Trusted TDI Mechanics - By State

Hintertux · Apr 6, 2010

Chambers Auto Repair
3309 Sexton Rd. SE
Decatur, AL 35603
Phone 256.353.4016

Thank God for this thread. I moved to Huntsville, AL a year ago and was afraid to take my car to just any mechanic. No problems until just recently when my car started to leak fuel. I swore up and down thinking that it was my fuel pump again (had it rebuilt three years ago $1400).

The Stealership wanted $175 just to look at it and diagnose the problem and suggested that the fuel pump would cost $2000 to repair.

Found this listing, driving up to the shop there is nothing glorius about it. Just a steal construction building with a large bay and an office. A couple of lifts in the bay and some cars being worked on. Oh and about 12+ cars (mostly VW several TDIs) and a couple of junker parts cars in a gravel lot; all surrounded by a chain link fence.

Dropped it at the end of the day on Friday and I get to pick it up after work today (Tuesday). $90....

Broken fuel connector on one of the injectors, it was spitting out fuel...

Oh, I did not do any of it myself as I a) I figured it was the pump and b) all my stuff is in the movers storage facility.

So I had him do the oil change too. Happy that I found a mechanic but wish he was a little closer.

painteater said:
Chambers Auto Repair
3309 Sexton Rd. SE
Decatur, AL 35603
Phone 256.353.4016

I used this guy to install the 100k timing belt kit in my '02 Jetta TDi and he did it fast and all together is was less than $750. I dropped the car off at his shop in the morning and it was ready before 3pm. Great guy and I will be using him again soon to get my tranny serviced. I just wished there was somebody I could use closer to home. I have to drive over an hour to get to him. Anybody know of someone near Lewisburg, Tn?

Pitboy · Apr 6, 2010

Well finally after a year or so my work schedule is getting back to normal. So, if you'd like, add me back to the trusted list. Thx

Todd Zeller
Coral Springs, FL
deezldub@gmail.com
954-295-7867 (Cell)
http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=22344

daedalus · Apr 9, 2010

A+ for Jason Dignardi - Port Jervis, NY

Thanks to the references found at TDIClub I just had the 100K mile service performed by Jason (L&S Auto Sales) in Port Jervis, NY. Phone: (845) 858-2886

Jason did an outstanding job. My wagon is now ready for another 100K miles or so. He did the balance shaft upgrade, timing belt/water pump/etc change, replaced the engine mounts and alternator pulley and did the transmission service. He also replaced the axle on the driver's side (he did the passenger side last fall).

Everything went as planned, was on schedule and even cost a few bucks less than I had planned. Overall, an excellent experience. Jason went out of the way to drop me off and pick me up 20 miles away where I could catch a ride home. I highly recommend his work to any and all TDI owners in the area.

251 · Apr 11, 2010

TornadoRed said:
Contact Jeff Harrison, tdiclub username jharrison, in Goshen.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=71427

You should remove Mr. Harrison from the map as he is no longer in the TDI mechanic business. He does not appear on the list anymore, only the map. His last post here was on 8-19-2009 and I know from personal experience in September 2009 he abruptly discontinued doing TDI work. The website he had is also gone. My understanding is that Mr, Harrison is now working for a certain company that prohibits their employees from posting on public forums such as TDI Club which explains his lack of posting here as well. He should have taken the time to explain he was getting out of the TDI mechanic business as I know some people are trying to contact him about having work done with no reply from the man. Hope that this info helps someone in the northern Indiana (and southern Michigan) area not waste time trying to contact Mr. Harrison and instead seek other trusted mechanics which are hopefully not too far.

shegel · Apr 15, 2010

Mouse Meat
4732 S. Washington St. Tacoma, Washington

They installed a 100k timing belt kit on my 2003 jetta and I have nothing but good things to say about them. I brought them the parts i had purchased from a trusted vendor, and where most shops would charge me extra for bringing my own parts they did not. I also brought them new vacuum lines to install which they advised me against since mine were fine. all in all they changed the tb and cleaned the intake for just under $400 so about $700 total including parts which I dont think is bad. I am extremely satisfied with the service I recieved and will recomend them to anyone who needs any vw work.

