions might be a man of few word's, (More than likely he has so much work to do he doesn't have time to shoot the shit), but as long as my trans hold's up--( which it has) That's fine with me. I will continue to do Business with Kevin at KCR transmissions--He builds a quality Product. Eric (VMR)

[kcr]

To Kevin and all others with good and bad experiences with my company.I just wish the market would bare a pricing level,that would allow me to hire someone to sit in the office all day.That way I could build the same quality product as usual,but not have to answer the phones,do the shipping /recieving,going to the bank and other supply places,occasional deliveries,all the paperwork involved in running a business,plus since I am only human,doing things with my children and having a private life would be nice too,on top of the rare day off.
I apologize to anyone who has had a bad experience which is a very small percentage compared to the ones with good experiences.I thank everyone who has ever bought a trans from me,both positive and negative experiences.

[Dave]

I actually don't know where to start, with all my dealings with KCR. Let me say, Kevin has gone the extra 10,000,000,000 miles for me, on more than one occasion. And I don't believe at the time he knew I was a big-shot editor for a VW Magazine, I was just another customer. True, it's a small shop, run by just him, and sometimes his brother pitches in, but, pretty much, that's IT. And the quality of his transmissions? Ask any of the majority of Der Renn-Kafer Cup guys where they get their transaxles from....and anytime you launch a full-weight Sedan (right down to the back seat, all glass/no Lexan/Plexiglass, ashtray, spare tire, and everything else) at 7,000 rpm, with gummy sticky slicks, you'll know RIGHT AWAY if your trans builder knew what he was doing or not.
Did I have a problem with a KCR gearbox? well.... yes. I called Kevin, told him what was up, he said bring it back, I did, and he fixed it THE NEXT DAY. All better. Now THAT is what I call Customer service... if you catch him during sand season, or PRA racing, he's bound to be swamped, and backed up... that's what he gets for being one of the best.
Kevin does this because he WANTS to. He lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes air cooled VWs. He's talented enough that he could go get a higher-paying job at any one of a number of engineering or manufacturing firms, but I think he just likes what he does, and it shows in the quality of his product.
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2003 Samba Chummie Winner- Best Story

"Those that matter, don't mind,
and those that mind, don't matter"

[OTO X58]

My KCR tranny lasted a really long time, even with the terrible abuse I gave it. When it finally did break, I was working in a shop where the tranny guy helped me fix it. He has a lot of experience building trannys and he said that the work was top notch. On top of that, when I first installed it and had a tough time finding gears, Kevin helped me get to the bottom of it, which ended up being a coupler or a hanger issue, and had NOTHING to do with the tranny.

Would I buy another tranny from KCR? HELL YES.
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-Thomas

RIP HBB 10.10.84 - 12.25.09
Autocross 1958 Rag Build - Subaru Swap!

[KevinBug]

For the record, not once have I said anything about the quallity of the transmission I received from KCR. Frankly, I have not had it long enough. I only speak of my experience as a customer. Does the KCR customer service that you guys speak of extend beyond a walk-in to the shop? I'm on the east coast and at the mercy of email and telephone. You previous posters all seem to be within California. I'm not a racer running at 7000 rpm. I wanted a stock transmission and I went with the smaller company based on reputation, price, and conscience (I wanted to support the non-mega-builder.) I hope I never have a problem with this transmission and if I do, I hope Kevin doesn't resent this review so much he tells me to take a hike. For what it's worth, I value this VW community a great deal and I think a little constructive criticism can be helpful. To that end I stand by my original post. It was not done in malice or spite but out of frustration and true experience. I am not trying to ruin KCR's reputation. If anything, I hope to forestall further customer service issues. Just one email or phone call throughout this entire process would have made my experience complety different.
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'74 Super

[Dave]

Understood, Kevin. But, by the sake token, understand that because he isn't a "mega-builder" and just a small, one or two-person shop, somethings, things fall through the cracks, and, to use the politcally correct term, "Doo Doo Occurs"
I would suggest maybe trying to call him again, possibly early in the morning, if you can, before he heads into the shop and gets in neck deep in ring gears, synchos, shift forks, etc.
You might want to take a cyber-trip over to <www.cal-look.com> and visit the forums over there, some people have had some things to say about KCR, as well. But I will tell you, not one person over on that forum has a bad thing to say about KCR, customer service, quality, turnaround time, anything...
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2003 Samba Chummie Winner- Best Story

"Those that matter, don't mind,
and those that mind, don't matter"

[KevinBug]

[chicagovw]

My trans from KCR arrived later than originally promised, but not by that much and Kevin did let me know he was running behind. It happens. I have now had the trans in my '90 Mexican Bug for several years and it has performed flawlessly. Very happy overall.

