Being Edinburgh based my "go to" independent workshop for all things VAG (and other) is the AVW autocentre on the Gilmerton road. They've done a number of jobs on my older boy's two Skodas over the years and helped me out with, amongst other things, pressing a particularly reluctant front wheel bearing out of - and pressing the new one in again - on my youngest boy's wreck of an Escort. (I took the hub in to them). I can recommend them without reservation.
The only slightly annoying factor - caused no doubt by their excellent reputation - is that they are very busy and seem to always have a substantial lead time before you can get a car attended to. This of course is not a problem for most people, you just make sure you book your service, or whatever, well in advance.
I think I mentioned recently - in the Ibiza MK5 section - that my 2016 Ibiza is now out of warranty and I was going to do a "big" service (so all filters, engine oil, check brakes, etc) myself. This should not have presented me with any big problems as I worked, in my younger days, as a mechanic and, to this day, I look after all six cars in our "family fleet". The job went well - wasn't expecting any real problems on a 4 year old motor, with only 18,000 miles on the clock, which had been in religiously every year for it's dealer services. I was most worried that the thread in the ally sump might have been damaged as I've run into this before on even quite new cars. But no, It was absolutely A1!
So I was surprised to run into a problem with the front brakes. I don't believe the wheels had even been removed at previous services. I think the brake pads were probably checked by looking at them through the alloy wheel spokes. (in all fairness to the dealer I don't think anything more than this is detailed in the schedule) However, as time is irrelevant to me in terms of cost, and as the brakes - pads and caliper holders - were looking pretty crusty albeit only slightly more than half worn, I decided to strip the calipers off the hubs and just give everything a good clean up and grease with Cera Tec. I am in the habit of doing this every "big" service on all the cars anyway. The front wheels were difficult to remove but responded to a good kick. The rears were absolutely solid on the hubs. The problem is that the alloy of the wheel and the steel of the hub react electrolytically and corrode in place. It took a large lump hammer and block of wood (to protect the rims) to get them shifted. A clean up with emery cloth and a light skim of copa slip sorted it. I don't believe the wheels have ever been removed since she rolled off the factory line! This would have been a big problem if I'd had a puncture away from my home workshop.
So, with wheels now removed and "fettled" the brake job could continue. I tackled the front O/S caliper first and all went well. The two slider pins unscrewed as would be expected and the caliper came away nicely (after I spotted that wee "tooth" that engages with the bottom pad holding rail) Every thing cleaned up well and went back together very smoothly. Now for the N/S. The top slider pin was just a tad tight to unscrew but came out not too bad. The bottom one was immediately felt to be reluctant to turn - Oh dear, I've felt threads like this before and it usually ends in tears! I slaistered copious quantities of Plus Gas over it and worked it back and forwards as I unscrewed it. Looking carefully at it it actually looked very slightly out of square with the hub. Anyway after I'd got out out I could see the threads were a bit damaged and the thread in the pin wasn't perfect either. I think this is the way it must have been assembled by "Fred the robot" at the factory. I'm pretty certain it hadn't been touched by the dealer. Anyway I don't have a M9x1.25mm tap so I just carefully held it dead square and wound it back in the hole on reassembly. Seemed to hold and subsequent checks showed it to be secure. However It's just been niggling away at my conscience and with grandchildren being often collected from school and run to dance classes/brownies/cubs etc, etc I decided I had to fix it properly.
The trouble is neither I nor SWMBO have been keeping well of late - doing the service knocked me back a bit (I'm 73 now) - and my better half forbade me from working out in the cold again. I gave the lads at AVW a ring but the wait was substantial and we have a busy kids schedule ahead so couldn't really wait.
Now to the point of this rambling tale. Many years ago I used to frequent Hunters breaker yard at Meadow bank and up in Clockmill lane was Mackinnon and Kostello car sales who also had workshops which majored on VW products. I was down that way the other day for a completely different reason and noticed the Kostello bit of the business (and maybe the car sales) seems to have disappeared but the Mackinnon Motors, as it's now called, seems to be going strong with big Volkswagen Specialist notices very much in evidence. I gave them a ring to see if they could help. Got a very courteous reception. Yes, no problem, can do it day after tomorrow if you like. (Talking about drilling out damaged thread and installing a Helicoil for those of you who are wondering)
I took the car in at 8 o'clock yesterday and got a call around 11 to say ready for collection. one hour's labour @ £47.00 and £10 parts plus VAT of course. Very reasonable I thought. When I collected the car I was explaining what had happened and the chap in charge (who I think actually did the job?) told me not to feel to bad about it as this is a common problem with this assembly and, in their opinion, the hole in the hub had not been drill at right angles in the first place. Because of this they didn't use a Helicoil but one of these:
https://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/5037
Because it removes slightly more metal and so allows them to true up the hole better. He let me have a jolly good look at the kit (I've seen them on eBay but never in the flesh before) and I'm very impressed. For this particular repair I would favour it over a Helicoil! I've subsequently taken the wheel off and had a jolly good look at the pin which is now sitting nicely square to the hole. I'm very pleased indeed with the work they did, the quickness of being able to take the car in, the knowledge and friendliness of the chap I dealt with and the price I was charged. For anyone who has not before done a Helicoil, they can sometimes, especially the smaller sizes, be difficult to insert properly without cross threading the insert itself, This way of doing it completely eliminates this problem.
