feeling of getting ripped HARD by your mechanic!!

anyways got a few bits n pieces done at a local mechanic and asked for an rough estimate on costs , and was i shocked when i saw the total :eek:

some of the stupid things i read are :

- 900 for engine transplant (thats fine by me) ...but 800 labour to remove the old parts such as extractors, water pumps etc, from the old engine onto the new engine!!? and another 250 for installing gaskets, clutch, fly, bearing.

- 250 for a bolt on exhuast catback in labour...with minor welding

- engine degreased wash for $120 ???!

- TRIAL FIT my CAI which cant even fit onto $320

now im going in to install my CAI and its almost done. and i just followed the instructions....i don't see how they cant do it. I dont see how i should pay for something they are imcapable of doing. not like i supplied the wrong CAI.


SO WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS????!

Find out exactly how much work goes into each section, and call them on it. Bring a well-informed friend who knows his shit.. This will scare the bastards.

Options ? Shop around for the exact same thing. You will get better , elsewhere.

No one is holding a gun to your head to go to that place.

PS no naming names.

I'm pretty sure labour is more dependent on:

Time needed
Skilled labour needed
Equipment needed
etc...

Just because you can do it, doesn't mean it doesn't take a long time to do. I'm pretty sure your local Honda dealer would charge more than those quotes.

thats why i DESPISE mechanics.. prefer to do work myself or community/club/forum members to help me out... but labour cost is USUALLY calculated at an hourly rate...

better to do some work yourself... my only ifft with mechanics is their utter lack of knowledge beyond text books...

"Performance Workshops" = :thumbsup:
"Mechanics" = :thumbdwn: you goto these guys to get things like hoses and seals changed... and usually on old cars...

yea i get what you guys mean. i dont see a point me paying for the CAI install when they couldnt do it??? i mean it came with instructions and i installed it following that using THEIR TOOLS last night in THEIR WORKSHOP. so wtf?? lol

also can i ask for like receipt for parts they used? eg SPARK PLUGS x4 for 63 bux. RED LINE OIL for 105$

are u kidding me? $63 for sparkies? platinum or irridium?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by EK4R

- TRIAL FIT my CAI which cant even fit onto $320

---

Hold on... you were charged $320 for a failed attempt to fit your CAI? A fully qualified mechanic was unable to fit and charged you about 4 hours labour? Something which you were able to fit yourself?

If I were you I'd take it back, show the mechanic and ask for your money back for showing the guy how to do his job lol... (don't really do this, I'm sure you will make things worse)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by EK4R

anyways got a few bits n pieces done at a local mechanic and asked for an rough estimate on costs

---

^^^ dude he hasn't had the work done yet


Anyway for someone who isn't familiar with the work you want done on that particular car they will quote high, they either don't really want to do it or just wanna cover themselves if something unexpected comes up. I'd find someone else personally.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NSPYRE

are u kidding me? $63 for sparkies? platinum or irridium?

---

thats wat i would like to know. duno if its irridium or not. arent they like 25$ each....and platinums are like wat 10 bux each ? lol

Quote:

---

^^^ dude he hasn't had the work done yet, Anyway for someone who isn't familiar with the work you want done on that particular car they will quote high,

---

work has already been carried out, i was just askin for the cost so far on estimate. but yeah its abit :thumbdwn: those guys specialise in honda n nissans...well mostly their work are on those two models

Quote:

---

Hold on... you were charged $320 for a failed attempt to fit your CAI? A fully qualified mechanic was unable to fit and charged you about 4 hours labour? Something which you were able to fit yourself?

---

yes that is correct lol. so thats a bit fked. im going to ask for a refund on that part.


oh and i havnt paid for anything yet. can i ask for receipt for parts supplied or no point since they could say they buy it in bulk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dsp26

better to do some work yourself... my only ifft with mechanics is their utter lack of knowledge beyond text books...

"Performance Workshops" = :thumbsup:
"Mechanics" = :thumbdwn: you goto these guys to get things like hoses and seals changed... and usually on old cars...

---

This is a fair statement. Sometimes when i talk to a mechanic they are like wtf? most of them only know the basics like changing a air filter replacing bushs ect...

Dodgy. Usually if they can't fit it on (at least for something as simple as a CAI), they shouldn't charge you.

hahaha
Whoever said they despise mechanics i tend to believe them.
My local mechanic is ridiculous, took my car there and was absolutely disgusted with the ridiculous justifications they made for the high costs.
SO what did i do about it?
came onto ozhonda, and searched for a good mechanic in syd, they all reccomended hannys performance. I have since had 3 services done there and each one has been immaculate, I have even rung 1 of the co-owners and asked about certain procedures throughout my diy and he has helped me all the way.

