Figured I would join the bandwagon and post my experience at DCB Auto. I brought my new-to-me '03 Golf TDI there when my serpentine belt fell off on my way to work a month after buying it. I lost power steering and the battery light lit up, so I turned around and drove straight there after a previous recommendation.
I only spoke with Brandon over the phone, dealt mostly with the man in the shop (forget his name... scruffy beard and glasses? This was 4-5 months ago).
I arrived without notice at 12pm and was told the shop was too busy for a same day service. Reading here it looks like you can usually expect a longer wait, so I count it as a plus that my car was looked at and ready to go the next day. Brandon called me with the price, and to let me know there were several other problems with the car.
The good:
-They found problems my other mechanic completely missed, and stuff the previous owner said was replaced as the car was sold to me safetied (lied).
-Lots of stuff fixed: serp belt, idler pulley, rear calipers, ebrake cables, sway bar bushings, wheel bearing, tie rods inner/outer.
The bad:
-Price was pretty high, as with all mechanics... I needed my car to be driveable ASAP so I didn't have much choice. In hindsight I should have stuck with just a belt and pulley fix and sorted out the rest on my own time, but I figured it was worth it just to get it all done in one shot and not have to worry.
-I am not 100% sure but I believe they damaged my passenger fender liner (a third was missing on the intercooler side).
-They said they changed my driver's puddle light (had a burnt bulb, and the red part wasn't staying in the door trim too well) but instead just put a new plastic red part and completely removed the bulb and bulb holder. I mentioned my door lock module was acting up so the light sometimes didn't work anyway, maybe they thought I wouldn't notice?
-Brakes were super squishy compared to before, it's as if it wasn't even test driven because it was pretty obvious, your foot would go to the floor. I bled the rears and it was still old fluid, and a bunch of air came out. I would have expected a fluid flush with a caliper change.
As you can see, nothing a trip to the U-Pick yard couldn't fix. However I don't think I'll be returning. I do regret not taking the car to DCB prior to buying, as they definitely seem to know their stuff, way ahead of the mechanic I took it to, and light years ahead of the idiot mechanic that safetied the car for the prev owner. For my next timing belt job or in an emergency I will give Precision Tuning a try.
Everything else will be 100% DIY, I cannot afford the hourly rates. Since then I have replaced my brake pads, rotors, thermostat and coolant temp sensor thanks to this forum and couldn't be happier with the car (but thanks to the ******* previous owner who lied about the A/C working when I bought it in winter, it's been a painful summer lol).
Overall I would rate DCB a 6.5/10, definitely skilled but I was expecting a flawless job for the price.