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.
Congrats Matt!!!!

However, Have you thought this through fully? You will have to re-learn everything .... It will be so hard for you to have to stand under the car while it's on a lift..... instead of crawling under it on your back and have to get up every time you need a new tool or part.. and now you will have all the tools accessible and the same location in nicely organized tool boxes, with all the OEM parts and all special tools available .. that will take some major re-learning.. Also, that clean grey epoxy shop flooring and the well lit and well organized shop can be extremely difficult to get used to. Are you sure you will be able to perform under those extreme work conditions?

... and then you will surely miss all the planning, packing, unpacking and re-hauling the tools morning and night every to new job.... and the scheduling of jobs and all the times when the customer brought the wrong parts...and you find out only after the tranny is off... or when a bolt or a part breaks on a Sunday and you go on a wild goose chase to find a replacement part to put the car back together again... Are you sure you can give all that up?

OK.. if you need a fix, you will be able to still experience all the fun and chaos at our GTG's... ;-)

All kidding aside.. Am very very happy for you.... This new role will afford you more of a normal life for sure, more time to relax and an easier way to make a living.... Plus It's a real bonus to have you up here Norcal Matt... Maybe you can take up road biking and ride w/ Andrew and I on the weekends.

Let us know if you need any help or anything... Congrats on the new role and Welcome to Norcal!!
I laughed pretty good at this one. lol. Thanks, Pierre!

And I may take you up on the road biking! Dee has a bike we need to fix up for her as well. We'll see after things get settled! Appreciate the offer :)
 

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.
Congratulations Matt!

In all your travels, have you experienced a Bay Area commute? Vallejo to SF is not pretty. I hope your shift starts at 6AM and you get out before 3PM. You might want to keep that automatic transmission in your wagon for a little bit.

All the best from Vacaville.
I have. And no, it's not the prettiest. Particularly where 580/880/80 are all running together by the Bay Bridge. Always a mess there.

I've investigated the ferry idea as well. Time wise, they're pretty close. I may very well try it a few times and see what I like better. Certainly, the ferry would be less frustrating!

I think the earliest shift I could do is 7 AM to 4:30 PM. Getting into work won't be too bad, but it will be god-awful on the way home.
 

SFHGolfTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Location
Ventura, CA
TDI
2002 Jolf GLS TDI - Reflex Silver (purchased 2011) | Previously: 2001 Golf GL TDI - Indigo Blue (sold 2005)
Road biking!? Matt, don't let those Norcal pansies get you into their hippy flower blossoms little lifestyle. It will soften you up and you'll be no good at wrenching anymore. ;)

Joking, I cycle too.
 

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
I have. And no, it's not the prettiest. Particularly where 580/880/80 are all running together by the Bay Bridge. Always a mess there.
I've investigated the ferry idea as well. Time wise, they're pretty close. I may very well try it a few times and see what I like better. Certainly, the ferry would be less frustrating!
I think the earliest shift I could do is 7 AM to 4:30 PM. Getting into work won't be too bad, but it will be god-awful on the way home.
Ferry would my suggestion from Vallejo or there is a direct bus Vallejo-SF
3-7pm leaving the city is a nightmare!
 

pvapollo

Veteran Member
Joined
May 4, 2012
Location
ca
TDI
1998 New Beetlesold, 98 Jetta AHU, 96 Dodge Cummins 5.9 TDI
Thanks for the two TB jobs and looking forward to my next TB at your own shop...just a matter of time!
 

Baumeister

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Location
Auburn, CA
TDI
'15 Beetle Convertible, '03 New Beetle TDI 5sp, '94 Audi Cabriolet(AFN swap in progress)
That commute would have me buying a motorcycle to use at least a day or two/week, if not everyday.
 

SFHGolfTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Location
Ventura, CA
TDI
2002 Jolf GLS TDI - Reflex Silver (purchased 2011) | Previously: 2001 Golf GL TDI - Indigo Blue (sold 2005)
Thanks for the last hurrah for my Golf, Matt and Dee. I'm enjoying flying over LA speed bumps these days with the new HDs. Best of luck to you both, and glad you got to meet our new family addition as well! I think we formed a good early memory there as he listened to that impact wrench ;)
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Matt, although I'm sorry to hear this and will miss being able to refer customers to you (sent you one yesterday), congratulations on the new position. And I hope you like the Bay Area. Make sure they still give you time off to come to NAIAS and TDIFest!
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Holy crap, a real job! :eek:

Congrats on the move to San Fran and a good job... hopefully they're compensating you appropriately for your awesome knowledge bank and skill set.

+1 for giving you time off for Auto Show and Fest!! :D
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
Matt and Dee, congrats on the move - Vallejo is on the way back up, you're there at a good time. I've been on bike rides through downtown and it looks like lots of very affordable old (= solid construction) houses there.

But that commute... :eek: Any chance of taking the ferry and then bicycling to the new shop? It's easy flat riding on Howard and Folsom.

And as too work... assuming one could afford the rates, will one be able to request you do certain jobs at Royal?
 

