Warren

Hello everyone
I've noticed that this issue has been presented a number of times and it appears that I'm the newest of the batch. We have a dealership in Regina but they are.......

I've been to a local shop called PERFORMANCE CAR CENTRE, 1585 Angus Street, Regina, S4T 7E1 (306)525-6248. When you arrive it's likely you'll be greeted by a fellow named Herman (Herm). Seems like a great guy and so far I have had no reason at all to think any different. The shop is pretty much "old school" in appearance and I like this, low overhead translates directly into lower shop rates with no reduction in quality of service. I'm not a fancy guy nor do I care that there are no shiny things to grab my attention. There are Audi's, Volkswagen units of all sorts and Porches occupying space inside and outside the shop as one would expect. Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture and the drift. Decent place with good guys hanging on to the tools. So far the service has been superlative and I'll be sure to let you know if this changes but my guess is that their compound is full of vehicles, all foreign, for good reason. They seem to be very good at what they do and like I said, the service is well beyond what the average guy would expect.

The purpose of my message is this; I want transfer any data that may be useful to those with these codes popping on their cars and maybe get some feedback on what has been done so far. The first trip to this shop was to have daytime running lights setup on the car as I imported it from California last July. This shop did it in about an hour and charged me $90.00. The dealership gave me a "off the cuff" price of $700.00 if I recall correctly and that's what sent me running and looking for a secondary place of refuge. The lights work great and I've had no problems at all with them. I'm not sure how they did it and I don't care as long as they continue to work.

This is my second trip to this shop and although the problem appears not to have been corrected (I popped a code today (Sunday) on the highway) when I was at the shop on Friday I was treated with all sorts of respect and I do honestly believe these guys care about "you and your car". Now, I was going to take the car on the highway Friday but that day happened to be a bit crazy like most Fridays, and I simply didn't. When I picked the car up at about 4:30 I paid my bill ($616.80) and drove away. I noticed almost immediately that the car wasn't running properly. I'm not a mechanic but it was running rough and it farted at me a couple of times. I simply returned to the shop and spoke to Herman. My car was back in the shop in less than two minutes with another mechanic trying to track the issue. It apparently it was a loose clamp or an improperly installed clamp so it took a few minutes to track it down as everything appeared normal. By now it was close to 5:30, the shop's closing time and because it was Friday and I didn't want to be a ***** so I didn't take the car back even though the unit was running flat and bucking a bit when I shifted gears. It's a 225 TT, 2001 and is generally very peppy and smooth but at the moment it is neither. My bill included the following, $297.50 for labour, very respectable although there are apparently some issues remaining. and $248.34 for parts (excluding taxes which add $56.08 as long as my math is good and this I would not bet on). The price was a bit higher as I asked for an oil change to be done while the car was in (this had not been booked) and received a "NO PROBLEM" response. The OC was about $75.00, give or take and that's for full synthetic! The other stuff was as follows (I should try to stay on topic) vacuum hose, $152.00, that is apparently located somewhere under the intake area, dipstick funnel, $8.75, which could be contributing to the vacuum leak, a copper washer, $0.65, not sure what for but at $0.65 again I don't care, 3 hose clamps at $3.30 each, must be good clamps but it's only $10.00 and if it works!!!!! I was charged $6.94 for brake cleaner and parts, my guess is they cleaned my brakes which is a good thing. So this explains parts and labour for this trip to the shop. The unfortunate part is that the light is back on, the shop is closed Sunday (everyone needs time away from work and with family, this is a must for people to stay happy and sharp!), my car isn't running well, it's a sunny nice weekend and I don't feel comfortable driving with that damn light on so it's asleep in my garage. The upside of this message is that, after only two visits (one a bit unsuccessful) I do feel confident that Monday will come and I'll drive the car to Performance Car Centre and Herman and the guys will set things straight. Believe me, if things are different I'll let you know as being retired offers me a sufficient amount of time for all sorts of writing, good or bad. I wanted to tell folks about this shop as they are tucked out of the road in an inconspicuous spot in an older part of Regina. I believe they are kind of a "diamond in the rough" shop with good rates and better mechanics. In today's environment it's kinda cool to find a place that is service oriented as most could care less. It's pay your bill and bugger off. These guys actually remember your name, shake your hand and want to see you again. I personally think this situation is a glitch and on Monday my life will return to normal with a smooth running TT. I also believe that Friday's episode was caused by everyone having a long week with lots of work and just wanting to go home, have a beer and kick back. Can't fault anyone for that and I don't want to screw it up because I know what the other side of the coin looks like. I'd sooner park my car for a day or two and let these guys have a rest, it just makes sense.

