"All make and model" mechanics for VWs?

AronS

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Bovey, MN
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI Sedan Premium 6 Speed Manual
I live north of Grand Rapids, MN, about an hour and 45 minutes from the nearest Volkswagen dealer. I'm looking for a cheaper, closer mechanic to service my '14 Jetta TDI, preferably someone who specializes in Volkswagens. The only independent shops closer to me that I can find service "all makes and models". I am apprehensive about taking my car to anyone who doesn't work on VWs regularly because of their complexity, and I don't know if taking it to a general mechanic will keep my car as reliable as it has been. Does anyone have any experience taking their TDI's to general mechanics? If so, what are some things I should look for/ask? Any thoughts or opinions welcome. Thanks!
 
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AronS

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Bovey, MN
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI Sedan Premium 6 Speed Manual
Yeah, I saw that document before I posted. Unfortunately, none of the three are close to me.
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
Realistically speaking unless it involves a TB change or maybe a very much TDI Diesel engine related problem it doesn't require a VW mechanic.

Brakes,running gear,shocks, etc it's just a car.
 

scooperhsd

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Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Location
Kansas City KS
TDI
NB, 2000, RED(5 Speed conversion) 2015 Golf SE
Realistically speaking unless it involves a TB change or maybe a very much TDI Diesel engine related problem it doesn't require a VW mechanic.

Brakes,running gear,shocks, etc it's just a car.

+1 - Unless you're doing something specific to VW TDI's , most any competent mechanic should be able to do most anything else. Timing belt related things - see VW specialist. Or learn how to do it yourself / acquire the tools.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
The big advantage to having knowledgeable TDI or VW mechanic work on your car is that they will know the special things to look for that can head off trouble down the road. Sure, anyone can change the front brakes on a MK4 but someone that knows the car will know to clean out the dirt behind the rear of the fenderliner. It's little things like that which makes it worth a little more to take it to someone that knows and cares about your car.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
The big advantage to having knowledgeable TDI or VW mechanic work on your car is that they will know the special things to look for that can head off trouble down the road. Sure, anyone can change the front brakes on a MK4 but someone that knows the car will know to clean out the dirt behind the rear of the fenderliner. It's little things like that which makes it worth a little more to take it to someone that knows and cares about your car.
This^^
 

Jetta_Pilot

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Location
West Hill, Ont.
TDI
2015 Passat Highline TDI Candy White (SEL Premium) long gone 2002 Jetta TDI
The big advantage to having knowledgeable TDI or VW mechanic work on your car is that they will know the special things to look for that can head off trouble down the road. Sure, anyone can change the front brakes on a MK4 but someone that knows the car will know to clean out the dirt behind the rear of the fenderliner. It's little things like that which makes it worth a little more to take it to someone that knows and cares about your car.
What ???
 

AronS

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Bovey, MN
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI Sedan Premium 6 Speed Manual
The big advantage to having knowledgeable TDI or VW mechanic work on your car is that they will know the special things to look for that can head off trouble down the road. Sure, anyone can change the front brakes on a MK4 but someone that knows the car will know to clean out the dirt behind the rear of the fenderliner. It's little things like that which makes it worth a little more to take it to someone that knows and cares about your car.
That's what I always thought. Volkswagens get criticized all of the for reliability, but I feel a lot of problems occur because owners take it to mechanic who aren't familiar with VWs or don't fully follow the recommend maintenance for them. Both my current and previous VW (a 2002 Jetta 1.8T) have proven to be very reliable, but I've been particular about what mechanic I go to. I get why people don't go to dealers when they charge obscene prices, but its worse to have an unreliable car, especially when you live in the middle of nowhere like I do.
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
That's what I always thought. Volkswagens get criticized all of the for reliability, but I feel a lot of problems occur because owners take it to mechanic who aren't familiar with VWs or don't fully follow the recommend maintenance for them. Both my current and previous VW (a 2002 Jetta 1.8T) have proven to be very reliable, but I've been particular about what mechanic I go to. I get why people don't go to dealers when they charge obscene prices, but its worse to have an unreliable car, especially when you live in the middle of nowhere like I do.
When you live in the middle of nowhere, you have to travel to find a good mechanic. Unless you're lucky to live in the same town or close to a VW mechanic

Many VW mechanics, in order to increase their business, also service "All makes and models". For example, I go to Hevster1, he's a VW TDI specialty, but also services "all makes and models", especially since he's a retired Toyota master mechanic.
 
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AronS

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Bovey, MN
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI Sedan Premium 6 Speed Manual
When you live in the middle of nowhere, you have to travel to find a good mechanic. Unless you're lucky to live in the same town or close to a VW mechanic

Many VW mechanics, in order to increase their business, also service "All makes and models". For example, I go to Hevster1, he's a VW TDI specialty, but also services "all makes and models", especially since he's a retired Toyota master mechanic.
Good info, thanks. Back to my original post, is there specific I can ask or look for with an "all makes and models" mechanic? I feel if I call them up unprepared, they're just going to tell me what I want to hear.
 

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
If you're counting on a mechanic, even a TDI guru, to clean out your inner fenders when you come in for brake or tire service you're going to have rusty fenders and rockers. It's not part of the job and although I would appreciate a shop doing it, I wouldn't expect it.

I'd be more concerned about people throwing parts at cars to fix issues that don't require them, like a brake master cylinder to fix a soft brake pedal when all you need to do is replace a brake line or bleed the system, a turbo when you need an actuator or an intake cleaning, an injection pump when you have a plugged fuel pickup in the tank. Those kinds of things.

Here's another option: Do the routine maintenance (filters, fluids) yourself. If you have a more serious issue make the 2 hour drive to Greengeeker. Many of us have driven more than that to get to the right guru.
 
