Onix B. Puerto Rico 10-20-2012
"This is a long story, when you get more then you paid for. I had been more the 20 years on the VW scene here in Puerto Rico. I had made business with a lot of VW and automotive mail order companies. On the last couple of years I had been working on new projects. My main project is a 1970 Karmann Ghia that I want to build as a semi daily driver. I chose to went with Mendeola suspension system. After some emails with Kevin Zagar from Mendeola he send me a complete front and rear suspension kit. I am very happy with the quality. At the same time I had paid a company called Motormeister to build me a 915 transmision. Unfortunately after these people took my money they failed to deliver it for more than a year. They do not answered the phone or replied my emails. I googled them and found multiple horrible stories about their service. I felt stranded as I am in Puerto Rico and they in California. I though I had lost my money. About two months ago Kevin Zagar send me a email follow up on my build, so I told him my problem. Kevin offered me his help. He called the Motormeister people and asked about the transmission. They were full of excuses and gave him a build date. Obviously they failed to deliver again. So Kevin gave them one more week to build it. After the week he drove 3 hours from his shop to theirs. After some hassles they finally gave him the transmission. He then drove back to his shop 3 more hours. He spend all his day only to get my transmission. Kevin didn't charged me a cent for all this. Today I have my 915 transmission at my house. In the 20 years that I had been working with VWs this is the nicest help I had get from a company by far.
"This is a long story, when you get more then you paid for. I had been more the 20 years on the VW scene here in Puerto Rico. I had made business with a lot of VW and automotive mail order companies. On the last couple of years I had been working on new projects. My main project is a 1970 Karmann Ghia that I want to build as a semi daily driver. I chose to went with Mendeola suspension system. After some emails with Kevin Zagar from Mendeola he send me a complete front and rear suspension kit. I am very happy with the quality. At the same time I had paid a company called Motormeister to build me a 915 transmision. Unfortunately after these people took my money they failed to deliver it for more than a year. They do not answered the phone or replied my emails. I googled them and found multiple horrible stories about their service. I felt stranded as I am in Puerto Rico and they in California. I though I had lost my money. About two months ago Kevin Zagar send me a email follow up on my build, so I told him my problem. Kevin offered me his help. He called the Motormeister people and asked about the transmission. They were full of excuses and gave him a build date. Obviously they failed to deliver again. So Kevin gave them one more week to build it. After the week he drove 3 hours from his shop to theirs. After some hassles they finally gave him the transmission. He then drove back to his shop 3 more hours. He spend all his day only to get my transmission. Kevin didn't charged me a cent for all this. Today I have my 915 transmission at my house. In the 20 years that I had been working with VWs this is the nicest help I had get from a company by far.
Tim B. 02-28-2013
"I will feel free to chime in here. My 2 cents, Kevin completed the Speedwell Oval about a year ago. The 6 Magazine Covers were sweet indeed but in all honesty it was built to drive. Although, there were natural adjustments needed along the way it would be difficult to deny the performance of the chassis under my 57 Oval Ragtop. i would encourage anyone to take Kevin up on his offer of a ride in one of his chassis. I believe my original ride made me wet my pants Needless to say, I purchased the chassis, the car was completed and I have been having a lot of fun with it on weekends. Shoot me a PM should you wish to no more."
Cheers,
Tim
"I will feel free to chime in here. My 2 cents, Kevin completed the Speedwell Oval about a year ago. The 6 Magazine Covers were sweet indeed but in all honesty it was built to drive. Although, there were natural adjustments needed along the way it would be difficult to deny the performance of the chassis under my 57 Oval Ragtop. i would encourage anyone to take Kevin up on his offer of a ride in one of his chassis. I believe my original ride made me wet my pants Needless to say, I purchased the chassis, the car was completed and I have been having a lot of fun with it on weekends. Shoot me a PM should you wish to no more."
Cheers,
Tim
Tom & Kathleen I.
"We have to give Kevin & the chassis engineers at Mendeola some "props". We drove the Manxter for the 1st time today with the S2 chassis. I was expecting it to ride like a truck because of all the handing claims. It rides softer and nicer than the VW chassis ever did. The steering is super easy, especially the low speed stuff which has always been a problem with this car. We have a few more things to sort out, but this thing is great. We had it aligned, and will try the performance tests later. Thanks Kevin!"
"We have been driving Kathleen's Manxter around for a couple of years now with the full (front & rear suspension and transaxle) Mendeola chassis. It rides nicer, steers nicer and handles much better than the VW chassis that was under the car when we 1st built it. I was concerned with the large sway bars, but they don't seem to make the ride harsh like with having them on VW suspension. We have had some minor issues, but Kevin and the crew have always come through to take care of them."
"One point I seldom see mentioned about A-arm front suspensions (when they are done right like the Mendeola) is the reduced bump steer. That is one reason why all the hot rodders like the Mustang II / Pinto front suspensions. Proper placement of the rack & pinion and equal length tie rods make for a nice ride and our sterring effort went way down also."
