Sometimes A Car Repair Shop Is A Community - Ralfy At Culmination Motorsports

I got my 1971 VW Westphalia serviced by Kurt Schreiber in Wasilla for nearly 20 years until he retired.  Around that time our 25 year old van had holes in the floor and we got wet when we went through puddles.  I worried we might lose a passenger if we hit a bad bump.  Kurt said, "Steve, you've gotten your money's worth.  Time to let it go."

Sticker shock kept us from replacing the old van.  The new one was ten times what we paid for the first one new.  But since I wanted to be in a tent and my wife wanted to be in a hotel, the camper was the compromise that we needed.  It took two years to take the leap.  

Our kids were Outside.  M, at school in Boston said the dealers laughed at her when she inquired about VW campers.  They didn't sell them.  J, in Seattle, found a new one for $5,000 less than the Anchorage price.  He drove it up to Vancouver and we flew down for a family week there, then drove it back to Anchorage.  

Since then,  getting maintenance was more like a business deal than dropping it off with a friend who knew how to fix my car and I knew I could trust.  

But when I called Arctic Imports to schedule a maintenance this year, they said they no longer

worked on VW vans.  But when I asked, they gave me the name to two places who would.  Arctic is a little funkier than most businesses, but at Culmination it seems like everyone cares about you and your car.  

Culmination Motorsports sounded a bit ominous, but their website said they specialized in German cars and did everything from general maintenance to restoration.  Perfect.  

I think this is going to be more of a community than a business relationship.  Listen to owner Ralfy talk about his business in the video below.  Why the name Culmination?   The difference between 'new', 'classic', and 'vintage.'  Who his customers are.  The 'cult' of Culmination.  Why repair shops no longer have brand names in their names.   Toward the end he explains that Eurovans are sort of like the neglected step-child of VW. 

I'd note that I haven't done much video in the last few years (and YouTube has lots more options and requirements than it used to) and I don't often blog about businesses.  Only when I'm impressed.  And, of course, there's no payment from the business in return.  

Can you find the 'bright golden 160' Ralfy mentions in the video?  For people who know where the Fire Island Bakery South Anchorage location was - that's now Rafelito's and Culmination Motorsports.  I couldn't find addresses on any of the businesses on the short stretch of 91st west of King Street when I first went there.  The street turns right and dead ends.  It was the VW vans in the parking lot that told me I was at the right place.  

So, now I'm waiting for other VW vans to honk and wave.  (Well, that sort of happens anyway.)