For all the new guys......

[Steiner]

Just wanted to vent.

Few nights ago I was driving my 2006 ford F250 in the snow. Put the breaks on, and when I went to go again the right rear wheel locks up. Had to put it in 4WD and try not to spin out in the front of the intersection. It has 43000 miles on it.

Take it in to the dealer yesterday for service:

1300 dollars to replace rear calipers, 1 backing plate, 2 new rotors and 4 new pads. Salt damage had eaten away the parts of the truck.

Now the front brakes will need to be done to the tune of about 600 dollars. I will tackle this myself most likely though.

I am glad I bought this truck used, because I saved about 20,000 dollars over a new truck, but this is what you have to deal with. I wish I had asked an independent mechanic to go through the truck before I bought it. Or at least I should have looked it over more closely when I bought it. I could have gotten a 1000 credit when I bought it if I knew it needed anything.

So beware young guys, driving a big truck is great, until you figure your monthly maintenance bill. Ouch. I will have to sling a lot of bricks and mulch to pay for this job.

So lets talk:

1. Do you repair your own vehicles or do you have a mechanic at your business?

2. Do you go to the dealership or an independent mechanic?

3. Do you think shop prices have gotten out of hand?

4. What the biggest underestimate of a repair job you have ever had?

5. Do you keep chilton/haynes manuals on hand, or maybe factory service manuals?

[unkownfl]

Ouch 1300 bucks for about 1-2 hours worth of work. Maybe 400-500 in parts.

[Lawn Man Dave]

Something like that I would have just done myself.

Im pretty handy with tools though.

[DiyDave]

Trick is to charge enough to cover your expenses, NOI, that, and when you find a good mechanic, keep him happy! I can do my own wrenchin, but would rather do anything else! I prefer to save my talents for things that I can't get nobody else to work on, like inventing new equipment, or repairing the old stuff.

[djagusch]

1. Do you repair your own vehicles or do you have a mechanic at your business?

Mostly done by myself if it's not mowing season. During mowing season the out of warranty trucks I sometimes do or send to a small shop. Main truck is new so for the next 5/100 I don't need to worry about major break downs, just
maintenance like brakes etc.

2. Do you go to the dealership or an independent mechanic?

Depends on the repair. Basics go to a small shop, computer stuff typically to dealer (I also own a scanner so I have idea's of what is going on).

3. Do you think shop prices have gotten out of hand? Small shops are $60 to $70/hr. Dealers are are $80 to $100 in my area. If you think about overhead and such it seems about right (think about their heating bill alone this time of year).

4. What the biggest underestimate of a repair job you have ever had? dk

5. Do you keep chilton/haynes manuals on hand, or maybe factory service manuals? Yes all of the above.

Now to the Superduty brakes. The slide pins on the calipers freeze up without proper lube. This causes the caliper to slightly push in when the brakes are applied and not back off when moving, increasing pad wear and rotor wear.

I suggest greasing these slides every spring and fall or your brake failure will happen around every 20K depending on conditions and loads. You'll get used to doing this it sucks but otherwise you'll be replacing the caliper and mounting bracket every time you need brakes. Napa calipers are around $150 and rotors are about the same.

After owning 2 Superduty's and going through 3 calipers I learned the way to make it last. Also my buddy has the same issue without towing anything.

Good Luck.

[JawZZ]

5. Do you keep chilton/haynes manuals on hand, or maybe factory service manuals?

I don't mess around with the Chilton or Haynes books. The factory service book is the way to go, it covers everything and in a lot more detail than the other two.

We do most repairs ourselves.

[topsites]

First off the repairs on a used truck bother me as well, but 1-2 thousand a year is
still chump change compared to making those payments.

1. Do you repair your own vehicles or do you have a mechanic at your business?
Always diy unless they catch me on something during safety inspection,
even that I go over the vehicles myself first but I don't always catch every fault.

2. Do you go to the dealership or an independent mechanic?
Independent.

3. Do you think shop prices have gotten out of hand?
Yes but after having tackled a few of the hardest DIY projects I have gained respect for that,
I found in more than a few cases the repair rates are well worth the headaches.

4. What the biggest underestimate of a repair job you have ever had?
You mean DIY, more than a few lol
The mechanics don't usually play me like that, however when mid-repair the guy tells me they found
some other parts to be defective I usually know what they're talking about, and much as I hate
springing for the extra money I think that helps keep me from losing it.

5. Do you keep chilton/haynes manuals on hand, or maybe factory service manuals?
As many as I can tolerate, but a lot of times I look stuff up on the Internet too,
I really like to have a complete mental picture of the entire repair before I even start.

