Bye California, it's been nice.

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.
As some have heard me discuss in person in recent months, things have been in motion in the background for awhile to move out of state. Some of my family has moved to Oregon and deegingerkid and I are deciding to follow.

It wasn't taken lightly on my part since I have a decent customer base built up with the Bay Area, and largely been great.

But, it's not affordable. If I want to actually own property instead of just see thousands of dollars every month disappear for rent just to buy another month, I have to go. This is the primary reason.

The other reason is that there will be a dwindling customer base with these cars in the coming years thanks to dieselgate and us not getting any new ones for 5 years now. I will have to diversify one way or another and I suppose I might as well just rip the band aid off and move to where it's affordable and be closer to family, since at the end of the day that's going to take higher importance in personal life than where it happens to be easier to get business due to shear numbers.

Originally, the shop lease here in San Anselmo was set to expire end of October this year. We got a new landlord just before the COVID shut down happened in our area. It took awhile of us pestering him to at least get us a short extension of the lease, but we finally got it. Officially, I am open for business through the end of the calendar year. The lease actually has us through the end of January per our request, but I mostly suggested the end of January so I could focus on customer cars through year's end and leave January for me to finish up my own projects, then pack up and get out without having to stress about customer appointments in the mix and having to move out during the holidays.

The first Bay Area TDI GTG I went to was just over 10 years ago. Even though at the time I was living closer to LA being in the central coast, you Bay Area types seemed to have more work for me more frequently. I choose to come up here for that reason and I appreciate all the repeat business I've gotten, even though I had to stop TDI work for over a year to give the dealer world a trial, partly to get caught up on more recent tech and also to ensure I had a stable income for the rent I was paying.

I do feel a little bad about leaving my loyal customers, but family and cost reasons are too large to ignore.
 

oldpoopie

Vendor
Joined
May 14, 2001
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2001 golf gl, 2006 jetta, 1981 ALH swapped rabbit pickup, 1998 beetle
Welcome To Oregon Matt! I’m glad you’ll be closer! And I totally get what you are saying. Sadly the TDI is aging out.
 

calimustang

Veteran Member
Joined
May 17, 2010
Location
Central FL
TDI
2011 JSW DSG (buyback, RIP), 2014 JSW TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2013 Jetta TDI.
Wow... that is a hard and wise decision. I wish you good luck on your future. :) will keep in touch with you via Facebook.
 

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, it's unfortunate for the Bay Area folks that you're moving, as all of CA is bereft of TDI gurus. I know I've suggested to more than one customer in LA that it's worth their effort to bring their car to you. But I hear what you're saying about cost of living. We have a similar, although less extreme, situation here. But I'm not going anywhere.

Corey and I figure the TDI fleet has another 8+ years in it before they really start to disappear. The buyback cars will be around for a while. And we're hedging our bets by branching into trucks and vans, which will be around longer. Some gurus have done the same. There's lots of money to be made bulletproofing 6.0s and working on Sprinters.

I hope you enjoy Oregon. Family matters.
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
Ah, damn... I'm happy for you and Dee, of course. And sad that I need to find another brilliant mechanic for my older TDI and the newer one I plan to buy. But it's been GREAT having you here, and I wish you only the best, Matt. And what's not to like about a drive up the coast to Oregon? Hell, I've been looking at Fort Bragg as a new home base, too.

Now, maybe before you go, we can fix my Golf's electrical gremlins once and for all!
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
Also, whereabouts will you land? Southren ORegon? As long as there's free land to move around on, space for a shop, and enough room to shoot at metal targets, what's not to like? :cool:
 

highender

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
Location
Northern California
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI
darn.........just when I will start to need work done.........justin cannot come down, and you are moving away.

Well, I do think you are making a good step for your family and wish you the best, Matt. Thanks for your work on my tdi. The car runs fine, but I am going to need a timing belt in near future, as well as new glow plug harness.
 

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)
I wish I could follow you guys, I really enjoyed the short visit through Oregon I made in March. Covid hit just as we got there, so we cut our visiting down, we all had 'colds' at the time and my RN wife had coincidentally been caring for the first confirmed Covid death in California that week, IIRC.
I've been out of the Bay Area for 17 years now, my baseline stress level dropped instantly. It dropped again after I retired 3 years ago and could stay in my little Sierra Foothills town nearly 24/7. Now to just get the kids responsibile for themselves(they're 12 and 14).
Probably here in California for another 8-10 years until the youngest gets out of college. The 'free' 2 years of community college is a big motivator. My wife's still planning to work another 10-15 years, the nursing wage differential more than makes up for the increased cost of living. But I keep looking at that and exploring.

