Car repairs suck. I hate cars.

[Goop]

So my wife's '03 Mazda 6 needed new tires and an oil change. The tires were cupped and wearing out. I took it in to our local Express Tire where we normally take our cars for service, as I find the guys to be very professional and trustworthy. I got a quote for 4 tires, alignment and an oil change ($11.88 for the oil change if you belong to their members club). So it comes out to around $500 which I expected.

But...

The transmission pan gasket was shot and leaking fluid. The struts were leaking. The air filter was bad. The power steering fluid was old. The brake fluid was bad. etc. etc.

So my $500 jumped to $2600 after tax. The car runs ****ing awesome now, but I really wasn't expecting to drop $2600 this weekend.

But cars suck and I love my bike. Just sayin'.

 

[Kazza]

Bryan, you know you can't put a baby on the back of a Trumpy........

$$$ well spent, even though it hurts right now

 

[chomorro]

So my wife's '03 Mazda 6 needed new tires and an oil change. The tires were cupped and wearing out. I took it in to our local Express Tire where we normally take our cars for service, as I find the guys to be very professional and trustworthy. I got a quote for 4 tires, alignment and an oil change ($11.88 for the oil change if you belong to their members club). So it comes out to around $500 which I expected.

But...

The transmission pan gasket was shot and leaking fluid. The struts were leaking. The air filter was bad. The power steering fluid was old. The brake fluid was bad. etc. etc.

So my $500 jumped to $2600 after tax. The car runs ****ing awesome now, but I really wasn't expecting to drop $2600 this weekend.

But cars suck and I love my bike. Just sayin'.

How about going to the shop to get an oil change and finding out a turbo exhaust manifold is cracked and you have rod bearing pieces in the oil pan....... $6000 repair. 3k used engine, 1k misc parts, 2k just labor

Worst part was starting the repairs then finding out it wasnt going to fix it ultimately ending in a new engine or paying 2k in labor and having nothing fixed. Well my 350z is never seeing another turbo kit thats for sure

 

[racebrooks]

Goop, wow........last Thursday, I took my 2006 Mazda3 in for the $24.99 oil change coupon special. The service dude come into the lobby and lets me know that a motor mount is busted and needs replacing to the tune of $250 + oil change. Had to do it.

Same day, my wife took my daughters Honda Civic into Pepboys for an oil change. The "29 minute oil change" took an hour and a half. It was a busy place and she watched each service dude approach each customer after their cars were on the rack and try to sell them more services using scare tactics and flawed logic

What a freakin scam.

They told my wife that there was a nail in the tire that couldn't be repaired and they would gladly sell her 4 new tires. When she asked which tire, he couldn't remember. I guess he couldn't remember which tire he pounded the nail into. She told them no, she would shop around. I would have expected them to put on the spare but they didn't.

What a freakin ripoff.

 

[Kaisersoze]

Be wary of the 10 minute oil change places. They stripped the oil-pan threads on my gf's civic and didnt say anything. Had to find out next oil change at the tune of 80 bucks to tap the pan and new plug, plus 25 for oil change.

Easier to just change my own oil now. :thumbup:


--------

Side note: Parents have a Mitsubishi Endeavor SUV and the oil filter is actually SMALLER than the filter on our FZ6's. Is this normal or bad engineering by mitsu?

 

[grommit]

Each year here in the UK our cars and bikes over 3 years old have to have a check, covers lots of things like tyres, emissions, brakes. So my car passed with an advisory on the exhaust; corrosion. The car has a custom built stainless steel exhaust so I could not really work out what it could be but was thinking loads of money. So I took it to a specialist, the original company that did mine with the lifetime warranty had gone out of business.

So they put it up and ramps, had a look, could not see anything wrong apart from an exhaust clamp which was corroded, replaced it, total cost £10, bargin. :Flash:

 

[FIZZER6]

You know if you have a can of that stuff in your sig and some basic tools you can easily replace struts, oil gaskets yourself and save $1,500 in a weekend!

I'm going to be replacing my wife's transmission fluid, and rear diff fluid in her SUV this week. I am also replacing the clutch in a friend's car tonight for $150 to save her $350. :thumbup:

 

[Marthy]

I do all my maintenance, cager and bike. I notice my cage (wife driving it now... bike everyday) was downing gas like I use to drink beer back in college! Made my think... 80 000 miles on a set of Bosh +4 might be enough. Spark plug change and things are better now. 125 000 miles on my poor little 06 Suzuki Aerio... anyone know how long the CAT should be good for? I just want to make sure it's not all clog up!

 

[FIZZER6]

I do all my maintenance, cager and bike. I notice my cage (wife driving it now... bike everyday) was downing gas like I use to drink beer back in college! Made my think... 80 000 miles on a set of Bosh +4 might be enough. Spark plug change and things are better now. 125 000 miles on my poor little 06 Suzuki Aerio... anyone know how long the CAT should be good for? I just want to make sure it's not all clog up!

If it has an O2 sensor after the CAT (sensor 2) that sensor is to monitor the health of the CAT.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I'm not questioning what repairs were found or done, but $2000 is a lot of money for some people. If you learn how things work and break, you can gain yourself some time to save money for the big repair. Also, if you know what is being done, you can avoid superficial charges.

On my 1995 Acura Integra MT, a shop wanted $80 to change the engine and mission oils. I could swallow $20 for the oil change, but $60 for the mission? So I asked why. He said missions are harder. Since I knew the car, I asked how it could cost twice as much to drain, replace the seal and put in 1.5 quarts of engine oil? Basically, they get $40 for missions because few people will DIY!

