The PO of our Vngn used a shop in San Jose CA (where they lived) called W.E.Harding Co. Inc.

She had him check out the van prior to turning it over to us because it had been sitting for several years. He had estimated $200-$500 to get it road ready (remember he had been maintaining this van back when it was in use). He did contact her while he was working on it to tell her it needed some additional parts/work and assured here this was a safety issue, so she authorized the work. He did not tell her how much more this would cost. When she went to get the van, the total was over $2300! The biggest single expense was not new brakes, or any safety issue you would have expected. In fact he didn't do anything to the brakes or suspension (brake fluid is very dark brown BTW) Nor did he check the gas tank for the classic grommet leaks etc., (which it had big time we had to spend $150 to fix this as soon as we got home it would puke about 1/2 gal every time you filled it). No, the big ticket "safety issue" repair was replacement of the oil cooler (this is an 86). He charged her $300 for a new oil cooler! (parts only, the installation labor was additional). He replaced the battery (almost $100) and supposedly checked the charging system, however the alternator had to be replaced about 4-5 hours into the return trip home because the van stopped running when the battery was depleted, obviously the alternator never was working properly as it would have taken about that long to discharge a new battery that much. He left a headlight hanging with the lower adjuster missing completely and never mentioned the problem (he had to have known because he sealed a pin hole in the lens with some silicone and recommend it be replaced soon). I sent a set of new tires to the PO and they were in the van when he got it. He left it parked unsecured with the tires in it, and someone busted a wing window and stole the tires. They damaged the wing window frame. He replaced the glass but did nothing about the bent frame. The glass did not even touch most of the seals on the frame. He made a big deal about not charging her for the glass. He did not replace the tires. She asked him if the old tires were okay and he told her yes. P185-70-14s with an LI of around 84 that had been sitting deflated on the van for several years. Needless to say we were lucky to get the van home on them. In addition, while the tires had almost no miles on them, the right front was worn on the outside edge right down into the wear bars. Clearly the van had an alignment problem, which he also did not fix or even mention.

There is more, but this should be enough. I would recommend folks stay as far away from this man as possible. German accent or no, he is not what I would call a good VW mechanic.

-- Marc Sayer Journalist, Photographer, Dog Trainer (APDT member #062956) Director of Operations & Training - Deaf Dane Rescue Inc. Springfield, OR USA

My Homepage - http://gracieland.org

Deaf Dane Rescue Homepage - http://gracieland.org/DaneRescue/

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