Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[revalations]

Been trying to sell the Cruze, advertised it just before Christmas and that’s when the cold snap set in. I fired it up on one of the coldest days to warm up as someone was interested in having a look, when I moved it I noticed it turned the snow underneath orange. Leaking water pump. The local shop I use quoted 3.8 hrs labor plus parts, a total of just under $750. Forget that. I decided to tackle the job myself after watching some YT videos. In and out it took me about 3 hours, and I’m slow. I honestly think a mechanic could bang that job off in under 2 hours. The pump was $100 for a OE Delco unit, the el-cheapo brand was only $68. I went OE so hopefully the new owners won’t have to worry about it for awhile.


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[Bubba]

Been trying to sell the Cruze, advertised it just before Christmas and that’s when the cold snap set in. I fired it up on one of the coldest days to warm up as someone was interested in having a look, when I moved it I noticed it turned the snow underneath orange. Leaking water pump. The local shop I use quoted 3.8 hrs labor plus parts, a total of just under $750. Forget that. I decided to tackle the job myself after watching some YT videos. In and out it took me about 3 hours, and I’m slow. I honestly think a mechanic could bang that job off in under 2 hours. The pump was $100 for a OE Delco unit, the el-cheapo brand was only $68. I went OE so hopefully the new owners won’t have to worry about it for awhile.


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Way to go!

[Blueprint]

Been trying to sell the Cruze, advertised it just before Christmas and that’s when the cold snap set in. I fired it up on one of the coldest days to warm up as someone was interested in having a look, when I moved it I noticed it turned the snow underneath orange. Leaking water pump. The local shop I use quoted 3.8 hrs labor plus parts, a total of just under $750. Forget that. I decided to tackle the job myself after watching some YT videos. In and out it took me about 3 hours, and I’m slow. I honestly think a mechanic could bang that job off in under 2 hours. The pump was $100 for a OE Delco unit, the el-cheapo brand was only $68. I went OE so hopefully the new owners won’t have to worry about it for awhile.


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Nice job!

[EV Dan]

Boss! 

[pi314]

Damnit. Looks like the Golf needs a new battery. It wouldn't start today in the cold. It's 6 years old because i didn't get a new one when I bought it in 2017.

Yeah, that's annoying. It was close to -20 out today, felt like -26 with windchill when I left the house this morning. The LS460 chugged a bit (battery of unknown age) but ultimately did start. I keep cables in the trunk just in case, but I might just swap the battery out anyway since it sits for days on end sometimes.

Car's don't "feel" wind chill as much as we treat our cars like our babies 

[Firm]

Been trying to sell the Cruze, advertised it just before Christmas and that’s when the cold snap set in. I fired it up on one of the coldest days to warm up as someone was interested in having a look, when I moved it I noticed it turned the snow underneath orange. Leaking water pump. The local shop I use quoted 3.8 hrs labor plus parts, a total of just under $750. Forget that. I decided to tackle the job myself after watching some YT videos. In and out it took me about 3 hours, and I’m slow. I honestly think a mechanic could bang that job off in under 2 hours. The pump was $100 for a OE Delco unit, the el-cheapo brand was only $68. I went OE so hopefully the new owners won’t have to worry about it for awhile.


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Nice work!

[ktm525]

Damnit. Looks like the Golf needs a new battery. It wouldn't start today in the cold. It's 6 years old because i didn't get a new one when I bought it in 2017.

Yeah, that's annoying. It was close to -20 out today, felt like -26 with windchill when I left the house this morning. The LS460 chugged a bit (battery of unknown age) but ultimately did start. I keep cables in the trunk just in case, but I might just swap the battery out anyway since it sits for days on end sometimes.

Car's don't "feel" wind chill as much as we treat our cars like our babies 

They do if they are plugged in or have residual heat from operating.

[PJungnitsch]

Yep. Big difference between cool and stone cold

[Dante]

I hate when things go wrong in the winter given my garage is not wide enough to work around the car...

Have to replace low beam bulbs on the BMW (one died tonight) which requires to take the wheel and one section of the wheel well liner off to get to the bulb.

Got a new battery today which I need to put in along with a new alternator and the blow by heater (the thing that went up in smoke one time a while back).... May need to go to a shop although they would be quick and easy DIYs weather permitting.

[tortoise]

Damnit. Looks like the Golf needs a new battery. It wouldn't start today in the cold. It's 6 years old because i didn't get a new one when I bought it in 2017.

