Matt-98AHU
Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Hello everyone, putting the updates on the front of this post now as well to reduce some confusion. As I've taken a normal job at a dealership in downtown San Francisco, I am not currently taking any side jobs on TDIs. I've got a number of projects I've yet to finish for family and one customer down in Santa Maria, so between my full time job, I drive 4 hours South to Santa Maria to make headway on those projects.
So, for the time being, I won't be working on TDIs on the side. When I do resume working on them, it will be on a very limited basis, weekends only.
In the meantime, if you are in the Bay Area and would like to have me work on your car and it is (mostly) stock, I can do so for you at Royal Motors in downtown San Francisco. Sure, it's not as cheap as having me do it directly, but if you need something done in a more timely manner, this is the place to do it. No aftermarket modifications will be allowed, nor are you allowed to supply your own parts as it is a dealership environment. With that having been said, if you still decide to come to the dealer to have me work on the car, when you bring the car in, ask for Frank Lee. He is the service adviser for my team.
Here is what Diedre posted in this thread a little while back, I will quote it here.
So, for the time being, I won't be working on TDIs on the side. When I do resume working on them, it will be on a very limited basis, weekends only.
In the meantime, if you are in the Bay Area and would like to have me work on your car and it is (mostly) stock, I can do so for you at Royal Motors in downtown San Francisco. Sure, it's not as cheap as having me do it directly, but if you need something done in a more timely manner, this is the place to do it. No aftermarket modifications will be allowed, nor are you allowed to supply your own parts as it is a dealership environment. With that having been said, if you still decide to come to the dealer to have me work on the car, when you bring the car in, ask for Frank Lee. He is the service adviser for my team.
Here is what Diedre posted in this thread a little while back, I will quote it here.
Here is the original post for reference:Hi, folks!
Matt and I have been getting PMs, e-mails and phone calls about our availability to do work for folks. The truth of the matter is, we don't have the time right now. We still aren't completely moved in to our new place, and we've had the lease for almost 3 months! Matt is gone 12 hours every day to his new job in downtown SF...this includes an hour and a half commute each way.
We appreciate all the work that everyone has given Matt in the past 3.5 years. But since I moved out here, the work (according to Matt) has been at a breakneck pace, and we were both looking for a bit of a change. We're trying to see this time at the dealership as a learning experience. Where else can one get paid while learning about all the new technology that VW is now cramming into their cars!? :-D
With all this being said, we aren't opposed to work on the side, but we are asking...PLEASE be patient. For the next six months at the minimum we have to say "no, sorry" to any new work. We have projects at our previous place of residence that we've put off for (in some cases) over a year. These are projects for his family members that we need to do. They let us live with them rent free...if that isn't worth some free car repairs, I don't know what is.
Will we start doing independent repairs again? Yes. Do we know exactly when? No, and I'm sorry. When we do start doing work again, we will give preference to those jobs that a dealership won't touch, such as automatic to manual transmission swaps and suspension upgrades that aren't OEM. We will still attend and do work at the bi-annual San Pablo GTGs in the East Bay.
I want to apologize to all the people that have been turned away for work. Please don't take it personally. This is a change in lifestyle that we both chose, and we aren't turning away the work because we don't want to do it. Matt and I both have "helpers hearts" and it kills us when someone calls us in a desperate way. This community has been amazing to us, and we hope you feel the same way. Don't worry, there will eventually be an independent shop with our name on it. When that time comes, we can only hope that customers who have seen us before will come back or recommend people to come to us.
Until then, thank you for your patience, grace, and continued support!
<3, Dee and Matt
If you have any questions, or want to talk directly to Matt, I'm going to politely ask that you go through me. Matt is working far too many hours to try to reply to all the correspondence we're still getting. Please help us out. PM me here or e-mail me directly at diedre.mears@gmail.com
Everyone,
I'm offering my services for TDI owners. I am currently based in Santa Maria, CA and can come to you! I am making a request of $0.45/mile travel expenses (1 way). If I need to stay overnight for a single job I don't expect to be paying for a hotel stay. If I can line up several jobs at once in the area I'm traveling to I can relax those expectations.
I have had many here on TDIClub welcome me into their homes and stayed the night as needed. Their hospitality as been greatly appreciated.
I do timing belts, injector swaps, injection pump reseals, cylinder head replacement, intake cleanings, clutches, auto to manual conversions, suspension (control arm bushings, struts, shocks, tie rods, sway bar bushings etc), brakes as well as general diagnostics with VCDS.
Note for people running vegetable oil/grease: A PITA (Pain In The Ass) fee will be applied to working on your car because of the extra hoses and other non-standard devices in the way. Expect a minimum of $150 extra to deal with that. There is also no guarantee on services rendered on these cars. You are running a sub-standard fuel the car was not actually designed to use. You are on your own. I am willing to help and work on such cars, but will not make guarantees on anything.
Feel free to PM me or shoot me an email at mattgtr@gmail.com.
I can be reached at (734)717-7527. If I don't pick up right away, I may very well be underneath someone's VW! Please leave a message with your name and number and I'll get back to you when I can! If you do not hear back from me within a reasonable amount of time (within 24 hours) you can call Diedre at (419)819-7733. Please only use her number if you cannot get ahold of me and I don't respond within 24 hours. She answers my phone at times as well, so if you hear a female voice when calling my number, don't be surprised and think it's a wrong number
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