Central California TDI service available--can travel to you!"

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
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.

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
Here is the original post for reference:

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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VLS_GUY

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Location
Camarillo, CA
TDI
2002 Bug, Skid Plate, Stage 1 Upsolute
Matt,

Nice to see some one on the central coast/ Southern California offering specialized TDI services.
Before you got into networking and computers how did you obtain you mechanical training? Also what experience do you have on other types of VWs and other makes?
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Matt,

Nice to see some one on the central coast/ Southern California offering specialized TDI services.
Before you got into networking and computers how did you obtain you mechanical training? Also what experience do you have on other types of VWs and other makes?
I took several classes at my local community college in Michigan to get started several years ago. I then started work at a tire shop where after less than a year I began training to do wheel alignments and suspension work (also oil changes--only certified mechanics were allowed to do them at this company). I did that professionally for 5 years working on a huge variety of cars. I kept on prodding my employer to train and move on to do more but corporate kept dragging their feet. As the economy worsened my commission paycheck was no longer sufficient to sustain my costs of living. I was made an offer from family that was hard to refuse to pick up and move out here and maybe get a new direction on life.

About 3 years ago I began hanging out with a couple friends who were into VW and Mercedes diesels (I personally kept to VW diesels, they were into the Benzes more than me but I did lend a hand here and there). We rented out a small building in Scio Twp., MI where we would work on our own car projects in our free time and also began to take on paying work from TDI owners (the usual intake cleanings, timing belts, clutches, a handful of pump reseals, boost control issues, general filter/fluid maintenance, suspension, brakes). We'd get the occasional gas VW or other make of car from friends/family as well, but are most familiar with TDIs. We also joined a 24 Hours of Lemons race team which involved installing a 2.0L 8V ABA gas engine from a Mk3 into a 1984 Scirocco. I've done a few 8V timing belts, 1.8T timing belts (including one in a B5.5 Passat). A couple months ago I did a timing belt and water pump on a '98 Acura Integra (1.8L DOHC 16V, non VTEC).

I helped perform a TDI engine swap into a '97 GTI VR6 which inspired me to tackle a similar project of my own. Swapping an AHU into a '97 Jetta GLX (originally an automatic!).

I do have a generic OBD2 scantool as well as VCDS. I am far more familiar and better equipped for VW/Audi cars than anything else in this respect due to VCDS, but certainly can take a look at whatever else you've got.

Computers were a hobby of mine before cars. I haven't done much in that respect in a few years now. I have been entirely focused on automotive.
 

kooyajerms

grocery getter
Joined
May 5, 2004
Location
Pomona, Southern California
TDI
97 B4V (mine), 11 x5 35d (hers) 04 V10 (that one you want), 2014 Q7 (mom's) 74 Shasta 1400
WTB a GTG with a guru in Los Angeles.

Oh Hai there Matt!!

Just need one more guru/mechanic transplant to choose Los Angeles, and we'll have some more options =)

When I get my vehicle back, maybe we can find a place for Matt to wrench for the needy folks down here. I won't need anything at that point (thankfully), but I would like for the disenfranchised Southern California'n TDI conglomerate to get a GTG with a mechanic.

Interested in the idea Matt?
 

cfm56

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Location
97068
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI SportWagen
a GTG would be great, im down just let me know when and where
 

VLS_GUY

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Location
Camarillo, CA
TDI
2002 Bug, Skid Plate, Stage 1 Upsolute
Matt,

I am going to pass your name to some of my neighbors. Right now their is a 2002 NB 2.0 gasser with its rear brakes off across the street. The another neighbor is a non VW mechanic and it has been 3 days since this brake job started and he has started working on this thing. The big complication is that the rear calipers are seized. They will eventually get it on the road but this car is owned by the guys sister and she lives in Lompoc. Do you make house calls to Lompoc for gasser maintenance?
By the way I cleared a half dozen fault codes from this car with a VCDS- none have come back-yet.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Sure I could help with the brakes.

Andrew: that's the nice thing about being right between the two! I can go either direction! :D 4 hours to the North, 3 hours to the South.
 

Growler

Got Soot Vendor
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Location
Millersport, Ohio
TDI
Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
Go Matt Go.

This guy has the skills. and they are only improving with experience. it's about time you officially hung out your shingle!

I have worked with Matt many times and would not hesitate to let him do anything on my car. He is missed in this area. if nothing else, the GTGs will be lacking what Matt can bring to the table.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Careful.... NewTDI is from San Francisco. It could have a completely different meaning! lol :p :D

LOL!!! Good catch, I'll try to choose my words more carefully next time.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Aaron. Much appreciated.
 

Got Bearings?

Veteran Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
SoCal
TDI
2001 Golf GLS
Noel, where can we find this guy a spot for a GTG?
A wrenching GTG? Not sure but a shop would be preferable. Let me ask my buddy if he's willing to open up his shop with lifts and a dyno. It will most likely be a Sat and/or Sunday thing.
 

