I'm 43. I've taken my cars to a lot of mechanics in the past 25 years. THIS IS THE BEST SHOP I'VE SEEN. EVER. Here's why:1. Service. I got my car towed in to their shop, after closing, at 6:15 PM on Friday. Did they say "we'll call you next week"? No. They said "it would suck to be without your car all weekend. Let's see if we can fix it now." They diagnosed it; it was a simple burned-thru insulator on a coil, and easy to fix. So they fixed on the spot. After hours. On Friday. 2. Price. I've taken my 2003 Audi A4 here several times. Each time, I'm pleasantly surprised that the prices are affordable. Don't even think about going to a dealer if you can go to these guys. 3. Quality. Everything they've done for my car has withstood the test of time. Downside: the neighborhood is out of the way. But they're pretty good with the ride service to downtown or wherever. Or you can take the T-Third train, like I do. Given the price and quality, getting to the location is completely worth it.

Took my girlfriend's Jetta in to Advanced after the local VW-Audi dealer told her that her front brakes & rotors needed to be replaced for $700...which sounded like robbery to me. I spoke to Brett at Advanced and he quoted me considerably less, which I thought was great and was ready to proceed. I dropped off the car today and Randy called me in the afternoon to let me know that the front brakes still had ~40% of their life, and he went the extra step and also confirmed that the rear brakes had ~70%. What the F*@#! was the dealer thinking?Advanced will definitely be seeing this Jetta and my Audi from now on. I have worked in the auto industry for 20 years (dealerships & corporate) and these guys run a top notch business. Thanks guys!

Sunday 12:30pm: Intersection Folsom/Fremont, the alternator in my 2004 VW Jetta takes its last spin, and kaput there goes my battery with it. After the nice men roll me and my dog, Q, through the intersection to safety, I call for help.My insurance company recommended towing to Advanced Audi VW, and I obliged, crossing my fingers hoping that it was the right decision. I left my keys in the drop-box in what honestly seemed like somewhat of a sketchy area, and got a reassuring, professional call first thing Monday morning. Randy was honest and upfront about what my car needed and what it would cost.At this point I'm stoked that I bought that extended warranty! I even call the VW dealer to confirm how warranties work and am so relieved to hear the reassurance that I have to be covered. Randy's nice voice still makes my heart break when he tells me my extended warranty expired 12 days ago. 12 F'ING DAYS?!!! Ouch that hurt; me and my bank account. Side note- Seriously, go figure..right? I'm convinced manufacturers have this down to a science. That was just too ironic and timely. Luckily my friend's dad was able to get me an alternator at cost and my bank account is grateful that Randy was so cool about it, even if it meant less markup for him.After checking the Yelp ratings and reviews for Advanced Audi/VW, I felt that much more confident that my car was in the right hands and I wasn't getting ripped off. Since my car was towed during a time when they were closed, I took the Muni T line to meet these "hot" men who the rest of you have yelped about...and yep, I'll be going back to Advanced Audi-VW again.Next time, however, my keys aren't going in the drop-box, I'm handing them to the hot men myself ;)

These guys rock. I owned my Audi two years longer than I would have otherwise because these guys made it affordable and secure. Example: They went to war with my third party warranty company to get good parts and not accept junk being passed off as reconditioned. Another: They always treated my money like it was their money, only did what was necessary to get to the next logical service moment, don't replace what isn't worn out yet, even if the mileage says its time. Another: They several times dropped me at the airport (not so far for them) so I could leave my car to get fixed on my way out of town. And as soon as you see the shop, you know you're not going to overpay just so they can afford the real estate. Audi owners, check it out!

I have two Audis and have been going to these guys for years based on recommendations from a couple coworkers who have been going here for even more years.I've been very satisfied with the quality and straightforwardness (is that a word?) of Randy/Aaron and the crew. They want you back. They don't fix things that don't need to be fixed.And they have saved me money by sending me away. I bought a used Audi from a friend, and a couple thousand miles later, the timing belt went, taking the valves with them. Well as it turns out my friend had just had the belt replaced, but it was out of warranty on a technicality. Advanced advised me to go to the other shop and lean on them and that turned a $7000 job into a $3500 one. Yeah, it sucked big time but it could have been worse. Oh and by the way, get your timing belt changed early. You don't want a broken timing belt, believe me. (Why do they make engines with timing belts anyway? Apparently newer cars are going back to chains, wish they had done that years ago.)

Still maintaining their high level of service after several visits. Book early they are super busy.

