A: In 1988 the mechanic fee was $40/hour, 20 years later it's $105 on domestic cards like a Chrysler.

Inflation calculator: What cost $40 in 1988 would cost $72.11 in 2007.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2007 and 1988,
they would cost you $40 and $22.81 respectively.

B: Why do the hand you the bill in a lump sum of a high amount from $500 to $2000 and don't itemize the bill and don't expect you to read the damn, thing, just pay up?

C: Why is the cashier always a blonde with big boobs that just makes ya feel dirty.

D: $7 resistor, $67 heater blower, and only $210 labor to put it in.
My buddy told me to replace the water pump in his girls VW, it was $50 part and $800 labors since they had to rip everything out.

WTF!

I need to start doing car repairs myself. It's just too crazy to pay someone else. The last time I had to work on my car, they had carburetors, and it wasn't entirely plastic with tricky hinges that break requiring some expensice can't be purchased tool.

Am I really stuck in 1980's pricing, or has the cost tripled?

Why itemize something you won't understand? That's why you got a mechanic in the first place - you can't/won't fix your own car.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/

watch

if you live in a big city you can use craigslist to find a cheap greasemonkey.

We need some front end work done. The parts are online for 100 bucks. The shop is marking up the parts 200% and then trying to charge 400 for labor.

No thanks, I can read instructions and do it myself.

Depends on what you need done. A reputable shop can be worth the money if it's a big job. Something like transmission work, where it's not unheard of to misalign something slightly and have it affect the car later, for example. You'd have a hard time bringing it back to your craigslist grease monkey.

Also, some jobs just suck too much. I work on my own cars because I'm cheap, not because I ever particularly enjoyed it. If you're like me, certain jobs are just worth taking in to a shop. Just avoid dealerships and you can do alright.

Yeah, things that require special equipment and training, I agree with you on.

Really, sounds like you're going to a dealership rather than a small, independant shop.

I had some problems with the cooling system on my last car (2000 chevy cavalier), the dealership quoted me $800 to fix it, because they said the water pump and both radiator hoses needed replacing.

I took it to a small shop down the road, they said they'd look at it. They called me an hour later and said "yeah, it's the upper radiator hose leaking, it'll cost $65 to replace it" -- done!

Chain mechanics and dealership mechanics are just there to rip you off. Only use a dealership if your car is under warranty and it's a warranty repair.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

This is one of those things where a small amount of knowledge can save you a ton of money. It's just like computer repairs and whatnot. Joe blow down the street could bring his computer to a repair ship and they could tell him he needs to replace the cpu and mobo. He doesn't know, doesn't care just wants his computer to work. Maybe all it needed was a format.

However if Joe Blow did a little research and went to that same shop and said, hey my computer is broke, I need you to format and reinstall windows on it. How much is it going to cost?

Same thing applies to cars. I have never ever brought my car in to someone I don't know and said "it's broke fix it". I've always taken the time to look into the issue as far as possible and then specifically tell the mechanic what to do and find out the costs ahead of time. Fact of the matter is you CAN'T do all your own repairs on your car. Basic stuff sure (if you have basic tools). But a lot of things require special tools (torque wrenches, compression testers etc) that even the most hands on people are not going to have. They're just too expensive and use is too specific to make it worth while. This is where a little knowledge comes in handy. "Ok I need the front right axle replace. I know this involves taking off the wheel, deattaching the break mechanics and detaching it from the tranny etc. If all goes well it could be done in under an hour, if there are complications 1.5 hours max" Go to the mechanic tell him you want this done, ask him about how long he thinks it'll take. If he says it's gonna take 2-3 hours, go elsewhere. If he gives you a realistic number your gold.

Another helpful thing is to price parts at 3rd party stores.

This is coming from someone who has bought several older vehicles (early 90's ish), fixed them up somewhat and then resold them.

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-Rileigh (aka Golliwog)

Will the small shops put parts on for you if you buy the parts?

Guess it depends on the shop, but generally speaking?

Our front end is all jacked up. We need a bushing kit and a tie-rod end hub (if I remember right) + alignment - their estimate was 660 bucks(ish).

