I have owned my '87 for 6 years, and have managed not to take it to the shop once for repair. Until yesterday. I have replaced motor mounts, a timing belt, master cylinder, brake junction, transmission cooling lines, and a number of other small things. Done all the usual maintenance. But when the car literally died twenty feet from a foreign car repair shop, I really couldn't pass up having it fixed versus having it towed the 35 miles home and then working in drizzling, upper 30 degree weather. I think I will next time. Symptoms pointed to either a broken wire to the alternator or a failed alternator. The battery, parking brake, and brake failure lights had been glowing dimmly starting the previous night. On the way to work the car drove fine for almost the entire trip until it started to cut out and then died. When I described the problem to the shop manager he said sounds like the alternator. Good call. It was indeed the alternator and they replaced it. Don't get me wrong. This is a good shop. Been around since the day foreign car ment VW Bug. But what hurt the most, and reminds me why I do all my own work, was what it cost to have an alternator replaced. I could probably beat the $188 for the rebuilt alternator and the $20 for the bushings, but not by a whole lot. However its the $73 for "Electrical Diagnosis" and the $97 for labor to replace it that really hurt. I'm glad its fixed but I'm gonna be shaking my head on this one for some time. Sorry but just had to vent a little.

Once, just once I had the same scenario with my wife's 4WD pickup truck.
Her clutch Just went without warning 200 feet from a Trani shop.

Now I've already done it once before for a total price of $250 dollars.

But the tow home would have cost that much. Anyway $800 later I was back on the road only to find out that they didn't drop the exhausts 'Y' pipe like I did when I did the job, so it was bent and leaking. $800 for them to screw something up.

That was over 10 years ago and it still bothers me.
Thanks for getting me started. LOL
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Yes, it's expensive, but not that excessive a price for a "professional" replacement. As SPH said, the garage has got to make a living and pay the electric bill too. It would have been more at the dealer, if that's any consolation ;-)

But even though it sucks to pay too much for something, you are still way ahead in the grand scheme of things. Having done your own maintenance for 6 years on this car, you have probably saved yourself thousands of dollars in parts and labor... of which this expense is only a slight fraction. If you only have to take your car to the shop once every five years or so, you are way ahead of 99% of the car owners in North America. The occasional unforseen breakdown will occur, and you chose the convenient way out of it, which is not a sin. Thank your lucky stars it was just an alternator, which is a simple replacement and not something the garage could easily screw up.
--
'92 245 5-speed, '92 944 GL auto

Sounds like all it really needed was a regultor/brush pack. Easily installed with alternator still in the car. Part is about $60.

You are preaching to the choir here brother.

Every damn time I try to give a shop the benefit of the doubt, I have wound up needing blood pressure medicine to manage the sudden spike in Sytolic/Diastolic ratio I experience.

I always ask myself WHY ? WHY ? WHY ? In the hell did I do that ?

I think being Volvo owners we can sometimes be too kind hearted because we manage to talk ourselves into believing that the people we let work on our Volvos are as thrifty and experienced as we are. NOT TRUE ! You'RE one of the lucky ones whose car was actually fixed correctly by someone who has a clue - the subject of the $$ is another story entirely.

I can not speak for you but, I Wonder if we will ever ever learn /
--
'92 740 B230F Wagon::'92 B230F 240::'86 B230FT Wagon (RIP-Parts Car)

Hey guy -

There are a few Houston area bricksters who

(1) look often at emails, and might provide a cell number,
(2) have a tow strap on board,
(3) have experience towing other 240s,
(4) understand your decision, won't rub it in, and
(5) feel yore pain.

So if there is a next time, holler. Help may be nearer than you thought.

Helps if you have a tow strap and a set of 10 gauge jumpers in the trunk, too.

Regards,

Bob

:>)

Oh yes, my 940 turbo has a a very slight miss when you switch the airco on, always has had, and I've never been able to figure out why. Last summer it got worse, mainly because the car was due a service so I sent it to the main agent for diagnosis. I described the fault to them and how it could be provoked.

Five in the evening I went to collect the car, and was presented with a bill for 230 Dollars (well the equivalent thereof). So I said "OK, so what was wrong with it"?

They answer was "we've taken your car for an extensive test drive and found that under certain conditions there is a slight miss with the airco switched on". I know, said I, what's causing it? "We don't know, we have to investgate that further".

I was not impressed!

I understand that they have to charge $90-$100 an hour to keep their doors open. That's what I charge for engineering consulting, and I don't have tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, or their insurance costs. BUT

A couple of years ago I let myself get behind on maintenance, and the day came that I had to take a day off work (which costs $$) to work on one of BMWs to get it back on the road. The '90 244 was in the driveway that day and had a clunk in the steering that I had not been able to diagnose. Since the shop is walking distance away (1 mile up railroad tracks), I decided to drop the 244 off at the shop while I was home for the day and let him try to diagnose and fix it.