VeeDubTDI · Apr 18, 2010

Jeff Harrison has been removed from the map. I hope he's doing well... sucks that his company won't let him chat with us anymore.

Keyone · Apr 22, 2010

Are there seriously no gurus in the San Jose, CA area? I only see Streetwerke and Autowerkstat, but there are no diesel reviews about them and when I called Streetwerke, they have one guy who "took a class on diesels"... I haven't called Autowerkstat, though, but Yelp has no mention of diesel work...

OllieandFelix · Apr 23, 2010

Hi all- my wife kgirlbug2k told me to check in here with a (sorry) 2 liter problem. I have what seems to be a bad CV/axle on the driver's side. The wobble has progressed to a louder clunking on acceleration and around turns. She brought me a spare axle but I still need a fresh boot and clamp. Is there anyone in the Williamsburg to Richmond etc. area that would be willing to take a look at it and install? The car is a 99 automatic 2.0 beetle with around 250k. Axles have both been replaced before (need to look up the date). Anyway, thanks in advance. My only payment option until the 30th is paypal with credit card.
thanks
ollie

need4speed · Apr 26, 2010

@Keyone:
I seem to recall there was someone in/near Oakland, CA, on the list of Trusted TDI mechanics. I called them, along with several others on a list of about 10. I don't know if I got through, or got a call back from them, or what.

I live about halfway between LA and SF, so I could have spent a day-off driving up north or down south to a trusted tdi mechanic to get my timing belt done. I ended up going to LA (Arcadia, CA, next to Pasadena). He was the only shop that gave me a good estimate in a timely fashion, and who actually sounded like they WANTED the job. (other shops were closer, but charging half-again as much, or weren't willing to answer questions, or wouldn't call me back).

I decided to be safe and make it an overnight trip; but the place I went to actually DID finish the job in one day, even though I didn't actually get there until 11am. I had them do some other work the second day.

The shop I went to was Rusty's Precision German Automotive in Arcadia, CA. I drove about 250 miles to get my timing belt changed, and frankly, worth it. Great price, great service, and the guy even helped out with some dinner reservations, and found me a nice cactus shop.

And the really really nice thing?
My TDI made it down there on about a half a tank of diesel.
I drove back on about a quarter-tank. It runs THAT much better. (or it was that much out of tune before the new belt).

Keyone · Apr 29, 2010

need4speed said:
@Keyone:
I seem to recall there was someone in/near Oakland, CA, on the list of Trusted TDI mechanics. I called them, along with several others on a list of about 10. I don't know if I got through, or got a call back from them, or what.

I live about halfway between LA and SF, so I could have spent a day-off driving up north or down south to a trusted tdi mechanic to get my timing belt done. I ended up going to LA (Arcadia, CA, next to Pasadena). He was the only shop that gave me a good estimate in a timely fashion, and who actually sounded like they WANTED the job. (other shops were closer, but charging half-again as much, or weren't willing to answer questions, or wouldn't call me back).

I decided to be safe and make it an overnight trip; but the place I went to actually DID finish the job in one day, even though I didn't actually get there until 11am. I had them do some other work the second day.

The shop I went to was Rusty's Precision German Automotive in Arcadia, CA. I drove about 250 miles to get my timing belt changed, and frankly, worth it. Great price, great service, and the guy even helped out with some dinner reservations, and found me a nice cactus shop.

And the really really nice thing?
My TDI made it down there on about a half a tank of diesel.
I drove back on about a quarter-tank. It runs THAT much better. (or it was that much out of tune before the new belt).[/quote

Man that's so awesome! I wouldn't want to travel too far because I'm just afraid of the DMF blowing. It's been making metal scratching noise since I got it. I guess I didn't realize how hard it would be to find not just a good mechanic, but any mechanic that can do it properly at all. It seems like this would take more than a day, so I would have to take multiple days off from work and also crash at some motel if I were to travel far. I'm hoping that I don't regret my purchase of a TDI :-/

Loaf · May 1, 2010

I've checked all the lists I can find and am still looking for more TDI mechanics in Montana- Bozeman and Missoula hopefully.

Coolfax · May 3, 2010

Does anyone know anything about [FONT=&quot]Desmond Auto, [/FONT][FONT=&quot]2621 Taylor Ave., Baltimore, Maryland 21234. This shop got some good reviews on the online VW shop listing. Pls let me know if anyone's had positive or negative experience with this shop. Thanks.

