Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[ktm525]

The dealership charged $250 for the kit. So not THAT crazy of a mark up.

$190 shipped tax in for Rein kit with Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer from RockAuto.. If you have a good specialized indy can get away cheaper.
I found small, one -man show, brand specific mechanics charge their actual time rather than "book time" and their rates are lower. In my experience they don't mind if you bring your own parts and fluids (I guess it saves time, which is money for them)....

Just remember; if you buy the part (at a small markup usually) from the shop where you're getting the work done, you will and should get a warranty on the labour as well. If you bring your own part (even if it's the same brand), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

I get the logic behind shopping around to save every penny possible but whenever my clients have been allowed to bring their own parts, they are warned verbally and in writing that there is no warranty on the labour. You're paying me to remove the part, give it back to you to deal with, then possibly put the car outside while you go get a replacement, then put it back together. That small 10-20% markup makes up for this should the part have an issue - I eat the labour (it's rare for the supplier to provide any compensation for this) and my service team will work with the supplier to get a replacement part same day.

We had a CLS 63 on Thursday with a failed air shock. We were able to source MB OEM (expensive - not recommended) or Arnott (lifetime warranty, great aftermarket brand for about half of OEM), both same day. The customer begged and pleaded to bring their own part, and my service manager knows him personally so we let it slide. Guy brings a used MB unit that's in worse shape than the one we took out of the car. Confirmed this with him PRIOR to install, he said it's guaranteed from wherever he brought it from, put it in, car was back on the ground at a tilt within 5 minutes, during the technician's test drive. He ended up paying for labour twice and getting the Arnott unit. That's just what the customer sees.

How about the wasted shop time while other cars are waiting outside before a long weekend, or the service team having to spend the time to call this guy multiple times and sort it out, or the tech having to get pi$$y having to do it twice?

Just sharing another perspective here.

This advice is spot on. Get the parts through the shop doing the work.

[TheHire]

The dealership charged $250 for the kit. So not THAT crazy of a mark up.

$190 shipped tax in for Rein kit with Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer from RockAuto.. If you have a good specialized indy can get away cheaper.
I found small, one -man show, brand specific mechanics charge their actual time rather than "book time" and their rates are lower. In my experience they don't mind if you bring your own parts and fluids (I guess it saves time, which is money for them)....

Just remember; if you buy the part (at a small markup usually) from the shop where you're getting the work done, you will and should get a warranty on the labour as well. If you bring your own part (even if it's the same brand), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

I get the logic behind shopping around to save every penny possible but whenever my clients have been allowed to bring their own parts, they are warned verbally and in writing that there is no warranty on the labour. You're paying me to remove the part, give it back to you to deal with, then possibly put the car outside while you go get a replacement, then put it back together. That small 10-20% markup makes up for this should the part have an issue - I eat the labour (it's rare for the supplier to provide any compensation for this) and my service team will work with the supplier to get a replacement part same day.

We had a CLS 63 on Thursday with a failed air shock. We were able to source MB OEM (expensive - not recommended) or Arnott (lifetime warranty, great aftermarket brand for about half of OEM), both same day. The customer begged and pleaded to bring their own part, and my service manager knows him personally so we let it slide. Guy brings a used MB unit that's in worse shape than the one we took out of the car. Confirmed this with him PRIOR to install, he said it's guaranteed from wherever he brought it from, put it in, car was back on the ground at a tilt within 5 minutes, during the technician's test drive. He ended up paying for labour twice and getting the Arnott unit. That's just what the customer sees.

How about the wasted shop time while other cars are waiting outside before a long weekend, or the service team having to spend the time to call this guy multiple times and sort it out, or the tech having to get pi$$y having to do it twice?

Just sharing another perspective here.

This advice is spot on. Get the parts through the shop doing the work.

Also be loyal to your shop. Whoever you trust, whether it's the dealership or your buddy in his garage. There's nothing any mechanic hates than having others touch the car. It's easier to accept liability should something go wrong too - if there's a car that five different places have had their hands off, if someone leaves a lug nut not torqued properly or forgets to tighten a tensioner, it's hard to pinpoint when/where it was done. Any reasonable shop acknowledges mistakes they've made (and remember, everyone's human), but it's no different than your general physician. They know your history, they know your conditions/illnesses/diseases, and last but not least, you trust them.

People make the excuse that sometimes another place is better or cheaper, but if they're "better", you'll go there always. If they're cheaper and you go once because you got a lower quote, you've now added yet another set of hands that may never touch that car again, but will unnecessarily pi$$ off your usual tech. If you trust them, spend the money and keep going to ONE place.

