myk

iTrader: (4)

Before I started working on my own cars I remember a time when I took my '97Z in for an oil change. Of course, the shop had to tell me that my S-belt needed changing. "Oh yeah sure, go ahead and do it I say." You can imagine the shock when they told me the oil change and S-belt replacement cost about $150.

My feeling about services and their prices goes like this: if you could have done the work yourself you would've done it because the car needed it, but you couldn't do it, so you took it to someone that could do it, so the price is irrelevant; if you can't do the work the car stays broken. If you don't pay to have it fixed it stays broken. So, you do what you have to do to keep the car from being broken...

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

Price is pretty revelant..weather you know anything about cars or not. There are places out there that will fck people over with something small..mainly cause the car owner didnt know any better.

I like ****** with them shops like that..

NY02ws6

Yeah, some shops screw people over but at the same time IT'S A BUSINESS, I don't understand how just because it's a shop, or you help the mechanic people automatically expect to get cut a deal. Would you walk into Burger King, offer to help cook a whopper, eat half of it and then expect to pay 1/3 of the menu price? lol...but seriously shops have to make $ too, how else will they pay their techs, and how are techs supposed to pay the snap-off guy? If you dont want to pay what someone else charges to work on YOUR car, BUY TOOLS and FIX IT YOURSELF!

Tobias05

iTrader: (1)

lol

...OP, 36 dollars is alot cheaper than what could have happened. Convenience costs a price.

I'm glad you got your car fixed. But, just think of the big picture: 36 dollars is a drop in the liberal bucket of the average student college loans!

I hope that makes you feel better, because I certainly do.

v/r
(also a college student)

Alex2210

wow dude you dont have to be a douche about it .. i have my OWN tools, and I have Fixed EVERY problem with my f body and MY other cars. by tools dont have a case so what am i going to do carry around a bucket with all of my tools?? no thats messy ...if i already have the tools im not going to go and buy even more tools i dont need

NY02ws6

sorry bro, post wasn't directed entirely at you, been a mechanic for awhile, and it just seems like sometimes people don't put shops in the same category as other businesses, know what i mean? Oh and BTW 2 20"+ toolboxes fit really well in the trunk of an f-body and that was enough tools to do heads and a cam in my car and a cam swap in my buddies TBSS in his garage, didnt mean to be a douche lol

the_merv

iTrader: (88)

This little Stanley Kit right here is what I carry around on me..



I've added a couple of extras in it..13mm wrench, 3/4 wrench, some files.

The pile of tools behind it is a small portion of what I carry around in the box of the 2500HD, pretty much that is the rolling garage..lol..

Starz T/A 17

iTrader: (6)

The thing that a lot of people don't understand is that an auto shop is a business. They have a lot of expenses, they have to pay employees, have a ton of overhead (equipment, lifts, diagnostic tools, and misc. things around the shop), also have insurance and along with many other costs, after all of that they have to hope that they turn a profit. Most people really have no idea what kind of costs go into running a business.

With that said although most of the people on here work on their own cars, when you consider the whole population working on cars and doing a quality job is a specialty trade, mean NOT everyone can do it. So you should expect to pay for that. It's no different then paying a lawyer or a CPA, just a different type of service. And along that same line ANY type of business is going to have some bad apples that try and squeeze every last penny out of you.

And one thing I swear I'll never understand is why people take their cars in without getting a price or estimate. I mean, you don't buy a TV or car without knowing the price, why would you pay for a service without knowing a ballpark price? It would be different if the car broke down, but even then I would take a few extra minutes to call a few different shops and get a couple different prices.

Alex2210

its cool , i just ordered a 200 peice for $126

NY02ws6

right on,should be enough to do most of the work needed on an fbody, def worth the $ to not have to pay someone else to do simple ****

runtwrestlin

iTrader: (3)

IIRC, when I bought the hardware set from strange with my S60 it was $20. That's $10 a bolt. So he charged you about $16 to put it in, which I think is a good deal considering the minimum fees that most shops charge. I can understand your sticker shock though, because it's like "What...? It's just a measly bolt..."
What I don't understand is how the bolt "fell out." Even if the nut comes off the bottom the bolt should just move around, not fall through...

Anyway, congrats on ordering the tools

bwilde86

iTrader: (5)

Same goes for all blue collar businesses...we are all crooks apparently ...my shop charges like 125 per hour...but everyone thinks that all goes in my check...I wish