[/FONT]

jasonTDI · May 4, 2010

Skip them and go see oliver wegner. TDracing here.

seminole · May 7, 2010

Louisiana

I recommend these guys in Harvey (New Orleans)

German Auto Repair
1444 Manhattan Boulevard
Harvey, LA (504) 368-1272
I have brought my car to them multiple times and they always fix it within 24 hours, if not the same day. These guys are quick and efficient and provide more value than the dealer (Walker) ever will.

VeeDubTDI · May 8, 2010

seminole said:
I recommend these guys in Harvey (New Orleans)

German Auto Repair
1444 Manhattan Boulevard
Harvey, LA (504) 368-1272
I have brought my car to them multiple times and they always fix it within 24 hours, if not the same day. These guys are quick and efficient and provide more value than the dealer (Walker) ever will.

What kind of work have they done for you?

seminole · May 10, 2010

He has fixed my coolant system. It was leaking from the joint that goes into the engine block.

He also fixed my gearbox/transmission.

capnmoe · May 12, 2010

Anyone around Fort Myers, Fl.

saskboi · May 18, 2010

After going to Mid-Town in Calgary and having the mechanic tell me 'I think it's your injection pump, but if it isn't atleast it will clear one of the codes' and also state 'I haven't worked on too many of these' refering to my TDI, I'm not sure why they are recommended? They also only offered me 1. a used pump with no history of where it came from for $1,200 or 2. a new pump for $2,000. I went to Bushmaster instead and got good service and they guaranteed it was my injection pump... I got my injection pump from GCL in calgary $1,300 for a rebuilt... now I'm back on the road

epgeesen · May 19, 2010

any guru's that can be recommended in the northern los angeles area...san fernando valley? thanks for any help

ymz · May 19, 2010

epgeesen said:
any guru's that can be recommended in the northern los angeles area...san fernando valley? thanks for any help

I would drive to Whittier... Leonard Harview's shop is worth the drive... Wild Rose Motors...

All the best,

Yuri

VLS_GUY · May 30, 2010

Epgreeson,

The best VW shop in the Conejo Valley is Filip Karzan at Import Auto Clinic in Thousand Oaks.
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Import Auto Clinic
3221 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-494-1668
He does all the problem cars for Raznak from Audi to Porsche. he doesn't mind working on TDIs and had worked on my NB 2002 ALH. He isn't cheap but he does good work.
He also works on grey market VW trucks and cars from Germany. A guy in Malibu is having him do a gas to diesel conversion on a VW truck. A technically solid guy. Just tell him exactly what you have done and what you saw.
If you want to do the work yourself consider installing a limp mode kit from a vendor on this site.
[/FONT][/FONT]

K5ING · May 31, 2010

VLS_GUY said:
Epgreeson,

The best VW shop in the Conejo Valley is Filip Karzan at Import Auto Clinic in Thousand Oaks.
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Import Auto Clinic
3221 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-494-1668
He does all the problem cars for Raznak from Audi to Porsche. he doesn't mind working on TDIs and had worked on my NB 2002 ALH. He isn't cheap but he does good work.
He also works on grey market VW trucks and cars from Germany. A guy in Malibu is having him do a gas to diesel conversion on a VW truck. A technically solid guy. Just tell him exactly what you have done and what you saw.
If you want to do the work yourself consider installing a limp mode kit from a vendor on this site.
[/FONT][/FONT]

No offense intended, but "doesn't mind working on TDIs" is hardly a ringing endorsement. I once had my car worked on by a very highly respected VW-Audi shop in Dallas. People came from all over Texas to have their VWs and Audis worked on by this place. The owner ran his own Golf in SCCA races with some sucess. However, they totally and utterly botched the timing belt job on my TDI. I would have lost the car if the errors hadn't been caught and fixed by a couple of true TDI gurus at a GTG a short time later.

I'm not saying that this place isn't good. He may very well be good. But as a rule, I try to stay away from places that specialize in VWs and go to places that specialize in TDIs.

