Trusted TDI Mechanics - By State

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)

WantingaTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2003
Location
Washington DC (moved from VT)
TDI
VW Golf 03 TDI
Why? It appears to be a used-car dealership that makes no claims about its service department, if it has one.
I received a verbal recommendation from a friend. "Full range of automotive services." Apparently they repair VW TDIs as well. I called and asked them for a quote on replacing my timing belt, water pump and tensioner. Waiting to hear back.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
You ARE aware that both UserIDs "ninedee_golf_tdi" and "TDIracing" are less than an hour away... yes?? (I don't know if UserID "Car54" is still working on cars...)

Yuri
 
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TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
I received a verbal recommendation from a friend. "Full range of automotive services." Apparently they repair VW TDIs as well. I called and asked them for a quote on replacing my timing belt, water pump and tensioner. Waiting to hear back.
Oliver Wegener is one of the top TDI mechanics in the country. If I lived in Maryland, I would not trust anyone else with a timing belt job or any other TDI-specific work. This Shaverdi used-car dealership almost certainly does not have the proper tools -- do a search for "mark-and-pray" to learn the consequences when someone replaces a timing belt without the right tools.

Also, the true TDI specialists will insist on replacing all the parts in the timing belt pathway; the mechanics who have never done a TDI TB before, or maybe do one every other year or so, may only change the timing belt itself, and not the tensioner, the roller-idlers, the single-use motor-mount bolts, or the water pump. (And even if they replace the water pump, they will replace the coolant with the wrong stuff.)
 

WantingaTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2003
Location
Washington DC (moved from VT)
TDI
VW Golf 03 TDI
Yes! Thanks. Oliver and I exchanged a few emails before he left the country(1/6-1/15). I will touch base as I think he is back now.

Matt still does work, but it sounds like he is waiting t'll it is warming up to do work outside. He mentioned his aircraft hanger is an option!

Tom is also in the area but is out of town until sometime in March.

Hopefully I can have Matt or Oliver help sometime in the next week or so.

Thanks for the tips!

Regards,
Mark
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
Generally speaking, no matter where you live, you should find the best TDI mechanic in the area to perform TDI-specific work: timing belts, fuel injection systems, turbochargers, and issues with low power or limp mode.

Dealerships charge too much and frequently cut corners.

Mechanics or shops that do not specialize in TDIs will often throw parts at a problem until they accidentally discover the cause; or they will fail to find the real cause; or they will damage something else while they're trying to figure out the cause.

Issues unrelated to the TDI engine can usually be handled by experienced local mechanics, for instance brake and suspension work, starters and alternators, etc. This thread should not be used to list these mechanics, no matter how good they are, but quite a few have been listed.
 

AMAC

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Location
Oakdale (southeastern), CT
TDI
2003 Golf GL
Dr Volks

I'd like to add my endorsement of Bob Mann...aka Dr Volks in Pembroke, MA. I recently took my 03 Golf TDI to him for a timing belt at 190k. Not only was he reasonably priced, but very thorough in his approach and methods. He found that the intake manifold was almost completely plugged, so he de-carbonized that, too. He was able to accomplish both jobs in 1 day. I live approx 110 miles away in CT, but believe me, it was worth the trip. The car runs better now than when it was new, 7 years ago.

Thanks, Bob. I enjoyed our conversations about CNG conversions and wind-powered home generators.
 

Cabdriver

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 18, 2011
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2009 JSW TDI
Alignment Specialist

Its not a mechanic but with a lot of the alignment issues I found in these forums I thought it would be good to mention.
I recently had an alignment issue (pot hole related) so at my 30k service I asked the dealer to perform an alignment. The dealer said they did the best they could but the left front would not align and that either the suspension or the frame was bent. After they were done my wheel was cocked to the right when going straight and drifted heavily left or right depending on wind and road irregularities. I took it to Compact Kars and they gave me what they call a "comprehensive alignment". The wheel is dead on now and the drifting was eliminated. Plus they were able to eliminate a woo woo noise from one of the rear corners.
Apparently they do collision work:

Compact Kars
3 Trenton-Lakewood Rd.
P.O. Box 183
New Jersey 08510
(609) 259-6373

In talking to me before I left, the owner Tom, has had many VW & MB diesels and is a car enthusiastist. They are certified for VW, MB and BMW collision work. The location is just north of Jackson NJ about 30 minutes east of the PA - NJ line. Also, the owner personally explained what they did and this is not just some sort of mom and pop shop and he made sure my floor mats and windows were clean, great attention to detail!
 
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greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
BadnewsEvo (Mike)
http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=67034
Buffalo, NY

This shop needs to be removed from the list as they perform mark and pray timing belt jobs, confirmed in this thread.

edit: Corrected the shop. Sorry for the confusion.
 