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
Careful.... NewTDI is from San Francisco. It could have a completely different meaning! lol :p :D
I did not imply it, but Matt is the one that volunteered the information that he goes both ways!

Matt I hope you make it up North to our GTG in March if you are not in Florida (Spring Break)!
 

mjanney

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2005
Location
Laguna Niguel, CA
Thanks Matt for bringing your mobile shop ala the way down to OC to help me out this weekend on the axles, clutch, wheel bearings, suspension, and brakes all in one go! Car is running great.

Sorry to the Nor Cal club members who also needed his assistance this weekend.
 

vaportrail

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Location
SF
TDI
2002 MkIV
Another satisfied customer of Matt's here. Injection pump reseal, manual transmission fluid change, and partial intake manifold cleaning (ran out of time). All in a few hours at an affordable price.

Highly recommended.
 

Sevenjays

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2009
Location
Yuba City, California
TDI
2004 Jetta
Thanks for the great job on my TB, Matt. And also for coming all the way to my door! Really appreciate it and recommend your services to anyone and everyone. It might be my imagination but I think the car smokes less on acceleration than before. Maybe the timing was off before the change?

I'll be in touch about changing the Cam in the fall.
 

phishfood

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2002
Location
Los Angeles by USC
TDI
2002 Jetta Tdi
I also highly recommend Matt.

I drove from LA to have my timing belt done and couldn't have been happier with the job he did. The car was greatly improved on the return trip. I'll be coming back for a suspension refresh later in the year.
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
Here's a hearty endorsement for Matt's work. He did a clutch replacement on my Golf today, I now have a super-slick South Bend single-mass flywheel, and the car runs like a champ. We suffered through a few parts mishaps - no fault of Matt's - and he just rolled with the punches.

Two strong thumbs up to a very competent TDI mechanic.
 

tothemax

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Location
Nevada
TDI
TDIs: 2003 Jetta, 2016 Q5 3.0
Two strong thumbs up to a very competent TDI mechanic.
X2

Nice to finally have a TDI Guru located here in CA .

Keep up the good work Matt.. This place can certainly use a local guru!!
 
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NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
He just wrapped things up at 1:00am - a long day for Matt!
 

kiva822

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Location
Chico, CA
TDI
'03 Wagon
Anybody in CA should go out of there way to make sure Matt works on their car. Great seeing you guys yesterday and, again, thanks for letting me wrench at your place, Andrew!
 

Davin

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 4, 2001
Location
L.A.
TDI
2001 Golf GLS 5spd blk/blk
I'm throwing in another recommendation for Matt's work. I just went up to his place this weekend and had him do a complete suspension refresh... new shocks/struts, new bushings all around (including the rear axle bushing which was a COMPLETE PITA, kudos to Matt for getting it done). He has the tools and the knowhow to get the job done. I had brought all the parts I (thought) I needed with me, but when the car was jacked up and he started poking, prodding and shaking things, he noted that my inner tie rod joints were loose. A quick call to the local auto parts store and a short ride later I had new tie rods in hand, ready to be installed. Once the work was done (and after bleeding the brakes a couple of times due to the rear axle drop for the bushings which required disconnecting the lines) the car drove like a dream, and all the shimmy I had in the front end was gone. It's amazing what 10 years, 157k miles and LA roads will do to a suspension. :D

I would recommend Matt without hesitation. He's a smart mechanic and a nice guy!
 

Miles_M

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Location
Santa Ana, CA
TDI
Golf TDI 2003
Another very satisfied customer of Matt's here!

Highly, highly recommend him.
Over the past couple months, I've been asking Matt (bugging him really) for his thoughts on selection of suspension components and performance mods. He always got right back to me (w/in a day) and had great ideas/advice.

Yesterday he replaced my original suspension with koni yellows, mounts, tie-rods, replaced OEM for TT bushings. He also installed my Defender skid plate (as of Feb 2011 a member of the cracked oil pan club) and quickly fixed a pesky intermittent limp mode I had been getting - AND he programmed my key to open/close the windows with a push of a button.

Matt also insisted that we do some WOT runs while he did some VAG-COM logging so he could make sure everything was looking right.
All this at a very reasonable price from a stand up and really nice guy.

He'll be doing my nozzle and clutch upgrade in a few months.

Even if you don't have any specific things needed with your car, get in touch with him to give your TDI a check-up.
If you're like me, you let no-one touch your car b/c you know they don't know what they're doing so there might be some maintenance items that don't get done - Matt not only knows what he's doing but he is also someone you can trust - I wish I had more work on my car for Matt to do - Damn the thought had crossed my mind about putting him on a retainer so I know he'll be around when I need him!
Great job Matt and Thanks!
 

kiva822

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2010
Location
Chico, CA
TDI
'03 Wagon
you summed it up well, Miles. One of the best things about Matt - besides the obvious skill - is the integrity and honesty; you can go to somebody knowing that, if he says your car needs it, it does.
 
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