Hi all!
This is my first post,so please bear with me if it seems overlong.:)
Quick summary:I bought my much-loved(manual trans)1980 242 DL brand new,drove it 5 years,my father bought if from me for book when his car was stolen. Now,20 years later, Dad is in elder care,and I recently got my brick back! It runs as well as the day I bought it.. he took great care of it. Check this out.. it has a whopping 89K miles on it!
Since Dad's move,however,I have not been able to locate the service records,which he had kept meticulously.
Now,finally, the issue at hand..I just had a 90K mile service done at a local independent for which I paid about $320.00. Now they claim I need a timing belt/drive belts,for additional $180.00,tensioners,$150.00 and lower ball joints, $172.00. (BTW,Other shops I had called also quoted wildly different prices for the 90k service alone.)
Some shops say the belt can last 50Kmi., others say 60k..but this guy says I need one now, even though I know my father would have had the original replaced at the recommended interval.With 89k on the odometer,would that not buy me some time on this particular maintenance/repair issue?
So gang--I'd really appreciate your take on this situation in particular, and your m.o. for finding good indie shops in general. I love this car-- It's a family member of sorts and I want to take the best possible care of it;preferably without breaking the bank on bogus/unneccessary service costs..