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03-03-2009, 12:49 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South City
18 posts, read 12,753 times
Reputation: 14
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Inexpensive Mechanics?
Does anyone have a favorite inexpensive or at least reasonable mechanic for car repairs that they'd reccomend in South Saint Louis?  My car's in the shop with CarSmart on Watson at the moment and it's going to cost $266 for them to replace the spark plug wires!!!  I don't know about anyone else but this is outrageous to me. It's bad enough they charge $90 just to plug it into their testing equipment in this economy, but $176 to replace spark plug wires? Come on!  |
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03-03-2009, 01:02 PM
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Sayer of true stuff
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: And I'm moving, yet again ... KC here I come
5,485 posts, read 4,327,849 times
Reputation: 981
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You can TOTALLY do this yourself. I wouldn't call myself a car girl or anything, but I was taught how to do basic car repairs and maintenance, and I promise, anyone can change spark plug wires. You don't even need special tools.
edit: Here's a pretty good e-how: How to Replace Spark Plug Wires | eHow.com |
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03-03-2009, 01:23 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Nov 2008
53 posts, read 29,114 times
Reputation: 20
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I agree with the above, spark plug wires are an easy change.
I'm interested in hearing if anyone has any mechanic recommendations or warnings. I was surprised when Master Car Care (formerly Najjar Car Care) quoted me $350 to change out an idle-air-control-valve, this is a $50 part that can be swapped out with a screwdriver in 10 minutes time, $350 is downright unethical.
So I now will never go to:
Master Car Care
CarSmart
Also you should know that you can order the same reader that the mechanic used to diagnose your problem for less than $200 at Sears. It will pay for itself in no time.
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03-03-2009, 02:31 PM
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Junior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Reputation: 10
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Gravois Auto Repair is really good & honest and they are pretty cheap for the most part.
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03-03-2009, 03:12 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South City
18 posts, read 12,753 times
Reputation: 14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnamus
I agree with the above, spark plug wires are an easy change.
I'm interested in hearing if anyone has any mechanic recommendations or warnings. I was surprised when Master Car Care (formerly Najjar Car Care) quoted me $350 to change out an idle-air-control-valve, this is a $50 part that can be swapped out with a screwdriver in 10 minutes time, $350 is downright unethical.
So I now will never go to:
Master Car Care
CarSmart
Also you should know that you can order the same reader that the mechanic used to diagnose your problem for less than $200 at Sears. It will pay for itself in no time.
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I was wondering if there were ways I could check and reset my own computer in the car. I find a $90 charge for checking/resetting the damn things to be highway robbery! I won't say what I think of their charge for replacing spark plug wires!  |
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03-03-2009, 03:18 PM
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Sayer of true stuff
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: And I'm moving, yet again ... KC here I come
5,485 posts, read 4,327,849 times
Reputation: 981
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The only way to reset it is to have one of the little computer things you plug in. $90 seems obscene to me -- I've never paid more than $75 and if you look around the coupon circulars you can usually find one for $50.
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03-03-2009, 03:25 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Nov 2008
53 posts, read 29,114 times
Reputation: 20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveCampsOut
I was wondering if there were ways I could check and reset my own computer in the car. I find a $90 charge for checking/resetting the damn things to be highway robbery! I won't say what I think of their charge for replacing spark plug wires!
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Here's a well-equipped model for $130, and you can definitely find more basic models for $75 or so.
Craftsman CanOBD2 Diagnostic Tool - Model 87702 at Sears.com |
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03-03-2009, 03:43 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: The City of St. Louis
876 posts, read 616,008 times
Reputation: 514
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You can also go to nearly any auto parts store (Autozone, Advance, etc) and they will scan your car's computer for free and give you the number of whatever check engine code it is producing. I've done that several times when the service engine soon light has lit up on my car...it is hard to beat free!
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03-03-2009, 03:58 PM
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Sayer of true stuff
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: And I'm moving, yet again ... KC here I come
5,485 posts, read 4,327,849 times
Reputation: 981
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^^ Holy crap -- I never knew that! Thanks!!!
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03-03-2009, 04:32 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: The City of St. Louis
876 posts, read 616,008 times
Reputation: 514
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aragx6
^^ Holy crap -- I never knew that! Thanks!!!
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No problem! 
They of course offer the service so you'll buy the parts from them to fix your car...but most employees at those stores really don't care one way or the other, and have never even tried to sell me anything when getting my codes checked and cleared! |
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