Engine running cold at high RPMs???

[SBT]

A well-done pre-inspect is $150.00 minimum. So add in the $190.00 for the OEM thermo, OEM hose and the Subaru coolant/conditioner change-out, plus $40.00 for oil change with high quality oil and Subaru filter and that makes more sense.

[johnegg]

make sure the t-stat installed is a subaru t-stat.

aftermarket ones will cause you head aches and over heating.

DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE.

 

side note:

how much you can negotiate a price at a shop depends on how busy they are,

and how much they care , if at all, about losing the work.

 

my son took his car in for state inspection,

it needed a boot, or boots, on the steering rack.

(i was under it last spring and both were good then, so i suspect that they were damaged while at the inspection station, but who knows.)

he was quoted $350 for the work and called me for an ok.

normally i would do the work myself, but i was busy and he was 3 hours away.

so i said ok, but to make sure that $350 was the total cost, and that the car would be good to go once repaired and $350 was paid.

 

my son calls back and reports that the car will need a $90 alignment to be ''good to go''.

so i call the shop prepared to rip them a new one.

fist i let them know hoe crappy it was to quote a repair price that was not inclusive of all the costs.

he tried to weasel out of that by saying the alignment is recommended, not required.

 

i then told him i was going to spend my repair dollars some where else unless he could come up with a much better price.

and he did.

he called back about 15 minutes later and quoted $360 for the entire job.

 

not all shops would have done this.

especially the ones with lots of cars waiting to be repaired.

[Marmaduke]

I asked if the thermostat they were putting in was OEM. He assured me that it would be. I told him it needs to be OEM, or the most expensive aftermarket he had. He said he just had OEM so OEM it is.

[Stang70Fastback]

Well that's promising. At least he knows what he's doing in that regard. Can someone actually explain to me WHY Subarus don't like aftermarket thermostats?

[Marmaduke]

Got the car back from the mechanic. Total bill was $307.31 after tax for the thermostat, radiator hose, coolant, labor, and an oil change. He said he test drove it and the problem was fixed, so I'm feeling okay with what I paid.

 

As far as the other issues go, I was told the following:

 

-Timing Belt: Looks like it was done around 100,000 mile mark. Will need a new one soon though (currently at 170,000). He said the cams are leaking. Total quote for all of that looks to be roughly $1,000.

 

-Right front Half Shaft (CV Boot) plus labor would be about $300 after tax.

 

- Steering rack with labor and alignment would be another $800 after labor and tax.

 

----------------------

 

What I'm for the car so far:

 

$3,400 + $300 taxes. Registration good for another two months.

 

$300 for oil change, thermostat, and radiator hose.

 

So that's $4,000 total. I'm going to try and make it to Costco tonight for tires. I was quoted $411 installed for the cheapest set, but will probably go up a notch for my piece of mind. That'll be another $500, bringing me up to $4,500 total.

 

It also needs new wiper blades, reverse lights, fog lights, and brights. So That'll be another $100.00.

 

I'll eventually get her completely put back together. Looking to commission in the Navy soon. So I'll drive this into the ground and then hopefully be able to finance something decent. (WRX).

[Stang70Fastback]

-Timing Belt: Looks like it was done around 100,000 mile mark. Will need a new one soon though (currently at 170,000). He said the cams are leaking. Total quote for all of that looks to be roughly $1,000.

 

Really shouldn't cost you more than $500-600. You can buy the kit in the $200 range. It is NOT $800 in labor to do that job.

 

-Right front Half Shaft (CV Boot) plus labor would be about $300 after tax.

 

A remanufactured SUBARU axle is $189. A shop can do the job very quickly. I suppose $300 is fair if you are getting a GOOD axle out of it and not a cheap $50 piece of crap (Subarus do NOT like aftermarket front axles.)

 

Steering rack with labor and alignment would be another $800 after labor and tax.

 

Again, what was wrong with it? It probably is NOT something that needs to be replaced regardless of what the issue is.

 

I'm going to try and make it to Costco tonight for tires. I was quoted $411 installed for the cheapest set, but will probably go up a notch for my piece of mind. That'll be another $500, bringing me up to $4,500 total.

 

A set of GREAT tires for your car will cost you in the $400 range DELIVERED to your house or your local shop. It should cost less than $100 to get them mounted. Worth looking at TireRack since you'll get better tires for less. Might not save you money with shipping, but for the same price, you will end up with better, safer rubber.

