Mustang-owner
Donor
Hi all,
I have been in contact with Mike (Skipton01) for a couple of months, arranging several pieces of work to be carried out on my stock 1.4TDi SE (75). I chose Mike for the work based on his posts, and the responses from A2OC members, on this forum.
I am a competent, self-taught, engine mechanic who has several cars (all older than 1974, so no computer software required to “tune/programme” them).
My aim was to have the work carried out while I watched/learned/asked questions, so in the future I could perform routine maintenance/servicing with the knowledge I would be able to look after my vehicle without needing to pay Audi’s labour charges.
The work has now been done, and I thought it would be useful to any new A2OC members to hear genuine and honest feedback regarding Mike and his work/ethics.
The work I had done was as follows:
Full Long-Life service inc. fuel filter and brake fluid change.
HID installation.
Cruise Control supplied and fitted.
Auto Dipping rear view mirror supplied and fitted.
Second remote key coded (as I only had one key when the car was purchased).
Cambelt change and VCDS (guidance only).
Mike resides just off Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines. There isn’t the luxury of free espresso coffee and a comfortable heated waiting area as found at my local dealership, and a full day there in December can be chilly (although the cold doesn’t seem to bother Mike at all). However, if, as me, you are interested in what is being performed on your car, and want to view all the procedures and ask questions it is perfect.
Mike is a very genuine, honest, articulate, thorough and funny person. From the outset it was clear he was more than happy to impart his wealth of knowledge of the A2. Mike was happy for me to “get in his way” while he was working, and answered all my questions with full and detailed answers. Throughout the whole day Mike invited me to watch closely as he performed all the work for the list of jobs. At no point did I ever think hrmmm – how did he do that, Mike was totally transparent.
Mike supplied all the parts for the work, and all were OEM. All the work was carried out safely and all tools used were “correct for the job”. Mike was happy to point out what type of tools were needed for certain jobs, and made sure I understood the difference between certain types of tools. There were even handy hints where to purchase certain hard-to-find tools.
Mike builds the wiring looms himself, and the attention to detail is just right. His care with someone else’s car is as we would all hope, but rarely receive. The routing of all cables is carefully chosen to avoid fouling with other components.
I had not met Mike before yesterday, although we have PM’d each other on many occasions, and can only say what a thoroughly nice bloke he is.
The A2 is not an overly complex car but, as with most cars, there are some things you can only do well once you see for yourself how they should be done.
If anyone is wondering if they should make use of Mike’s services to gain a better understanding of “how to do it right first time” I would strongly advise IT IS.
And if you don’t have the urge to crawl under the car yourself, but need to know your car has been well serviced, again I would recommend Mike.
Mike – It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you very much for your hard work and tuition. I look forward to attending some social events in the coming year and meeting you again.
Cheers
Jeff
I have been in contact with Mike (Skipton01) for a couple of months, arranging several pieces of work to be carried out on my stock 1.4TDi SE (75). I chose Mike for the work based on his posts, and the responses from A2OC members, on this forum.
I am a competent, self-taught, engine mechanic who has several cars (all older than 1974, so no computer software required to “tune/programme” them).
My aim was to have the work carried out while I watched/learned/asked questions, so in the future I could perform routine maintenance/servicing with the knowledge I would be able to look after my vehicle without needing to pay Audi’s labour charges.
The work has now been done, and I thought it would be useful to any new A2OC members to hear genuine and honest feedback regarding Mike and his work/ethics.
The work I had done was as follows:
Full Long-Life service inc. fuel filter and brake fluid change.
HID installation.
Cruise Control supplied and fitted.
Auto Dipping rear view mirror supplied and fitted.
Second remote key coded (as I only had one key when the car was purchased).
Cambelt change and VCDS (guidance only).
Mike resides just off Saddleworth Moor in the Pennines. There isn’t the luxury of free espresso coffee and a comfortable heated waiting area as found at my local dealership, and a full day there in December can be chilly (although the cold doesn’t seem to bother Mike at all). However, if, as me, you are interested in what is being performed on your car, and want to view all the procedures and ask questions it is perfect.
Mike is a very genuine, honest, articulate, thorough and funny person. From the outset it was clear he was more than happy to impart his wealth of knowledge of the A2. Mike was happy for me to “get in his way” while he was working, and answered all my questions with full and detailed answers. Throughout the whole day Mike invited me to watch closely as he performed all the work for the list of jobs. At no point did I ever think hrmmm – how did he do that, Mike was totally transparent.
Mike supplied all the parts for the work, and all were OEM. All the work was carried out safely and all tools used were “correct for the job”. Mike was happy to point out what type of tools were needed for certain jobs, and made sure I understood the difference between certain types of tools. There were even handy hints where to purchase certain hard-to-find tools.
Mike builds the wiring looms himself, and the attention to detail is just right. His care with someone else’s car is as we would all hope, but rarely receive. The routing of all cables is carefully chosen to avoid fouling with other components.
I had not met Mike before yesterday, although we have PM’d each other on many occasions, and can only say what a thoroughly nice bloke he is.
The A2 is not an overly complex car but, as with most cars, there are some things you can only do well once you see for yourself how they should be done.
If anyone is wondering if they should make use of Mike’s services to gain a better understanding of “how to do it right first time” I would strongly advise IT IS.
And if you don’t have the urge to crawl under the car yourself, but need to know your car has been well serviced, again I would recommend Mike.
Mike – It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you very much for your hard work and tuition. I look forward to attending some social events in the coming year and meeting you again.
Cheers
Jeff
