New to Forum and to VW, Questions re Repairs

Hey All, Im new to both VW and the Forum and have a couple questions i was hoping to get some insight on.

I bought a 2001 Golf TDI automatic with 236,000km on it and just got my oil changed at a VW dealer. I did so to get the 30 point inspection, sadly their findings were extensive and expensive.

I'm looking to see what a decent non dealer rate would be for the following:
(price is dealer quote for work in CDN)

Main Rad Fan $460
Front Coil Springs $790
Left Control Arm Bushings Aftermarket $250
Timing Belt $1305

The car drives fine however i bought it AS IS and know nothing of previous servicing, all the old owner mentioned doing was the serpentine belt.

You can get that done much cheaper than at a dealer. Send a PM to Wingnut and see if he can help you out. He's in your area. http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=11341

Thanks, PM sent to wingnut

tsherwoo said:

I did so to get the 30 point inspection, sadly their findings were extensive and expensive.

Click to expand...

What do you think the '30 point' inspection is for?

The first lesson in VW (especially TDI) ownership is to avoid the dealer.

The big issue with your car is the transmission; that generation of auto trans has a terrible reputation. Other than that these cars have a fantastic record of longevity. At 236K km, I would assume your timing belt has been changed once, and if that was done on schedule I guess you'd be coming up for the next one but not there just yet. In the U.S. it's 100K miles....although yours might have originally had a shorter-life belt, I don't really know. It's probably best to change the whole TB path immediately and do not let the dealer do it. It has to be done by a TDI specialist that will use the correct lock-down tools and replace ALL the components including several single-use bolts.

Enjoy your new car, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to start looking around for a replacement transmission and even consider swapping to a 5 sp. It's a big job but people do it all the time.