OT: Can anyone recommend a Audi/VW mechanic/specialist (except the stealerships)

[Coronita]

I know this is an off topic question. But since moving back to SD (4 years ago), I haven't spent time looking for a competent Audi/VW mechanic.

Need to get moderate service this time. Namely, a timing belt replacement, which for my car, means taking pretty much most of the front of the car apart to get to all the belts. I was going to tackle this myself over the summer, but apparently, summer is ending faster than I planned 🙂

I've been pretty much servicing my own car for a long time,  namely because I have "trust" issues with others working on my car. The few occasions that I did take it to a shop, the work wasn't up to snuff..I mean really simple things like oil changes being over filled, fluid flushes done by just emptying the reservoir instead of flushing the entire system(s), and/or attempts to almost use the wrong fluids, turning rotors beyond there wear limit….

Looking for a competent through shop, reasonable price. I have one in L.A., but really don't want to take it up there

All stealerships here in SD i found to be incompetent, including Miramar Audi, and the one downtown. The one exceptio nis Hoehn  in Carlesbad..But still it's just OK, not the best work I would say.

[greekfire]

FLU – it is obvious that you are an educated stickler when it comes to maintaining your vehicle(s). I am like you but to a much lesser degree. The most that I have done was to replace the fuel filter and brakes on my own vehicles.

I don’t know of any reputable shops that might be able to help you with your vehicle. My one piece of advice would be to consider selling your Audi/VW and purchasing a vehicle that requires less maintenance.

I’ve owned both German (Mercedes) and American (Ford) vehicles in my time and both required more repair than I was willing to tackle. After much thought I decided to go with a brand (Honda) that had a much better track record in terms of longevity, reliability, and resale value. Just my $0.02.

[sdduuuude]

Mikes Foreign Auto. Not sure if he does Audi or if he is all VW. If not, he may know someone.

Used to be on Adams but moved a while back.
Should be able to find him using Yahoo/Google/Yellow Pages.

He is neither cheap nor expensive. A good, basic mechanic with an amazing ability to diagnose things by the way the car sounds when you drive up to the shop.

[Coronita]

FLU – it is obvious that you are an educated stickler when it comes to maintaining your vehicle(s). I am like you but to a much lesser degree. The most that I have done was to replace the fuel filter and brakes on my own vehicles.

I don't know of any reputable shops that might be able to help you with your vehicle. My one piece of advice would be to consider selling your Audi/VW and purchasing a vehicle that requires less maintenance.

I've owned both German (Mercedes) and American (Ford) vehicles in my time and both required more repair than I was willing to tackle. After much thought I decided to go with a brand (Honda) that had a much better track record in terms of longevity, reliability, and resale value. Just my $0.02.

 

Actually, I found that my trusty audi to be extremely reliable once I stopped taking it to the stealerships. The first 4 years had occasional issues. Coincidently, the first 4 years is when I went to the stealership because all maintanence was free. I was convinced that mechanics in the stealerships were intentionally creating problems so that they could bill the manufacturer for warranty work. And I can't count how many times after returning home, I found a mechanic have left a screwdriver, socket, or wrench lying on somewhere in the engine compartment. Nice adds to my tool collection though.

After my free maintenance was over and I stopped going to the stealerships, suddenly all the problems just went away. I've had about 4 years since without any really maintenance, except routine oil changes every 7500 miles (synthetic of course), brakes and tires (which i wear out excessively because the way I drive). Surprisely, I found routine maintenance on this car in many ways to more simple than a japanese car. For instance, replacing brake pads/discs are snap, since they aren't pressed on like Hondas . And since parts are so cheap, I don't even bother to resurface the discs – New rotors every time. I don't understand how stealerships (*cough* miramar) quote $400 for brake pad replacement alone on this car. At most this is a 1 hr job. Must be all the blinker fluid they are adding to the car 🙂

 

Unfortunately, I need to get the Timing Belts done, which is a routine thing on any car belt driven. And my last acura required the same kind of dismantling to get ths work done. I really was going to tackle this problem, since I bought all the parts, but just ran out of time.

[Coronita]

Mikes Foreign Auto. Not sure if he does Audi or if he is all VW. If not, he may know someone.