[93Chevy]

I believe in professionals. I do what I can myself, but I'm not a mechanic. I hate working on trucks. Yeah, it's more expensive for me, but usually I get pizzed off and end up half arsing stuff. I figure somebody's paying me to do work for them, so I can return the favor and pay somebody else to do work for me.

[whosedog]

Anything simple do ourselves,never use dealer unless it's warranty work or our regular guy can't.We barter/landscape our mechanics home for free; he in return does our repairs at his cost;parts plus what his worker cost him.Bartering is the way to go, we get free parking for our vehicles the same way;you wash my hands I'll wash yours.Whenever I have the misfortune of using the dealer(because they won't share the codes with the independent dealer) I'm always in shock at the bill because I'm spoiled by my regular guys prices.If I have the manual I'll use it; otherwise check the internet.

[TYCINC]

I don't mess around with the Chilton or Haynes books. The factory service book is the way to go, it covers everything and in a lot more detail than the other two.

We do most repairs ourselves.

FSM usually costs a lot more, but hawt damn is it above and beyond a Chilton or Haynes. . .

++++1 for working on things yourself. . . Taking something to a shop should be a last ditch effort. You will be forced to bend over. . and you know the rest. .

[JawZZ]

FSM usually costs a lot more, but hawt damn is it above and beyond a Chilton or Haynes. . .

++++1 for working on things yourself. . . Taking something to a shop should be a last ditch effort. You will be forced to bend over. . and you know the rest. .

FSM for our Dodge Ram was $125 but worth every penny...

[unkownfl]

What do you need a manual for? Its almost 2010 the internet has been around for awhile. Oh yea I forgot I'm a member of all data.

[Restrorob]

Its almost 2010 the internet has been around for awhile.


Ditto ^^^^^ I pay no one to repair anything........

[Drew Gemma]

Do what were doing getting rid of all the ford crap! too expensive to repair and not reliable. We repair in house

[Lawn Man Dave]

What do you need a manual for? Its almost 2010 the internet has been around for awhile. Oh yea I forgot I'm a member of all data.

I got the factory manuals for one of my cars for like $25... it is worth it when I am greasy and dirty in the garage and run into an issue.... don't have to get cleaned up to get on the computer....

I figure for $25 or even $50 having all the shop manual's for a particular vehicle is nice and comes in handy.... also keeps you from having to get online over and over.

[Triplex]

If there are still any gas stations that work on cars around you, that's the way to go. I've had nothing but good experiences with gas station car repair. Dealers want to replace any part they see that isn't in new-car condition, and chain garages try to aggressively sell you some $59.95 Super-Gold-Star-Transmission-Flush package you don't need.

By the way, I'm talking about cars & trucks, not turf equipment here, in case any mower dealers are reading this.

[360ci]

Just wanted to vent.
So lets talk:

1. Do you repair your own vehicles or do you have a mechanic at your business?

2. Do you go to the dealership or an independent mechanic?

3. Do you think shop prices have gotten out of hand?

4. What the biggest underestimate of a repair job you have ever had?

5. Do you keep chilton/haynes manuals on hand, or maybe factory service manuals?

1 - yes, unless the repair is extensive and time is an issue I do all my own work.

2- I go to the dealer. They offer me a discounted rate as I own three vehicles (not all the same make/model) but they still service them there. When possible I'll generally buy my parts elsewhere, and they'll install them to save on wait time.

3 - They have been out of hand for a while. Even for Canadian Tire here in Canada, labour is $80/hour which is respectable, but I'd rather spend the extra $10/hr and get the work done at my dealer. Better trained people and service affects new vehicle sales! I had a local mechanic with his own shop, but he retired 7 years ago and charged a reasonable $60/hr, but again, that was a long time ago.

4 - Most of my estimates have been bang on. If anything, I pay less what the estimate was for. Again, I purchase my own parts whenever I can even if I get an outside party to install them.

5 - I have Haynes manuals and FSMs on hand (PDF). I store them on the laptop for easy reference in the garage. Haynes are better overall for regular maintenance items, such as brakes, sensors, fluid changes as they're very thorough with torque specs and pictorials in some cases.

[Junior M]

What do you need a manual for? Its almost 2010 the internet has been around for awhile. Oh yea I forgot I'm a member of all data.
all data is freakin awesome.. :cool2:

[Omran&Turbo]

I think I am one of the lucky guys, a friend of mine is a big diesel mechanic and he works @Ford dealer, I always trade work with him, Ido his dirt/landscape works and he take care of my truck.
The Dealers are high$$$ and I consider some one lucky when they find the right dealer, here in shelbyville the Ford dealer ain't worth much in my book, but the one in louisville 40 miles away is a real Diesel shop.

[Oldtimer]

Good article!


http://apnews.excite.com/article/20091226/D9CR4OKO1.html


Oldtimer