It was not a dealership.

Yep, any shop including dealership should put your parts on your car for you for just labour costs to do it. It might be different if your car is under warranty tho.

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-Rileigh (aka Golliwog)

Actually, licensed mechanics have a book of hours for pretty much all common vehicle repairs(at least they did 10 years ago. Presumably they system hasn't changed.) You might be able to dig around and find out how much time your specific job should be quoted for. Otherwise, just take it to two mechanics. You should get the same amount of time estimated from both of them.

I just put new tires on my van and got it aligned and balanced. It was about $750.

Holy fuck. I would almost drive to Atlanta with my screwdriver in my pocket and replace a radiator hose for $65.

I always change my own oil in all my vehicles, including my Harley. That way I know what is going into them vs whatever oil is on sale from the distributor that month. I also try and do as many repairs/replacement of items myself as I possibly can. Brakes, rotors, radiator flush, Tranny fluid/filter change. Brakes is the big thing though. Costs about $150 for brakes/rotors all the way around a vehicle at Autozone, etc. and it gives you an opportunity to teach your kids how to do mechanical things for themselves. Not to mention all the new cuss words they will learn when dad bangs his knuckles on something.

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." -Henry Louis Mencken
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VEGETARIAN -Noun (vej-i-tair-ee-uhn): Ancient tribal slang for the village idiot who can't hunt, fish or ride.

I had guys I dated over the years teach me stuff about my car and work on my car. I knew at one point how to change oil. Honestly though? I'm scared to be under a car, I feel like I'm going to be crushed by it. I guess it's a little bit of claustraphobia or whatever.

What has ALWAYS enraged me though is the 10%+ "skirt tax" price inflation I've encountered over the years. Some mechanics have shamelessly tried to scam me, and it was so problematic that once I found a good mechanic, I'd pay more just to use them at times (such as having a car towed to them if necessary).

Now I just let the spouse deal with it all. Normally I dislike the idea of 'man jobs' and 'woman jobs', but that and taking out the trash I'm happy to make 'the man job'. In exchange cleaning the bathroom and doing dishes...stuff I enjoy anyway...seems a fair trade off.

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It is a man job.

But I have to say.... Female mechanics (the few that there are) can be pretty ugly and still be hot.

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-Rileigh (aka Golliwog)

Sorry, that made it seem like I was saying that girls can't be mechanics. I just meant that it's mostly males who are interested and employed as a mechanic.

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-Rileigh (aka Golliwog)

Sadly no shop I've gone to has had female mechanics, at least not that I ever saw. Though certainly gender has nothing to do with competence; it's certainly a job a woman can do physically of course.

I like engines, and simple machines quite a bit. But there's *no way* I'm going under a car if I can help it, I just know I'll get crushed by it (semi irrational fear, but it really does bother me). If my wrist hadn't conked out, I had an opportunity to be a part of a solar car team, which I would have done. But I had to withdraw from the physics course because the lab work involved weights and machines I couldn't easily manipulate with a bum wrist. Once I'm done rehab, I'll be back in that class, and hopefully will get an opportunity to do the solar car team. As long as they don't want me under the damn thing. And no...I won't get a chance to drive it, I weigh too much at 5'9". =\ The smallest person they can find will get that honor. QQ.

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There are always things that, as we go through life, we wish we would have done differently many years ago. One thing I wish I would have done is listened to my father as I was growing up when he wanted to teach me about cars. Now that I am having constant problems with mine, it is almost too little too late. One of those regrets I will take to my grave, I can only hope that if/when I have children they won't make the same mistake I made a long time ago...

Found out today, as I was driving and I saw smoke/steam coming from under the hood, that I have a leak in my radiator. Possibly an easy job that I could do if I had the knowledge; however, not paying attention to dad back in the day is going to cost me up to $200 tomorrow

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The thing is

most shops you'll go in and they'll look up on a computer and it'll tell them the parts price (retail) and how many hours it'd take an incompetent mechanic to do and that's what they'd charge you.

It's a conspiracy!

So pay the 200$ and learn about cars? It's never too late to learn new stuff.....

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-Rileigh (aka Golliwog)