If you are running a garage (as i am), you want to have as smooth a flow
of work as possible through your establishment, to make the most efficient
use of your time,equipment, and personnel. There will always be jobs that
involve more time than you can bill for. Most garages limit or decline those
jobs, and for good reason. Trying to figure out what someone else did to a
car before you is a big headache, and no mechanic likes working for free.
    My customers come to me because they know i am honest. They also know
that i will decline work that i have doubts about doing right due to lack of
experience, special tools, service info, etc. I'd rather turn away the work
than botch it, especially when there is no shortage of work to do.
   IMHO, there are no more "general mechanics" left. Jack of all trades means
master of none. As a highly experienced Saturn tech, i repaired dozens of
cars botched by corner garages, jiffy lubes, chain stores, Pep Boys and the
like, because they didn't know all the details/procedures. Lots of missed
diagnoses! Take your Vanagons to someone intimately familiar with them.
They're not Chevys!!!

                                  HTH - Ed
 PS - i have a KEP equipped 13B Mazda rotary powered '72 superbeetle, so i
know a little about ambitious engine swaps...