The dealership tells me I need to replace my water pump and are quoting $1000 for the job.

Anyone know a good mechanic in the Boston area who I could go to instead?

thx.

Yikes!! Lots o' dough!
Can you do it yourself - do you have the right tools and confidence?
It's not that hard and there are plenty of tech articles on the subject.

ive never worked on an audi, but i changed motors in a honda a few times. i dont know how much of a problem it is 2 do. if i can lend a helping hand, im more then happy to do so.

you can go to status auto in londonderry nh . it is a small shop that only does work on audis and v-dubs. its about 40 min outside of boston. it come wall recomended. here is there site

http://statusautoservice.com/status_auto_service.htm

you can check here for for what he has done in the past for fellow audi people.

http://forums.bostonaudi.org/

good luck
harry b