Just got a Quote to Overhaul my Mk1

smudger1980 said

matt9b said

Thanks everyone, so I understand everyone is saying the price is too high. Can anyone suggest a garage or person I *should* take it to?

Wherever you take it to Matt won't be cheap as the going rate for labour these days is about £70+ per hour. I would seriously consider doing most of those jobs yourself if it all possible or offering beer and cash to a local fellow dubber in the know

Unfortunately, I don't have time to do it myself and don't know any local fellow dubbers

I thought it was best to keep an official service history for the time when it comes to re-sell (if ever!)

Changing any of those parts makes no difference to the cars service history. Who's is going to check that the breather pipe was changed, or the rocker cover gasket for that matter.

In any event most garages would fit the exhaust for you like the one I posted up.
It would just so happen it wouldn't be one they supplied.
Still got to go to the garage!

Put a shout out for help explaining what you want doing and where you are like
Calling all Sussex dubbbers, need someone to fix a couple of things. Have a look in the regional sections. Top right corner of the home page.

chortle said

Changing any of those parts makes no difference to the cars service history. Who's is going to check that the breather pipe was changed, or the rocker cover gasket for that matter.

In any event most garages would fit the exhaust for you like the one I posted up.
It would just so happen it wouldn't be one they supplied.
Still got to go to the garage!

Put a shout out for help explaining what you want doing and where you are like
Calling all Sussex dubbbers, need someone to fix a couple of things. Have a look in the regional sections. Top right corner of the home page.

Thanks for the clarification Chortle..

To be honest, I'm not looking for a one-off, I'm looking for osmeone reliable I can take it to whenever I have saved to get something done and Unfortunately, I'm not in any of the regions sections, I'm in Purley and don't know any dubbers around here who could do stuff for me…

Update: Thanks everyone for the advice, I asked what the exhaust is made of and if it's the whole thing or just up to the manifold (no idea what these words mean! hhaha)

He said it's a mild steel composit and they'd change it just up to the manifold, so not including the manifold. He did say I could get a stainless steel one from a custom made place but I'd have to go there myself to get it done, as he doesn't do that sort of thing.

I got some new prices as well:

brand new wheels including labour, changing the tyres & mini caps across etc. £293

new fuel cap and ''block'' fitted, £60 including parts and labour

He seems like a nice honest guy, has looked into all of this for free for me and given me a courtesy car, so I don't think they're trying to pull my leg so to speak

Massbad69 said

U can get a custom made stainless exhaust from manifold back for £300 from Longlife, made to measure with your choice if tailpipe and sound.

So for me I would get that in original spec in stainless for long lasting for cheaper !!

£800 for an exhaust ?? I would want a car thrown in free with the exhaust ;-)

Can you give me their contact details? THanks!

edit: found it! sorry I thought you were talking about a member.. didnt realise the company name is longlife! awsome

I tried calling the longlife dealer in my area, no answer, so I sent longlife an email asking for a quote. I'm not sure what I'll say if they ask me for the exact specs I need as I have no clue other than wanting it all to be the same so it's all kept original.

What I ideally wanted was to find a MK1 garage able to do all this running around for me! :/

For the exhaust, they will make it to your spec but not far away from original.

I went for a 3" tailpipe and mid-sport
for the sound, but just ask them to match the existing tailpipe if that's what you want, 2" I think it is and the quietest sound ??

It's upto you what you want, they have around 30 tailpipes but stay close to original would be my shout.

Original exhaust



Stainless Longlife

Matt,
I don't want to keep repeating what everyone else has said but as for the exhaust, whether its original or from kwik fit or stainless nobody sees it. I wouldn't pay silly money just to have a vw stamp on it.
If your looking to pay the money your talking then stainless would be the way ahead. Ive heard Chris' exhaust and it sounds good and the tail pipe, although different from standard, looks the mutts nuts.
As for the other jobs, I agree with the earlier post, buy a Haynes manual and get stuck in. Honestly you'll pick it up no bother. 

Update: I just got my car back from VolksAutos. They charged me £130 for the quote before I could take the car away (even though they never mentioned quoting would be charged!)

When I picked up the car, I was half way home when I noticed a huge gap in the rear seat, and a small oil stain on it. It turns out they had removed it but forgot to re-attach the seat, so it was just loose.