I also had a Civic once with a susp bushings with cracks in it. I bought a new bushing so I would be ready. The cracking didn't get worse in 3 years of ownership, so I never changed it. That is why I monitor things.

I have only had one "emergency" repair. I had an upper ball joint go clunk at my daughter's school. I was able to look at it and decide to drive it home saving the tow. Took the next day off work and fixed it.

I had a shop tell me my tires were wore out. I told them I'd be back in 4 months as I planned for new ones. They objected, but I knew it was safe.

I had a guy tell me about a cool idea I'm afraid to try. He suggested not rotating tires and replacing the front tires when they wear out. Sounds ok, but I think you alignment would have to be perfect!

 

[Popeye70]

Bryan, you know you can't put a baby on the back of a Trumpy........

I'm sure he knows that babies go in the Givi top case. Just remember to place him/her with his/her back against the driving direction for the first 6 months...

 

[sniff6]

I cant believe how much you guys are willing to pay for a simple oil change????

It's not rocket science changing the fluids on a car.Save yourself a shed load of money and buy a haynes workshop manual for your car.

 

[rsw81]

On my 1995 Acura Integra MT, a shop wanted $80 to change the engine and mission oils. I could swallow $20 for the oil change, but $60 for the mission? So I asked why. He said missions are harder. Since I knew the car, I asked how it could cost twice as much to drain, replace the seal and put in 1.5 quarts of engine oil? Basically, they get $40 for missions because few people will DIY!

I'm with you. It's just as simple as changing your oil, but no one thinks to do it and shops know they can charge a fortune for simple work. It's rediculous!

I had a guy tell me about a cool idea I'm afraid to try. He suggested not rotating tires and replacing the front tires when they wear out. Sounds ok, but I think you alignment would have to be perfect!

I wouldn't recommend doing this. The traction characteristics of a tire change as it wears out. The whole point of rotating the tires is to keep this wear rate reasonably even around the car. Not doing this would be equivalent to having mis-matched tires front to back on your bike, which most people agree is a bad idea.

 

[nksmfamjp]

I wouldn't recommend doing this. The traction characteristics of a tire change as it wears out. The whole point of rotating the tires is to keep this wear rate reasonably even around the car. Not doing this would be equivalent to having mis-matched tires front to back on your bike, which most people agree is a bad idea.

I agree. I think this assumed some things like perfect alignment, speeds under 55 most of the time, acceptance of some noise...

While I've heard this traction changes over time, the reason for rotation is perfect alignment is not achievable on most cars. Do you mean something other than misalignment caused wear? Also, isn't it standard practice to sell pairs of tires?

 

[Tailgate]

For those of you who think you're being overcharged or knicked for work that isn't even necesary, don't forget; shop owners, mechanics, etc., may have a huge boat payment coming due. You may not realize it but items such as a brand new boat can be very expensive to maintain, keep current on payments, etc. There are berthing charges, insurance, maintenance, etc., expenses. The fuel costs alone of owning a yacht or large motorboat can be astronomical. A 25-foot cabin cruiser, for example, at full throttle can burn nine (9) gallons of fuel PER HOUR!

 

[sniff6]

For those of you who think you're being overcharged or knicked for work that isn't even necesary, don't forget; shop owners, mechanics, etc., may have a huge boat payment coming due. You may not realize it but items such as a brand new boat can be very expensive to maintain, keep current on payments, etc. There are berthing charges, insurance, maintenance, etc., expenses. The fuel costs alone of owning a yacht or large motorboat can be astronomical. A 25-foot cabin cruiser, for example, at full throttle can burn nine (9) gallons of fuel PER HOUR!

I know tell me about it!!!

 

[greg]

i took mine to get atyre replaced, after a bulge appeared after hitting a curb

new tyre + fitting = £90

they then did an alligment check, and the wheel is way out, and they think somethign is bent somewhere, need to take it to a proper mechanic to look at, worst case it could be a write off if the sub frame is damaged :S

my friend also took his car in for an mot - £54
then he found out he needs new tyres (£280), new brakes and rotors (£160), a slight oil leak fixing (£???), and he's just fored out another £120 for getting some scratches taken out of his bumper :S

 

[Kenward]

Get some tools and learn how to do basic maintenance. It'll save you a ton of money, and make you more knowledgable when you have to take the car somewhere. I love wrenching on my car and bike, and I'm learning to do more complex and invasive work on both of them. It ends up being a lot of fun.

 

[rsw81]

I agree. I think this assumed some things like perfect alignment, speeds under 55 most of the time, acceptance of some noise...

While I've heard this traction changes over time, the reason for rotation is perfect alignment is not achievable on most cars. Do you mean something other than misalignment caused wear? Also, isn't it standard practice to sell pairs of tires?

While it is standard practice to replace tires at a minimum of pairs, it is much more highly recommended to replace them in full sets.

 

[04fizzer]

I agree. I think this assumed some things like perfect alignment, speeds under 55 most of the time, acceptance of some noise...

While I've heard this traction changes over time, the reason for rotation is perfect alignment is not achievable on most cars. Do you mean something other than misalignment caused wear? Also, isn't it standard practice to sell pairs of tires?

Generally rotating your tires is to promote equal wear so that all 4 tires are done at the same time, more or less extending the life of the tires, and keeping your differential(s) happy.