B&R Buggies....... June 2000
B&R Buggies is not just about buggies anymore. Not only
do they do off-road cars and buggies, they do a little bit of
everything. From complete foreign and domestic auto and truck
repair to fabrication and transmissions of dune buggies, B&R
covers it all.
Gary Haugley bought the Oceanside business in 1980 and now employs
five people that do everything from retail parts and service,
hitches, rebuilding of transmissions and custom frame fabrication.
They carry engine parts for VWs, pedal and turning brake assemblies,
all kinds of desert tires, including paddle tires and wheels,
and all the latest chrome goodies to dress up your buggy. They
also carry F&L race gas. They stock it in bulk, so you need
to bring your own can or buy one there. The turn-around for race
gas is good so it's always fresh.
They are not really a sand car oriented business and all the frames
they are building right now are for off-road cars. They build
frames for people who want prerunners and do a lot of prep work
on race cars and fix them after the long, tough races. They have
tube benders, flame cutters, tubing notchers, and everything to
build an off-road car. They sell some turn-key cars but prefer
not to because it is so time consuming. Gary recently built a
prerunner for off-road racer Danny Ashcraft.
Haugley races periodically and has done some SCORE and HDRA races.
He's won some and lost some but has more fun than anything. He
says he will never make any money doing it but it's a lot of fun
and he's met a lot of great people.
B&R Buggies is another business that has withstood the test
of time. That kind of longevity means that Haugley is doing something
right.
"Many shops have come and gone," said Haugley. "We
outlasted the tough times, like during desert storm. It kinda
weeded out the here-today-gone-tomorrow shops. We think we are
fair and honest and have competitive prices. We have been doing
this for so long and people come from all over, we like to take
care of our people."
Haugley grew up in the Oceanside area and used to buy his parts
at B&R before buying the business. He doesn't honestly remember
how he even got into the business. But he said that the previous
owner said something about buying the business, so he did. Before
that he was in the tire business.
Business is good for B&R. The shop is very busy and they're
usually booked up for quite a while. "People have been buying
cars lately," said Haugley. "And not just the cheap
ones. They are spending money on the expensive ones.
"We just ask people to give us a try. We don't play the magazine
game by running specials every week. We offer them a good product
for a fair price.
You can find B&R Buggies at 1523 South Coast Highway, Oceanside.
Their phone number is 760-722-1266 and their fax number is 760-722-3188.
They are open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and
from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, unless it's a race weekend
and they are gone.
This page last updated 6 September 2000