[Csaba]

[c.davis419]

Its been a few years, but I got a T1 built trans from Kevin that performed flawlessly and got it within a couple of weeks of ordering it. He was helpful and his price was more than fair considering all the upgrades this trans got. I did drive to Riverside to exchange my core and pick up my new trans.
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1959 ragtop baja
1974 Thing

[Oldbugr]

I forgot to leave a feedback on the experience that I had with Kevin. I ordered a super street plus a couple of months ago, it was delivered exactly as Kevin said it would, (if I remember right, total time was 2 weeks), it now has about 3000 semi hard miles on it. And I wouldn't hesitate to order another tranny from him. Sorry to see negative feedback on him.. Eric
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63 Bug 2110

[tekla]

I would like to say Kevin at KCR has built 3 transmissions for me. They have all taken a lot of abuse and have functioned excellent out of the box. I ordered a trans from him last year (March) and i still have not received it. We have had good communication back and forth several times, but my trans does not seem to move up on his list of getting it done. Talked to him a month ago and he said "it would get done"and he would email me with the shipping charges but nothing, i have tried to call and nothing, left messages and nothing. KEVIN GET IT DONE ALREADY OR TELL ME WHAT THE HOLD UP IS.
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Formerly ultrarareparts now semi retired from vw's!

[johnwesley]

I called KCR in a bit of a bind for a tranny, worse yet it was close to Christmas. He was very informative and told me about upgrades that may help after he asked questions. Such as my habits with 1st gear and my normal cruising speeds. I had the transmission at my house in two weeks. Awesome!!!! I am very happy with him from an information standpoint and timely work done. On top of it all he did it quicker that he said he could cause I was in a bind.

Thanks Kevin

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Thanks to DRD and KCR. Great people to work with

[pip hancox]

always had great experiences with Kevin too. highly recommended!
cheers,
pip.
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DBK!
'49 Standard.
'51 Crotch Cooler.
'58 Kombi.
'65 Notchback.
'64 Ghia.
2 Things.
wifes 2332 '59 lowlight ghia.

[Mr.Duncan]

Kevin @ KCR was great to deal with.
He built a transmission exactly to what I needed, the customer service and response times were perfect.
10/10 would recommend to anyone with VW transaxle needs.
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(Owner) www.vintagecarleds.com

Red 1971 Squareback Thread
---------------------------------------------------
1971 Green Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Ghia (sold)
1971 Blue Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Java Green Std Beetle (sold)
1971 Red Squareback

[richierich]

Just bought a Super Street Plus transmission from Kevin. I am in the UK and had a lot of questions I wanted to ask and I have to say - everytime I called, Kevin answered the phone...everytime I emailed, he replied within an hour or two and went beyond by helping me with advice for installation (first time I have done a trans removal/install). The transmission is great - over the moon with it and delivered to my door within two weeks of first speaking to him. Cant recommend highly enough. Thanks a lot.

[Mr.Duncan]

Ordered my 2nd transmission for my other Beetle from Kevin @ KCR.

He is extremely helpful with a few of the custom things I was having done.

(bare mag case, and using a Elring Dirko sealant)

Cant recommend him more than enough for any transaxle needs.

Cant wait for it to arrive!
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(Owner) www.vintagecarleds.com

Red 1971 Squareback Thread
---------------------------------------------------
1971 Green Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Ghia (sold)
1971 Blue Super Beetle (sold)
1966 Java Green Std Beetle (sold)
1971 Red Squareback

[plastikman187]

Overall the experience was great, Kevin took the time to talk to me about my issues. Kevin wanted to make sure that I got what I needed. He explained to me the difference between then stock transmission and the super street, he explained to me the reasons to get one or the other. Kevin was more concerned about me getting the "right" equipment instead of selling me something I did not need.

I only have one car but if I were to need another transmission, i would for sure get one from Kevin.

I'm not sure he still works with that AOL address, here is his website. http://kcrtransmissions.com/

Thank you thesamba, your reviews helped me to pick the best shop for my needs!

[vwbarrios]

It will be my first time buying a transaxle form KCR and so far it has been a great experience. I have yet to test out the product because i have been paying it in payments for like over 6 months. Haha right?? Its just one day i had the money and I put a down payment for the transaxle that I needed. Kevin is really solid with the times that you can contact him. For me, he told me he is there usually Tuesdays and Thursdays maybe Fridays and weekend. Hes very cool and is cool with me taking so long to pay him but he said he doesn't care and its no trouble. In addition, he let me bring 2 other transaxles as payment towards my new one so that helped me a lot. Also he let me use his computer to login to my bank statements because neither of us could remember how much I owed him. So yeah I never got a receipt or i lost it but he isnt the type of person to rip you off or be sneaky. Over all Very Caring.
PS. [email protected] is his email that I use to pay him through PayPal