Pasadena/San Gabriel/Temple City, CA
I have a trusted mechanic (A1 Automotive Service) that works on a variety of automobiles. Most recently, he fixed a problem that one of the trusted mechanics on this site failed to repair. A few months ago, I had a stalling/won't start problem and a separate starter won't crank problem. After spending over $600.00 dollars to repair my fuel pump/sender inside the tank and changing over $250.00 worth of battery cables... I thought the problem was solved. The very next day, the car would not start at the market due to a bad starter. I believe that I could have saved over $350.00 if the cables were not replaced because it was actually the starter. In the end, the problem was a clogged fuel pump/pickup and a bad starter.
When I was stranded at the market with the 2002 Jetta Tdi (due to a faulty starter), we were lucky that AAA came by and somehow got the car started. When I got home, I call A1 Automotive and the owner came by and looked at the car. He said right away that it was a starter. He had me try to start the car while he banged on the starter with a stick. Right away it started. He drove it the 1 block to his shop and fixed it in 2 hours. He only charged me $120.00 for parts and labor because I am such a frequent customer. Anyway, he was also the guy who changed my waterpump, timing belt (100,000 mile), serpentine belt, front and cam seal along with the bolts to the engine mount for $200.00. He only did labor and did do the mark and pray method. I gave him all the parts. When I took the car to the "trusted mechanic" from this site, he said the timing was spot on and everything looked okay on the Vag-Com. Anyway, if you want to save money and are in the neighborhood, you can check him out. Tell him that Mike the one that owns the (rv, Mercedes diesel, VW Jetta Tdi, Frontier, Sienna, Merkur, etc.) send you and he will give you a good deal. Definitely not as good a deal as he gives me. Btw, he fixes all my cars. He is a trained Toyota certified mechanic and works on a variety of cars. He races a Lotus Elise and has a strong following with them too! I asked him and he said that the timing belt change, etc. would normally be about $300-$350 when you supply the parts. A starter or alternator will probably cost somewhere around $200.00 including parts and labor. They also specialize in air-conditioning. One final bonus, he does have a version of Vag-Com and would give free estimates and turn off codes for you. In the end, I wish I had taken my Jetta Tdi to him because he knew the problem with the fuel pump and starter and could have saved me over $350.00.