Portland Auto Repair

I grew up in a Volkswagen family. People from Volkswagen families know each other. I'm not talking about owning fancy Jettas and what not. In my family, growing up, we had a 1979 bus and a 1982 Vanagon (one was always running and the other broken, they would just trade places), we also had a couple of different diesel Dashers at various points in time. My dad did most of the work on the cars, however, there was that rare instance when a pro was needed. That is where Heckmann & Thiemann come in. They are the trusted VW and Porsche mechanics in the area. They will always treat you right and never rip you off. When I turned 17, I bought my first car. Of course it was a VW. It was a 1974 bright metallic green Super Beetle with a sunroof and it didn't even idle (I got it for $400 and named him Kermit). It had been sitting for years and was in rough shape. My dad and I replaced the rotted out interior and got the engine running and idling. A few months later, the CV joint went and fixing that was beyond my abilities. Mr. Thiemann took great care of me. He could obviously tell that I didn't have a lot of money. He showed me what the parts I needed looked like and sent me to the junkyard to get them rather than ordering new expensive parts for me. He didn't charge much to fix the car either. I am still so thankful that when I was that young and naive, I had such a fantastic mechanic to take care of me and keep Kermit running.

It's a rare and precious thing to find a friendly mechanic who you trust. These guys are not the cheapest, but they are honest and they do a good job, and in the long run, that will save you money. Can't recommend them highly enough.

A month and a half ago my got cancer. The laundry list of existing quirks and problems suddenly included serious driveablitly and safety issues, so I brought it to the nearest shop (see my review for Morgan Automotive). Said shop obviously has no knowledge or experience with Volkswagens, and after two trips and $1500 the problem had not been fixed. After a month of carpooling and public transportation, I made an appointment with Heckmann & Theimann, who specialize in Volkswagen, Porche, Audi and Subaru. A friend had recommended them, and I had a good feeling after reading several positive reviews. Everybody I spoke with was extremely friendly, and you could tell the mechanics took my problem as a challenge. Within a few hours they discovered several related problems that the other shop had not, even though two of which I had specifically asked them to address. They charge more per hour (labor=$85/hour) than some of shops, but they are quick and thorough. They had three different technicians (including the shop owner) test drive my car for what must have totaled a few hours to ensure that the problem had been fixed, and the bill I recieved was much less than I had expected. I trusted these guys, and will definitely be going back.