Took my car in

[Bateluer]

There's a list of things that I need to get fixed on my car, though most are minor. Everything was relatively pricey, but I think this takes the cake. They quoted me 140 for spark plug replacement. Granted, I don't know much about automotive concerns. When I questioned why it was 140 for spark plugs, they stated it was because my car required platinum plugs. Whether that is true or not, I have no idea, but I see platinum spark plugs at Autozone.com for 6 bucks.

Unfortunately, I need to get some of these repairs done before I can renew my registration in two weeks and this place is close by and open on saturdays.

 

[daw123]

What car do you have?

$140 seems expensive for replacing the spark plugs, but I don't know if your car is a Lada or a Ferrari. Do you know if the plus are easily accessible? Is the quote from a main dealer or a back street garage?
Labour rate in a back street garage is about £50 per hour (or about £85 per hour for a main delaer). It will take far less than an hour for the plugs to be replaced (provided they are accessible), although the garage will likely charge you the full hour (they seem to do this in the UK - not sure about the US).
The most expensive plugs I've seen on the 'Net are £10 each (or £40 for four assuming your car has four cylinders). Generally the average seems to be £10 for four.

So the main dealer price would be £95 (or $145) and the back street price is £60 ($90) for four normal priced spark plugs.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: daw123
What car do you have?

$140 seems expensive for replacing the spark plugs, but I don't know if your car is a Lada or a Ferrari. Do you know if the plus are easily accessible? Is the quote from a main dealer or a back street garage?
Labour rate in a back street garage is about £50 per hour (or about £85 per hour for a main delaer). It will take far less than an hour for the plugs to be replaced (provided they are accessible), although the garage will likely charge you the full hour (they seem to do this in the UK - not sure about the US).
The most expensive plugs I've seen on the 'Net are £10 each (or £40 for four assuming your car has four cylinders). Generally the average seems to be £10 for four.

So the main dealer price would be £95 (or $145) and the back street price is £60 ($90) for four normal priced spark plugs.

Its a 2000 Toyota Corolla.

Edit - The essential repairs are the MAF sensor and the O2 sensor, plus a decarb procedure. The vehicle requires an emissions test before I can renew my registration.

I'd love to buy a new car, but I like not having a car payment.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: daw123
What car do you have?

$140 seems expensive for replacing the spark plugs, but I don't know if your car is a Lada or a Ferrari. Do you know if the plus are easily accessible? Is the quote from a main dealer or a back street garage?
Labour rate in a back street garage is about £50 per hour (or about £85 per hour for a main delaer). It will take far less than an hour for the plugs to be replaced (provided they are accessible), although the garage will likely charge you the full hour (they seem to do this in the UK - not sure about the US).
The most expensive plugs I've seen on the 'Net are £10 each (or £40 for four assuming your car has four cylinders). Generally the average seems to be £10 for four.

So the main dealer price would be £95 (or $145) and the back street price is £60 ($90) for four normal priced spark plugs.

Its a 2000 Toyota Corolla.

So its a 1.8l 4 cylinder.

Was it a back street garage that provided the quote or a main dealer? If its the main dealer, then that is why it is so expensive. If its the back street garage, then their quote seems steep (refer to my previous post for estimates).

Have you thought about getting comparative quotes from other garages in the local area? All you need to do is tell them what car you have and what work you need doing (use the to do list from the other garage) and they should be able to quote over the phone.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: daw123

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: daw123
What car do you have?

$140 seems expensive for replacing the spark plugs, but I don't know if your car is a Lada or a Ferrari. Do you know if the plus are easily accessible? Is the quote from a main dealer or a back street garage?
Labour rate in a back street garage is about £50 per hour (or about £85 per hour for a main delaer). It will take far less than an hour for the plugs to be replaced (provided they are accessible), although the garage will likely charge you the full hour (they seem to do this in the UK - not sure about the US).
The most expensive plugs I've seen on the 'Net are £10 each (or £40 for four assuming your car has four cylinders). Generally the average seems to be £10 for four.