Of course we just picked up another TDI this year, a CPO '15 Beetle Convertible DSG(EA288) with only 32k on the clock. Our '03 is a LOT more fun to drive, but the convertible's nice. It has a 2 year unlimited mile warranty so we'll pile on the miles and make the most of that. I'm dying to tune it as the DSG in "D" has been near dangerous with its indecision and lag. I finally told my wife just to keep it in "S" around town all the time, mileage hasn't seemed to take a hit. Really missing the sound & smell of an older diesel, this EA288 is kinda interesting. Our 2 other TDIs(one that hasn't been swapped yet) are parked at the moment, on the back burner while we slowly get some home/yard rehab done. Would be happy to trailer one up to Oregon for service though!
 
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sangretdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Location
WA
TDI
Mk4 Golf
Good luck Matt, sounds like a smart move! Many of us can relate. My wife and I and 2 kids will most likely be making the same move next year.
 

Sideoiler

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2005
Location
Rancho Cordova, California
TDI
2003 Jetta GLS TDI Wagon, 5-spd, Indigo Blue
Best wishes to you and Dee on your relocation up to Oregon. I appreciated the fine work you performed on my TDI back during the "golden" days of the San Pablo GTG's.
Go Ducks/Beavers!
Mark
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Damn, I just saw this! Sorry to see you go, Matt. I'm headed to Prescott, AZ permanently in February as I finally have a buyer for my 2400 sq ft house on 10 acres with a 900 sq ft workshop near Oroville, CA

So where in OR will you be?
 

Bob S.

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
Matt; Good luck on the new venture. From the outside looking in, it makes complete sense. With your skills, customer service, and knowledge, I am sure you will do very well in you new venue and what ever you decide to branch out into.
 

Rapid Transit

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2010
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
03 4dr Golf GLS
Matt, thank you for the service provided to me on my Golf over the last 10 years, including the the timing belt, injection pump and tune done earlier this month (couldn’t be happier). Good luck on future endeavors and I will look you up on our next trip north.
 

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
What!?!?!? You are leaving us? I will have to come to Oregon once a year to have work done by either you or Justin. Alternatively I could start organizing GTG’s again and have both of you come down from OR. Wishing you the best of luck in Oregon. Both My wagon and Sedan have never ran better thanks to you. They are 17 years old and I am planning to get to the magical 1 million miles mark on the wagon (estimated 2026).
 

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
Damn, I just saw this! Sorry to see you go, Matt. I'm headed to Prescott, AZ permanently in February as I finally have a buyer for my 2400 sq ft house on 10 acres with a 900 sq ft workshop near Oroville, CA

So where in OR will you be?
I have been top Prescott 2 times in the past 6 weeks and love the area. I am going to be there agin week after next. Good luck with your move as well.
 

JELLOWSUBMARINE

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Location
yes
TDI
2011 Jetta Sportwagen, 6M, red/tan, navi, pano, 83 5m diesel pickup, 82 p/u trailer,.04 5.5 TDI Passat wagon (gone), 80,81,82 diesel p/u (gone), 80,82 sportruck (gone), 59 passthru bus (long gone), 79&87 westy (gone), 57 baja bug (long gone), 73 914
Matt, it's unfortunate for the Bay Area folks.
The buyback cars will be around for a while. And we're hedging our bets by branching into trucks and vans, which will be around longer. Some gurus have done the same. There's lots of money to be made bulletproofing 6.0s and working on Sprinters.

I hope you enjoy Oregon. Family matters.
Best wishes, very smart move. I'm in the central valley and fortunetly found few local shops that got my b5 through life but I cringe thinking about the existence of my JSW. I hope Oregon is better for you. I picked up a low mile 6.0 recently but sold, it was a tough call.

Damn, I just saw this! Sorry to see you go, Matt. I'm headed to Prescott, AZ permanently in February as I finally have a buyer for my 2400 sq ft house on 10 acres with a 900 sq ft workshop near Oroville, CA

So where in OR will you be?
I've been trying to get the wife interested in Chino Valley for years. Best luck on your Az. move, great state.