[ktm525]

The problem I have in Calgary is that the local Land Rover Indy is not great. Shoddy work but they do know how to fix issues specific to Rovers. Next big job I need to find another shop...Mr Hire is too far away. 

[Dante]

The dealership charged $250 for the kit. So not THAT crazy of a mark up.

$190 shipped tax in for Rein kit with Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer from RockAuto.. If you have a good specialized indy can get away cheaper.
I found small, one -man show, brand specific mechanics charge their actual time rather than "book time" and their rates are lower. In my experience they don't mind if you bring your own parts and fluids (I guess it saves time, which is money for them)....

Just remember; if you buy the part (at a small markup usually) from the shop where you're getting the work done, you will and should get a warranty on the labour as well. If you bring your own part (even if it's the same brand), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

I get the logic behind shopping around to save every penny possible but whenever my clients have been allowed to bring their own parts, they are warned verbally and in writing that there is no warranty on the labour. You're paying me to remove the part, give it back to you to deal with, then possibly put the car outside while you go get a replacement, then put it back together. That small 10-20% markup makes up for this should the part have an issue - I eat the labour (it's rare for the supplier to provide any compensation for this) and my service team will work with the supplier to get a replacement part same day.

We had a CLS 63 on Thursday with a failed air shock. We were able to source MB OEM (expensive - not recommended) or Arnott (lifetime warranty, great aftermarket brand for about half of OEM), both same day. The customer begged and pleaded to bring their own part, and my service manager knows him personally so we let it slide. Guy brings a used MB unit that's in worse shape than the one we took out of the car. Confirmed this with him PRIOR to install, he said it's guaranteed from wherever he brought it from, put it in, car was back on the ground at a tilt within 5 minutes, during the technician's test drive. He ended up paying for labour twice and getting the Arnott unit. That's just what the customer sees.

How about the wasted shop time while other cars are waiting outside before a long weekend, or the service team having to spend the time to call this guy multiple times and sort it out, or the tech having to get pi$$y having to do it twice?

Just sharing another perspective here.

We were talking about fluids here (expensive DSG service at the dealer in particular).... What warranty does your shop provide for fluid replacement? I've never heard of such thing but maybe learning something new today...

We've been through the whole BYOP thing so many times...no need to rehash that conversation at every opportunity. Everyone understands there is no warranty when you bring in your own parts so no need to repeat that over and over... and you keep preaching "small 10-20% markup" as well, which you should know it's not always the case...

You take the risk on your own, just like when you chose to do the work yourself, except you pay someone to install the part for you. And then there are cases and cases.... if you install a relatively cheap, stand alone part is one thing.... if you do an engine-out repair is another.... Also, there are shops that are fine with BYOP approach and other that are not.... fully understood and nothing to debate here.

So, please don't let me hanging for too long... and tell me how the fluid change warranty works at your shop? Curious to hear...

[ktm525]

The Golf just rolled over 120k km which means it's due for an oil change, fuel filter change and DSG fluid change.

The last time I had this done it was $800 all in. This time it's going to be $1100.

I am now regretting not calling a couple of VW indies to see if I could have saved a couple of hundred bucks. me.

Holy crap!

DSG fluid is expensive.

It's special EU spec stuff!   

That was like the "special" hydraulic fluid my Audi 5000 took for the brakes/steering system, the stuff was $40-50/liter in the late 90s-early 2000s. Thats when I realized I wasn't in the right tax bracket for FGC yet

Pentosin CHF 11S, it's burned into my brain.    Green gold 

$22.75 at EurDNA. Not a big deal....

Yeah, the price has actually come down over the years.

Was also hoping for another Canadian parts supplier in EurDNA, hadn't heard of them, but they don't include Porsche in their DNA.

Jokes on everyone. This is just low vis hydraulic oil but since Europe...

[TheHire]

The dealership charged $250 for the kit. So not THAT crazy of a mark up.

$190 shipped tax in for Rein kit with Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer from RockAuto.. If you have a good specialized indy can get away cheaper.
I found small, one -man show, brand specific mechanics charge their actual time rather than "book time" and their rates are lower. In my experience they don't mind if you bring your own parts and fluids (I guess it saves time, which is money for them)....