Tom I.
"We have to give Kevin & the chassis engineers at Mendeola some "props". We drove the Manxter for the 1st time today with the S2 chassis. I was expecting it to ride like a truck because of all the handing claims. It rides softer and nicer than the VW chassis ever did. The steering is super easy, especially the low speed stuff which has always been a problem with this car. We have a few more things to sort out, but this thing is great. We had it aligned, and will try the performance tests later. Thanks Kevin!"
"We have been driving Kathleen's Manxter around for a couple of years now with the full (front & rear suspension and transaxle) Mendeola chassis. It rides nicer, steers nicer and handles much better than the VW chassis that was under the car when we 1st built it. I was concerned with the large sway bars, but they don't seem to make the ride harsh like with having them on VW suspension. We have had some minor issues, but Kevin and the crew have always come through to take care of them."
"One point I seldom see mentioned about A-arm front suspensions (when they are done right like the Mendeola) is the reduced bump steer. That is one reason why all the hot rodders like the Mustang II / Pinto front suspensions. Proper placement of the rack & pinion and equal length tie rods make for a nice ride and our sterring effort went way down also."
Tom I.
Mark T.
"It's a nice system and kevin has done his homework on it. I wish i could afford it for my 356....but I cant.Ill probably go the mustangll route for less than half,it may not be as good as this Mendeola Suspension ,but it will be better than the VW stuff. For those who can afford Mendeola, I think it is the best out there. Very nice work Kevin!!"
"It's a nice system and kevin has done his homework on it. I wish i could afford it for my 356....but I cant.Ill probably go the mustangll route for less than half,it may not be as good as this Mendeola Suspension ,but it will be better than the VW stuff. For those who can afford Mendeola, I think it is the best out there. Very nice work Kevin!!"
Jash V. (from the UK)
Just looking at them the Mendeola looks to be beefier and stronger. Welding is always fun so I wouldn't mind that, but I'm not to keen on the big in your face advert for their company on it, kinda vain. I'd say leave that off and give me a decal I could put on the window if I wanted to. The UK model looks good, but I like the videos on the eyeball site. What's funny is in my Jegs catalog you could buy one of these for a Mustang for about $2k or less, so why are these so expensive? I like the other products on the Mendeola site and wouldn't mind an entire pan from them, if it didn't cost so much. I'm not naïve shipping would kill the price, I'd rather pay for quality than for some cheaply made crap.
Just looking at them the Mendeola looks to be beefier and stronger. Welding is always fun so I wouldn't mind that, but I'm not to keen on the big in your face advert for their company on it, kinda vain. I'd say leave that off and give me a decal I could put on the window if I wanted to. The UK model looks good, but I like the videos on the eyeball site. What's funny is in my Jegs catalog you could buy one of these for a Mustang for about $2k or less, so why are these so expensive? I like the other products on the Mendeola site and wouldn't mind an entire pan from them, if it didn't cost so much. I'm not naïve shipping would kill the price, I'd rather pay for quality than for some cheaply made crap.
Chris C. 01-10-2015
I am writing this testimonial about Kevin Zagar @ Coolrydes Customs to show my appreciation for all of the time that Kevin has spent with me on the phone with his support & knowledge . I have called Kevin on several occasions over the last 6 months to inquire about the Mendeola front & rear suspension upgrade for my 63 bug vert as well as engine upgrades . When I have left messages, Kevin has always returned my calls , usually within a couple hours . Kevin has spent probably at least 30 minutes or more during a few of our conversations answering questions & offering advise or suggestions based on the many years of his experience in the auto world . During our conversations Kevin has always been patient ,direct , & honest with me - also never treated me disrespectfully or made me feel like I was wasting his time . I still haven't purchased any of his products , but when I do - I feel that I will have any support that I need and as always will be treated more like a friend than a customer .
Thanks Again Kevin ,
Chris
I am writing this testimonial about Kevin Zagar @ Coolrydes Customs to show my appreciation for all of the time that Kevin has spent with me on the phone with his support & knowledge . I have called Kevin on several occasions over the last 6 months to inquire about the Mendeola front & rear suspension upgrade for my 63 bug vert as well as engine upgrades . When I have left messages, Kevin has always returned my calls , usually within a couple hours . Kevin has spent probably at least 30 minutes or more during a few of our conversations answering questions & offering advise or suggestions based on the many years of his experience in the auto world . During our conversations Kevin has always been patient ,direct , & honest with me - also never treated me disrespectfully or made me feel like I was wasting his time . I still haven't purchased any of his products , but when I do - I feel that I will have any support that I need and as always will be treated more like a friend than a customer .
Thanks Again Kevin ,
Chris
Louis M. Canada 02-20-2015
Awesome, good job Kevin!
You must be the only car guys I know that ships on time
I'll let you know how it goes.
Cheers
Louis
Awesome, good job Kevin!
You must be the only car guys I know that ships on time
I'll let you know how it goes.
