Chan Foreign Car

I went to Chan's when - after a repair to the cooling system the day before by my former mechanic - my radiator hose sprung a leak. I loaded it up with antifreeze and limped in to my regular mechanic at 4:45 pm on a Friday. It seemed probable that they had screwed something up with the earlier repair. Because he wanted to go home, I guess, he suggested I take it to Chan's - they work late and on Saturdays, too. Since my regular blew me off under these circumstances and after 5 years of regular business, I took his recommendation and went to Chan's. That was 8 years ago. Chan's had performed competent work for me on both my Volvo and my Toyota ever since. They've never blown me off, and always agree to work on my car, even without an appointment.

I found Chan's several years ago after I bought my first Toyota in '97 (wow has it really be 12 years?) As the other reviewer mentioned, they are always willing to take me in without an appointment, but I've only done that for small stuff, like an oil change--I would think it inconsiderate to drop it off with a major tune-up or repair request. The gal that runs the front of the shop always remembers my name, that I have two kids, that I recently moved, and anything else that I've happened to mention and asks how things are going. It's amazing. It's kind of hard sometimes to understand her through her thick accent, but despite that it is clear that she, too, knows a think about cars and trucks. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not certain of her name and I know very little about her. They are up front about telling me when I need a repair done and whether it's needed ASAP or "the next time". Also, when I mentioned that we were interested in buying a Volvo XC90, she told me, "Great car, handles beautifully, but very expensive to maintain. Don't get one." I have no idea whether the prices are good, but they're better than the dealers, so that must count for something. They've worked on my pickup, my 4Runner and also done oil changes and minor repairs on my VW Passat. I think they put the wrong kind of oil in my Passat, though, so I don't think I'll take that there. But Toyotas and Volvos are their bread and butter. They have also done pre-purchase inspections for us at a competitive rate.

I've been taking my well-loved Volvo's to Paul for a million years...he's great!...and very funny...you'd love him guys! The only reason I haven't bought a Subaru is that I don't think he works on them...only Volvos and Toyotas... I'll have to ask... go see him--he's great.

He is generous and honest likes to work on cars and really cool. He is the man!!!!!

The friendly people at Chan Foreign Car are extremely competent and trustworthy. I have a very old Toyota and they have (miraculously) kept it running for years. I have never had a problem with them or ever felt like I was being taken for a ride (no pun intended). Also, they always remember my name, along with every detail I have ever told them, and they love to joke around and make me laugh and feel comfortable. They are one of the reasons that I will never move too far away from Boulder.

After reading the other reviewers comments Im wondering if Ive entered an episode of the Twilight Zone rather than the Mechan-X-Files given how disparate my experiences have been compared to the others listed. My experience involved taking my sister-in-laws 82 Volvo in during this past summer (00) due to an intermittent loss of power and/or failing to start problem. Despite having been told that the battery seemed good, Chans replaced the battery but had neither it nor any test results proving that it was bad. And as I didnt even make it the 5 miles back to my sister-in-laws before it died an oh-so-familiar death I knew the problem continued to exist. When my sister-in-law (whose dealt w/ Chans for years w/ mixed results) brought it in herself they replaced a relay because it was so old it must be bad. (Yes, she actually let them charge her based upon such a diagnoses.) Needless to say it didnt fix the problem. The third time she brought it in the mechanic (it wasnt Chan) said that the problem she was describing was a common one for old Volvos and that they were seeing several a week w/ the same symptom. Having said that he didnt then go on to explain what the remedy for this oh-so-familiar problem was, but they held onto her car for a couple of more days, charged her another several hundred dollars and returned the car with the problem still in existence. She sold the car that fall. That fixed the problem (for her).

Chan has been very good to us. Most importantly, they save us money! I've been to Chan's many times asking about a potential repair, and they always tell me about the risks and benefits of fixing something now vs. later. If a part makes a bit of noise but other than that is safe and has another 20,000 miles, they recommend deferring the repair. They are always very fair and often charge us nothing at all for trivial jobs (for example one time the electric door locks failed, which just needed some lube and a new fuse... no charge).