The brain drain on this state has cramped up so hard and fast its a shame the states been raped by incompetent government. The Carolina's are looking good.
 

LiquidBlackDZL

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2004
Location
SF Bay Area
TDI
2000 Golf
Crap, I was just about to reach out to you for a timing belt job. Sad to see you go. Was nice having a guru like you locally so we were less dependent scheduling all-day marathon t-belt jobs with OldPoopie whenever he was in town. Those were always good times.

Good luck and wish you the best! You will be missed.
 

John E

New member
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Location
Redding, Ca
TDI
2000 Golf
As some have heard me discuss in person in recent months, things have been in motion in the background for awhile to move out of state. Some of my family has moved to Oregon and deegingerkid and I are deciding to follow.

It wasn't taken lightly on my part since I have a decent customer base built up with the Bay Area, and largely been great.

But, it's not affordable. If I want to actually own property instead of just see thousands of dollars every month disappear for rent just to buy another month, I have to go. This is the primary reason.

The other reason is that there will be a dwindling customer base with these cars in the coming years thanks to dieselgate and us not getting any new ones for 5 years now. I will have to diversify one way or another and I suppose I might as well just rip the band aid off and move to where it's affordable and be closer to family, since at the end of the day that's going to take higher importance in personal life than where it happens to be easier to get business due to shear numbers.

Originally, the shop lease here in San Anselmo was set to expire end of October this year. We got a new landlord just before the COVID shut down happened in our area. It took awhile of us pestering him to at least get us a short extension of the lease, but we finally got it. Officially, I am open for business through the end of the calendar year. The lease actually has us through the end of January per our request, but I mostly suggested the end of January so I could focus on customer cars through year's end and leave January for me to finish up my own projects, then pack up and get out without having to stress about customer appointments in the mix and having to move out during the holidays.

The first Bay Area TDI GTG I went to was just over 10 years ago. Even though at the time I was living closer to LA being in the central coast, you Bay Area types seemed to have more work for me more frequently. I choose to come up here for that reason and I appreciate all the repeat business I've gotten, even though I had to stop TDI work for over a year to give the dealer world a trial, partly to get caught up on more recent tech and also to ensure I had a stable income for the rent I was paying.

I do feel a little bad about leaving my loyal customers, but family and cost reasons are too large to ignore.
Hey Matt a question to you earlier is John eppolito are you going to be opening up a shop in Oregon if not can you suggest somebody that can change my timing belt congratulations on your move California sucks LOL 530-710-4376 call or text thanks
 

NFSTDI

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Sunny California :)
TDI
'98 Jetta
Matt,

Sorry to hear that you have left, you will be missed. Glad to hear that you are making what is likely the best decision for you, Dee and, your family.

Please let us all know if you set up shop in OR. My Jetta is due for a TB. My son and I would be happy to drive up. At this point, it really is his car.

Also, you probably know this but, Indigo is right. There is a ton of work to be had on Ford six leakers and Sprinters, not to mention the Cummins Dodge's. Of course you probably prefer to work on VW gassers. I know that working on my fleet is no fun. That is why I pay people such as yourself.

Cheers,

Tom
 

danix

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2000
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
None now. Former: 2011 335d, 2010 Jetta TDI, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon. 99.5 Jetta TDI, 98 NB TDI, 3 different black 96 Passat TDI wagons.
Hope you are liking OR Matt. I'm getting out of CA myself, seems like everyone is these days.
 

danix

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2000
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
None now. Former: 2011 335d, 2010 Jetta TDI, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon. 99.5 Jetta TDI, 98 NB TDI, 3 different black 96 Passat TDI wagons.
Everywhere has its pros and cons. For a lot of reasons, it was time to get out of CA.
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
I was finally able get out permanently in March. I’m now in Prescott, AZ. Never planned on going back to California after retiring from the USAF but my parents were there so I did. After they passed on, I started planning the move. I hoped to be here in AZ by Summer 2020 but everything came to a screeching halt last year.
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Everywhere has its pros and cons. For a lot of reasons, it was time to get out of CA.
Why not the Asheville area? Sierra Nevada Brewery opened in Mills River a couple of years ago.
 
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