Cheers
Louis
Noel T. 03-10-2015
Also wanted thank you. We spoke last week about my interest in your "Stiffy" Kafer Bar and you said that I do not need one.
In my experience I find it rare to have someone talk you out of buying their product. Usually someone is trying to talk you into
something you don't need.
Thank you it shows the character of you and your company. Looking forward to doing more business with you in the future.
Also wanted thank you. We spoke last week about my interest in your "Stiffy" Kafer Bar and you said that I do not need one.
In my experience I find it rare to have someone talk you out of buying their product. Usually someone is trying to talk you into
something you don't need.
Thank you it shows the character of you and your company. Looking forward to doing more business with you in the future.
Larry B.
11-08-2015
Finally sitting down to get a few thoughts down about the car. I’ve been on a proposal for my company for about a year and it’s finally finished. Feel free to use or edit the following:
The car has turned out amazing, as I put more miles on it, it keeps getting better. I have put close to 3000 miles on it since you delivered it at the end of May. (On time as promised). On the central coast trip the car got broke in and was a great long distance ride, nicely behaved on the interstate and really took the curves very well on the 2 lanes. I really could shift the weight of the car using the brakes and throttle. I did about 2000 miles on a trip from San Diego to Bishop to Auburn(395) back to Tahoe then though Sacramento to Willits then down the coast (Hwy 1) though San Francisco to SLO then Home to San Diego. Had rain along the coast and the car went where I pointed it. Ride and handling was superb. My son has driven the car and reported it drove like a race car, I agree with him.
Kevin thanks for your work on the Speedster both the suspension and engine work, as well as you r support after delivery. I recommend your suspension upgrade from VW. The only issue that I have found with the car is now we will have to talk about a more powerful motor!!!
Thanks
All the best.
Larry B
11-08-2015
Finally sitting down to get a few thoughts down about the car. I’ve been on a proposal for my company for about a year and it’s finally finished. Feel free to use or edit the following:
The car has turned out amazing, as I put more miles on it, it keeps getting better. I have put close to 3000 miles on it since you delivered it at the end of May. (On time as promised). On the central coast trip the car got broke in and was a great long distance ride, nicely behaved on the interstate and really took the curves very well on the 2 lanes. I really could shift the weight of the car using the brakes and throttle. I did about 2000 miles on a trip from San Diego to Bishop to Auburn(395) back to Tahoe then though Sacramento to Willits then down the coast (Hwy 1) though San Francisco to SLO then Home to San Diego. Had rain along the coast and the car went where I pointed it. Ride and handling was superb. My son has driven the car and reported it drove like a race car, I agree with him.
Kevin thanks for your work on the Speedster both the suspension and engine work, as well as you r support after delivery. I recommend your suspension upgrade from VW. The only issue that I have found with the car is now we will have to talk about a more powerful motor!!!
Thanks
All the best.
Larry B
Rich C.
02-12-2016
Hi Kevin,
It is truly my pleasure to send you the following words about my car....
You and your team at CoolRydes Customs are simply awesome…
The addition of my Mendeola suspension, both front and rear, is the best upgrade I could have possibly done to my buggy.
The Mendeola True Performance T-1 front end and the True Track rear end are a combination that are designed to go together perfectly, and perfect is exactly what you gave me.
Driving it before was fun but now it feels like I'm driving a performance race car with no worries about the 50-year-old suspension underneath me. It's now responsive, comfortable, safe and a blast to drive.
Here is an excerpt from the upcoming Hot VW's article on my buggy....
"It has surpassed my expectations on every level. The suspension is truly amazing — I now know what a refrigerator magnet feels like ... the car seems to "stick" to the ground."
My little buggy is now a true show winner with several accolades including Best of Show at the 2013 & Best Custom at the 2014 Manx Club Solvang meets and 2015 Special Design Award Winner at the Steve McQueen Concours de Elegance.
Thanks again for all you have done…
Rich C.
02-12-2016
Hi Kevin,
It is truly my pleasure to send you the following words about my car....
You and your team at CoolRydes Customs are simply awesome…
The addition of my Mendeola suspension, both front and rear, is the best upgrade I could have possibly done to my buggy.
The Mendeola True Performance T-1 front end and the True Track rear end are a combination that are designed to go together perfectly, and perfect is exactly what you gave me.
Driving it before was fun but now it feels like I'm driving a performance race car with no worries about the 50-year-old suspension underneath me. It's now responsive, comfortable, safe and a blast to drive.
Here is an excerpt from the upcoming Hot VW's article on my buggy....
"It has surpassed my expectations on every level. The suspension is truly amazing — I now know what a refrigerator magnet feels like ... the car seems to "stick" to the ground."
My little buggy is now a true show winner with several accolades including Best of Show at the 2013 & Best Custom at the 2014 Manx Club Solvang meets and 2015 Special Design Award Winner at the Steve McQueen Concours de Elegance.
Thanks again for all you have done…
Rich C.
MORE TO COME LATER
