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Volkswagen mechanic can speak 'car'
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Doug Baum of Grantville stands between some of the cars that he fixes at Baum’s Service Center in New Cumberland.(Jennifer Kline-Lyman/Special to The Sentinel)
Doug Baum often finds himself in bizarre conversations with his customers when they try to communicate their Volkswagen problems with strange sounds and peculiar noises.
Some customers can reproduce elaborate sound effects that mimic their car’s bad behavior — sounds that confuse the untrained human ear.
Luckily, Baum speaks “car” - and knows what needs to be done.
Baum, 48, of Grantville, owns Baum's Service Center in New Cumberland, where as chief mechanic he is quite familiar with fixing people’s whooshes, hrrruummmms, and Brrrin...kapats.
After working with cars for almost 33 years, he sometimes can pinpoint potential trouble when he hears a car drive by. "I hear VWs making a specific noise and sometimes I can troubleshoot the problem by just listening to the sounds."
Baum, who grew up in Union Deposit, "always liked to see how things were put back together.
"I started fixing bicycles, and my interest in fixing Volkswagens started when I was 11” when his father purchased a 1960 Beetle. That's when Baum turned into a “backyard mechanic.”
“My father was an accountant but he liked to do his own oil changes, so he taught me.”
Three years later, he built his first motor.
“When I was 14, I bought my first 1965 Beetle with my own money. I rebuilt the motor and it would not start. I was crushed. After a thorough examination, I realized I missed the dow-pin alignment. That crushed the main bearing and seized the crank shaft (which is the heart of the engine).
"I didn’t let this deter me, I tore it all back apart and put it back together and got it running.”
Next, he got into racing VW mini stockcars, and remembers racing around in his Beetle in a neighbor's field.
Starting at age 16, he worked as a mechanic at a garage after school, on weekends and in the summers. By his senior year he already had earned most of his graduation credits, so he was allowed to go to school half days and work the other half at Wagner’s VW in Grantville.
When Baum graduated from high school in 1975, he immediately dove right into full-time employment. He worked there for nine years and received extensive training from shop owner Luke Wagner.
“Luke was a great mentor and threw me right in,” Baum recalls.
In November 1984, Baum started his own business with a few parts he had at home.
“I was excited, but I was worried. I had to pay cash for all my parts and then my mortgage was due. Luckily, I had some customers follow me from the old shop to my new one.”
Word traveled quickly of his skill and Baum was literally “in business.”
More than two decades later, he still runs his shop along with Bob Fink of Boiling Springs, a subcontractor mechanic who has worked with Baum for 16 years.
The hours can be long. The shop opens weekdays at 9 a.m., staying open until 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 6 p.m. Friday. Baum says he usually gets into the shop by 6:30 a.m. and stays until he "gets the job done."
Day-to-day life consists of ordering parts, paying bills, doing paperwork, talking to customers and working on cars. The service center “specializes in Volkswagens-- major and minor repairs,” which means everything except for body work.
Baum’s mechanical work runs the gamut of inspections, emissions, oil changes, tire rotations, and mechanical and electrical overhauls. Through the years, he has worked on original Beetles, VW buses, Passats, Touraegs and all other VW models.
He likes the intimacy of his local business and “likes to keep things manageable.”
“I believe in quality control and building relationships with my customers. I know I could make more money if I got another place with more bays. But then I would have to move and hire more people and I wouldn’t be able to keep my quality control,” he says.
“With the onset of technology, all VW models 1996 or newer are built with brain boxes otherwise known as Electronic Control Units (ECU) which is the brain of the car,” Baum says.
Onboard diagnostic computers (OBD) plug into the ECU with a specific cable and will run diagnostics. Baum has a laptop that has the software and uses the OBD capability to diagnosis minor and/or major mechanical or electrical problems. The OBD doesn’t always point him in the right direction, so he still relies on trial-and-error in some instances.
Still, he didn't have much of a transition tackling new technology. “Volkswagen started electronic fuel injection in 1968, so I was already familiar with varying technology.”
Does he have a favorite model? “I have been working on these cars for so long each model has aspects that I enjoy. I don’t really have a favorite one to work on. The bugs and buses are quite nostalgic but the newer cars are also fun to troubleshoot.”
He drives a 1999 Beetle and has an old 4WD Syncro that he uses on weekends and hunting trips.
Still, even mechanics have dream cars: “I would love to own a brand new Touareg,” he says.
“The best thing about this job is getting satisfaction by seeing the end result," Baum continues. "Luckily, I was blessed with the gift of patience. In this job you need a lot of patience, so if things don’t work I can learn from my mistakes and try again."
He adds, "I also enjoy the physical aspect of the job and being outside every day. It keeps me healthy and in shape. I have only missed two days of work in 22 years.”
He's also aware of the stereotype about dishonest mechanics.
“I advise all people to find a mechanic who they know and can trust. Building relationships with my customers has always been a top priority for me. I have customers who have been coming to me for 22 years.”
Baum’s love of people and cars is fitting considering the German word Volkswagen means “the car of the people.”
On weekends Baum loves to hunt, fish and just started playing golf. He enjoys getting together with his three older sisters and on Sundays he likes to go to church and eat dinner with his mother.
Baum gave up racing when he started his business because the hobby was becoming too expensive.
Sometimes the long hours are tough, so in addition to his dream car, Baum's professional dream is to turn over the business to someone he can trust. Then "I can hunt for three days (and) golf for two days while still making money.”
