Trusted TDI Mechanics - By State

jasonTDI

TDI GURU Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Location
Oregon, WI
TDI
20' RAM 3500 CCLB dually HO/Aisan. 2019 Cherokee 2.0T
$550-600 tops.

1point9turbo said:
I just contacted one of the trusted New Jersey contacts and was quoted $1100 for:

Timing Belt
Water Pump
Tensioner
Pulley
Rollers
Serpentine Belt

Car is 98 Jetta TDi....sound ok or not good? Please advise otherwise, car needs TB within 500 Miles so its pretty urgent...and I need it done before the 31st.

-Thanks
 

1point9turbo

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Location
Wichita, KS
TDI
1998 Jetta TDi Black
whew, glad i checked first. im pretty handy but i have no tools or location to do this. i contacted jason in port jervis, he said $550. were just working out the timing of when.

thanks all, saved me from paying double for the same job. love this forum! cheers
 

Growler

Got Soot Vendor
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Location
Millersport, Ohio
TDI
Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
tdi2002 said:
Any one can recommend a reliable TDI guru in Cleveland/Akron, OHio area?
Mogolf, East of Columbus

Jon Hamilton, NW of Columbus.

Myself, In East Columbus
 
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steakman

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Location
Calgary, alberta
TDI
None
Well: 29 pages, 3.5 hours and I'm still looking for a good TDI guru within reasonable distance to Barrie, Ontario. Gonna PM Wingnut and see if he is still doing some work. Finding someone, will have a major impact on whether I actually go ahead and buy what I want to buy...having to go to the stealer (YUK), will not make me a happy camper at all, at all.!!

cheers,

stk
 

tmleadr03

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Location
Aurora, CO
TDI
2012 Jetta
jasonTDI said:
$550-600 tops.
gotta love price control. Labor rates might be higher, even on side work, out on the east coast. With gas stations labor rates at 100 here in the DC area only charging 50 an hour is a bit low.
 

jasonTDI

TDI GURU Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Location
Oregon, WI
TDI
20' RAM 3500 CCLB dually HO/Aisan. 2019 Cherokee 2.0T
tmleadr03 said:
gotta love price control. Labor rates might be higher, even on side work, out on the east coast. With gas stations labor rates at 100 here in the DC area only charging 50 an hour is a bit low.
Whatever. How's it price control? You need to study economics my friend. It's a 2 1/2 job with a water pump if you know what you're doing. Parts are under $200.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
jasonTDI said:
It's a 2 1/2 job with a water pump if you know what you're doing. Parts are under $200.
Before some new-bies get the wrong idea, Jason's talking about an A3, not an A4... Parts/labor's a bit higher for the newer cars...

Yuri.
 

tmleadr03

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Location
Aurora, CO
TDI
2012 Jetta
ymz said:
Before some new-bies get the wrong idea, Jason's talking about an A3, not an A4... Parts/labor's a bit higher for the newer cars...

Yuri.
My bad. I was working off wrong labor times. My apologies.

There is a decent quote about what I just did.

"Better to remain silent and let people think you are an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
 
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craigpaul2000

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Location
East China
TDI
2001, TDI jetta, silver...2006 TDI Jetta, White (SOLD)......2012 Passat TDI SEL Premium, Blue
any TDI mechanics in MICHIGAN?????

I see one listing for Marty Bergell. He knows his stuff but he is crazy busy and difficult to get hold of. Anyone know any other respected TDI mechanics anywhere in southeastern Michigan? Thanks for any reply!!

Sorry I should mention the repair needed is a scheduled timing belt replacement and DSG trans flush.
 
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ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
Mechanics of Martin's level are worth a wait (and a long drive)...

If you're close to someone like that, do whatever it takes to get him to take care of your car.

Yuri.
 

canolajetta

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2007
Location
Reston, VA
TDI
2002 jetta
I'll affirm Fallon Automotive, and if you MUST pay dealer prices in Northern Virginia, I'd recommend Fairfax VW. Their prices are obscene, but their service is fantastic and they have rescued me more than once, most especially from a butchery performed by Lindsay VW.
 

tmleadr03

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Location
Aurora, CO
TDI
2012 Jetta
canolajetta said:
I'll affirm Fallon Automotive, and if you MUST pay dealer prices in Northern Virginia, I'd recommend Fairfax VW. Their prices are obscene, but their service is fantastic and they have rescued me more than once, most especially from a butchery performed by Lindsay VW.
Really? You have had good experiance with Fairfax?
 

cwarner

Veteran Member
Joined
May 28, 2008
Location
Michigan
TDI
2000 Jetta also have a 2001 Dodge ram /Cummins
Is there anyone near the Detroit Metro area than works on TDI's ?

I know there's Marty B, but he's very busy. There's another person near Grand Rapids but that's 3 hours away. Is there anyone near the Toledo area ? That's only a little more than an hour away.

I bought the car over a week ago and would like to have some things done before I start driving it on a regular basis , so I'd like to get it somewhere as soon as possible.
 

TT71

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Location
Southeast Wi
TDI
06 Jetta DSG
This seems to be the best place to put my opinion.
Jason's Tdi repair in Madison is the place to go. There was a miscommunication in when my appointment was. Jason living up to his reputation made everything right. By the end of the day my Jetta has clean filters all around. Fresh oil and DSG fluid. Without asking he told me that I was getting fuel from a good supply. He let me watch him work and I was able to learn some basics.
The only negative was that he played devil's advocate by planting the seed of getting a mild RocketChip tune.
I will stop now. I know that I'm not telling anyone anything new.
 

