Auto Service $ - Is It Just Me?

[Big_Hitter]

Tip: if you have a problem with something in the steering collum , dashboard or electrical system, a good body shop is likely able to find and fix it quicker and cheaper than the dealer regular service service dept.

maybe if they can turn rotors

 

[Lakewood90712]

maybe if they can turn rotors

I'm sure they could, and piss-off the service dept. too for poaching the work.

Unfortunately , the body shop doesn't offer free doughnuts and coffee like the service dept.

 

[BigNick]

They were gonna replace every belt, since they already would have to take many things off the engine. LOL.

Belts are cheap, compared to all the labour it costs to replace them. And if the water pump is driven by the timing belt and it fails, you're going to have another timing belt change. So if the water pump costs less than 1/3 or so of the timing belt change, it might be worth doing.

Two of our four (this is silly; one's for sale) current vehicles have timing chains. Makes the 60,000 mile service bill a lot cheaper.

 

[wolf]

No.

+1 NO. Rip Off. Comment. Have 2002 Camry. 4 cylinder. 100K miles.
Talked to Mech. I said, is it due for timing belt change.
First he said Yes, then said, OH, you car has 4 cylinders.

Has chain, not belt. Don't worry. Asked about Water pump, oh, they go
for a lot longer. Asked about spark plugs, he said Toyota increased the
time to 125K miles on newer Toyota's. My car has same plug.

 

[aja8888]

+1 NO. Rip Off. Comment. Have 2002 Camry. 4 cylinder. 100K miles.
Talked to Mech. I said, is it due for timing belt change.
First he said Yes, then said, OH, you car has 4 cylinders.

Has chain, not belt. Don't worry. Asked about Water pump, oh, they go
for a lot longer. Asked about spark plugs, he said Toyota increased the
time to 125K miles on newer Toyota's. My car has same plug.

Note:

Timing chains are not without wear considerations. They will stretch and the guides will wear out. They can fail if improper oil change schedule is not maintained. Timing chain, drive sprockets, tensioner and guides should last a long time, but should be changes if the cylinder head is removed for a repair or rebuild.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

One thing that is interesting to observe is the cost of an office visit to the doctor vs the cost of a regular service for your car. Many have been conditioned to expect the doctor visit to be lower than the car service. Applies to visiting the dentist as well. Always found that a little backwards. For most of us, that is after insurance but I find that a lot of people think it should be lower even before health insurance. Sort of a disconnect in our values I think.