Saved about 300 dollars yesterday

[ditchdj]

Just got the last part to my new muffler/exhaust system and spent yesterday (in mild 50 degree weather :D ) putting it on. It's got a lifetime warranty so I'll be sure to keep the receipts so I can do this three years down the road (unless some drugged-out redneck dork doesnt pay attention to the road and end up turning my van into a cheap pile of scrap metal!)

BTW Can anyone tell me exactly why auto repair labor rates are rising at the same rate as health care rates are??? >: 40 bucks for an oil change??? 100 dollars to change the tranny fluid or to do a radiator flush??? That's flat-out price gouging.

[digilight]

And to think I thought you were going to say that you switched auto insurance : )

THe reason for the repair rates rising is that the workers comp rates are astronomical. When you figure in the employe's pay, plus employer's fee's including taxes and workers comp you can be looking at double or triple the normal pay rate. Plus the material cost for the oil change.

I know that some of the employe's at my wifes company (wielders) who do shipboard work in confined spaces have rates of about 3.5 X payrate for certain duties.

A buddy of ours owns a tire shop that also does mechanics work and such. His labor and work comp rates are outragous. We get a bit of a discount and still pay about 30 bucks for a oil change with him (same price as jiffy lube around here).

40 bucks for an oil change sounds a little high though (is this US$$) it could be a charge for extra oil. Most places include a certain amount in the base price, and then charge by the quart for extra. If the base is 4 quarts and your vehicle takes 6 or 7 then there is that charge as well.

I'm trying to remember what we paid for a radiator flush last time we had one done. I'm thinking it was around 60 or 70 bucks. But that includes the kit that they get from the local distributor for it.

It sounds like you're area is just a little high then most.

[protege]

40 bucks for an oil change sounds a little high though (is this US$$) it could be a charge for extra oil. Most places include a certain amount in the base price, and then charge by the quart for extra. If the base is 4 quarts and your vehicle takes 6 or 7 then there is that charge as well.

That's what I was thinking too. Rising oil prices might play a part in that as well. Around here, $40 seems to be what they're going for. By the time you add in the oil disposal costs plus taxes, you're looking at $44 or $45 total. Since the shop checks the tire pressure, filters, other fluids along with the windshield wipers, I can't really complain.

I should mention that the $40 price is at one of the 15-minute places. Look at it this way--if you want speed, you're going to pay for it.

[ditchdj]

That's ridiculous. It's also outrageous the way they require you to purchase parts through them ONLY when you get something replaced (so they can gouge you double to triple the part would normally cost if you bought it yourself!). That is bullshit. That's like when Morgan Spurlock got charged 40 dollars for an ace bandage when he went to the ER over a sprained wrist. :mad: Which reminds me of when I decided to buy a 35 dollar generic starter to replace on my van a couple years ago. In the end I had to take it to a mechanic to get it shimmed (outfitted) or else it would have stripped a gear on my transmission. The mechanic scolded me for doing that and said I should have gotten the part through THEM because "they use top-quality parts". Huh. Yeah well that was four years ago and my starter is still working great.

And yeah, oil changes are headed for the 40 dollar mark now. Last one I paid for cost about 36 bucks. Screw that. I can't belive there's actually a demand for it.

[Rahmota]

Are you goign to a dealership for this? An independent mechanic aorund here is usually around 25-30 base for an oil change. Though a bigger vehicle or one that requires special stuff is more expensive.

Another thign that causes prices to jump is that a lot of new cars are using synthetics. I know at the dealership they bought their oil in bulk so if you got an oil change you got the synthetic so they wouldnt have two oil tanks in the back.

Plus like was said disposal and labor which on some cars can be a bit of an annoyance due to location of the oil filter and special electronics on the newer cars. which doesnt explain why older cars get charged the same rate when you've got the filter sitting out in the middle of the open area. Oh well I do my own so its usually 10-15 bucks total and about 20 minutes of my time.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

And yeah, oil changes are headed for the 40 dollar mark now. Last one I paid for cost about 36 bucks. Screw that. I can't belive there's actually a demand for it.

