Questions: Moving to San Diego

"federicomos" (federicomos)
01/19/2018 at 18:34 • Filed to: None

Hi Oppo,

I’m moving to San Diego for work and have a couple car related questions.

1) Recommendation where to service VW’s more specifically a MK6 GTI

2) Cars & Coffee?

3) Best driving roads?

4) How’s the commute going from North Park up to Rancho Bernardo and back?

DISCUSSION (8)

cbell04 > federicomos
01/19/2018 at 19:15

Im no help but I stayed in Rancho Bernardo once in a swanky hotel that I stuck out like a sore thumb in. Was in the area for training and scored a convertible mustang rental. A good time was had. Really cool town San Diego is.

way2blu does a rev update > federicomos
01/19/2018 at 19:20

1) I get my MR2 serviced at RNZ Conceptz, which is in Mira Mesa, a few exits north of North Park. They’ve got pretty reasonable pricing and work on a wide variety of cars. Mostly ‘90s JDM but that’s more a function of their location. (Imports are really popular in Mira Mesa). Super chill group of people, they’re all enthusiasts. Your GTI would fit right in.

2) There’s literally a Cars & Coffee for almost every aspect of car culture in SD. Stanced & Enhanced (don’t be put off by the name, they’re super chill) is a popular meet, also in Mira Mesa. If you’re looking for higher-end cars, there are big events at O’Gara Coach in La Jolla. Further north, there’s the Cruisin’ Grand classic car show in Escondido (a little north of Rancho Bernardo) as well as a similar one during the summer in Encinitas, closer to the coast. Also check out Secret Car Club in Rancho Santa Fe for more classic car action.

3) If you take the 78 from Escondido, or Scripps Poway Parkway from Mira Mesa, you can go to Julian, CA up in the mountains. Tons of great driving roads, especially if you go further east towards Ocotillo Wells.

4) If you’re taking the 15, traffic can get pretty slow during peak hours (~20-30mph) but in non-peak hours it opens up to the point of being uncomfortably fast. Your GTI will have no problem with that. My MR2 has really short gearing (4k rpm at 80mph in top gear) so I generally take Carmel Mountain road if I’m not in a hurry.

San Diego is an amazing place to live, glad to hear you have the chance to see it! Car culture here is running very strong.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > federicomos
01/19/2018 at 19:28

San Diego is a great city! At least for visiting, no idea what its like to live there. Quite the bit of homeless people and old people population though. I once explored a bit in a rental Hooondai Accent and had a bit of fun just driving random mountain roads to the East of the city. I believe I went from like Rancho San Diego and snaked around Highway 79, then up through Cleveland Natl forest, and back West on 76. Also to the North, you have Ortega Highway in Orange County near Lake Elsinore. Been meaning to find more roads down there now that Ive moved to LA. Also some big autocross groups down that way.

Saracen > federicomos
01/19/2018 at 19:38

Hi, I’ve lived in SD for 20 years, have owned many Audis and VW’s.

1. VW Kearny Mesa or Mossy VW Escondido if you want a dealer. If you want an indy, I HIGHLY recommend Pure Motorsport, in Mira Mesa. They used to be in Temecula, and their Audi/VW clientele drive their cars down to San Diego just so Pure can service them.

2. Cars and Coffee Carlsbad is the way to go.

3. Lots of driving roads on the Eastern side of the county:

One of my favorite little windy places is Elfin Forest Rd, near Escondido. I used to live up there and that was a glorious way to commute to and from work.

The 94 in East County connecting Jamul to Buckman Springs / Old Highway 80.

Sunrise Coast Highway connecting I-8 to Mt. Laguna to Julian.

78 connecting Julian to Ramona to Escondido

78 through Anza Borrego

79 from Julian through Cuyamaca

Palomar Mountain Rd (very popular with bikes)

76 East between I-15 and Cleveland National Forest

4. I use to commute to RB. Northbound on the 15 isn’t terrible in the morning. When I was commuting from Escondido south on the 15, yeah, the traffic was nastier.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > federicomos
01/19/2018 at 20:40

I used to live there... congrats! Great place to live and one of very few I’d be willing to move back to...

1) No clue. My friends all drive domestics. If you need a really good mechanic to do repairs that is super cheap (if this place was still near me, I wouldn’t even do basic stuff I do on my cars now, they were that cheap), I do have a recommendation.

2) You’ll be at the south end of the area with the best car culture in the country. The Los Angeles-San Diego area is where practically everything happens and there is a subculture/group for everything. Cars are an absolute way of life and are more important than even where you live. It’s hard to explain how deeply entrenched car culture is there. I can’t recommend any, but you’ll have no trouble finding them.

3) Again, right in the middle of an insane number of driving roads. I’d start with the roads around Palomar Mountain, but I have a really long list that covers most of SoCal. When you go out to Palomar, be sure to stop for a slice of Julian pie.

4) Couldn’t be sure, but commutes are highly directional in San Diego. Mostly toward downtown in the morning and away in the evening, with very pronounced ~2 hour long rush hours. There’s also north/south on the 5, the 15, and the 805 due to concentrations of employment and housing along both corridors. Always, if possible, avoid the triangle. Google Maps could give you a better idea.

federicomos > way2blu does a rev update
01/20/2018 at 00:21

Thanks for the info!

federicomos > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
01/20/2018 at 00:22

Thanks! I also have a motorcycle, I’m considering commuting on that if the traffic is too much.

federicomos > Saracen
01/20/2018 at 00:23

Thanks! I’ll make sure to drive those roads.