When I went back, he had an estimate for $2300, which included new front struts, and various rubber parts including engine mounts and torque rod bushings that were less than a year old and were in perfect condition.

The only parts that he correctly identified as being bad were the loose were the inner tie rod ends. They were indeed loose. Front struts were old, but not failed or clunking.

Needless to say, I elected not to invest $2300 in my $1800 car. A little more diagnosis on my part revealed that the clunk was the steering rack. Replacing that got me the new tie rod ends as well.

I would have spent $2300 and STILL had a clunk if I would have gone along with the shop.

I understand that they have to charge $90-$100 an hour to keep their doors open. That's what I charge for engineering consulting, and I don't have tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, or their insurance costs. BUT

A couple of years ago I let myself get behind on maintenance, and the day came that I had to take a day off work (which costs $$) to work on one of BMWs to get it back on the road. The '90 244 was in the driveway that day and had a clunk in the steering that I had not been able to diagnose. Since the shop is walking distance away (1 mile up railroad tracks), I decided to drop the 244 off at the shop while I was home for the day and let him try to diagnose and fix it.

When I went back, he had an estimate for $2300, which included new front struts, and various rubber parts including engine mounts and torque rod bushings that were less than a year old and were in perfect condition.

The only parts that he correctly identified as being bad were the loose were the inner tie rod ends. They were indeed loose. Front struts were old, but not failed or clunking.

Needless to say, I elected not to invest $2300 in my $1800 car. A little more diagnosis on my part revealed that the clunk was the steering rack. Replacing that got me the new tie rod ends as well.

I would have spent $2300 and STILL had a clunk if I would have gone along with the shop.

you could easily beat the $ for the parts.

your shop marked up the parts massively because that's what mechanics do & how they make money. we, on this board, know that $20 gets ALL new rubber bushings, not just the alternator bushes. $190 for an alternator? If you check Flee Bay right now, you may just cut your wrists.

what you paid for, in some respect, is a guarantee on parts & labor.

you could have easily saved $ doing it yourself.

what they charged you for "diagnosis" seems criminal. as far as labor for the alternator, does it even take an hour? aweful, truely aweful.

with the 35 mile tow added to the above, you'd still be ahead.

however, i will say this: what is he supposed to do, work for pocket change? did he retire after replacing your alternator?

i run a business & everyday I hear the same bull$shit. people watch HGTV or DYI shows and think they can paint like me (www.finishesfauxfantastic.com). nobody wants to pay! add to that the limited, minimally skilled, know nothing, "crack heads" (who undercut everyone) and you want to pull your hair out.

people don't want to pay me a living wage for turning their ugly, disgusting, turd-like homes into diamonds. NOT ONE homeowner i've meet can, could, or even attempt to do what i do -and they ALL cry when you slide the estimate in their direction.

even more annoying, are the bad contractor complaints i regularly hear from cheap a$$es who got the rock bottom estimate. then i have to relate to them: 1) you got that for which you paid and 2) for every bad contractor story, i have three $hitty, thieving home owner stories.

funny how it goes.

i emphathize, not sympathize, with your position.


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http://drevilspinazzz.ytmnd.com/

Strong-Pimp,

I'll add that we also pay for the other stuff. Not everyone has a garage, nor does everyone who has a garage have a hydraulic lift. Those guys have to pay for that stuff too, which adds to the cost of doing business.

It doesn't follow that the prices are "fair", but anytime I start thinking, "well, it's close, and I don't want to do it myself because..." I know the cost is going up. Works that way in every business situation I know of.

I spend a fair amount of time tutoring kids - and I ain't cheap. But I am convenient and skilled. So if you want your kid tutored, it's the same question. Do you first teach yourself the subject in excess of the needs of your child, then spend a couple hours a week tutoring him or her? Cost/benefit analysis says yes if you have more time than money; no if the other way 'round. No?

BTW, I'm impressed that you've gone so long without taking the car to a shop. I started at the shop, and $4000 later, I'm trying to do everything myself. You're way seems better to me!

Best,

Lanval

Let's see: 188 + 20 + 73 + 97 = ..........$378??

Versus $3 for a brush set.

(Well, OK - Maybe the reguator was bad also. Add $25.)

I know how you feel. I had a reasonable (and knowledgeable) mechanic years ago and found myself doing less and less work myself. But then I moved and found the prices going through the roof and the competancy level to the basement. Mechanics are no longer mechanics - they're parts changers. So I once again had to become reaquainted with the tool box. Especially if you are going to drive an older car, it can be WAY too costly paying someone else to keep it rolling.

Time for a drink?

after reading your posts I am again convinced that I am doing the right thing by getting my third brick running and keeping it as the back up for my wife's 85 240 and my 87 245 and of course my nearest daughter's 81 240....I simply can not afford to take my cars to a shop so if they break down they will sit there till with the help of all of you I figure it out...make it a great day,Kris