So the main dealer price would be £95 (or $145) and the back street price is £60 ($90) for four normal priced spark plugs.

Its a 2000 Toyota Corolla.

So its a 1.8l 4 cylinder.

Was it a back street garage that provided the quote or a main dealer? If its the main dealer, then that is why it is so expensive. If its the back street garage, then their quote seems steep (refer to my previous post for estimates).

Have you thought about getting comparative quotes from other garages in the local area? All you need to do is tell them what car you have and what work you need doing (use the to do list from the other garage) and they should be able to quote over the phone.

Its a local garage, not the dealership. Took the vehicle to the dealership once, they did good work and washed & waxed the car when they were done, but it cost me 3x what it would have anywhere else.

I'm not getting the spark plugs changed at this garage though, just the MAF & O2 sensors and the decarb service on the system.

Later, there's some fluid leaks that'll need to be taken care of, they are minor leaks in the windshield fluid tank and the power steering system. Also, some of the hoses need to be replaced.

 

[Mermaidman]

This sounds retarded, but I paid more than $200 to replace the plugs in our car. It's a V8 and the rear bank was a nightmare! I didn't dare risk fumbling around and getting debris in there and/or mis-threading the plugs, so I opened the wallet . . .

$140 for your Corolla seems a bit much!

 

[Bateluer]

Here are the quotes on the stuff they didn't do, but that still needs to be done.

- Replace upper and lower radiator hosts, install new clamps, fill with coolant/inspect for leaks - 239.02

- Replace thermostat and housing - 174.02

- Replace power steering pump - 487.61
- Replace power steering fluid - 98.60

Edit - Also, the serpentine belt needs to be replaced, but there was some fumbling with the invoices and the estimates so there's not a price listed on the estimate. It was around 150.

 

[angry hampster]

Spark plugs on the Toyota 1.8L take a ratchet, extender, and a 13/16 socket (i believe), and can be done in about 15 minutes.

Ratchet: $15
Extender: $5
13/16 plug socket: $5-10

So that's $25-30 for tools. Spark plugs will set you back another $15-20. Save yourself a hundred bucks and do it yourself.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Hire a Craigslist mechanic to come fix your car.

Email them the work you need done and ask them for a quote.

Many of these mobile mechanics are licensed by the state so just check their license or look for their reviews.

 

[dud]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Here are the quotes on the stuff they didn't do, but that still needs to be done.

- Replace upper and lower radiator hosts, install new clamps, fill with coolant/inspect for leaks - 239.02

- Replace thermostat and housing - 174.02

- Replace power steering pump - 487.61
- Replace power steering fluid - 98.60

Edit - Also, the serpentine belt needs to be replaced, but there was some fumbling with the invoices and the estimates so there's not a price listed on the estimate. It was around 150.

How many miles on the car? The listed repairs may total more then the car is worth.

 

[thomsbrain]

Is this car one of those "100,000 mile tuneup" cars with platinum-tipped plugs? Cause those things are pretty freaking expensive. That said, I paid roughly $100 to get six of them replaced, so for four it should be less, regardless of plug type.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Hire a Craigslist mechanic to come fix your car.

Email them the work you need done and ask them for a quote.

Many of these mobile mechanics are licensed by the state so just check their license or look for their reviews.

Didn't know this could be done. I'll look into it.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Hire a Craigslist mechanic to come fix your car.

Email them the work you need done and ask them for a quote.

Many of these mobile mechanics are licensed by the state so just check their license or look for their reviews.

Didn't know this could be done. I'll look into it.

One of my friends has used one of these guys with good results. There's some stuff he doesn't do because he only has the tools that he can carry in his van but he'll do most stuff. The guy had a lower labor rate because he didn't have to pay for the upkeep on a shop or anything. I could imagine that not all of them are the best though, check around and see if anyone has used one before in your area.

 

[herm0016]

they charge you 98 dollars for a few quarts of power steering fluid? wow...

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Hire a Craigslist mechanic to come fix your car.

Email them the work you need done and ask them for a quote.

Many of these mobile mechanics are licensed by the state so just check their license or look for their reviews.

