DAS AUTOHAUS

If You Want to Spend Lots of Money, Take Your Car to Das Autohaus!If You Want to Spend Lots of Money, Take Your Car to Das Autohaus!
As is usually the case, I should have listened to my gut instinct before trusting Dave, the owner of Das Autohaus and the Scuba Shack, co-located businesses literally around the corner from our home in Lawrence, Kansas.  When I stopped by to inquire about snorkeling gear for an upcoming trip to the Caribbean and discuss hiring him as our new mechanic (having recently moved to the area), the price for a mask, snorkel, and fins that go for less than $50 (with free shipping) on Amazon.com were quoted at $99 ... HINT #1 that things to come from Dave would not be cheap!
Being unemployed, we do not have a lot of money and our previous mechanic in Kansas City was always honest, fair, and did excellent work. I knew I could trust him and he never took advantage of us, unlike many mechanics, including, in my opinion, Dave and Das Autohaus.
I took our 2000 Volkswagen Beetle to Dave for a simple check of the battery (which was losing its charge on very cold mornings) this morning, expecting a fair and reasonable estimate.  He told me that it would take about an hour to run some diagnostics. I asked him how much an oil change would be while I was there and he told me, "$60".  I told him that my last mechanic only charged me $25 (including oil, filter, checking fluids, and inflating tires) and that I thought his price was too high (HINT #2 of a rip-off ... I should have walked away right then, but I believe in supporting local small businesses), so I told him not to change the oil.
Three hours later, Dave finally called and told me that the problem was in-fact the battery, which I assumed was the case, and considering the fact that batteries for my vehicle run around $100 (including FREE testing and installation) at any reputable auto parts store, I figured it should run me $160 more or less ($100 for the battery and an plus or minus an hour, to be generous, for labor - diagnostics and installation). I asked him how much it was going to cost and he said, "that comes to a little over $280".  
I thought maybe I had misheard the price, so I asked him, "did you say $280?". He confirmed the ridiculous price and I said, "I can buy a battery for $100 with free installation at an auto parts store, so why do you want to charge me $280? How much is the battery?".  He replied, "$140", to which I responded, "so you want to charge me $140 in labor to replace a battery I can get installed for free anywhere else?" He told me, "that's what it costs.  Do you know how long it takes to install a battery?"  I told him that I do in-fact know how long it takes because I installed the VW battery 4 years ago myself, taking only about 15 minutes. His "I could care less" and aggressive tone of voice ticked me off, so I told him I would be right over to collect my car. 
When I arrived, he insulted me further by saying that the car had not been well maintained and, in an attempt to up-sell someone who was not going to fall for his BS in any event, that I needed to replace the timing belt.  I told him that the timing belt had been replaced less than 70,000 miles ago and that the VW had been well maintained, changing the oil every 5,000 miles even though recommendations are to change diesel oil every 10,000 miles and making all RECOMMENDED and NECESSARY repairs (from our honest mechanic).
He then handed me a bill for $75!  Having spent my Air Force career as a transportation officer and responsible for hundreds of auto mechanics (and the Best Transportation Squadron in the United States Air Force), I know how repair costs are calculated, so I asked Dave how much his hourly rate was. He said, "I work by the job, not by the hour", so I knew he was not on the up-and-up. In comparison, the quote from AutoMD.com for the exact repair on my vehicle in my zip code was MUCH closer to my estimate than his at $185.89.  He was trying to charge me over $140 in labor for a job that takes 6/10 of an hour, ATTEMPTING to charge me over $250 an hour for labor when the average is $65 to $70 an hour elsewhere.  Considering the fact that testing an electrical system takes 15-20 minutes of hands-on work, the $75 charge for work performed equates to $225-$300 an hour ... WHAT A RIP-OFF!
Mechanics are notorius for taking advantage of uneducated customers as we have all seen on shows like 20/20 and 60 Minutes, but there are good, honest people out there as our last mechanic proved over the last five years. I assumed, and you know what happens when you "ASSUME" ... YOU MAKE AN "A**" OF "U" AND "ME", that Dave would be fair and honest, knowing very well that this was the first time I had been there and possibly trying to "do the right thing" by a new customer. In my opinion, Dave obviously has no idea what the "right thing" is or what "integrity" entails, so if you have more money than you know what to do with and do not care how much a service costs, by all means go to Das Autohaus! I did not realize how good I had it with our last mechanic, but maybe it is worth the 40 minute drive not to find out how many crook mechanics there are in Lawrence, Kansas!
I posted this review on my blog and on Yelp, receiving a quick response from a Lawrence neighbor, Scott T., who told me that Dave and Das Autohaus are well known for their inflated prices and up-charge tactics among people he knows, only confirming my horrible experience and opinion of Dave and Das Autohaus.

UPDATE: 1/27/2014
As usual, AngiesList did not bother letting me know that the owner of Das Autohaus responded to my review, having just read it:

Company Response: 

"This is a false review, we have never worked on a car by a person with the name of [member name removed]. Dave Bach is the only Volkswagen Master Registered Technician in Lawrence. Like any professional, he charges for his work. As a Platinum Pro Diver and Instructor, Dave chooses to sell only quality equipment in his shop."

My response, which AngiesList does not bother to ask for, another sign that they cater to businesses, not consumers, is as follows:

This man obviously has no integrity and will lie at every turn. If you want to see the receipt from Das Autohaus for the "estimate", you can find it attached to this review or at this link: http://institutionalterrorism.blogspot.com/2013/12/if-you-want-to-get-ripped-off-take-your.html along with my full review and other documentation proving that what I say is in-fact true and the owner of Das Autohaus is lying ... THIS IS NOT A FALSE REVIEW.

UPDATE: 3/1/14
I recently took the same car to Don?s Auto Center (4 blocks away on 11th St) to see if the problems Das Autohaus told me needed repairs were indeed concerns. On my Das Autohaus invoice, the supposed ?fake? one attached to this review, Dave stated that the vehicle needed new struts ($400-$600 on RepairPal) and removal of ?excess carbon buildup on intake manifold? (which I had done less than two years and 20,000 miles ago at a cost of $700), a total of $1,100 to $1,300 in repairs.

I had recently taken the vehicle 500+ miles to Colorado to visit my mother and noticed that the fuel economy was six to seven miles per gallon less than last summer (intake manifold?) and the ride somewhat rough (struts?), so I decided to take the vehicle to Don?s to see if Dave?s ?recommendations? were accurate.

I explained to Mike, the owner of Don?s, what the symptoms were and what I thought could possibly be causing them (Das Autohaus diagnoses ? struts and carbon in manifo