Just remember; if you buy the part (at a small markup usually) from the shop where you're getting the work done, you will and should get a warranty on the labour as well. If you bring your own part (even if it's the same brand), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

I get the logic behind shopping around to save every penny possible but whenever my clients have been allowed to bring their own parts, they are warned verbally and in writing that there is no warranty on the labour. You're paying me to remove the part, give it back to you to deal with, then possibly put the car outside while you go get a replacement, then put it back together. That small 10-20% markup makes up for this should the part have an issue - I eat the labour (it's rare for the supplier to provide any compensation for this) and my service team will work with the supplier to get a replacement part same day.

We had a CLS 63 on Thursday with a failed air shock. We were able to source MB OEM (expensive - not recommended) or Arnott (lifetime warranty, great aftermarket brand for about half of OEM), both same day. The customer begged and pleaded to bring their own part, and my service manager knows him personally so we let it slide. Guy brings a used MB unit that's in worse shape than the one we took out of the car. Confirmed this with him PRIOR to install, he said it's guaranteed from wherever he brought it from, put it in, car was back on the ground at a tilt within 5 minutes, during the technician's test drive. He ended up paying for labour twice and getting the Arnott unit. That's just what the customer sees.

How about the wasted shop time while other cars are waiting outside before a long weekend, or the service team having to spend the time to call this guy multiple times and sort it out, or the tech having to get pi$$y having to do it twice?

Just sharing another perspective here.

We were talking about fluids here (expensive DSG service at the dealer in particular).... What warranty does your shop provide for fluid replacement? I've never heard of such thing but maybe learning something new today...

We've been through the whole BYOP thing so many times...no need to rehash that conversation at every opportunity. Everyone understands there is no warranty when you bring in your own parts so no need to repeat that over and over... and you keep preaching "small 10-20% markup" as well, which you should know it's not always the case...

You take the risk on your own, just like when you chose to do the work yourself, except you pay someone to install the part for you. And then there are cases and cases.... if you install a relatively cheap, stand alone part is one thing.... if you do an engine-out repair is another.... Also, there are shops that are fine with BYOP approach and other that are not.... fully understood and nothing to debate here.

So, please don't let me hanging for too long... and tell me how the fluid change warranty works at your shop? Curious to hear...

Fluids come with filters, yeah? They involve screws being turned, drain plugs that may or may not be used (depends if it's sucked out the top or the bottom), things that can go wrong. Those posting on this forum including you are educated, knowledgable customers - most real-world customers are not.

Again this isn't directed at you Dante - it's a general rule of thumb that no, not everybody understands and grasps. Typical consumer behaviour in retail is to deflect blame on a corporation or business providing the service. Plus, as Ron has pointed out numerous times, I happen to work in an industry where a few bad apples have tainted the trust factor, so I do feel obligated to point out that other side of it.

I have seen cars have engines seized from oil changes getting towed in from other shops, because someone forgot to tighten a filter or put a drain plug back in. It happens. If it ever happened at my place, you bet your @$$ I'd be paying to rebuild or buy that customer an engine.

[rrocket]

), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer?

I dunno...with these items I'd be far, far more worried about a mechanic's botched install error than a failure of these very simple, basic parts.

CLS shock of unknown origin though? Definitely.

[TheHire]

), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer?

I dunno...with these items I'd be far, far more worried about a mechanic's botched install error than a failure of these very simple, basic parts.

CLS shock of unknown origin though? Definitely.

Sure but gaskets/crush washers fail right? It's rare, but it happens. And yeah agreed, botched installs happen too. We both know that if you're the guy who's always d*cking around over price and bringing your own parts for something as simple as a fluid change, you're just *that* customer.

Regardless, I'll digress here because being in the industry, my opinion's in the minority.

[Dante]

), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer?

I dunno...with these items I'd be far, far more worried about a mechanic's botched install error than a failure of these very simple, basic parts.

CLS shock of unknown origin though? Definitely.

Exactly. The "parts" for DSG fluid change is not a risk. Knowing and following the procedure to the letter is all on the mechanic hence do it at the dealer or at a trusted specialized mechanic if you want to eventually save some money.

Personally, I will always do the DSG fluid at the dealer although I have a specialized Audi/VW mechanic close by which is long-time endorsed by the VW/Audi owner community in GTA (been there once for an oil change just to check it out and make contact).

For DSG service I also chose to go to the dealer in case there will be issues, recalls, goodwill repairs down the road and service history will be the first thing that will be looked at. But if one wants to save on the DSG service cost, it's possible.

