I'm not a professional mechanic, but I have been working on cars all my adult life. Diesels don't like half-way.
My calculations were that I could pay for the cost of the special tools required the first time I changed the belts; it took me about 6 hours the first time, mostly because I was checking the book and reading on the net. Now I can do it in less than 3 hours.
I like the way these cars drive and handle, and I want mine to run as well as it can. My experience with mechanics has been second hand for the very large part, but it seems difficult and expensive to get a good one, especially for diesels. If you have a good mechanic, great!. If you are looking for one for this car, I'd suggest a really good VW or Mercedes DIESEL mechanic. They are NOT the same as a good gasser mechanic. Plenty of "professionals" have screwed these cars up royally; I put more faith in learning how to do things right myself.
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