Friendly service. Have talked to them several times over the years about a variety of odd ball…read moreDiesels... Mercedes, VW, Jeep, Nissan... getting quotes and considering having them do various work that I didn't have the tools or training on, but it always worked out to be less expensive for me to buy the specialized tools and do it myself. What I found refreshing was they enjoyed talking about the engines and even offered advice on what to do and not do.
These folks know Diesels and if I didn't have the skills or want to buy the tools, I'd use them with confidence, reason being is I've had at three local shops break more than they fixed. Dealerships often won't or can't do the work on older vehicles.
After I did my own service on a complicated little Diesel, I wanted someone that knew it well enough to do a thorough check. It wasn't trivial maintenance and involved well over a grand in parts and special tools... if I hadn't done it right, it wouldn't end well. I wanted to make sure it was correct because it's my wife's vehicle. They understood, they checked my work, and the entire vehicle and found one thing I had missed, which I'll be fixing later. They charged a reasonable amount for the complete check, less than the original estimate (they had scheduled 2 hrs, but only needed 30 minutes).
If I had done something wrong I gladly would have paid to have it fixed by them. I know why they put rubber bands in Diesels, but wish they wouldn't, and then they require expensive special tools to change. So, if you've got a rubber band in your Diesel and you think the quote might be high... look at the special tools required to do the job, the training and skill required to do it. Get a quote from the Dealer as well, if they'll even service an older vehicle. Shop rate seems high, but it costs a lot of money to keep a shop going, especially with fees, taxes, safety and environmental mandates, insurance, training, special tools, skilled technicians...
If I am not able to do something on my own in the future I'll be back. People have to realize that repairing vehicles can get complicated quickly, other parts wear out, things break that shouldn't break when trying to be removed and most vehicles simply were not designed well or built to be repaired easily, and of course dealerships stop supporting older vehicles.
So, what's a person to do? Simple, find a shop like this one with folks who know a variety of vehicles. And before you complain about the costs of a repair, look at what is involved in that repair on line, and ask yourself, do you think YOU could do that job? If so, do it yourself, buy the tools, shop manuals, parts and save yourself the money. But you'll find it will take you more time, and chances are good that you'll break things along the way and the info you found on line might not have mentioned the things most mechanics already know. But, you'll save somewhere between 25 to 50% of what will be charged, and you will have special tools you'll likely never use again. Also, consider in the costs of towing if it goes horribly wrong, and what it will take/cost a professional to make it work again. I'm very thankful for those high school shop classes back in the '60's and '70's, they've saved me a lot of money over the years, and I didn't mind paying to have my work checked, if I hadn't done it right, it could have been very expensive.
