Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do mechanics got to school?I thouhgt that they just started working at a shop and leanred in the job. For most things except diagnostics, I do not understnad why shcool is necessary. For most cars there are step by step instructions available that allow you do do pretty much anythingwith no more difficulty than following instructions in a cookbook.
You can't be serious. No schooling and following instructions in a cookbook?
Finding the problem is 90% of the work. There really is not much to removing a bad part and installing a new one.
Sometimes but not always. Sometimes it's the other way around. Ever replaced a heater core in a Taurus? Easy to diagnose, not so easy to R&R.
Do some mechanics really charge $90 an hour? I think ours charges $45 an hour and they are really good. They are always busy and it is hard to get an appointment. Maybe they are undercharging.
Depends on the area. In BFE, it may be $45. Or maybe your guy has never had any training. $90-100 is about average for an independent around here. Dealers are $100-120 from what I hear.
And this... Some people accidentally put windshield washer fluid in their radiator. Does that mean everyone ought to pay a mechanic $90 an hour shop labor to top up their washer reservoir?
...reminded me of the guy who accidentally put ATF in his master cylinder. It wasn't pretty. Or inexpensive.
However, I do know some things are easy to replace-- and I can easily do them myself by visiting an O'Reilly Autoparts or similar store.
Recently my mechanic wanted to charge me $16 to replace a brake light and $40 to replace an air filter. When I know air filters cost $15 and brake lights are about $3. That is a $38 service charge!! It takes about 5 seconds to replace these things.
What other things can you think of that you shouldn't pay a mechanic to help you with?
I think where you went wrong with you post is you made it sound like the mechanic was ripping you off with his service charge.
If you would have left out the part about the service charge people would have responded different. And I don't think you will get that work done in 5 seconds. I.e. 15 minuets at the least.
But I bet you can find a lot of repairs that can be done by the owner with the internet information that's available.
Myself, I would rather pay the mechanic his service charge so that I could spend my time charging you $100 per hour repairing your house.
I think where you went wrong with you post is you made it sound like the mechanic was ripping you off with his service charge.
If you would have left out the part about the service charge people would have responded different. And I don't think you will get that work done in 5 seconds. I.e. 15 minuets at the least.
But I bet you can find a lot of repairs that can be done by the owner with the internet information that's available.
Myself, I would rather pay the mechanic his service charge so that I could spend my time charging you $100 per hour repairing your house.
busta
Yeah I probably should have just asked about easy things to do on your car yourself. Oh well-- live and learn.
It did take 15 minutes. Bought the light for $1.50 and the air filter for $22 for a total savings of $32.50.
Now I can give this extra savings to you to fix my house!! =)
Yeah I probably should have just asked about easy things to do on your car yourself. Oh well-- live and learn.
It did take 15 minutes. Bought the light for $1.50 and the air filter for $22 for a total savings of $32.50.
Now I can give this extra savings to you to fix my house!! =)
No problem dude, nothing wrong with trying to save money.
In fact that's honorable and should be admired by all.
Can't help you wit ya car but if you need home improvement advice I'm ya man.
A neighbor had a new truck and asked me to replace the rear tail light bulb. I quickly learned how to remove the tricky thing on the net and replaced it. without the instructions I could have broken it .Every person who really wants to save a few bucks and do the simple stuff himself first needs to get the service manual for the car and read it...If you cant do this as a first step forget trying to fix your own car,,,,,,,,,,hire a pro.You need to know what you are doing and how to do it before you even open the hood...
But, did O'Reilly tell you why they failed prematurely?? Why are you replacing them each week?
Cherrios, please do not let me buy your used piece of crap.
Some people have no reading comprehension haha
Filters fail naturally, thats why you replace them on a regular basis, not sure why you thought otherwise.
I think Cyclones Car would be much better than anything you own since he is actually changing the filters not worrying why they failed. Why would you want to keep filters past their lifespan anyway?
[quote=Gimme3steps;18631152]Do mechanics got to school?I thouhgt that they just started working at a shop and leanred in the job. For most things except diagnostics, I do not understnad why shcool is necessary. For most cars there are step by step instructions available that allow you do do pretty much anythingwith no more difficulty than following instructions in a cookbook.
You can't be serious. No schooling and following instructions in a cookbook?
Dead serious. Following instructions in books, I have rebuild three engines, fiver carburators, cleaned fuel injectors, replaced various computer systems or components,removed and replaced a half dozen or more tie rod ends, ball counts control arms, CV joints, shocks or struts, also a couplel of steering columns, removed and reinstalled cylinder heads (shop did the rebuild), intake and exhaust manifolds, removed and reinstalled transmissions, read axles, a dozen or more U joints. I have done more than fifty brake jobs. Many many more things. htere is not much on a car tht i have not done all using nothing more than a book and following the instrucitons just like a cookbook. I have no special training.
Do mechanics got to school?I thouhgt that they just started working at a shop and leanred in the job. For most things except diagnostics, I do not understnad why shcool is necessary. For most cars there are step by step instructions available that allow you do do pretty much anythingwith no more difficulty than following instructions in a cookbook.
You can't be serious. No schooling and following instructions in a cookbook?
Dead serious. Following instructions in books, I have rebuild three engines, fiver carburators, cleaned fuel injectors, replaced various computer systems or components,removed and replaced a half dozen or more tie rod ends, ball counts control arms, CV joints, shocks or struts, also a couplel of steering columns, removed and reinstalled cylinder heads (shop did the rebuild), intake and exhaust manifolds, removed and reinstalled transmissions, read axles, a dozen or more U joints. I have done more than fifty brake jobs. Many many more things. htere is not much on a car tht i have not done all using nothing more than a book and following the instrucitons just like a cookbook. I have no special training.
Do mechanics got to school?I thouhgt that they just started working at a shop and leanred in the job. For most things except diagnostics, I do not understnad why shcool is necessary. For most cars there are step by step instructions available that allow you do do pretty much anythingwith no more difficulty than following instructions in a cookbook.
You can't be serious. No schooling and following instructions in a cookbook?
Dead serious. Following instructions in books, I have rebuild three engines, fiver carburators, cleaned fuel injectors, replaced various computer systems or components,removed and replaced a half dozen or more tie rod ends, ball counts control arms, CV joints, shocks or struts, also a couplel of steering columns, removed and reinstalled cylinder heads (shop did the rebuild), intake and exhaust manifolds, removed and reinstalled transmissions, read axles, a dozen or more U joints. I have done more than fifty brake jobs. Many many more things. htere is not much on a car tht i have not done all using nothing more than a book and following the instrucitons just like a cookbook. I have no special training.
sounds like you have plenty of tools and know how to use them...Most people dont and thats why they gotta pay up to take someones time....My time cost money and lots of it.
Same goes for air filters. You don't just spin off the wing nut anymore and drop on a new filter.
It takes me 20 minutes to a half-hour to replace an air filter on a 2.4L Honda Accord, and I've done it about a half a dozen times, and it doesn't get any easier. I usually have to unbolt the under-hood fuse box and push it out of the way, as well as disconnect the 3-inch air hose from the filter box. One time when I changed the filter I dropped an 10mm Snap-On combination wrench behind the air filter box and it disappeared from view FOREVER! (The four bolts on the filter box are 10mm.) I raised the car and felt everywhere I could with my hand, but the wrench seemed to have disappeared. It's probably still under the hood somewhere. Replacing the Snap-On wrench cost more than the filter (which is about $20). At least it wasn't a Hazet wrench. With the dollar being what it is compared to the Euro, I can't afford any more German tools.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