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16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
Visiting Texas this weekend... the car started to make a noise. Had Brian (alphaseinor) take a look at it. Real cool guy! I recommend him.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
How current is this list of mechanics by state?
the problem with this "list" isn't how current or out of date it may be... Many people have nominated mechanics based on criteria that may have little relevance to their expertise with these engines. Most of the "guilty" parties in this nomination process are so-called "newbies" who haven't really gotten the flavor of this place and the standards that the veterans expect of prospective TDI technicians.

If you have something specific in mind, please narrow down your location (or the location of the vehicle) so that some of the more experienced members here may (or may not) be able to recommend someone more-or-less close by.

All the best,

Yuri
 

tdidieselbobny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Stafford,NY (WNY)
TDI
'03 Galactic Blue Jetta TDI, '15 Silk Blue Golf Sportwagen TDI
Select Euro Cars
Waterloo, NY
http://www.SelectEuroCars.com/
315-789-9368

This shop needs to be removed from the list as they perform mark and pray timing belt jobs, confirmed in this thread.
This wasn't the shop-never had work done by them.Please reinstate them to the list(unless someone has had improper work done there)-it was the other place in Western New York.Sorry that I made it a guessing game:(.....
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I red flagged BadnewsEvo on the Google Map. I will leave him up there for a while so that people know to stay away from Mark-and-Pray timing belt jobs.

Bad news, indeed. :rolleyes:

I'm sure all of you share my feelings when I say that the Trusted Mechanics List is exactly that... a list of trusted mechanics within our community. It is important that the folks whom we are endorsing (which is basically what we're doing) live up to the standards that our club membership expects.
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I'd like to add my endorsement of Bob Mann...aka Dr Volks in Pembroke, MA. I recently took my 03 Golf TDI to him for a timing belt at 190k. Not only was he reasonably priced, but very thorough in his approach and methods. He found that the intake manifold was almost completely plugged, so he de-carbonized that, too. He was able to accomplish both jobs in 1 day. I live approx 110 miles away in CT, but believe me, it was worth the trip. The car runs better now than when it was new, 7 years ago.
Thanks, Bob. I enjoyed our conversations about CNG conversions and wind-powered home generators.
Can you confirm what methods Bob Mann uses for timing belt changes? Does he have all of the proper tools? VCDS or equivalent?

Thanks!
 

bhtooefr

TDIClub Enthusiast, ToofTek Inventor
Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Location
Newark, OH
TDI
None
Regarding Jon's Auto in Marysville, OH...

The previous owner of my Golf had had Jon do a timing belt about 80,000 miles before I got the car. (100k kit, all that fun stuff.)

I decided to get the timing belt done soon after I got the car, after a roller started squeaking.

A BROKEN bolt was reused on the vacuum pump (it wasn't even broken off in the head, a new bolt went in just fine), and one of the engine mount bolts was extremely difficult to loosen, and the threads came out with it... and I noticed there were three washers on it. Wait, what, completely the wrong bolt? Um, what?

This was quite a while ago (three or four years or so?) that this work was done, and a few months ago that the timing belt was replaced and the toofage was discovered, but...

Debated whether to post this one up for a while, but ultimately decided it'd be a good idea. (And, there are two gurus who I personally know DON'T take shortcuts, in Central Ohio, so...)
 

tdidieselbobny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Stafford,NY (WNY)
TDI
'03 Galactic Blue Jetta TDI, '15 Silk Blue Golf Sportwagen TDI
Regarding Jon's Auto in Marysville, OH...

The previous owner of my Golf had had Jon do a timing belt about 80,000 miles before I got the car. (100k kit, all that fun stuff.)

I decided to get the timing belt done soon after I got the car, after a roller started squeaking.

A BROKEN bolt was reused on the vacuum pump (it wasn't even broken off in the head, a new bolt went in just fine), and one of the engine mount bolts was extremely difficult to loosen, and the threads came out with it... and I noticed there were three washers on it. Wait, what, completely the wrong bolt? Um, what?

This was quite a while ago (three or four years or so?) that this work was done, and a few months ago that the timing belt was replaced and the toofage was discovered, but...

Debated whether to post this one up for a while, but ultimately decided it'd be a good idea. (And, there are two gurus who I personally know DON'T take shortcuts, in Central Ohio, so...)
Do you think the PO might have been told about problem and maybe didn't want to wait for parts or etc? Maybe told mechanic to make it good enough to drive (not wanting to wait) and would get it done properly later.I would definitely like to hear the mechanic's side on this one.It's hard to say something negative about a trusted mechanic-i'm experiencing this firsthand now:(-but members here are making me feel better about posting my situation,so hopefully no one will experience a catastrophic failure from a mark-n-pray in the future.
 

