car issues - wish I had a garage

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maxwell_smart007

maxwell_smart007

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I had no idea a 'squeak' could lead to such major repair bills. Uncovered a wrecked bushing in each control arm, and signs of control arm failure (just worn out) requiring both new arms and an alignment (needed one anyway) - add a new axle cv joint, and I'm at almost 2 grand...

Next time, I'll ignore the squeak! :)

On the plus side - I can now say to my wife - if I had a GARAGE, I could buy the parts on Amazon and fix it myself for a quarter of the price! :smile:

I had thought I was buying winter tires - maybe that's on hold now!

Visa must LOVE me! :smile:
 
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Just picked up her Mini from the shop yesterday - Cracked thermostat housing plus a battery ... $1135!

The thermostat is a whole heart looking thing with hoses and such coming out of it.
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No way I wanted to try to get into it considering how little room there is to work. Plus BMW messed up and 17,000 went on backorder. Just trying to find one is a PITA.
 
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Cracked thermo housing for $1135? What year and model Mini and how many miles on it?

My wife wants one, but I've always known BMW parts aren't cheap and have wanted to steer her away from it.
 
healeydays said:
Cracked thermo housing for $1135? What year and model Mini and how many miles on it?

My wife wants one, but I've always known BMW parts aren't cheap and have wanted to steer her away from it.
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'08 Cooper Clubman S - which uses a different setup for thermostat than the non-S models. The problem was getting the part. The part went from $100-150 depending on source to over $750 from some who were taking advantage of the situation. Edit: Miles ~40k. It's a common problem for the S. The thermostat on the S is not replaceable without the housing!

Not all of that is the thermostat & housing though. There's a new GOOD battery there too ... that's $250 or so installed.

Parts are no cheap for the MINI. But what a fun car!! I'm torn between it and my RX-8. The Mazda is faster in most every situation, but the MINI makes you feel faster and more on the edge.

Edit 2: Mike - Anytime you want to trade for a Healey, let me know. EITHER car.
 
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Yeah, We are considering replacing the engine in the 2003 Saturn Vue now. Pay $3500 for a car that we know how it's been treated or buy a cheap one that we have no clue about. The engine guys just called and a Jasper Warrantied engine is $5500 and one without a warranty (but new) is $2500. Can't afford the Jasper but hesitant about no warranty.

Thing are much Cheaper on my Suburban. The Jasper engine for it was $2300.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
I had no idea a 'squeak' could lead to such major repair bills. Uncovered a wrecked bushing in each control arm, and signs of control arm failure (just worn out) requiring both new arms and an alignment (needed one anyway) - add a new axle cv joint, and I'm at almost 2 grand...

Next time, I'll ignore the squeak! :)

On the plus side - I can now say to my wife - if I had a GARAGE, I could buy the parts on Amazon and fix it myself for a quarter of the price! :smile:

I had thought I was buying winter tires - maybe that's on hold now!

Visa must LOVE me! :smile:
Click to expand...

Bills like this give legit mechanics bad names. Was this a dealer? Also what kind of car? I just did head gaskets for my neighbor on an 08 F150 5.4l and only charged him $400.00. He bought the parts, which were less than $200.00. I'm assuming you bought tires, but even at that, it's insanely expensive.
 
About 3 hours labor to install control arms, axles, and even align it. Maybe 30 minutes to do some welding. They must charge $150.00 an hour for labor. I understand that you had no choice, but this is still crazy. Sorry for the rant, but it makes me sick when shops gouge people.
 
LagniappeRob said:
healeydays said:
Cracked thermo housing for $1135? What year and model Mini and how many miles on it?

My wife wants one, but I've always known BMW parts aren't cheap and have wanted to steer her away from it.
Click to expand...

'08 Cooper Clubman S - which uses a different setup for thermostat than the non-S models. The problem was getting the part. The part went from $100-150 depending on source to over $750 from some who were taking advantage of the situation. Edit: Miles ~40k. It's a common problem for the S. The thermostat on the S is not replaceable without the housing!

Not all of that is the thermostat & housing though. There's a new GOOD battery there too ... that's $250 or so installed.

Parts are no cheap for the MINI. But what a fun car!! I'm torn between it and my RX-8. The Mazda is faster in most every situation, but the MINI makes you feel faster and more on the edge.

Edit 2: Mike - Anytime you want to trade for a Healey, let me know. EITHER car.
Click to expand...

Never happen. Use to be Pres of RX7 club and was 2nd in MA to have one fall of 78 and use to do alot of hillclimbs and road racing for kicks.. Just got rid of my last Rx7 convert 3 years ago. The ragtop was heavier, but it was the most fun of all Rx7s...

Was invited with a bunch of rotary folks before the RX8 came out and got to play with them on a track (Lime Rock CT) and pretty all the Rx7 guys said "It ain't no Rx7)...
 
EBorraga said:
About 3 hours labor to install control arms, axles, and even align it. Maybe 30 minutes to do some welding. They must charge $150.00 an hour for labor. I understand that you had no choice, but this is still crazy. Sorry for the rant, but it makes me sick when shops gouge people.
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Even worse when this is the cheapest place in town! (from experience)...

Small towns aren't great in some respects!

Andrew
 
What makes me mad is when they "Stack" the labor flat rate codes that overlap.

Instead of charging for the deepest repair,they charge for each procedure as it's in the book,knowing that the labor times all overlap each other.The flat rate times are calculated each as a specific job.

That way,the labor bill can be "Built" up to say 9 hrs.,when in actual real time it's 4.

I'm a mechanic,and I don't do that.


Steve
 
I just got back from a long trip to OK and CA. While in OK, I pulled off to the side of the road like a good girl to dial my cell phone. When I started back onto the road, I discovered that there was a big hole that was hidden by the tall grass. Dropped my right front tire into it and knocked a hole in the oil pan. A $400 dollar phone call, that was.

Or, as my brother put it...a $400 oil change.
 
I think I'm a weather witch!

In April, I was in OK and planned to come back to AZ by way of Colorado to visit some friends. Colorado had the worst April blizzard in the history of the state. Cancelled the trip.

So I had to go back to OK the end of Sept. to finish probate and clean up some loose ends on my Dad's estate. I planned to go to CO on the way, still trying for that visit. Colorado had the worst September flood in the history of the state. Cancelled that trip.

Left OK headed for California. I-5 was closed by wildfires. All the time I was there, I was waiting for an earthquake LOL.
 
Smitty37 said:
A few years ago, I had a $600+ bill to replace a rear bumper on a pickup truck...My first pickup didn't even have one.
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Leroy, I'm willing to bet that not only did your first pick up not have a rear bumper, but also had a horse instead of an engine !! :biggrin:
 
skiprat said:
Smitty37 said:
A few years ago, I had a $600+ bill to replace a rear bumper on a pickup truck...My first pickup didn't even have one.
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Leroy, I'm willing to bet that not only did your first pick up not have a rear bumper, but also had a horse instead of an engine !! :biggrin:
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Yea, I was for "green" fuel way ahead of the rest of the country --- ran on grass, oats and hay (dry grass), and most of the by-product went back into the ground as fertilizer. Did occasionally release a little methane though.
 
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