Bears Fan

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Location
Texas
TDI
2006 Jetta
Does anyone have a recommendation for a mechanic in the South Texas area? I was going to use the guru in Austin but he's recently moved to Colorado. He did however recomend Diesel Toyz in San Antonio. I would like to find someone here in Corpus Chrisiti but I know that's probably not going to happen and San Antonio is a much bigger city and it's only a 2 hour drive.

Diesel Toyz web site lists a TB change for my 2004 Golf as $775. Is that a decent price?
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
If Anuthee recommended Todd Herman at Dieseltoyz, that speaks volumes...

When shopping around for a reliable TDI-Tech to perform this critical maintenance procedure, neither price nor convenience should be the deciding factor...

Shops typically have to charge more than mechanics who work out of their homes... (overhead...) Call up your friendly local VW dealer and find out how much they charge... then drive up to San Antonio...

Yuri.
 

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)
Bears Fan said:
Diesel Toyz web site lists a TB change for my 2004 Golf as $775. Is that a decent price?
Interesting stuff on their website.
http://www.dieseltoyz.com/What_we_do.html

"As trusted Dieselgeek.com and KermaTDI.com installers, we can give your TDI the peace of mind and performance you desire. Skidplate, Tune, Short Shifter, Nozzles, Turbo? - No Problem!"

That is very reassuring.

"All Cars after a Diesel Toyz timing belt service have a 100,000 mile change interval except early (1996-1998) TDIs"

Even better. Of course that is not a guarantee of 100k miles of trouble-free driving, but it confirms that they are replacing everything in the timing belt pathway, with the best parts. So a very high likelihood that it will go 100k miles.

"1999.5-2003 (ALH) TDI Timing belt job job w/ Dieselgeek Delux Kit $775"

That is a very good price. As Yuri said, that is more than what some guys charge, who don't have a shop and overhead expenses. But it is probably $500 less than a VW dealership would charge for parts and labor... assuming a VW dealership would even have all the necessary parts in stock.

I would suggest getting to know them, find out who works on TDIs and make sure he's the only one who will touch your car. Then report back here with your experiences.
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
Bears Fan said:
Diesel Toyz web site lists a TB change for my 2004 Golf as $775.
Actually, for your 2004, their site lists a price of $700... I'd say: go for it...

Yuri.


(PS: do make sure that only an oil with VW spec 505.01 (or better) is used in your car... I'm sure DieselToyz take care with this, but when you're closer to home...)
 

PnutButrJelytime

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Location
maryland
TDI
02 jetta
annapolis, md techs?

this might have been asked already but i'm new to the tdi world and was wondering if there were any good mechanics around the annapolis, maryland area. i've been to fitzgerald off of west street, they seem alittle pricey and the mechanics all seem a little shady. most things i can fix my self but its the bigger internal issues i like to leave to the professionals
 

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)
PnutButrJelytime said:
this might have been asked already but i'm new to the tdi world and was wondering if there were any good mechanics around the annapolis, maryland area. i've been to fitzgerald off of west street, they seem alittle pricey and the mechanics all seem a little shady. most things i can fix my self but its the bigger internal issues i like to leave to the professionals
You have one of the top TDI men in the country in the Baltimore area -- Oliver Wegener (tdiclub username TDIRacing). http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=16069

Crew Chief of the Rally VW Racing team.
http://www.rallyvw.com/

If for some reason you can't schedule your work with him, ask him who else to go to.
 

hawkeypler32

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 18, 2006
Location
Fall Creek, Or.
TDI
'02 Jetta TDI
Central Oregon TDI guy!!!

I must put a word in here for Whitedog. He has been a major help for this newbie and novice. I can remove and replace once told what you remove but that is about the level of my wrenching ability. I lucked onto him on this site and he has proven to be very knowledgeable and detail oriented. He has actually become a friend. While he is a mechanic by trade TDIs are just an interest of his. If you are in the area and need help or just a contact locally he is the go to guy.
Ted.
 

Bears Fan

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Location
Texas
TDI
2006 Jetta
ymz said:
(PS: do make sure that only an oil with VW spec 505.01 (or better) is used in your car
Thanks for the advice. I've been taking the oil and filters with me when ever I have service done. Of course I've only had service done at the dealer before this.
 

GeorgiaTDIJetta

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Location
I live near Vidalia, Georgia, home of the world fa
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI. I love my car.
Timing Belt Change

Id like to say THANK YOU to Keith Scarborough of Brandon, Florida, right next to Tampa, for the awesome job he did in changing my timing belt. He charged me 400.00, in which I supplied the kit from Dieselgeek, and i was in and out in just under 3 hours. My local dealer would have charged me 1200.00 for what would have been an all day ordeal. I live in Georgia, and I had to drive 5 hours to see Keith, but it was well worth the drive. He was so fast, and so good, and such a knowledgeable and nice guy, Im already looking forward to my next 100K change! If you go, be sure to take in the beautiful tropical beaches of St Pete beach and Ft Desoto State Park. PARADISE !
 

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)
GeorgiaTDIJetta said:
Id like to say THANK YOU to Keith Scarborough of Brandon, Florida, right next to Tampa, for the awesome job he did in changing my timing belt.
These recommendations from satisfied customers are the best advertising for guys like Keith.

His TDI Club profile: http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=15843
 

perron

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2005
Location
Maple Park, Illionis
TDI
2004 Jetta
I don’t want to take anything from Mike (Lake Villa, IL) or Jason (Madison, WI) but it seems like Paulli’s Import Services from Rockford IL are a trustworthy car shop for Jetta TDI Owners. They changed my timing belt, tensioner and water pump. The car seems to be running quite well. In my opinion, if they didn’t do a good job then the car would not run at all, is this a true statement? They are just convenient because I work in Rockford and I can just drop off the car in the mornings.

check out my orininal thread.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=215444
 
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