Didn't know this could be done. I'll look into it.

One of my friends has used one of these guys with good results. There's some stuff he doesn't do because he only has the tools that he can carry in his van but he'll do most stuff. The guy had a lower labor rate because he didn't have to pay for the upkeep on a shop or anything. I could imagine that not all of them are the best though, check around and see if anyone has used one before in your area.

Edit -

I'm going to give this guy and this guy a call tomorrow, see what they quote for the replacement of the pump and serpentine belt.

 

[Bignate603]

I just realized you're in Phoenix. I use shop called Ronnie's Auto over in Tempe. While he's not the cheapest he won't try and convince you to fix stuff that doesn't need it. Paying an extra $50 for something you need is better than paying $200 for something you don't.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
There's a list of things that I need to get fixed on my car, though most are minor. Everything was relatively pricey, but I think this takes the cake. They quoted me 140 for spark plug replacement. Granted, I don't know much about automotive concerns. When I questioned why it was 140 for spark plugs, they stated it was because my car required platinum plugs. Whether that is true or not, I have no idea, but I see platinum spark plugs at Autozone.com for 6 bucks.

Unfortunately, I need to get some of these repairs done before I can renew my registration in two weeks and this place is close by and open on saturdays.

RUN from that place. There is no car that REQUIRES platinum plugs...
Plus certain german cars hate bosh platinum plugs - my old clk would throw CELs with those things.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: halik

RUN from that place. There is no car that REQUIRES platinum plugs...
Plus certain german cars hate bosh platinum plugs - my old clk would throw CELs with those things.

I don't know of any cars that require them either, but if he wants to continue to follow the service schedule he'll need them. If he can remember to get them replaced every 30,000 miles, then he can get by with normal ones.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Bignate603
I just realized you're in Phoenix. I use shop called Ronnie's Auto over in Tempe. While he's not the cheapest he won't try and convince you to fix stuff that doesn't need it. Paying an extra $50 for something you need is better than paying $200 for something you don't.

Tempe is a bit of a drive, I'm out in the west side of town.

 

[Vette73]

A lot of that looks very high and seems to be all over the place. Like $240 for hoses and coolant? I did not think even dealers would charge that much for a corolla.

My inlaws have what I call the fleet. 2 newwer corolla and 3 older style ones. So I see Corollas even to this day after getting out of auto work a while back.

Yea get some other shops to look at it. This one seems fishy.

 

[Vetterin]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Here are the quotes on the stuff they didn't do, but that still needs to be done.

- Replace upper and lower radiator hosts, install new clamps, fill with coolant/inspect for leaks - 239.02

- Replace thermostat and housing - 174.02

- Replace power steering pump - 487.61
- Replace power steering fluid - 98.60

Edit - Also, the serpentine belt needs to be replaced, but there was some fumbling with the invoices and the estimates so there's not a price listed on the estimate. It was around 150.

Okay, here's what the parts would cost you at Autozone.
Lower radiator hose: $12.99
Upper hose: $11.99. Fluid $6.99 gal
Thermostat: $9.99 and gasket: $2.99 (why would you need a new housing)?
Power steering pump: $134.00 after core charge. Fluid: $4.59 (32 oz)
Serpentine belt: $23.00
Plugs (Autolite double platinums): $3.99 ea

All of these repairs can be done by yourself fairly easily and should save you over $600.

 

[nwfsnake]

If you can, it really is a lot cheaper to do as much of the work yourself as possible. I got a quote for the 105K maintenance on our Honda from the dealer for $1200, a local Honda specialist garage for $850, but I did it all myself for a little over $400 in parts.

 

[StageLeft]

Doesn't sound terrible on the plugs because it is an hour of labor, minimum (at least by the book, I'm sure). The 6 plugs on my maxima can be changed in no time but on my MPV the rear bank are a catastrophfvck and require the intake manifold coming off and basically a complete tear down of the entire car, garage, and plumbing around the house. Major PITA!

 

[alphatarget1]

Buy the tools to do your own spark plug replacement for a 4 banger. Takes 20 minutes and is easy.