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run down of car repairs

March 14th, 2006 at 03:13 am

This is for Russell (and anyone else interested in car repairs):

- Lube, oil & filter ($29)
- Tire rotation ($24)
- Replace exhaust flange ($70 labor, $32 parts)
- Exhaust replace, converter back ($100 labor, $125 parts)
- Replace LS inner tie rod ($199 labor, $74 parts)
- 4 wheel alignment ($90)
- Brake adjust & clean ($50)
- Belts R&R - A/C belt ($50 labor, $70 parts)

- Supplies $47
- Disposal $2.50

That's the repair shop's list on the invoice. $900 total WITH a $92 discount. Ouch!

4 Responses to “run down of car repairs”

  1. Russell Says:
    1142456144

    Kashi, the estimate should be more like $450 Frown
    - Lube, oil & filter - usually $25

    - Tire rotation - usually $10

    If you have Jiffy lube or something they usually have a package deal for the above and a few other minor things for about $35 or so.

    - Replace exhaust flange - see below

    - Exhaust replace, converter back - go to the muffler shop for this (should be about $200, including the above part too)

    - Replace LS inner tie rod - $30 for parts, one hr for labor so about $90

    - 4 wheel alignment - I *think* your car only needs the front two wheels aligned, the back are fixed...so this should be about $45

    - Brake adjust & clean - I'd skip this for now unless you've noticed braking issues because there's no adjustment in the front (which do most of the braking job) so they're talking about the rear drums...not necessary unless you notice issues.

    - Belts R&R - A/C belt - just the A/C belt ? that should be about $20 + half hr labor so about $50-$60

  2. kashi Says:
    1142476166

    I edited my post to put up the actual costs, and wow. All I can say is wow. I was obviously royally ripped off. The thing is, what's a girl to do? I went to a AAA certified shop. They didn't seem like crooks (although, neither do most serial killers). This is why I put off fixing the car for so long. *sigh* Thanks for the input, though, Russell (although it makes me ill!).

  3. kashi Says:
    1142476332

    By the way, I did notice that the brakes were acting a little funny, and that could have been because the wheels were extremely loose (according to above-mentioned crooks). The belt was a serpentine belt, which Tempos eat like candy (much like tie rods).

  4. Russell Says:
    1142535694

    Kashi, don't feel too bad because you are not the only one who paid too much for car repairs. I've been in similar situations. In fact, when I was in college and I blew the head gasket on my car I think the dealership threw a party for the service advisor cuz I think he funded the dealership expansion on my expense. After that I decided to learn and do my own repairs, last 5 years none of my cars have seen a repair shop. In anycase, your revised prices don't look too bad except for the tie-rod and the A/C belt.

    The problem also is that as the cars are getting more complex (and reliable) the independant shops are having a tough time staying in business. They don't have the proprietary tools that the dealerships have so they can't do a lot of the diagnostics and repairs that they were able to in the past. Then manufacturers like BMW have decided they won't make their service manuals available to anyone but their own dealerships and their network. So the small repair shops are feeling a big pinch...although the chain repair shops have always ripped people off as long as I can remember, Midas, Goodyear, Firestone, AMCO are some of the worst.

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