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*Poll* Do you have "A Guy" for you car repairs?
Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
DainBramaged
Lifer
Oh, yeah...I know him...Old, ugly and kranky, right? 😀
BentValve
Diamond Member
In general I agree about used parts however I do alot of suspension work on collision vehicles as well as alot of misc body work and very often used is the only option. Though going new is the way to go if it is possible. Also certain parts are perfectly fine to buy used as long as your local junk yard with let you return the item if its not functional...things like distributors, ECM/PCMs or other control modules for various vehicle systems can be had for far less money @ a junk yard verses new.
Its even ok to buy a used engine..believe it or not junk yard engines typically have less "comebacks" because the customer typically did not shell out as much so they are not as likely to be finacially attached to the car and there are just less factors that can go wrong with an junkyard motor. People that shell out big bucks for a new engine usually are very picky and will bring the car back for anything and everything. For example a used engine R&R might run $1000 for the engine and $800 labor for $1800 total...a long block could run $2K+ more dollars.
Now as far as bringing your car to a shop vs "a guy" , that is really up to you. If you have a shop that you trust then you are lucky. Many automotive shops have dumbass mechanics that dont know alot more than your neighbor doing work out of his garage.
Its even ok to buy a used engine..believe it or not junk yard engines typically have less "comebacks" because the customer typically did not shell out as much so they are not as likely to be finacially attached to the car and there are just less factors that can go wrong with an junkyard motor. People that shell out big bucks for a new engine usually are very picky and will bring the car back for anything and everything. For example a used engine R&R might run $1000 for the engine and $800 labor for $1800 total...a long block could run $2K+ more dollars.
Now as far as bringing your car to a shop vs "a guy" , that is really up to you. If you have a shop that you trust then you are lucky. Many automotive shops have dumbass mechanics that dont know alot more than your neighbor doing work out of his garage.
Haynes manual all the way! I only take it to the garage if you need special equipment that I don't have.
Plus for a regular service it's good to get a stamp in the logbook for when you come to selling your motor, so I take it to the garage for that. Other than that I tend to do most of the repairs myself.
Edit: motor = slang for car in the UK...
Plus for a regular service it's good to get a stamp in the logbook for when you come to selling your motor, so I take it to the garage for that. Other than that I tend to do most of the repairs myself.
Edit: motor = slang for car in the UK...
allanon1965
Diamond Member
most junkyard engines do have problems.....customers will bring them back just as fast, "theres a leak, or its making this funny noise...its amazing how someone who is so friggin cheap they wont buy a new engine, then they nitpick every little thing with a used one cause they think it should be just like a new one, well its not., i dont know about your junkyards, but ours dont have these"wonderful junkyard engines that have far less problems than a new one"......you dont know how the previous owner took care of it, were the oil changes done regularly? were they thinking they were mario andretti? did they flush the cooling system regularly? these are all unknowns....the junkyard will tell you what you want to hear so they can sell the engine, most only give a 7 day warranty on a used engine.....they know why! if you are very lucky, you can find one that will give a 30 day warranty, but those are rare now days.also, many people forget that the costs of repairs also include diagnostic time! alternator goes bad....why did it go bad? you need to check the system out....check connections, measure voltage drops, etc....then change the alternator....dont forget that is part of the cost, most people and places simply toss on another alternator and if it doesnt work, or if it quits after a few days, they assume its a defective part, because they have not checked the system out, to find the cause of the failure. thats what a Professional shop will do! and i emphasize PROFESSIONAL! not every shop is a professional shop.
cavemanmoron
Lifer
I am "That guy"
I do 90%+ of my own work.
I rebuilt the engine in my car last year.
I took the engine block,and crank to the machine shop,
and had them polish the crank,and put new cam bearings in the block,and hot tank it.
I put the new bearings in,new rings on the pistons,and assemled it myself.
Did the grunt work of removing/installing the engine too.
I did need a bud to hold a ratchet,for about 2 mins. when reattaching the exhaust.
For some front end work,like front coil springs,and alignments,i take my vehicles to
Watkins Spring shop.They are honest,and do very good work.
At my job we take any spring work there.
I do 90%+ of my own work.
I rebuilt the engine in my car last year.
I took the engine block,and crank to the machine shop,
and had them polish the crank,and put new cam bearings in the block,and hot tank it.
I put the new bearings in,new rings on the pistons,and assemled it myself.
Did the grunt work of removing/installing the engine too.
I did need a bud to hold a ratchet,for about 2 mins. when reattaching the exhaust.
For some front end work,like front coil springs,and alignments,i take my vehicles to
Watkins Spring shop.They are honest,and do very good work.
At my job we take any spring work there.
Schneider879
Senior member
I know a guy.
meltdown75
Lifer
Brother-in-law # 1: mechanic
Brother-in-law # 2: parts manager
yep i'm all set
Brother-in-law # 2: parts manager
yep i'm all set
BullyCanadian
Platinum Member
Well, we have a family friend, and so far has done a MUCH better job than the dealers do. I hate the local MISTUBISHI dealer, the most incompetent bunch of morons on this planet,.
I do all my own stuff too. Used to work in a Honda/Toyota dealership. Went from MC mechanic to Service Manager before I quit. 10yrs as a Mech., about 3 as the Service Mangr of the whole place.
That was about 15yrs ago, now I own my own 2-way radio shop doing Motorola and i-com radio sales and climbing towers. Repairing shop vehicles as needed. Re-built my Evinrude 90hp OB a year ago or so and a friends 351 Cleavland a year before that.
I can still do it, and I miss being way in the back of a shop, tearing into some MC engine and chuckling at broken parts decimated from an 8k rpm seizure or something of that nature.
That was about 15yrs ago, now I own my own 2-way radio shop doing Motorola and i-com radio sales and climbing towers. Repairing shop vehicles as needed. Re-built my Evinrude 90hp OB a year ago or so and a friends 351 Cleavland a year before that.
I can still do it, and I miss being way in the back of a shop, tearing into some MC engine and chuckling at broken parts decimated from an 8k rpm seizure or something of that nature.
BentValve
Diamond Member
7 day and 30 day warranties may apply to guys buying these used engines and putting them in themselves but they dont with any shop that has some pull. We are a multi-million dollar independent repair shop and we are the most successful independent shop in town.
Being in that position puts alot of power in our hands, if the junkyard gives us a crap engine they not only will find us another engine or return our money they also pay for the time we wasted.
This is yet another reason to go to a good shop vs the guy next door, often times the shop can have alot more pull at the parts houses and are able to round up parts that youd normally have to wait for or could not get at all locally.
Allanon,
Of course any decent shop will properly diagnose a charging system problem, it take a max of 1 minute to do so in most cases.
I thinks the saturn was liek a l2 or somthink like that but still the price they were charging for parts was more than twice my cost and were still higher if he would have gone and got the part @ the same price without my acct (I think retail was like at the most $180-200) I do go by labor guides for my labor charge but sill I can charge $45 an hour and afford a shop in my local area and pay all the fees associated with it. It may not be the best location but will be large enough to get 6-7 cars in @ once. But beside that allanon1965 we have BentValve thats way to corporate for my taste but I am not here to bash so I will leave it like that
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