VLS_GUY · May 31, 2010

K5ING,

Remember that any TDI is a VW first and a diesel second. Many on this board think you can only be an expert on TDIs and not other VAG models. This is complete nonsense. For example Oilhammer is an expert on just about all VAG products and knows Toyota and Mercedes just as well. A portion of his income comes from TDIs but he is not dependent on TDIs exclusively to make a living a good thing for him as the TDI market share is rather limited. Filip is in the same boat with the ability to work on different makes. Both are trying to make a living at repairing cars and anywhere in North America this means fixing something besides TDIs.
By the way VW has a technical center in Thousand Oaks and the guys that work there when not wrenching their own cars send the work to you guessed it-Import Auto Clinic.

daneg · May 31, 2010

saskboi said:
After going to Mid-Town in Calgary and having the mechanic tell me 'I think it's your injection pump, but if it isn't atleast it will clear one of the codes' and also state 'I haven't worked on too many of these' refering to my TDI, I'm not sure why they are recommended? They also only offered me 1. a used pump with no history of where it came from for $1,200 or 2. a new pump for $2,000. I went to Bushmaster instead and got good service and they guaranteed it was my injection pump... I got my injection pump from GCL in calgary $1,300 for a rebuilt... now I'm back on the road

They have an original shop at 1st SE and as I understand it a couple more shops that opened up later. Which location were you at? Curious because I got my last scheduled service there to avoid the dealership. They seemed like good guys, but I was at the original shop.

K5ING · Jun 1, 2010

VLS_GUY said:
K5ING,

Remember that any TDI is a VW first and a diesel second. Many on this board think you can only be an expert on TDIs and not other VAG models. This is complete nonsense. For example Oilhammer is an expert on just about all VAG products and knows Toyota and Mercedes just as well. A portion of his income comes from TDIs but he is not dependent on TDIs exclusively to make a living a good thing for him as the TDI market share is rather limited. Filip is in the same boat with the ability to work on different makes. Both are trying to make a living at repairing cars and anywhere in North America this means fixing something besides TDIs.
By the way VW has a technical center in Thousand Oaks and the guys that work there when not wrenching their own cars send the work to you guessed it-Import Auto Clinic.

Sorry, but I stand by what I said. Your example of Oilhammer is a special case and not the norm. Brian loves TDIs and specializes in them. I've been to both his shop and his house, and if I had to take my car into his shop, I would specify that HE work on it, not one of the other guys.

Shops that just work on VW's (and usually other German makes as well) might see 10% of their work involving TDIs. Places and people on this list see nearly 100% of their work involving TDIs. Using your logic, we should all be using VW dealers as they work only on VWs. This list is the result of too many people using that logic.

Like I said, I don't know anything about the shop you're talking about. They might be the best TDI place around. I'm speaking about VW shops in general. Sure, if I had some suspension or electrical work that needed to be done, I wouldn't hesitate to use a shop like that. But if it involves something having to do with the engine, I'll use a TDI guru every time.

TornadoRed · Jun 2, 2010

There are TDI-specific jobs, VW-specific jobs, and lastly there are jobs which any German-car mechanic should have not trouble performing. Some of these German car mechanics may also work on American and Japanese cars; but they know what they are doing if they open the hood of a Mercedes or BMW or VW.

The work you need performed will determine which mechanic you need to see and how far you should be willing to travel, to have the job done right.

hip001 · Jun 2, 2010

Central/East Florida: Any TDI mechanics close to Titusville, Daytona, or Orlando?

Wyldeman · Jun 2, 2010

timing belt installer EAST TEXAS

Looking for some one in the Longview, Tx. area to do a timing belt on a 98 bug...also wanting to know if i deside to do this my self there are sooooo many "kits " out there....how do you chose?

THX

jasonTDI · Jun 3, 2010

I'll agree about TDI specific training.

I KNOW MANY 30+ year ASE master techs that KNOW VW and will NOT touch a TDI.

It's all in the training.

eddie_1 · Jun 3, 2010

That is the problem with the training. In other words the training is too narrow. A German mechanic with vocational training in the German dual track education system with 'Meisterbrief' 2+1 years broad training could blow away our generic Mechanics any day. If he was VW, he would probably have the info on this site memorized by now.

Trusted TDI Mechanics - By State

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