All the best, and I'll let you know how things turn out as these codes have been a pest for a few of you. If anyone can get to the bottom of this issue I believe it's these guys.

Warren

cheeba

Hhhmmm, $620 and all you got was an oil change? Your definition of a good shop certainly differs from mine Of course, that's why I don't let other people wrench on my car. . .

The lines they replaced were the part of the PCV system, which is directly under the intake manifold. They're a common source of leaks as the hoses are hard-lines, which crack over time.

Post up the codes that you're getting! If you don't have a VAG-COM I can scan your car for you.

K04-S4

Lean codes are typcially a vacuum leak. Just replaced the entire PCV system including all hoses, jet pump and one way valve on an 01 TT 225 HP for same reason and it pulls like a freight train again. CEL is gone too. All PCV parts were just over $500 at dealer retail.

Warren

Hi Cheeba,

I think I know what you're thinking and to a degree I am with you. We've talked before and if I could put eyes on the problem I may have taken a run at it myself. In a sense I'm trapped but let me update you just a bit. I drove down (in my behemoth Hemi Durango, 6 ft to the gallon) on Monday and they asked for the keys, they were going to do it there and then. I said "no thanks" as I think Mondays and Fridays are jinxed. Just bad day to get things done as everyone is looking for a way out of what they do.

I made an appointment for today at 1:00 pm as I believe that everyone starts their day with the intention of doing their best. (I'm often disappointed, even in myself). The upshot again is they wanted the car and they wanted it now so they could fix the booboo. I passed and delivered it today at one. Will bring you up to date as I said but in my situation I do have to find a home as my health is in the crapper, the car is for my little girl and I need a place to take it as even Audi's break down. Bear with me for the "the rest of the news" and I'll bring you up to speed when I get the call to pick it up. Appreciate your advice as always...warren

Warren

Would very much like photo's, yours beside mine as I'd like to know what stock looks like beside a mod unit. I know you're building yours for you and I'm working a 17 yr old girl into the equation. Drop me a line and we can get together as long as the tt runs and pulls....................w

Warren

Hello again everyone,

As promised here is the finale. I received a call late yesterday from Performance Car Centre and they asked for my permission to keep the car overnight. They wanted to check the O2 sensors and apparently this is best done when the car is cold. I said sure and the call ended.
By 09:30 today I received another call from them and they said the car was ready to go and that everything was working fine. They had taken it for a couple of runs and it was back to it's quick and nimble self. I dropped by around 10:30 to pick it up and as I expected there was "no charge" on the work that they had done. I guess I paid for it the first time and they stuck to the first charges. I've had my other vehicles elsewhere, had work done, taken them back and been charged more as they said they had found additional problems and they had to bill out the extra work. (Many words were exchanged in the process but the effort was a fruitless one) In this case Herman made a quick apology for the extra trips and time and then went back to the shop area to double check with the mechanic that everything was ready to go. He came back in a minute or so, handed me the keys and told me to have a really good day.

I got to my car and noticed it had received a light detailing, nice touch. Off I went and this time I headed straight for the highway. I was going to check and make sure the car wasn't going to pop another code. After giving the little critter a fairly good workout I returned home happy and pleased in an overall sense. The car pulled well, idled well and just plain ran well. I'm happy about two things, first, my car runs good and second, I was right about the shop in the sense that they wanted my car to run good and they were prepared to do the work with no additional charge to ensure this. Considering that not everything in life goes well the first time it's nice to know there are shops out there that stand behind the workmanship and will tend to issues as they present themselves. All in all folks, I'm satisfied even though it took a couple of trips to the shop. For those of you that live in TO or Vancouver a couple of trips could translate in to a couple of hours and a big nuisance. In Regina nothing is outside a 15-20 minute radius and in this case it's ten minutes or less. I even had a chance to ask for some free advice which was given freely and happily. So for those of you in the area Performance Car Centre, 1585 Angus Street, Regina, SK S4T 7E1, (306)525-6222 gets 4 1/2 stars out of five and they would have got the five star rating if I had not needed to go back.

Just a quick word of advice, if you get a chance to pick who twists your nuts ask for Wayne. My opinion is that he's the one you want working on your car but again folks it’s just an opinion.

All the best to all,

Warren

cheeba

Good show - as long as they got it fixed, and didn't charge you more.

I don't even have any photos of my car yet as it's a work in progress! I'm hoping to be done by October.