My jetta is officially a piece of crap after getting hit by a bus last year. As I am a poor starving grad student and AC Transit has declined to pay me for their driver's idiocy, I am on a tight budget when it comes to car repairs.When the poor car needed new spark plug wires to pass smog, I called around to get quotes for the part. The guys at Advanced Audi & VW were friendly and helpful on the phone, gave me a cheaper price than I could find even on the internet, and set aside the part for me and had it waiting when I came to pick it up (unlike Karmakanix in Berkeley, where half the time I showed up and the part they said they had wasn't even there...)Best of all, they didn't bat an eyelash at me doing the work myself. They didn't try to convince me that they should do it, or ask to see my fingernails first (to make sure I wouldn't break a nail?? Karmakanix, I'm talking to you.), or talk to me like a three year old. I'm planning on going back to get a replacement for the broken part inside the driver's side door that makes my alarm go off every time I start the car, and would happily pay them to fix anything I couldn't do myself. Well, maybe I wouldn't be THAT happy about it. But I'd trust them.

Based on the great Yelp reviews I took my Volkswagen Passat to Advanced Audi & VW. The service there has been good on both visits I have had. This week, they were excellent about letting me know what my options were. Unlike some places they don't find something wrong with your car just to rack up your bill.They only have one shuttle run to drop you off in the morning so if you want a ride you have to get there early or you are SOL. I find the T line on the muni at 23rd is very convenient to them so I can avoid the whole suppershuttle effect of going all over town when I need to get to work.

So I'm cruising along after picking a friend up from the airport when I notice, to my consternation, that my Jetta's battery warning light has come on. This is concerning because, although I have seen a veritable christmas tree on my dash before, this particular light is new. We get to our other friend's house and as we're over in the parking lane idling, waiting for her to come out - the car just putters out and dies. Turns off. Won't crank.Fuck.Mind you, it's Saturday night and I've got two girls here waiting to go out and my car, my baby machine that has my own blood mixed in between the threads along with Loctite Blue and who knows what else, has just shut off with no indication of why.Well that's not entirely true. I had the battery light and the other symptoms, from which I deduced my alternator had had the gall to up and die on me.I brought my crippled stallion into Advanced and in short time they set her right. Replaced my alternator, and at my request refreshed her oil and raised the front suspension 1/2". Reasonable rates, really cool guys, and no problems.

6/29/2010 Update: Randy strikes again. Car exhaust broke while I was driving and I dropped it off just scared to death about what it might cost to fix. Randy and crew said they'd check it out. Incidentally, it was past closing when they were helping me, but read on and that won't surprise you. I get a call back the next day from Randy who tells me that the exhaust is definitely screwed, but he was thinking it was covered under manufacturer warranty so, totally unsolicited, he decided to make a call to VW on my behalf. Turns out it was covered, so THEN he decided to tow my car over to Royal VW and have them start working on it. I just got a call from Royal to come pick up my car...."all repairs under warranty and no charge." Most mechanics would have picked the sheister route unfortunately and bilked me out of a new exhaust system, etc...not these guys. You are a moron if you take your VW or Audi anywhere else. Moreover, if Dietrich, the head VW German mechanic...the one who wears a white lab coat and little metal glasses flew out from Lower Saxony and begged me to work on my car...I would tell him that I already got a guy and to scram. This kind of service is what is great about local high quality people and high quality businesses and you will get both in spades here. ----------From 2008 -- Great service above and beyond the call of the duty! I took my banshee brake squeakin' Passat in yesterday for them to check out. I thought I just needed brakes because I'm a natural when it comes to cars whose brakes sound like a fork in the microwave. It turns out the Advanced crew diagnosed a brake caliper issue relating to the electronic e-brake button (that no valet in the City can ever find btw). They could have just slapped new brakes on, taken my dough and called it a day but that's not how this shop works. They said that because the caliper issue was covered by my warranty, that I should take it to a VW dealer to get it squared away. I did, and guess what the dealer told me?..."you need new brakes, no defect, $194 for parts plus $220 for labor...thanks for using Royal VW". So, I call back Advanced, got Randy and told him what Royal had said. He goes into full "this aggression will not STAND Lebowski" mode! He told me to call Royal back asap, give them his tech notes and have them look again. I did, but no one at Royal was available to speak with me now. He said to then go straight to VW of North America to let them know that I am unhappy with the explanation. So, I call VW North America and tell them I was being railroaded...er..."was not happy with my dealer experience". While I'm on the with a very lovely sounding Amanda...guess who calls? Yup, Royal and guess what...IT TURNS OUT IT WAS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND IT'S A NO CHARGE FIX UNDER WARRANTY! I know! What are the odds right?!?! Long story short, brakes and calipers replaced at no charge solely because of the diligence and help of Randy, Aaron and the rest of the dynamite crew over there. There is just no other shop you should go to in the City if you have a VW or Audi...period.