Western Mass/Berkshire/Albany mechanic?

bcw1969

Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
USA
I'm in the upper corner of Berkshire county and am looking for a mechanic -- I'm about an hour from both Albany, NY, and Northampton, MA. I know there a few good shops around Hartford (meganuke), but that's a bit farther than I'd like to travel. Any info would be appreciated,
Ben
 

MayorDJQ

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Location
Williamstown, Mass
TDI
'10 Golf 2dr 6m, sold.
So where are you....North Adams...Williamstown? What year/model/miles/trans do you have? What sort of work do you need? Update your profile...(it'll come in handy in future posts).

There's Flamingo Motors in Williamstown. I've never had any work there, but I've heard they're competent with imports. I don't know they're experience with TDIs.

There's TLC VW in Hoags Corners, which in the Nassau, NY area.

There's 4 foreign "experts" in Northampton: Zuli & Mike's, Ryan Import Auto Service, Metrix Import Service, & Toad's Kin Car Care. I've never used any of them, but they were reccomnended to me in that order.

Dana VW in Northampton is pretty competent and honest. Avoid Flynn VW in Pittsfield if at all possible, they're the exact oppisite. I only went to Cooley in East Greenbush (near Albany) once.
 

bcw1969

Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
USA
MayorDJQ,
thanks for the info. I have an 03 jetta wagon, 5sp, with about 110k. Other than some minor smoke at start-up, no problems, but I want to find someone who can give the engine a good semi-annual look over and service. I get oil changes at Flamingo but they won't really get into any significant engine work (sent me to Flynn for glow plugs, for example). I commute about 1,500 miles a month and love the car, so want to find a shop that can give me good long-term maintenance advice.
thanks, Ben
 

tdidieselbobny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Stafford,NY (WNY)
TDI
'03 Galactic Blue Jetta TDI, '15 Silk Blue Golf Sportwagen TDI
I hope you have had your timing belt changed-if not-that IS your first and immediate priority.Club member TDIJetta99 (Jason) is in Port Jervis,NY-I don't know how far that is from you.
 

bcw1969

Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
USA
Timing belt was done when I bought it used about 1 year ago (it had about 85k on it then). Other than glow plugs and oil changes, I haven't had any other issues -- but since I'm not very knowledgeable about diesels (or cars, in general) I'd like to be better on top of what kind work I should be having done to keep things running smoothly. TDIJetta99 is a bit too far from me (about 3hrs), so somebody in Albany or Northampton/Springfield would be better (and I know the highly regarded Keith/meganuke is just over the line in Enfield, CT).
thanks, Ben
 

MayorDJQ

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Location
Williamstown, Mass
TDI
'10 Golf 2dr 6m, sold.
For major planned work, don't be afraid 3 hours. I drove 4 hours each way to Maine to have my timing belt done by an Expert TDI Guru, HermTDI. TDIJetta99 is also a very good choice. I wouldn't drive 3 or 4 hours for an oil change, but for your next timing belt, or if you need a clutch, or a mystery solved, they're the people to go to.

I'm not too far from North Adams/Williamstown. I'm usually up that way once or twice a month for work, so if you need a Check Engine Light diagnosed, I can bring my VAGCom up that way.
 

bcw1969

Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
USA
MayorDJQ,
sorry for the late reply (out of town for a few days) -- other than the small bit of smoke at start up nothing really seems wrong. I do know that the dealer sent me a 110k service reminder, so does that mean there's some significant service I should be having done about now? All the basics (clutch, brakes, engine power) feel fine, so maybe I should just keep going along with oil and fuel filter changes?
thanks, Ben
 

MayorDJQ

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Location
Williamstown, Mass
TDI
'10 Golf 2dr 6m, sold.
Yeah, it means the dealership owner has a boat payment due. You're well out of warranty at this point, so there's no need to take it to a dealer. I still get service reminders for the Golf TDI that I sold 3 years ago.

I don't think there's anything significant about the 110k service. Do you have your owner's manual? Take a look at the service schedule. As it's a non-20k increment, I'd suspect it's just the usual oil & filter, inspect the TB, top off fluids as necessary, inspect bulbs, etc. Take it to Flamingo and ask them to go over the checklist in the book for 110k, they should be more than able to handle it. If you don't have the manual, I'm sure someon has a PDF of theirs (or I'll scan mine) to post. One thing that's probably not on the list: with over 100k, you might want to have them inspect the ball joints, tie rods, struts, and other front suspension pieces just for peace of mind. VW seems to be using more robust components up front now, but it can't hurt to check them.
 

bcw1969

Member
Joined
May 5, 2007
Location
USA
MayorDJQ,
thanks, and I'll have Flamingo check/perform all of the above. I appreciate all the advice!
Ben
 
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