About Jim’s Custom VWs
It Started With a Volkswagen
Long before Jim’s Custom VWs became a destination for air-cooled Volkswagen owners, there was a kid growing up on a farm in New Waterford, Ohio, with a Volkswagen to drive around.
Jim’s first memories of VWs weren’t about pristine show cars. They were about having fun. The family Volkswagen could go just about anywhere around the farm, take a beating and keep going. Somewhere along the way, those simple cars made an impression that never really left him.
What started as an interest became a hobby. And eventually, that hobby became a career.
From a Hobby to Jim’s Custom VWs
In the late 1980s, Jim began working with Volkswagens from the former Ferguson’s Farm Market property in Columbiana. As more people discovered what he could do, the VW side of the operation continued to grow.
Eventually, there was no question what the future held.
Jim’s Custom VWs became the business — and has been keeping air-cooled Volkswagens on the road since 1989.
Over the decades, Jim developed a reputation that reaches well beyond Northeast Ohio. Customers travel hours to have their Volkswagens worked on, while parts from the shop are shipped to VW owners across the country.
That following wasn’t built through flashy advertising. It was built one Volkswagen — and one customer — at a time.
Air-Cooled Is What We Do
Jim’s isn’t a general repair shop that happens to work on old Volkswagens.
Air-cooled Volkswagens are what we do.
From engine builds and transmission rebuilding to machine work, repairs, performance upgrades and parts, there are decades of hands-on VW experience behind the work that leaves this shop.
And if you’re looking for a full restoration shop, we’re probably not the place for you. Jim’s focuses on the mechanical side of these cars: building them, fixing them, improving them and keeping them on the road.
Whether you’ve owned Volkswagens your entire life or just brought home your first Beetle, you’ll find people here who understand why these little cars mean so much to their owners.
More Than a VW Shop
For Jim and Amy, Jim’s Custom VWs has always been personal.
Jim can usually be found in the back doing what he does best — working on Volkswagens — while Amy keeps things moving up front. Together, they’ve helped create the kind of old-school shop where customers stop in for a part and often end up staying awhile to talk about cars.
Because every VW seems to come with a story.
Someone’s parents had a Beetle. Someone learned to drive in one. Someone remembers riding in the back of a Bus as a kid. Someone finally bought the Volkswagen they’ve wanted for 30 years.
Those stories are part of what has kept the air-cooled VW community going from one generation to the next.
And they’re a big part of what keeps Jim’s going, too.
Building a VW Community
That community extends far beyond the shop doors.
Jim’s annual Volkswagen events have grown into traditions of their own, bringing together air-cooled VW owners, families, vendors and enthusiasts from throughout Ohio and beyond.
The Buckeye German Jubilee has become a particularly special part of that history. What began as another way to bring Volkswagen people together grew into a show drawing hundreds of air-cooled VWs, along with swap vendors and visitors who travel from well outside the Mahoning Valley.
Add the Spring Sale & Swap Meet and Bugtober Fest, and there are now multiple opportunities throughout the year for the VW community to get together at Jim’s.
The cars may bring everyone here, but the people are why they keep coming back.
Still Doing What We Love
A lot has changed since 1989.
The shop has grown. The events have grown. Parts now leave Columbiana headed to VW owners across the country. And there are generations of customers who have come through the doors.
But the heart of the business hasn’t changed much at all.
Jim still loves air-cooled Volkswagens.
He still works on them.
People still come through the door and tell him about the Volkswagen they remember growing up.
And more than 35 years later, Jim’s Custom VWs is still here helping keep those cars — and those stories — on the road.
Jim’s Custom VWs
Air-Cooled Volkswagens. Since 1989.