It was a 45 minute drive in traffic, and I had to drive back to get them to re-attach it. They didn't seem to know straight away how it should be fixed in place, and took a few minutes to work it out. It turns out one of their technicians had forgotten to screw it back in after taking it out.

They first of all apologised but then said "I don't know if it was maybe loose before it arrived…"  of course it wasn't. They didn't seem interested in the oil stain, which also wasn't there before.  It's obvious they took the rear seat out and got a bit of oil on the fabric. Does anyone know how I can get it out?

I asked if the rear seats can go down (it's my first mk1 so I don't know). For a garage that specialises in mk1's and all things vw, I expected them to know but they didn't.

So,

Pros: Friendly service, seems honest (the mistakes seemed honest enough).

Cons: Too busy, forgets things, stained back seat, attention to detail could be better, can't get stainless steel exhausts

I think they are friendly nice people, but like most London garages they seem just too busy.

I'm going to another mk1 specialist tomorrow, so will report back I hear what everyone is saying about getting stuck in, I'm sure I could do everything myself (I build computers so how hard can it be!) but it's really not about lacking confidence, I'm sure I can do it, it's about the time. I've already bitten off more than I can chew time-wise in my life. I get such a high volume of emails and such a large workload and I need to sleep and see family from time to time.

Matt from what you have typed in your last post I would not be going back to that garage.

They've charged you for quoting for work and then forgot to put your car back together and left you with an oil stain on the interior.

Walk away mate and find another mechanic.

and………………..you call that friendly and nice…

they would be getting  a bill from me for £150.00 for cleaning a stain they made.

chortle said

and………………..you call that friendly and nice…

they would be getting  a bill from me for £150.00 for cleaning a stain they made.

+1.    

smudger1980 said

chortle said

and………………..you call that friendly and nice…

they would be getting  a bill from me for £150.00 for cleaning a stain they made.

+1.    

I'm with you both on this and most likely some others as well.
Under these circumstances I'd want all my money back and my seat cleaned to my satisfaction.  

They claim to be Mk1 specialists but don't know how the rear seat operates and after taking one out, they can't put it back at the first attempt.
Oh come now!  

Not only that but I'd be naming and shaming them both here on this website and others!  
You wouldn't want to see other fellow members caught like that would you.  

Maybe we should start a 'Black List'?

OMG that's shocking - really shocking!!  

So wrong not to be clear about charging you from the outset.

Ref the oil stain, try Auto Gylm foam upholstery cleaner

I agree with everyone here, of course, I'd like a refund and the stain cleaned, but in my 10 years in London that has never happened, all I ever got from London companies when they do things like this, is stress and hassle which ended up not worth it, so I'd rather just walk away and never go back. They may have charged me £130 but they've lost far more in future work.

The problem in London in particular, is that there seem to be far more bad than good services, and too much demand so they all survive.

The funny thing is, I asked them before hand, "if I bring my car to you, can you assure me I can take the car away and won't have to pay anything until I decide what I'd like done." He said categorically "yes". So the fact he didn't mention they charge for the quote, is a bit of an oversight! I think they just assume everyone must know.

I think even the best services can't get it right every time. But in this case, I think London has a big problem with services. You wouldn't believe the stories I could tell…!

I'm not to worried about fellow dubbers going there, as looking on here, there don't seem to be any in my area!

looking at the members map, there's a few fellow guy's around you.

Take a look on the homepage and members map on left hand pane.

Matt whereabouts in London are you mate?

smudger1980 said

Matt whereabouts in London are you mate?

Purley … not sure how to edit my profile to show it, the closest match seems to be south east / east sussex

I would get a quote from the most expensive car valeter you can find and take the quote back to the garage, charge them for said quote, then get them to pay for the valet!!! cf_emoticons__BangHead:

If you can find an hour or two at the weekend i would try get these sort of little jobs done then. I brought my mk1 with no knowledge what-so-ever of cars. First day owning it i took all the seats out myself and replaced them first time, no issues, and this garage cant even do that!? seriously buy a haynes manual and read up on here and you will find you can do alot more than you realise (obviously time permitting)!

They've screwed you pal. Not many companies in industry charge you for quotes, and if they do, it's well documented prior.

Understand about the hassle factor, and not having time - and you're right, after work, family should come first if you're busy.

You don't need a specialist for the MK1 for most things- it's quite simple.

Spend some time on here searching for other London members - they'll help you. And the rest of us will always help online.