36 bucks for an oil change?!?! Where are you going? You're getting ripped.

I go to a Goodyear station in town to get my oil changed and it's always $19.95. This last time it cost me about 34 because they also rotated my tires and checked all my fluids.

I could get free oil changes if I go to the dealer where I bought my car, but that's like half an hour outside of town.

[protege]

Plus like was said disposal and labor which on some cars can be a bit of an annoyance due to location of the oil filter and special electronics on the newer cars. which doesnt explain why older cars get charged the same rate when you've got the filter sitting out in the middle of the open area.

I hear ya on that one. With some cars, it's just easier to work on them myself...rather than let a shop do the work. Many shops just don't have the expertise to work on them. For example, even though 500,000 MGBs were made, very few shops in the US will still work on them--many just aren't equipped to handle their specialized technology.

Up until recently, it was easier to take the MG to the oil-change place and let them deal with it. Of course we had to explain to them that the oil filter could *not* be reached from below, and had to come out from above. Many MGBs, and other British cars had a canister-style oil filter. This has a replaceable paper element, rather than the usual spin-on filter. Trust me, it's messy as hell when changing it. Rather than deal with that (again), I had that replaced with an adapter to take a spin-on filter. These are more common, and easier to change. Even so, I plan on doing the maintenance myself.

If you *really* want to have fun, go to an auto parts store and ask them for parts to rebuild a pair of SU HF4 carbs. I guarantee the employees will look at you like you have 3 heads :p The reason being, that very few cars still use carbs--most, if not all come with fuel injection instead.

[ditchdj]

Wanna know how to get real frugal with a car look at the Cubans. I once read an article about a car in Cuba from the late 40's that's got the engine taken from an old Soviet tank! :lol: I guess where there's a will there's a way.

[Rahmota]

Protege: I can fully believe that about the MGB carbs and all in general. Its almost like some people think that a person wouldnt want to have an older car or the tech for FI has existed forever. I mean didnt the romans use FI on their chariots.;)

Ditchdj: I know I've read about that too. There was even a website somehwere I cannot recall that had pioctures of some cars and trucks the cubans had converted into boats! Adversity is the mother of invention.

[Rapscallion]

Wanna know how to get real frugal with a car look at the Cubans. I once read an article about a car in Cuba from the late 40's that's got the engine taken from an old Soviet tank! :lol: I guess where there's a will there's a way.

My father does courier work and often heads into eastern Europe. He says there are no scrapyards in most of those countries - they're all on the roads.

Rapscallion

[ditchdj]

[He says there are no scrapyards in most of those countries - they're all on the roads.

I can believe that. I never saw any when I was in Spain but they're a dime-a-dozen here where I live.

[Rahmota]

well that is the ultimate example of reduce reuse recycle!:)

[dispatch]

yeah, it's amazing how much you can save with a chilton manual, a rachid set, and a little elbow grease

those prices sound a bit low for synthetics, probably high-mileage oil or extra quarts, like was said before

I know what you mean about the parts, my brother had to go out and buy a $30 rachid head that's specifically for removing the oxygen sensor in his car, he found this out after spending 4 hours trying to get at it with conventional means, after getting the tool and removing the sensor, it turns out there was just dirt on the contact that caused it to fail in the first place, but he replaced it anyhow since he had the tool and the part

[protege]

My father does courier work and often heads into eastern Europe. He says there are no scrapyards in most of those countries - they're all on the roads.

I've seen photos of several scrapyards in Eastern Europe. The classic car mags just *love* those...mainly because they usually contain vehicles we don't see in the West very much. With their increased prosperity, many of the older vehicles are being replaced with newer ones, mainly used BMWs and similar...vehicles that were impossible to get under communist rule.

Even driving around in rural SW PA, you'd be surprised at what you'd find. Just down the road from my grandmother's place, near the PA-WV border, sits about a dozen 1950s Packards, along with some sort of fighter plane. I have no idea how that got there, but it's been there for years. It's currently sitting on stilts, and is used as an advertisement.