Club 80-90 Forums

Hi

Sorry to hear about your troubles. We are in Bristol and like you are wondering if there might be a good local mechanic and at the moment aren't having much luck! (We are the new owners of a van which hasn't been running for the last 3 years - it currently feels like two steps forward and one step back!)

I know this might be stating the obvious but it might be worth starting another post and using the title - 'can anyone recommend a mechanic in the wiltshire area?' As this might be more likely to get the response you need.

I hope you are able to find someone and that you get your van back on the road soon.

Suzanne

There must be someone there that could help? Don't be fooled into paying a fortune a good second hand engine would be OK.

I think you need to scan the other vw forums and find an 'independant 'vw garage , these usually sound like dub.....
and may have the pseudo german 'werks' or vewrks.or vagon and permutations of all
also ask locals who are a decent garage,you will end up paying £20-45 /hour as opposed to £100 + at a dealer,
its all down to the fact that you can only live the dream if you have the ability to fix your own for general stuff or can afford to pay to get it done, years of neglect is not a quick fix
good luck
mm
oh and dont assume that cos this chap flogs cars that he has any more knowledge of these than a sales person does of a flat screen tv when its broken, he may have wanted you to start it to decide on wether it would be a good steal for him,sorry but thats the cynic in me

Thanks again...

Yes maybe I should start another thread asking about a local mechanic/garage. thanks for the advice I got recovered back from Bristol and the guy told me there was a couple of good VW garages in Bristol but I haven't found them yet... I have quite e few friends in Bristol but no one who has a VW sadly or knows about good garages lol. If I find one I'll let you know though

Re my neighbour....its ok to be cynical.... he's a nice guy but he is always out to make a buck and when I thought the engine had seized last year he was always offereing to buy it from me for a few hundred pounds without even looking.... He is quite good with cars I do know as he restores loads of really old cars and always has a fair few in his barn.... I do get the feeling he has an ulterior motive though...

Ahhh well its a beautiful sunny day today so that makes everything a little better

another update.....

I tried to start it yesterday after my neighbour said I should and it sounded like it wanted to catch but was making a knocking noise so i switched her off - where she is parked she is backed up onto some concrete and there was no oil etc on that concrete - today I kepts smelling what I thought was a petrol type smell but I assumed it was someones car as I have a few friends here at the moment but went I walk round the back of my van earlier I saw where the smell was coming from.....there is a huge oil slick which must have come out of the engine sometime after we tried to start her yesterday?

I guess that means she must have had oil in her so wasn't running dry? there is quite a lot also.....

That doesn't mean that at all..

An engine dripping or even pouring oil doesn't mean there was enough oil in it anytime before.
There may or may not have been... which has been said.
Whether it starts or not also won't solve any problems but might help diagnosis if the right person is there when it goes, else totally wasted. Sorry just facts. ..

Hi. I searched "Wiltshire" and found this post here:

Re: MOT - But where?

New postby DaveandMarion » 03 Oct 2012, 16:50
Hi all,

Finally got sorted today. Well, MOT last Friday and failed on something silly (thread here - viewtopic.php?f=37&t=108999 )

Off camping near Devizes, Wiltshire Friday - Sun to celebrate.

If anyone's near Dilton Marsh (West Wiltshire on the Somerset/Wilts border) I would highly recommend Dilton Motors ( http://diltonmotors.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) I only have good things to say about them from my experience. They have 1 MOT tester and he's VW friendly - he owns a T25.

Dave

So that garage might be OK.

Good luck.