| Our
History at Dieter's of servicing great German
automobiles goes back more than four decades.
The beginning of our story, however, takes us
even further back, to the town of Tilsit in
East Prussia (Now Russia). This was where on
December 5, 1935 our founder, Dieter Vongehr,
was born. Through his childhood, Dieter was
intrigued by all things mechanical, and in 1951
he began his apprenticeship at the Porsche/VW
dealer in Troisdorf, near Cologne, about 500
miles from his birthplace.
In
1954, Dieter became a journeyman mechanic.
He worked very hard, perfecting his craft until
1957, when he could no longer resist the call
to come to America and realize his true dreams.
After settling in San Diego, he started his
first permanent job as a Porsche Specialist
at San Diego Motor Imports.
Being
a good stubborn German, Dieter did not see eye
to eye with the way things were being handled
at San Diego Motor Imports. His supervisor then
suggested that maybe he should open his own
shop. That was precisely what he did.
In
1960, in a little one car garage, Dieter's Foreign
Car Service was born. As things progressed,
Dieter had to move into a larger four car garage
next door. Dieter stayed in this El Cajon location
until 1968, when he partnered up with another
local Porsche enthusiast. It did not take Dieter
long to realize that he was a solo act and he
re-opened as Dieter's Independent
Porsche Service at 1144 State Street
on March 16, 1970.
The
business was growing very quickly at this point,
and the 5000 square foot shop
could not handle all the influx of new customers.
The search began for a new location, and in
1973 Dieter found a larger shop to better serve
his customers at 912 State Street. Business
grew for Dieter, as well as the rest of San
Diego. Downtown redevelopment had begun, and
912 State Street was one of the first casualties.
The search for a new and final location ended
when Dieter found a lot at 1633 Market Street.
A brand new purpose built 15,000 square foot
location was constructed, and on April 1, 1980
its doors opened for business.
The
Porsche owner was changing, becoming more professional
and family orientated. Porsche owners were becoming
multi-car families. (While Porsche does not
make a high-performance four door family car,
BMW does.) So due to overwhelming demand from
customers, in 1981, Dieter's Foreign Car
Service became Dieter's "An Independent
Porsche and BMW Service"
Business
continued, meeting the needs and demands of
customers and remained virtually unchanged until
June 1, 1998, when Dieter retired and sold the
business to Roger Castle.
Roger
has continued to offer the same level of service
and attention to detail, as it has always been
a staple at Dieter's. Each day we are adding
more features and services to better support
our customers.
With
8 technicians averaging 18 years of experience
each, you can be sure that your car will be
repaired in the quickest most efficient method
possible.
You don't need to worry about transportation
while we have your car either. Whether you need
a rental car for a few days or a quick shuttle
to work we will be more than happy to take care
of you.
For shorter service procedures we have a comfortable
customer lounge for you to catch up on work
or relax with a soda or hot cup of coffee. If
you seek a little more excitement we offer a
2-way shuttle to local shopping, sites and entertainment.
All of us at Dieter's await
the opportunity to serve you and your family
now and in the future.
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