Going to get a battery today.  I was thinking I would need to have it coded in the ECU, turns out that isn't the case for cars without stop/start.  That's a win!  The dealership charges a half-hour to install the battery. 

Yeah, I'll just do that on my own thanks.

[Blueprint]

Damnit. Looks like the Golf needs a new battery. It wouldn't start today in the cold. It's 6 years old because i didn't get a new one when I bought it in 2017.

Going to get a battery today.  I was thinking I would need to have it coded in the ECU, turns out that isn't the case for cars without stop/start.  That's a win!  The dealership charges a half-hour to install the battery. 

Yeah, I'll just do that on my own thanks.

When I asked for a quote on the traction battery for my car, the service advisor misheard me and gave me a quote for the 12V battery - a bit over $1k installed  . Part alone is over $600. The battery is still fine, but I found a tutorial online and yes my car requires a very specific bit of coding in the ECU. CTC has compatible batteries for less than $300. We are so far from my college days when I had two cars and one battery 

[Ex-airbalancer]

Damnit. Looks like the Golf needs a new battery. It wouldn't start today in the cold. It's 6 years old because i didn't get a new one when I bought it in 2017.

Going to get a battery today.  I was thinking I would need to have it coded in the ECU, turns out that isn't the case for cars without stop/start.  That's a win!  The dealership charges a half-hour to install the battery. 

Yeah, I'll just do that on my own thanks.

The GM dealer want 1/2 hr also ,and about $300 for battery  and that was $60, which isnt not to bad , for the truck
Went to Costco for $135 for the battery
For the Lexus just went to Costco for the battery  , dealer is is 50 min drive , have not been there since getting the free oil change there 

[tortoise]

When I asked for a quote on the traction battery for my car, the service advisor misheard me and gave me a quote for the 12V battery - a bit over $1k installed  . Part alone is over $600. The battery is still fine, but I found a tutorial online and yes my car requires a very specific bit of coding in the ECU. CTC has compatible batteries for less than $300. We are so far from my college days when I had two cars and one battery 

WUT?  Over $1k for a regular battery?  Holy that's robbery.  FWIW, the OBDEleven can take care of the programming for you if you ever need it.

The GM dealer want 1/2 hr also ,and about $300 for battery  and that was $60, which isnt not to bad , for the truck
Went to Costco for $135 for the battery
For the Lexus just went to Costco for the battery  , dealer is is 50 min drive , have not been there since getting the free oil change there 

The closest VW dealer to me is charging $150 for the battery.  By all accounts they are high quality so I will just go there.  I'm not sure Costco has the right size.

[quadzilla]

The 1/2 hour charge for the dealer wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have to wait 4 hours to get my car back.   

[Blueprint]

When I asked for a quote on the traction battery for my car, the service advisor misheard me and gave me a quote for the 12V battery - a bit over $1k installed  . Part alone is over $600. The battery is still fine, but I found a tutorial online and yes my car requires a very specific bit of coding in the ECU. CTC has compatible batteries for less than $300. We are so far from my college days when I had two cars and one battery 

WUT?  Over $1k for a regular battery?  Holy that's robbery.  FWIW, the OBDEleven can take care of the programming for you if you ever need it.

The tutorial I saw on YouTube looked simple enough, and the savings would probably cover software and connectors. The battery is located in a dry and clean inside cubby in the trunk floor. But add this to the upcoming cost of the DCT snake oil and secret swap ritual, and this thing is scaring me back to Asian cars.

[tortoise]

Yeah, the DSG fluid swaps are crazy expensive.  It negates a bunch of the savings from driving a TDI.

[quadzilla]

The DSG changes never bugged me as it was cheaper on a per/km basis than what oil changes were costing me. IE: 6 oil changes for every DSG change.

I think the intervals for the DSG are now at 120,000 so twice as long as before.

[Blueprint]

Yeah, the DSG fluid swaps are crazy expensive.  It negates a bunch of the savings from driving a TDI.

Same with the PHEV. I put $2k in the car this year, and basic yearly service is in the $400's. The brakes rusting off the car were the big ticket item, but that's a design issue. In our climate, we should have the option to turn off regen without putting the transmission in neutral.

[Blueprint]

The DSG changes never bugged me as it was cheaper on a per/km basis than what oil changes were costing me. IE: 6 oil changes for every DSG change.

I think the intervals for the DSG are now at 120,000 so twice as long as before.

... or 48 months. Slushbox oil changes aren't that frequent in the end, and not as expensive.

[ChaosphereIX]

speak for yourself, if you have a ZF8HP (like many, many do) a fluid swap is expensive as hell