Losha

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
TDI
06 Jetta TDI DSG, 2001 Golf TDI, Audi S6, A8, Toureg
Do you think the PO might have been told about problem and maybe didn't want to wait for parts or etc? Maybe told mechanic to make it good enough to drive (not wanting to wait) and would get it done properly later.I would definitely like to hear the mechanic's side on this one.It's hard to say something negative about a trusted mechanic-i'm experiencing this firsthand now:(-but members here are making me feel better about posting my situation,so hopefully no one will experience a catastrophic failure from a mark-n-pray in the future.
I agree with you on that we need to hear the other side of story. I know that myself I had to not once cross the line and get things done sertain ways at sertain situations to get by temperarly. In situations where parts not available or lack of time or customer didn't wanted to spend extra to get job done right. Most of time it was with reusing old bolts on some things to get job done, and it was only due to lack of available parts (not always you can wait few days for dealer to get bolts or parts in), but it was always for temperary period till parts arive.
 

Dean

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 Passat TDI(Sold)
Can anyone recommend me a "Trusted" mechanic around the Vancouver BC area?
Looking for a gear-driven BS upgrade and TB in the near future.

Last resort is to drive down to Portland, Oregon. (seems like a few gurus down there?)
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Vancouver Mechanic

Can anyone recommend me a "Trusted" mechanic around the Vancouver BC area?
Looking for a gear-driven BS upgrade and TB in the near future.

Last resort is to drive down to Portland, Oregon. (seems like a few gurus down there?)
http://www.tinyurl.com/tdimap ... zoom in to your location on the map and click on the pins.

Andes Auto Service
255 7th Avenue East
Vancouver, BC V5T 1M7
(604) 879-3800
Duane's German Autohaus
105-19640 Landmark Way
Langley, BC V3A 7Z5
(604) 533-4502
JS Performance #5
30508 Great Northern Ave
Abbotsford, BC, Canada V2T 6H4
(877) 557-7900
www.jsperformance.ca
I would recommend calling some of these shops and doing a bit of homework to ensure that they meet your standards. I'm not sure who is and who isn't familiar with doing a balance shaft upgrade.
 

Ifixit

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Location
Waitsfield, VT
TDI
97 B4 Passat GLX TDI Wagon & 99 Golf & 05 Passat 4motion Manual & 04 Audi A4 Avant
Hi all, I’m somewhat new to the forums but long time lurker just wanted to say hello everyone :)
I am a full time tech for Jason at Full Circle Auto in Waitsfield Vermont and I was hoping that a mod could update the contact info for our shop as it is listed incorrectly in the list.

The Correct info is:

Full Circle Auto
4631 Main St
Waitsfield, VT 05673

Email: fullcircleauto@gmavt.net

Phone: (802) 496-9236

Thanks in advance and if there is any question feel free to email Jason or call the shop before making the change.. Were there every day but unfortunately he is not on the forum much lately due to us being busy here but I will be around for a while...
Great to finally be on the forum and look forward to getting to know a few other TDIrs Better!!
-Nick
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
I just did a quick search and it appears that a fairly large number of customers have reported good results at Full Circle.

I do not endorse veggie car conversions, but here is the website.
http://www.vtvegcar.com/
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Hi all, I’m somewhat new to the forums but long time lurker just wanted to say hello everyone :)
I am a full time tech for Jason at Full Circle Auto in Waitsfield Vermont and I was hoping that a mod could update the contact info for our shop as it is listed incorrectly in the list.

The Correct info is:

Full Circle Auto
4631 Main St
Waitsfield, VT 05673

Email: fullcircleauto@gmavt.net

Phone: (802) 496-9236

Thanks in advance and if there is any question feel free to email Jason or call the shop before making the change.. Were there every day but unfortunately he is not on the forum much lately due to us being busy here but I will be around for a while...
Great to finally be on the forum and look forward to getting to know a few other TDIrs Better!!
-Nick
Full Circle updated on the map.
 

Ifixit

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Location
Waitsfield, VT
TDI
97 B4 Passat GLX TDI Wagon & 99 Golf & 05 Passat 4motion Manual & 04 Audi A4 Avant
Thank you!! We only do a few a few veg conversions a year, but mostly focus on vw/audi and TDI repair
 

AMAC

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Location
Oakdale (southeastern), CT
TDI
2003 Golf GL
Dr. Volks

Can you confirm what methods Bob Mann uses for timing belt changes? Does he have all of the proper tools? VCDS or equivalent?
Thanks!

Yes, Bob has and uses the correct lock-down tools and diagnostic equipment for the approved method of timing belt change. I wouldn't have taken my car to him if he didn't. It appears that he has been at this for quite a while and really knows what he is doing. He's not a "mark-and-pray" mechanic, if that's what you're asking.
 
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