Used to be on Adams but moved a while back.
Should be able to find him using Yahoo/Google/Yellow Pages.

He is neither cheap nor expensive. A good, basic mechanic with an amazing ability to diagnose things by the way the car sounds when you drive up to the shop.

 

Thanks, I'll give him a call. If he does V-dubbs, he should be able to do audis too. Same engine for my year.

[procrastinator]

I’ve had good experiences with POWAY IMPORT CAR SPECIALIST, 13502 Pomerado Rd, Poway, CA 92064
(858) 486-3206. Scott is good about explaining his findings and possible options, including ways of avoiding expensive work. I haven’t had any really major repairs done, mainly because I am cheap and learned to tolerate my A4’s idiosyncrasies rather than throw money at them. I agree on another poster’s point about the pathetic reliability of German cars. I have forsworn that the next time my car develops >$1000 problem, it gets immediately traded in for a Honda or something similar.
Good luck.

[Ex-SD]

Dennis Sherman Foreign Car Service in La Mesa does quality work on Audi, VW & Porsche. I have owned several Audi’s and Porsche’s and they did all of my service. Never had a problem with their work.

[Coronita]

procrastinator,

 

Thanks for the info too.

I have to say, being also an acura owner, honda's have their own seperate issues. The problem is these days that honda really isn't honda of japan. It's really honda of north america, with parts and labor sourced from north america. We've had our fair share of issues with the acura even though it's still under warranty. Getting warranty work done on it is like pulling teeth sometimes. Stealerships often assume, "hondas are so reliable, it must be a user operator error".

I guess I've been lucky with my A4. Like I said, mine's been pretty reliable since the stealership stopped touching it. And it's a car that's pretty easy to maintain, minus this big timing belt thing I need to do (arguably 20k miles earlier than really necessary). Parts are also pretty cheap, because of the platform sharing with VW. Locally, I found great source OEM parts are europarts-sd (http://www.europarts-sd.com/) in RB and puremotorsports in temecula (http://purems.com/). Usually 60-70% off from what the stealership charges. I also found out that it was worth investing in a nice tool called vag-com. In addition to diagnosing the check engine lights (should you hack around your car like I do), you can recode a few things, like auto-closing of windows/sunroofs with the remote, the way the alarm arms, auto door locking after reaching a certain speed, etc. http://www.ross-tech.com/

As such, I love the driving dynamics, and refuse to part with it. And my hobby has been to tinker with it, until the daughter arrived.  Ok, truthfully, I'm trying to hold out 2 more years for the S5.

[liver]

I live down in SD and drive to Escondido to All German Auto, I think it is worth the drive. They have kept my 2000 Audi S4 running in top shape.

http://www.allgermanauto.com/

[bsrsharma]

I think changing a Timing Belt should be within the capabilities of any AAA certified auto repair shop. I have got these done a couple of times without any problem. (Generally, I have found electrical & fuel system related work needs greater competence)

[Anonymous]

Please try Auto Haven at 1434 Morena Blvd. SD CA 92110
(619) 276-7672
Talk to Mike.
Lots of good feedback from my friends.
I am taking my car there next Monday.

[CMcG]

My dad — late 80s — has always driven German cars, especially VWs. He swears by Peanuts Auto Repair on Lake Murray Blvd. in La Mesa. They’ve been there forever and they specialize in German cars.

Home

[Coronita]

I think changing a Timing Belt should be within the capabilities of any AAA certified auto repair shop. I have got these done a couple of times without any problem.

 

not if you own a german car.

[ibjames]

I was lucky that my friend back home was a VW mechanic, all I had to do was provide beer and be his tool fetcher when we changed mine. Please post back if you find a good one though, I too will need a good mechanic

[Coronita]

I was lucky that my friend back home was a VW mechanic, all I had to do was provide beer and be his tool fetcher when we changed mine. Please post back if you find a good one though, I too will need a good mechanic

 

Normally, this would have been a task my a friend and I would have attempted back in the bay area.

http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng35.shtml

 

Unfortunately, I'm short mechanically inclined friends down here 🙂 And attempting this with one person would be a challenge. Although if I can't find a satisfactory mechanic, I might as well go buy an air compressor and some air ratchets and bite the bullet.

[Author]

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