After seeing what "regular" people pay for repairs, glad I can fix my own car

[captainslug]

Or in a worst case scenario (which happened to my parents) the employees of the shop they took the car to for minor work end up stealing their car and take it for a joy ride. While doing so they hit a speed bump at 45mph and do significant and permanent damage to the suspension and frame. The bulk of the damage has to be repaired through insurance because the manager and corporate pretend that nothing happened.

Thanks a bunch Sears auto center.

[wagonman76]

Thanks a bunch Sears auto center

+1 Dont have time tonight to say all that Sears has screwed up for me and my friend.

[taco]

my god 600 for a batt and alt.

i paid i think 800 for a new trans and trasfer case installed, ( well they had 3k miles on them, poor truck never saw it coming, got t-boned)
i think most places around here are pretty fair, i had my local toyota dealer install 2 new front shocks, coil over style, and it was 55 for 2 front nontrd shocks and 55 for the install... now it is time again.

[Formula413]

I literally cringe when I think back to when I used to have a car that broke a lot and always brought it to a shop and paid out the nose to have it fixed. Since I started doing all my own repairs I've easily saved thousands of dollars. I won't fault shops for what they charge, the overhead they have to pay is tremendous. But I love the feeling of saving big bucks and learning at the same time. Plus I enjoy spinning wrenches. The savings are amazing. I replaced my radiator, found a brand new one online for ~ $65. Alternator - found one out of a low mileage car for $50. Transmission mount for the Firebird - $17 with lifetime warranty. Lifetime warranty parts are great when you aren't paying labor. The Escort has several lifetime warranted parts: lower ball joint, exhaust center section (non stainless, lasts about two years in New England), rear coil springs (chronic Escort problem, only $50 for the pair). Plus when you are doing the work yourself you can be as meticulous as you want. When I put the new exhaust in the Escort I used stainless steel bolts to attach the flanged end. So if (or when) I need to replace it again I won't even need to bust out the angle grinder.

[GasGuage]

I've been pokin' around looking for an electric fan for my S-10 not being in too much of a hurry to buy because the weather is cooler. My brother in law works for a Ford Dealership as a body techician. He's done it for years. I was telling him about the fan mod when he told me he has 3 efans. He has one that he says sells for $900 at the dealership! WHAT?? Now that one must be made of gold. Anyway, he's going to resell it, never said for how much. But told me after another couple of weeks when one of the wrecks clear, he'll give me one from another model. Cool. I'll just be out the cost of an AdvanceAuto relay & wires.

I used to be sold on salvage yard parts. But not too much anymore. For what they charge for some things, I can beat surfing on the net. For example, I needed to replace a side mirror when some kid thought it was funny to break mine off. After calling every junkyard in the city, the best deal I could find was $45 for a used mirror with a big scratch on it. I found the mirror new at Autoparts.com for less then $40. The junk yard was good in the day for me in the '70's when there wasn't in internet or PC"s were pre-existent. But with the help of google nowadays, prices really have gotten competitive.

[MetroMPG]

Tasdrouille - I hear you: when I was driving my '89 Accord, I used to do all kinds of preventive maintenance and repairs in the fall because I knew I wasn't about to do my own repairs on an ice cold driveway in the middle of January.

Originally Posted by wagonman76

I also bought a stainless high flow cat and stainless turbo muffler elsewhere online. And about 20 clamps and some hangers. That was about 2001 and Ive not had to touch it since.

... which reminds me, I'm driving around with 11 year old original exhaust under the Flea. Last time I peeked, some of the seams were looking a little rusty...

[Clev]

Originally Posted by wagonman76

+1 Dont have time tonight to say all that Sears has screwed up for me and my friend.

Co-worker took her truck in to have the battery changed. (The battery said "72 months", so she took it in after 72 months, even though it was working fine.) Lovely people at Sears reconnected the terminals backwards, frying a bunch of stuff. It took them almost a month to replace enough bits to get everything working again.

[red91sit]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Tasdrouille - I hear you: when I was driving my '89 Accord, I used to do all kinds of preventive maintenance and repairs in the fall because I knew I wasn't about to do my own repairs on an ice cold driveway in the middle of January.



... which reminds me, I'm driving around with 11 year old original exhaust under the Flea. Last time I peeked, some of the seams were looking a little rusty...

ahhh how I miss my exhaust system...

The first and last time I paid to have service done on one of my vehicles was the timing belt on my Honda Prelude. Other than that, all work required I do myself. If it's something I can't fix cheaply easily, I part out the car and sell it for scrap metal. I have done this for the last four years, and looking back, I think I'm rather rough on cars, as I am on number 8 now haha.

The average price for my cars is $500, and when all is said and done, I usually get $400 for them completely bombed out. I figure I am more or less just renting cars at around $200/year.

the other thing that makes me angry is prices at salvage yards, $100 for a wheel on the Merc, $150 for a 14 yr. old Honda door, and they only pay about $150 for an older car!! GRRR

[Clev]

Originally Posted by red91sit

ahhh how I miss my exhaust system...

The first and last time I paid to have service done on one of my vehicles was the timing belt on my Honda Prelude. Other than that, all work required I do myself. If it's something I can't fix cheaply easily, I part out the car and sell it for scrap metal. I have done this for the last four years, and looking back, I think I'm rather rough on cars, as I am on number 8 now haha.

The average price for my cars is $500, and when all is said and done, I usually get $400 for them completely bombed out. I figure I am more or less just renting cars at around $200/year.

the other thing that makes me angry is prices at salvage yards, $100 for a wheel on the Merc, $150 for a 14 yr. old Honda door, and they only pay about $150 for an older car!! GRRR

Yup, timing belt is one of the few things I still have done by the professionals. I'll be due in about 3 months when I cross the 300,000 mark on the Clunker.

[Formula413]

Originally Posted by Clev

Yup, timing belt is one of the few things I still have done by the professionals. I'll be due in about 3 months when I cross the 300,000 mark on the Clunker.

I plan on trying my hand at it in the spring. Don't make me nervous! LOL