Tales Tour on
Technical editor Steve Rothwell visits businesses listed in CM’S Good Garage Guide
to a high standard with three ramps and dealer-level diagnosis equipment (ODIS) for VAG diagnosis. Vasstechnik use Autodata and also have the full ELSA VAG workshop information system on-hand. This enables them to offer all the services the main dealer can, including the coding of keys and vehicle software updates. With such high-level equipment and connection to the German server, this means that many of the trade workshops in the area use them as the ‘go to’ workshop for the unit coding and other jobs that would normally be considered dealer only. Offering a saving of around £40 per hour over the dealer rates, this makes them a very popular choice.
Along with the regular servicing of vehicles including regeneration of DPFS and Adblue top-ups, they can, and do, carry out servicing/repairs to DSG gearboxes (six- and seven-speed) and Haldex couplings. This is another of the specialist VAG jobs that they are competent at, which some workshops shy away from.
On the day I visited they had a mixed collection of jobs in the workshop including a broken rear spring on an Audi A4. This was proving particularly tricky: because it was broken, the textbook method of compressing it to remove it was not possible. Other jobs at the time were more run-of-themill, with a 2006 Ford Focus service and a 2007 VW Golf inner driveshaft boot. There was, though, a Skoda sitting outside with a rear main oil seal leaking and that was going to be a major job: the DSG gearbox had become contaminated from the engine oil leak, causing damage to the clutches.
When it comes to favourite vehicles to work on, the Audi tops the list in the Vasstechnik workshop with the three partners all driving VAG vehicles themselves – although Kevin uses his Rover 75 CDTI auto extensively for commuting. Lee drives a Skoda Fabia 1.6 TDI Monte Carlo; Ben drives an Audi A3 2.0 TDI and Kevin drives an Audi TT Roadster when the sun shines. So, they all practice what they preach when it comes to favouring VAG.
The three partners are all confident that their services will be in demand for quite a few years to come. Lee told me that they have started to work on hybrids and will go on the VAG training courses as the Vw-audi Group begin to roll them out.
Ben believes the owners of petrol and diesel vehicles will want to keep them going as long as possible after the ban of petrol and diesel vehicles is implemented – those already on the road will be looked after and will probably still have at least 25 years of life left in them if properly maintained.
One unique service that Vasstechnik offers is engine port walnut blasting. Lee explained to me that the modern directinjection engines are coming in with a regular problem where the 1.4 TSI, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol direct-injection engines do not get the flow of fuel over the inlet valves and this is allowing them to cokeup to the point where the compression is becoming compromised. Removing the inlet manifold and cleaning the inlet ports using the walnut blasting method completely cleans out the ports and restores full power. Lee told me that VAG do have a Technical Bulletin on the problem advising walnut blasting, but many garages want to remove the head to complete the job, which is obviously time-consuming and more expensive.
Solving a problem
When posed with one of my regular questions of what the worst aspect of running a vehicle repair workshop is in today’s climate, the answer was clear – customers not giving the full information or wanting their own parts fitted. Vasstechnik has a clear policy that they will not fit customer-supplied parts. Although they are willing to take on jobs that the owner has attempted and failed, they do like to be informed of what has taken place. This makes the process of resolving the problem much easier.
Lee and Ben both mentioned how frustrating it is to try and solve a problem on a vehicle, only to be told halfway through the job of previous owner action that had caused the problem. This is a good point to make: garages don’t mind taking over when the owner can’t solve something, but they do need to be armed with all the information.
Most VAG vehicles are fitted with a service indicator, so most of the customers who use Vasstechnik are pretty good at not forgetting the service is due. Lee and Ben both agree that this is the best way to keep the vehicle in tip-top condition, although like all the garages I have visited they are not convinced that long-life servicing is a good idea and prefer the standard service intervals.