So, if you're in the north of the city these people just might be worth a try? Bearing in mind that this is the only job I've had done by them but, on the other hand, they've been around a long time so probably do know what they are doing. Anyone used them and can maybe comment further?
The only slightly annoying factor - caused no doubt by their excellent reputation - is that they are very busy and seem to always have a substantial lead time before you can get a car attended to. This of course is not a problem for most people, you just make sure you book your service, or whatever, well in advance.
I think I mentioned recently - in the Ibiza MK5 section - that my 2016 Ibiza is now out of warranty and I was going to do a "big" service (so all filters, engine oil, check brakes, etc) myself. This should not have presented me with any big problems as I worked, in my younger days, as a mechanic and, to this day, I look after all six cars in our "family fleet". The job went well - wasn't expecting any real problems on a 4 year old motor, with only 18,000 miles on the clock, which had been in religiously every year for it's dealer services. I was most worried that the thread in the ally sump might have been damaged as I've run into this before on even quite new cars. But no, It was absolutely A1!
So I was surprised to run into a problem with the front brakes. I don't believe the wheels had even been removed at previous services. I think the brake pads were probably checked by looking at them through the alloy wheel spokes. (in all fairness to the dealer I don't think anything more than this is detailed in the schedule) However, as time is irrelevant to me in terms of cost, and as the brakes - pads and caliper holders - were looking pretty crusty albeit only slightly more than half worn, I decided to strip the calipers off the hubs and just give everything a good clean up and grease with Cera Tec. I am in the habit of doing this every "big" service on all the cars anyway. The front wheels were difficult to remove but responded to a good kick. The rears were absolutely solid on the hubs. The problem is that the alloy of the wheel and the steel of the hub react electrolytically and corrode in place. It took a large lump hammer and block of wood (to protect the rims) to get them shifted. A clean up with emery cloth and a light skim of copa slip sorted it. I don't believe the wheels have ever been removed since she rolled off the factory line! This would have been a big problem if I'd had a puncture away from my home workshop.
So, with wheels now removed and "fettled" the brake job could continue. I tackled the front O/S caliper first and all went well. The two slider pins unscrewed as would be expected and the caliper came away nicely (after I spotted that wee "tooth" that engages with the bottom pad holding rail) Every thing cleaned up well and went back together very smoothly. Now for the N/S. The top slider pin was just a tad tight to unscrew but came out not too bad. The bottom one was immediately felt to be reluctant to turn - Oh dear, I've felt threads like this before and it usually ends in tears! I slaistered copious quantities of Plus Gas over it and worked it back and forwards as I unscrewed it. Looking carefully at it it actually looked very slightly out of square with the hub. Anyway after I'd got out out I could see the threads were a bit damaged and the thread in the pin wasn't perfect either. I think this is the way it must have been assembled by "Fred the robot" at the factory. I'm pretty certain it hadn't been touched by the dealer. Anyway I don't have a M9x1.25mm tap so I just carefully held it dead square and wound it back in the hole on reassembly. Seemed to hold and subsequent checks showed it to be secure. However It's just been niggling away at my conscience and with grandchildren being often collected from school and run to dance classes/brownies/cubs etc, etc I decided I had to fix it properly.
The trouble is neither I nor SWMBO have been keeping well of late - doing the service knocked me back a bit (I'm 73 now) - and my better half forbade me from working out in the cold again. I gave the lads at AVW a ring but the wait was substantial and we have a busy kids schedule ahead so couldn't really wait.
Now to the point of this rambling tale. Many years ago I used to frequent Hunters breaker yard at Meadow bank and up in Clockmill lane was Mackinnon and Kostello car sales who also had workshops which majored on VW products. I was down that way the other day for a completely different reason and noticed the Kostello bit of the business (and maybe the car sales) seems to have disappeared but the Mackinnon Motors, as it's now called, seems to be going strong with big Volkswagen Specialist notices very much in evidence. I gave them a ring to see if they could help. Got a very courteous reception. Yes, no problem, can do it day after tomorrow if you like. (Talking about drilling out damaged thread and installing a Helicoil for those of you who are wondering)
I took the car in at 8 o'clock yesterday and got a call around 11 to say ready for collection. one hour's labour @ £47.00 and £10 parts plus VAT of course. Very reasonable I thought. When I collected the car I was explaining what had happened and the chap in charge (who I think actually did the job?) told me not to feel to bad about it as this is a common problem with this assembly and, in their opinion, the hole in the hub had not been drill at right angles in the first place. Because of this they didn't use a Helicoil but one of these:
https://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/5037
Because it removes slightly more metal and so allows them to true up the hole better. He let me have a jolly good look at the kit (I've seen them on eBay but never in the flesh before) and I'm very impressed. For this particular repair I would favour it over a Helicoil! I've subsequently taken the wheel off and had a jolly good look at the pin which is now sitting nicely square to the hole. I'm very pleased indeed with the work they did, the quickness of being able to take the car in, the knowledge and friendliness of the chap I dealt with and the price I was charged. For anyone who has not before done a Helicoil, they can sometimes, especially the smaller sizes, be difficult to insert properly without cross threading the insert itself, This way of doing it completely eliminates this problem.
So, if you're in the north of the city these people just might be worth a try? Bearing in mind that this is the only job I've had done by them but, on the other hand, they've been around a long time so probably do know what they are doing. Anyone used them and can maybe comment further?