Mechanic by Toronto Pearson Airport???

Hello everyone! I'm flying into Toronto to look at a 2002 Golf GLS TDI. I would like to a mechanic by the airport if anyone could give me an recommendations for a shop the there?

Thanks!

-Russell

I'm not sure of any mechanics in the area, but there are a few forum guru's who are near the airport. Maybe one of them would be able to take the car out prior to you coming for their opinion?

i dont live too far from pearson. 15 minute drive - if you want i can stop by and give it a once over, computer scan, and offer my opinion on it.

my question to you is: Automatic or Manual Transmission? Whats the mileage on the car? Any service records that come with it?

There's a guy close to me I went to once a couple weeks ago based on a recommendation from this site... I was pretty happy with him. His name's Julius, works at a shop at 4 Abacus, Unit 10... just off Queen Street. Probably 10 min north of the airport.

PM me for more details if you want.

OmegaRenegade said:

i dont live too far from pearson. 15 minute drive - if you want i can stop by and give it a once over, computer scan, and offer my opinion on it.

my question to you is: Automatic or Manual Transmission? Whats the mileage on the car? Any service records that come with it?

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It's a Manual Transmission. Car has 135,000 km on it. It hasn't had the timing belt replaced yet, so its about 8,000 km over due. The owner said that all other scheduled maintenance has been done on the car at a VW dealership. Not sure if he has all the service records. He's asking $11,000 and then i would pay for timing belt to be done which would be about another $1000 it sounds like. Do you think this sounds like an alright deal?

I've heard that Techmax Auto Repair Inc. is pretty good?

i've not heard anything about techmax auto.
i'm not sure when VW switched over to the long life belt. But it was around the vintage of your car, it could be the 100K belt in which case your over by 35 000km or the long life belt which means you have still another 25 000km before you need to change it.

The price seems to be okay for the year and mileage but i would definatley push the owner to dig up some if not all of those service records. When i was looking for a car everything looked good on the outside and the owner said "dealer maintained" but when i looked at some of the records it was evident they used the wrong oil, the change intervals where HUGE 20+K which was enough to put me off the vehicle.

what you could do is take it to any garage and ask them to check all the obvious things like suspension, brakes, joints and fluid levels then find a member on here to check it over with test drives and vag-com cables.

The one time I went to Techmax, I never made it home.... That's all I'm saying for now.

2002 was the 80k mile belts, that one's over the limit. I'd be kinda skeptical about how well it was maintained if the guy is skipping the timing belt. Without service records I'd personally pass it up. Not a bad price though, even with the timing belt issue.

Brad

Silver02TDI said:

The one time I went to Techmax, I never made it home.... That's all I'm saying for now.

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Techmax put in the timing belt parts I supplied four years ago. Their work is still holding up to this day. I thought I read that they serviced a fleet of TDIs?

They made a mistake in my case (easy mistake to make) that had engine consequences and could have killed me had I still been on the highway when the s**t hit the fan on my drive home. I can accept that people make mistakes, that's not what bothers me. What does bother me is how they handle the mistake afterwards - are they straight up and honest, or do they try and cover it up, hide the evidence, and then lie about it, all the while being rude in the process?

when are you flying in?

Craig

Timing belt is definitely overdue (128,000 km rating), but since the only difference between the 2002 and 2003 is the large idler, if the car's not making any bearing-type sounds, it's not a critical stretching of the TB interval. I'd still have it replaced ASAP...

Contact UserID "VDUB TECH" http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=61521 not only to look at the car, but to put in the new timing belt system... (parts can be obtained either locally at http://www.precisiontuning.ca/ or via mail-order from http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/roseland/VWPartsA4.htm

Good luck,

Yuri.

PS: many people sell their TDI's when they get a quote for the timing belt replacement - especially a dealer$hip quote...

I've had my Golf serviced at TechMax numerous times and never had any problems. Always very good, kind service.

punkie said:

I've had my Golf serviced at TechMax numerous times and never had any problems. Always very good, kind service.

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It's funny how one persons opinions/experiences can differ so vastly from another regarding the same shop.

a different mechanic ? A small error?? same mechanic who had a fight with his boss or significant other? Any of these things can cause a person to error. Someone might be more than likely to do a rush job at 430 on a friday of a long weekend. There are all sorts of reasons why one can make a mistake or whatever. Ive never heard of the shop nor know nothing about it but things can and do happen

Hey, if nothing goes wrong (believe it or not, that does happen once in a while...), there's often no reason to have a negative experience unless someone there was being an @$$#0!3 (or unless they "fixed" the problem by arbitrarily throwing parts at the car)... It's how the shop reacts when something goes awry that can often turn feelings bitter...

Yuri.

I have been to Techmax some three times and will not go back, for one they charge way too much and after they installed a clutch etc., the trans was gone, who's fault?

I have to do my 32k service and the dealer's charging $300+ and app taxes . Anyone know a good shop? I'll check Techmax also given they've gotten a fairly good response from this thread

Fairly good response? I think you misread...

fatty get the stuff you need and I'll install everything for you. Its a piece of cake. Maybe you are worried that being still under warranty you need to do it there. Keep the receipts for the filters and oil and you have nothing to worry about.

VDubbing said:

fatty get the stuff you need and I'll install everything for you. Its a piece of cake. Maybe you are worried that being still under warranty you need to do it there. Keep the receipts for the filters and oil and you have nothing to worry about.

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Well, actually... in Canada, you just about need a detailed maintenance receipt from a licensed facility to maintain your warranty coverage... (and using the Pela on the 2006's may not be adviseable as some of the newer cars have baffles in the oil pan that often cause the tube to catch...)

I would send Fattydub to Precision Tuning for the work... (I assume they do this work on this model year...)

Yuri.

Whatever happened to the OP? Did he fly in to look at the car?

Miss TDI Mechanic??

So can anyone recommend a mechanic in the Mississauga area? I've been to 1 but did not have a good experience...

Burgermeister said:

So can anyone recommend a mechanic in the Mississauga area? I've been to 1 but did not have a good experience...

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He's not in Mississagua, but I'd recommend Brandon / VDUB TECH near HWY 400 & Finch.

fellow named Brandon. He's worked on my car and isn't far from the airport. Finch and 400.

416 857-4873.

He works for a dealership and has his own shop.