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oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I wish I could say that any competent technician could properly service these cars, but day after day I am reminded that is certainly not the case. :(

However, being an advocate for your own car can help an otherwise decent person or shop out immensely even if they are not necessarily a "specialist" in a specific category.

Knowing the proper PM schedule, the acceptable brands of aftermarket service parts, the correct tire grade, the proper fluids, etc. are all things that the owner can learn and insist upon if they make it known.

But I can tell you right now that someone would be left out in the dark on a great many things on these cars if they did not have a proper VAG-specific scan tool, good access to relevant information via erWin or similar, and have on hand an ever increasing gauntlet of SSTs for all sorts of things.

Sometimes you are better off driving a bit to have good service done if you know it is done right.

And some folks do the minor stuff themselves, and leave the bigger ticket items to the professionals. Like this 2005 Jetta that I only see every 100,000 miles:



Guy lives pretty far away from me, down in Arkansas. But faithfully every 100k miles that car is here getting a timing belt and whatever else may be needed at that time, with the rest of the PM being performed by him. He gets his tires at Sam's. Other than that, there has been nobody else touch the car since it left the dealer's lot. :)
 
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TomJD

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Location
St. Louis
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI GLS, 2015 Golf TDI
Additionally having just one place touch your car takes any guesswork out.

I know Oilhammer has a complete list of everything that has been done to my car since I bought it. There is no guessing if something needs to be done or what part was used*.

*my dad did want to work on my AC for me one time. Since he used to do AC repair back in his MOPAR days I thought it was a good bonding moment for us as he has taught me NOTHING about cars and shares no interest in my love for VWs. It wasn't the best job as he picked out a Chinese compressor with a lifetime warranty, but it still works 70k miles later. I'll have it properly fixed when it fails.
 
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jasonTDI

TDI GURU Vendor , w/Business number
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Apr 26, 2001
Location
Oregon, WI
TDI
20' RAM 3500 CCLB dually HO/Aisan. 2019 Cherokee 2.0T
Half of my clients are from out of state. So....every 20k or 40K you drive an hour and a half or two to get the car serviced correctly. So what....its a TDI. Go see the area and get lunch. Do something different while there.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Half of my clients are from out of state. So....every 20k or 40K you drive an hour and a half or two to get the car serviced correctly. So what....its a TDI. Go see the area and get lunch. Do something different while there.

Well they certainly are not coming to see our pretty faces! :D
 

Curious Chris

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 11, 2001
Location
Pineview GA
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 RIP Rockford IL
Nick Shatek (GreenGeeker) is in Cambridge which is not that far. You might want to invesst in VCDS as that will help you over time and when you talk to a knowledgable person you will have the diagnostic trouble code and description. Hey you could then go the Ross-Tech Wiki and it will give you an initial fault tree to aid analysis.

2 hours and 23 minutes Grand Rapids to Cambridge.
 

vanbcguy

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Feb 22, 2013
Location
Vancouver, BC
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'93 Passat - AHU mTDI with GTB1756VK
As far as what to ask the shop, "do you have VCDS" is a pretty good question. If they don't know what you're talking about and have never heard of Ross Tech then they probably don't know these cars very well. Virtually all the other "scan tools" out there are just for reading emissions codes and won't show any of the stuff that isn't mandated by the OBD-II spec.

VW logs a ton of diagnostic information that doesn't require the CEL to be turned on yet does require attention. For instance my Wife's 1.8T had a failed power brake boost pump, this is what makes the brakes work properly under a few specific driving situations on a car that doesn't have consistent engine vacuum. No CEL for that since it's not emissions related but it sure could be considered a safety problem! A shop with a generic OBD-II scan tool would never have had even the slightest idea there was anything wrong.

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk
 

AronS

Active member
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Bovey, MN
TDI
2014 Jetta TDI Sedan Premium 6 Speed Manual
As far as what to ask the shop, "do you have VCDS" is a pretty good question. If they don't know what you're talking about and have never heard of Ross Tech then they probably don't know these cars very well. Virtually all the other "scan tools" out there are just for reading emissions codes and won't show any of the stuff that isn't mandated by the OBD-II spec.

VW logs a ton of diagnostic information that doesn't require the CEL to be turned on yet does require attention. For instance my Wife's 1.8T had a failed power brake boost pump, this is what makes the brakes work properly under a few specific driving situations on a car that doesn't have consistent engine vacuum. No CEL for that since it's not emissions related but it sure could be considered a safety problem! A shop with a generic OBD-II scan tool would never have had even the slightest idea there was anything wrong.

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk
Great advice. If I can't find anything local, I know there are places in Duluth that specialize in German cars, so that would probably be my next best bet. If not, Cambridge isn't that much further. Thank you.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
As far as what to ask the shop, "do you have VCDS" is a pretty good question. If they don't know what you're talking about and have never heard of Ross Tech then they probably don't know these cars very well.
True, but there are other OBD tools/software that work on these. Granted, none of them are as good (and most cost more), but being limited to just one make is not going to be something every shop will do. Many will buck up for an "all inclusive" scan tool that does everything... or so they think. Like an Autel or similar. Nothing is as good as VCDS though, and I cringe when I think of how lost I would be without that very necessary tool. We have access to OTIS as well (albatross of a system, but when you need an OEM reflash for updates, you have to have it).

But all our other brand-specific scan tools (Toyota, Honda, Chrysler, GM, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai/Kia) are also very necessary on their models. Unfortunately they also cost a LOT more. And some have really bad customer support along with some angering subscription payments and management. The GM one requires you to reregister the software if it goes 30 days without being logged on. :mad:
 
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