[TheHire]

Yeah, process is just as important as parts quality. It's important to know the credentials of the techs - even at the dealer there's a good chance they're having an apprentice do things like fluid changes/DSG service to help them learn. It's why I spend lots of money every year sending my specialty techs off for OEM-level training, updating my diagnostic equipment/tooling, and making sure everything we do is top-shelf. Can't even begin to count the number of cars we have towed in from franchise dealers that have botched a job or quoted insanity, and vice versa - I'm sure Budds in my area has plenty of cars brought in from independents that have botched a job.

[Dante]

), there is zero incentive for the shop to cover the labour if the part f*cks off or is defective, which does happen more than you'd think like any product.

Pentosin, filter, gasket, crush washer?

I dunno...with these items I'd be far, far more worried about a mechanic's botched install error than a failure of these very simple, basic parts.

CLS shock of unknown origin though? Definitely.

Sure but gaskets/crush washers fail right? It's rare, but it happens. And yeah agreed, botched installs happen too. We both know that if you're the guy who's always d*cking around over price and bringing your own parts for something as simple as a fluid change, you're just *that* customer.

Regardless, I'll digress here because being in the industry, my opinion's in the minority.

You bring your own fluid not because the price difference but because the shop does not carry the brand you want. I do engine oil change at the VW dealer with my oil because they don't carry Liqui Moly which is the oil I chose to run in the car. One oil change I did at the indy shop, I did it with his oil because he carries Liqui Moly. My VW dealer is perfectly fine with that and never the slightest objection.

You think BYOP is only to save on price - sure, that's a factor when price gap is significant, but is not the only reason; one other important reason is to get the parts I want and even the fluids I want and the shop may not carry.

[Dante]

Yeah, process is just as important as parts quality. It's important to know the credentials of the techs - even at the dealer there's a good chance they're having an apprentice do things like fluid changes/DSG service to help them learn. It's why I spend lots of money every year sending my specialty techs off for OEM-level training, updating my diagnostic equipment/tooling, and making sure everything we do is top-shelf. Can't even begin to count the number of cars we have towed in from franchise dealers that have botched a job or quoted insanity, and vice versa - I'm sure Budds in my area has plenty of cars brought in from independents that have botched a job.

100% BUT, botched jobs could happen everywhere at which point I believe, based on my personal experience anyway, I have a better chance of getting it resolved at a dealer than at an indy shop which doesn't  answer to anyone and could easily say off, sue me if you want.
Absolutely there are exceptions on both ends, and I'm sure you particularly would do the right thing, but this does not change the rule of thumb.

[blur911]

I brought my Cayenne to a little shop near our cottage to replace control arms.  He normally works on farm trucks and regular stuff, but this was simple rusty old control arms.   He was more than happy that I supplied them, along with all new bolts instead of having him try and save the old stuff.
It all depends on the job and the mechanic.

[Dante]

On a more car-related note, I found out yesterday that I have broken tailgate hinge on the Outlander. I can certainly buy a new OEM hinge for about $100 but I was thinking to check out some of the used parts places.

I once got a part from Standard Auto Wreckers but had to drive all the way to Port Hope to pick it up from their warehouse.

Do you guys know good used parts places in GTA?

[ktm525]

It's good dealers will stand behind things (will they?) as I believe you have a higher chance of a screwed up oil change at a dealer vs an indy. Why? lube rack at a dealer is the lowest position in the shop. At best you are getting inexperience, at worst someone with substance abuse issues.. Just my observations from working at a large dealer. Subsequent experiences as a customer reinforce this view. I turn wrenches on as much as I can/want to and sub it out to an indy for the the remaining stuff.



.

[draghon]

Fresh oil and filter for the civic today.

[Dante]

Swapped the wheels on both GTI and BMW so ready for double digits temps.... As a side note, very pleased with the rotors condition (rust wise) after 4 winters (GTI)... I won't use anything but Zimmerman rotors where available and as long as they keep being made in Germany.

[Arthur Dent]

Our 2006 Hyundai Elantra now wearing a set of 16" Nissan Sentra alloy wheels. Winter wheels off.

[blur911]

Putting the car's original transmission back together.  Almost done and found I used my staked nut on the last one, so have to order one and wait to finish it up.

[Firm]

On a more car-related note, I found out yesterday that I have broken tailgate hinge on the Outlander. I can certainly buy a new OEM hinge for about $100 but I was thinking to check out some of the used parts places.

I once got a part from Standard Auto Wreckers but had to drive all the way to Port Hope to pick it up from their warehouse.

Do you guys know good used parts places in GTA?

$100 for OEM, it's probably not worth driving around. Generally though, for used stuff, I like Pic N Save in Stoney Creek - really convenient location right at the QEW and Fruitland rd. Personable staff, clean orderly facility, etc.