HELP MEEE!!!! (Auckland)

[~KDL~]

OK, well, I bit the bullet and got my car serviced by toyota ($320!).

They did my g-box oil, my engine oil, coolant, and break fluid. They then proceded to phone me and tell me my front brakes need a skim (they are badly grooved he said) and I need new pads, costing $210!!! and also my belts (p/s and alternator) were cracked and need to be replaced too (at $180 for that job!) .

Is that pretty standard? Cuz in my head that seems uber expensive! and Im UUUUUUBBBEEERRRRR POOOOOOOR!

So is there any one who is a mechanic, etc who is willing to do a favour for a fellow toyspeeder at a discounted rate!?

Thanks heaps people!

Karl

[Silent Knight]

Go to repco and buy the parts cuz it will cost you heaps less. To do pads and skimming and change the belts is a piss easy job once you get the belts and stuff.

Doing it at a dealer is always heaps more expensive for small jobs.

[AceSniper]

there both doit ya self kinda things...

the belts just goto repco or sumthen an get them... cant be to expensive... just needa socket set an ur away

with the brakes.. go get some pads any brand u want... toyota ones are around $75 i think but are kinda soft an wear quick, just pull the caliper off an bring the disks into get skimmed....

should be tons of stuff around the net showing how todo it (DIY of pritty much any car will give u a good idea)

[MattrickMotorsport]

Go to repco and buy the parts cuz it will cost you heaps less. To do pads and skimming and change the belts is a piss easy job once you get the belts and stuff.

Doing it at a dealer is always heaps more expensive for small jobs.

Dont go to Repco
They are expensive
Why dont people learn

Partmaster is your best bet
Grey Lynn Henderson Penrose North Shore Manakau Takanini for the Auckland branches

[FLAWLES]

finaly some one after my own hart

yea repco = $%#%^&*&^$##&*&* balls

[pplmvr]

FLAWLES:

Agree, I call them RIPco and RAPco, I like to compare with super cheap auto these, as they are close to eacher at highland park etc..

[kingcorolla]

i used to work at a toyota delearship, and the thing is, if they find something that is not roadworthy, or needs replacing, they must contact the customer. They cant just look twice and send the car out, in need of a part.
I believe this is were they make a bit of money. That, and the sky high $$per/hour rates.. $64 bux an hour..? This is why i became an apprentice.

[~KDL~]

KingCorolla... I hear ya... I couldnt help thinking to myself (as I am in Sales) what a sales pitch I was subjected to when they phoned...

Toyota dude: "your belts are cracked and worn and are in need of replacing"

Me: "How much?"

Toyota dude: "Including labour, etc, ONLY $180"

Me: "Ummm, I cant afford it now, it'll have to wait a few weeks"

Toyota dude: "Ok, thats fine, but we really wouldnt want you to leave the workshop, only to have a belt break around the corner, are you sure"

Me: "YES, IM POOR... OK!?"

Toyota Dude: "You front discs are badly damaged, I mean, well, they are badly grooved, and your pads wont make it to the next service"

Me: "How much?"

Toyota dude: "Only $210"

Me: "No thanks Im sure I can get it cheaper else where, from a brake specialist"

Toyota dude: "OK, thats fine, but We really do recommend toyota genuine parts, I found that I had to change from other pads, they just werent up to it, they were noisey and not very good!"

Me: "I said NO!, anything else?"

He promptly stopped his sales pitch...

Pisses you off aye? You think you are doing yourself a favour having a dealer service, but really, ARE YOU!?

$&#$% that, last time I will deal with them...

Karl

[kingcorolla]

ye, to them its all about the $$$
over 75% ov there customers (roughly) are old people and will pay for it willingly.
And ur dead rite, their sales pitch is slightly intimidating.

[matt dunn]

Take you car to a dealer and you'll pay dealer prices.

My inlaws alway take there car to the dealer........$300 oil change?
And they pay for it and dont complain!!!!
Sure while they are there they check other fluid levels etc etc,
but essentially it's a $300 oil change.

[tegra]

i work also as a mechanic for a dealer
and there is too many jobs that are done cheaply other places that we have to fix up again at customers expense because they got them done cheap other places
yes we can put cheaper brake pads in ur car ... but we also have to advise u that they are not as good and will probably squeak .. because in our experience thats exactally what happens ... even my brake pads in my car squeak .. y cos they are from repco
hmmmm nice new crank pulley on a car .. bling anodised alumnium ... only a few problems the seal onthe crank shaft was leaking .. customer was complaing of burning oil smell ... well thats when it all started the pulley had been put off after the crank had been cleaned and they had putt it on dry ... it did not come off ... took 2 crow bars and one got getting a pulley hit him in the face ... then the pulley was broken . y cos some cheap person did it .. and it cos the guys shit loads in the end
i can go on
pulling apart brakes to find what a cutomer is complaing bout funny noises from rear brakes ... o hang on only 1 bolt in the caliper ... and thats loose the other ones gone completely ... thats not safe

admitted yes if u can do things like powersteerring belts etc urself u are better off ....
brake pads are most often best quality from the dealer .. and yes they are expensive get over it
but sometimes the cheapest is not always the best
i dont even know if small workshop do brae fluid and check other things on some cars i see ... esp common probablems that we know to check on certain cars .... they always get missed

only my $2 worth

and our changes are only 190 ... but thats 1.5 hours labour plus parts ... and we even wash it