02AutoWag

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2005
Location
Snohomish, WA
TDI
2002 Jetta Wagon (5-speed swapped)
On a side note, I've recently also signed a lease on a place in Vallejo. It has a garage, albeit a fairly small two car garage. It would be hard to fit all the tools and equipment plus two cars in there! Needs some fix-ups as well. But yeah, we're moving to the Bay Area!

Around the New Year we will be moved in and begin working at Royal Motors.
It's the New Year! Have you moved up here yet?

As for the house improvements, I have plenty of tools for you to use if needed.
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
No, we're not up there yet. I'm laid up with a case of the flu. 3 days of a low-grade fever and body aches/chills. Frankly, we need help moving, but I don't suspect much help will be available, considering the 4.5 hour drive between our current place of residence and the new one. Email or call Matt or I if you'd like to prove me wrong! :-D
 

treyca

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Location
cali
moving

Sent you guys a pm late last yr offering to bring my pickup down there for a weekend to help with the move.
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
I got that, Trey. We will utilize that. This trip was more of a time crunch than anything.

I'll be in touch.
 

BioNerd

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Location
Oakland,CA
TDI
1998 Jetta TDI L4 - 1.9L vin F 116ci 1896cc type AHU - MFI DIESEL SOHC Turbo-charged 5 speed MANUAL TRANNY
I used to go to the gym in SF and even have dinner between 430-7pm. Getting in the freeway is senseless.

Remember that the ferry has a bar, yes you can have a scotch on your way back home.


-To be everything, be nobody.
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
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
 
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romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Thanks, Dee. Glad to hear Matt will still be available for the Bay Area GTGs.
 

Digital Corpus

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 14, 2008
Location
Ontario, California
TDI
'97 B4 w/ 236K mi body, 46K mi soul
I've been wondering how you two have been coping with everything. It's good news and my family wishes you the best. Matt is the best in the area when he's down here too. If his hours let up I'd be happy to drive up there so he can play with my B4 sometime since I know he wants to drive it ;)
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
Whoops I just referred a guy to you in a Passat with a wet TCM.

We've gotten several phone calls from TX and couldn't figure out why! This makes sense! Direct him to this thread, and tell him to be in contact with me. I"ll have to tell him "no" about the outside work, sadly (like stated in the above post). And until Matt is done with some online training he's got going on, he can't take on more complicated work like the TCM. If and when he can take on whatever work people would like him to do...At the dealership ONLY, I'll make a post to that end! :)

Yes, the dealership is pricey, but if you want Matt's expertise right now, that's the route you have to take.

Sorry, Robbie, this is probably horrible timing to hear this news for your friend...
 

VLS_GUY

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

First things first. This was a huge change for both you and Matt. New location and employers make for stressful times. The secret to handling this change is to do it in manageable bite size pieces. This is exactly what you two are doing. Matt offered to come down to Camarillo to do a automatic to manual conversion in a couple of months but I think that is stretching it a bit given your commitments. Since the car may be going to Seattle for a disabled guy I now have to leave the car an automatic. I can get a reman in the car with some help. But tell Matt I thank him for his offer and if I need to do some major work in the future I will see if he is available. Some things are more important than broke cars. I hope you like the Bay area and his training classes go well.
So do you miss the Central Coast?
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Dee, I'm confused. In your Jan 23 post above you say Matt will be available for the San Pablo GTGs, but today's post says dealership in SF only. Could you clarify please?
 

deegingerkid

Beware the Ginger! Vendor
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Location
The Left Coast
TDI
"Blurple" 2000 New Beetle 5M 2006 Jetta has been SOLD
Dee, I'm confused. In your Jan 23 post above you say Matt will be available for the San Pablo GTGs, but today's post says dealership in SF only. Could you clarify please?
Details. I'm sleep deprived. We'll still be at San Pablo. Sorry....
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
OK; thanks. I was afraid the dealer had said he couldn't do ANY non-dealer work. At the last SPGTG, we had discussed replacing my tandem pump this spring.
 

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.
I have (finally) updated the original post to avoid confusion over the status of us accepting new jobs (or not as the case currently is).

I can certainly do work for people at Royal Motors in downtown San Francisco, but it will not include aftermarket parts. If I am to work on your vehicle at the dealer, parts and service will all be packaged together through the dealer. No outside parts allowed.

As things get more settled for us and we get a couple monkeys off our backs in Santa Maria, we will accept side jobs on a limited basis, and will give preference to doing those jobs that cannot be done at the dealer. So, aftermarket suspension upgrades, auto to manual swaps, clutches (as most clutches I recommend are single mass flywheel conversions). Maybe the oddball timing belt, though I'd prefer if those came to the dealer.

Thanks! :)
 

treyca

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Location
cali
tdi repair

you guys will be so ready for your own vw /mazda shop after a few years working in sf
 

regkat

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Location
Santa Cruz
TDI
'03 golf
GOD I HOPE SO. WOULD LOVE TO SEE MATT AND DEE HAVE THEIR OWN SHOP. But the you are right treyca, Matt is getting invaluable skill development with Royal. Not to mention paying the bills has got to feel good eh Matt?
 
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