 

TL;DR - This guy is overcharging you, rather than at least trying to come up with reasonable prices for repairs that don't end up totaling more than the car is worth. Hell, my local STEALERSHIP recognizes this and always works with me to give me discounts on any work I have them do.

 

Just my $0.02.

[johnegg]

i would get a second opinion on the steering rack.

they do not fail often, unless they have had bad boots, bellows, for a very long time.

 

if it is leaking it is bad.

short of that i'd like to know what made him think it is bad.

if it is bad i would recommend a used rack.

they almost never fail.

 

i have driven over 300k subaru miles in 18 years,

the youngest had 75k miles and the oldest had 208k miles

and i have never had a bad steering rack.

or a bad cat.

[Stevo F]

I know when I had my timing belt done I paid $241 for a complete timing kit, water pump, new radiator hoses, thermostat, crank , cam and oil pump seals and my mechanic charged me $350 in labor ($70/ hour X 5 hours), so $595 for the complete job + new hoses. I have an EJ22- it might be a little more for a DOHC engine.

[SBT]

I just replaced the front DS axle with a Subaru remanufactured axle. It was a CARDONE Select REMAN Axle, boxed and stamped. Same axle on RockAuto for $70.00 and Subaru's price was double that.

[Marmaduke]

if it is leaking it is bad.

 

He said it was leaking

 

Really shouldn't cost you more than $500-600. You can buy the kit in the $200 range. It is NOT $800 in labor to do that job.

 

 

 

A remanufactured SUBARU axle is $189. A shop can do the job very quickly. I suppose $300 is fair if you are getting a GOOD axle out of it and not a cheap $50 piece of crap (Subarus do NOT like aftermarket front axles.)

 

 

 

Again, what was wrong with it? It probably is NOT something that needs to be replaced regardless of what the issue is.

 

He said the CV boot was stripped, but reiterated what everyone else here said... Drive it till it starts clicking, then get it fixed. Or just drive it till it breaks. He said he packed it full of grease to hopefully make it last a bit longer.

 

A set of GREAT tires for your car will cost you in the $400 range DELIVERED to your house or your local shop. It should cost less than $100 to get them mounted. Worth looking at TireRack since you'll get better tires for less. Might not save you money with shipping, but for the same price, you will end up with better, safer rubber.

 

Just my $0.02.

 

Too late... Drove 45 minutes to Costco to have to fight to get the tires put on (guy on phone assured me they could get it in, his supervisor was pissed as they were understaffed/slammed). The tires on it sucked. If found that one had a fat slit in the sidewall downy o the cord. They only had the cheapest tires, so I said "f it" and had them put on. They're Bridgestones and warrantied for 65k so they can't be too terrible. I just hope they do okay in the snow.

 

I know when I had my timing belt done I paid $241 for a complete timing kit, water pump, new radiator hoses, thermostat, crank , cam and oil pump seals and my mechanic charged me $350 in labor ($70/ hour X 5 hours), so $595 for the complete job + new hoses. I have an EJ22- it might be a little more for a DOHC engine.

 

I'll have to look into it. I know the last time I bitched about part costs (I can get business pricing on all parts at Autozone through work), the guy didn't up charge them at all.

 

Thank you for all of the replies everybody.

[johnegg]

He said the CV boot was stripped, but reiterated what everyone else here said... Drive it till it starts clicking, then get it fixed. Or just drive it till it breaks. He said he packed it full of grease to hopefully make it last a bit longer.

if you drive it until it clicks, it will REQUIRE replacing.

 

but if you replace the boot now, when the joint is still good,

and it is a subaru factory axle with a green inner cup,

it will likely last the life of the car.

 

after market axles will not last very long at all.

some of them are bad right out of the box.

[sunny5280]

-Timing Belt: Looks like it was done around 100,000 mile mark. Will need a new one soon though (currently at 170,000). He said the cams are leaking. Total quote for all of that looks to be roughly $1,000.

Seems high to me. I just had the timing system (belt, water pump, actuator, pulleys, etc) replaced on my 1997 for ~ $750 out the door.

[sunny5280]

if you drive it until it clicks, it will REQUIRE replacing.

 

but if you replace the boot now, when the joint is still good,

and it is a subaru factory axle with a green inner cup,

it will likely last the life of the car.

 

after market axles will not last very long at all.

some of them are bad right out of the box.

 

My X5 had a torn CV boot. Mechanics recommendation was to replace the entire axle as it cost about $30 more for an axle assembly as compared to tearing apart the existing axle to replace the CV boot. Perhaps it's the same with Subaru?