[CozmoNz]

rofl, welcome to my world

lets say i do a service... this involves topping everything up if its low, whichi s, battery eletrolite (distiled water in the battery), oil change, filter change, check tranny oil, clutch fluid (manual), window washer fluid, power steering fluid, rear diff fluid, tire pressures, air filter check, coolant check, check for any leeks, problems.

all of this takes me roughly 20 minutes (we use a slow oil pourer thing, pumps oil in, but takes farking ages).

combined with a warrent... we charge at $54 an hour... roughly $100

which means its like $60 for the service alone... see how it works?

now if i did this myself... it would cost roughly $20... because of the stuff i use... apart from the warrent.. damn goverment lol

so, as a mechanic, i could charge you $20, or $100 now which would you rather receive as a working mechanic....

its highway robbery, but hey, i get paid, you get your car junk done, and were all happy... well... obviously not you ^_^

either way, im not being an asshole, its the way it is, and it being toyota itself, you pay megabucks.. wheel bearings are $350 a kit, inc both seals, a kit from BNT (brake and transmission), cost $102 a kit, but has only the top seal, i goto a mate down the road and he makes up the other seal for $20... so for $122 i have a kit IDENTICAL kit to toyota .

then at $54 an hour... you can see why bearings cost so much lol.

[ROBODISCO_20v]

Dont go to Repco
They are expensive
Why dont people learn

Partmaster is your best bet
Grey Lynn Henderson Penrose North Shore Manakau Takanini for the Auckland branches

Partmaster sell cheap crap. At least Repco sell name brand products, Take fan belts for example; partmaster sell cheap nasty crap that they package up with their own branding and repco & appco sell GATES belts wich are top quality. I know what i'd rather have on my car. http://www.gates.com/
Same for their cam belts. You get what you pay for.
And as for brake pads from repco being noisy, that was try for their silverline range, but the also carry FERODO & LUCAS/TRW. The later two are much higher quality and Asbestos free. Hence you pay more for them but its worh it in the long run.

[rxtoy]

i went in to repco the other night for 'o' rings, only reason i went there was because it was the only place open and i wanted to do the job right then.

they, a car parts superstore, didn't have any. i'm not talking a specialised rare one or anything, they just didn't have any 'o' rings.

i'm not going back, had enough of them.

and instead of jacking your post

try Automotive brake and clutch (ABC) for your pads and disk skim, not sure what it'll cost you but bound to be cheaper than toyota, and belts are pretty easy, the best way to get the right ones is to take them off then take them along when you go to find replacements because the dealer's generally won't give you a part number because it means you won't do business with them. i've found BNT to be really good for prices and quality parts.

as for not dealing with dealerships, i agree, their are some dodgy people out there but i always do my own stuff and because i know its my/my girlfriends/my friends and family's lives i'm watching out for i double check everything and i KNOW that a good job has been done.

cheers
Matt

[MattrickMotorsport]

I have never had any belts or cam belts ever come back(We offer longer warranty than dealers do )

Why always buy branded products you just pay for the name and the dont do any better than non branded

IM not going to get in an argument obvioulsy you wrok for Repco/Appco anyway so theres no point

[FLAWLES]

I did hated it then left
but yea the hole brand thing is a catch 22 situation some " most " brand names are good others arint " like K&n please dont get me started " the same goes with not a very well nowin brand

[10k 20v]

HMMMM..... Gates belts. Once were the best belts money could buy and now i personally think there the worst.
Every time we fit a gates drive belt to a vehicle within 10,000kms the f*#king things squeaking. They tend to glaze on the back side of them and cause a squeak against the idlers. Only method to fix it is to replace it with something else!!! They also stretch real bad which has our customers coming back which we don't like. I find there timing belts to be overpriced claiming to be better than OE. Isn't funny how gates have to market themselves so much. Repco also packages parts in there own packaging. There own brand oil is from bp, nothing wrong with.

P.S. I don't work for any parts retailer so my opinion on that is completly unbiased. Just things iv'e noticed over the last six years

Partmaster on the other hand sell toyo belts which arn't cheap and nasty crap and we have not had the same probs.

[Monsterbishi]

HMMMM..... Gates belts. Once were the best belts money could buy and now i personally think there the worst.
Every time we fit a gates drive belt to a vehicle within 10,000kms the f*#king things squeaking. They tend to glaze on the back side of them and cause a squeak against the idlers. Only method to fix it is to replace it with something else!!! They also stretch real bad which has our customers coming back which we don't like. I find there timing belts to be overpriced claiming to be better than OE. Isn't funny how gates have to market themselves so much. Repco also packages parts in there own packaging. There own brand oil is from bp, nothing wrong with.

P.S. I don't work for any parts retailer so my opinion on that is completly unbiased. Just things iv'e noticed over the last six years

Partmaster on the other hand sell toyo belts which arn't cheap and nasty crap and we have not had the same probs.

I have Gates belts on all my cars(4 in total), have never had trouble with them failing prematurely, I've used them for over 12 years now on assorted cars, no complaints at all.