So basically i do 80% of the work myself, and leave the other 20% to the mechanics. The really complicated stuff, should be left to a mechanic, but a decent mechanic. I reckon your stupid taking your car to a standard mechanic when u can get the same price for a better job performed by a highly regarded honda mechanic (this doesnt mean you have to go to a dealership and pay double for a service).

The cai fitment which they didnt even fit is ridiculous, Theres no way in hell iiwould pay that, I'd go off at them and if they said it wasted our time, then you ask them to show you where the $320 fitment was made. If you don't see a cai in your engine bay then why the fk are u being charged that amount?
You cannot charge for a failed attempt, this is ridiculous!, especially for a cai which isnt exactly HARD for a mechanic. however i do understand if u were trying an engine transplant and the engine was fkd, then fair enough i suppose but cai is ridiculous.
Try it yourself or find a decent mechanic near you mate, i would definately go back there and cause a fuss, go pay a mechanic $40 for his hour lunch break to go give him a fkn clue. When u get ur money back, tip the mechanic with a feed at mcdonalds, and make friends with him. This will then become your mechanic who won't screw you over (hopefully).
good luck

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dsp26

"Performance Workshops" = :thumbsup:
"Mechanics" = :thumbdwn: you goto these guys to get things like hoses and seals changed... and usually on old cars...

---

dont hate on us all man.
my advise to all you haters is to shop around.
i believe the thread starters problem probably goes back to the root that he has used a performance workshop to perform this simple,and i mean simple, work.obviously not a good workshop,but hey,throwing racing on the end of your workshop name doesnt automatically mean you are a good mechanic
performance workshops charge a premium for their time,and rightly so if they have the knowledge,but you sir are the fool if you go to a $100 an hour labour workshop to get minor things done that could easily be completed and probably with more care by mickey mike mikes motors.nice business name hey.

i work in a workshop where we deal with mostly non performance cars.its our bread and butter work,only 10% of the cars out there are modified,so its not where the money is.HOWEVER,when a modified car comes in that you can see the owner cares for,i know it gives me a bit of a moral boost and every motion i performed is done with care and respect.i recently took my b16 eg to a reputable performance dyno tuner and was treated like scum simply because i wasnt pulling over 200kw

but back to the point.YOU GOT RIPPED.break up with that mechanic,go get yourself a fair deal.the only work that should be charged for even if the task isnt completely finished is diagnostics

lol at the end of the day , mechanics gotta make a living too. Its places like this ( IE free websites) that raise awareness and reduce mechanics profits.IF the mechs out there gotta raise the $$$ for simple stuff , then the people who fall for it , deserve it.

As said , shop around.

i swear ive never recommended an air filter should be changed when it could probably easily go another 5000kms easy without causing any wear on the engine what so ever.

PHSSSSYYYCHHH

lol,sure sometimes we get the profits up and it can get dodgy.its like asking ppl if they want fries at mcdonald....you dont need those fries....you dont realllllllly need that air filter but gee you feel alot better knowing that a fresh one is in there.get to know your car ppl,alot of mechanics will back down on high prices if it even seems like you know your shit.but dont treat the mechanic like a fool....would prob make me want to charge you more haha

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teh_mechanic

dont hate on us all man.
my advise to all you haters is to shop around.

---

not hating on you bro... and def not not hating on you because you have a honda but because of what you said and trust me your the rare breed.

mechanical and performance shop work is different.. i bet you could teach your boss a thing or 2 in terms of performance related modifications/repairs and if you happen to be self employed or own your own shop then your a rare breed indeed.

I too like others have mentioned prefer the specific expertise the OzHonda community (as well as other clubs/forums i'm a member of) provides and there have only been 3 members on here that i have allowed to touch my car. sure they don't have knowledge of other cars but its irelevant, they have plenty of specific experience and knowledge in relation to my car...

i'm generalising mechanic's lack of knowledge in terms of what we as an 'enthusiast' community require and they cannot provide the quality and knowledge of workmanship we require such as the example of the OP with the CAI install... your right they have a specific market and we're not it. MOST mechanics are trained on the majority of cars (holden/ford/toyota, common econoboxes) that come in for the majority of technical issues associated with those specific market cars...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by teh_mechanic

alot of mechanics will back down on high prices if it even seems like you know your shit.but dont treat the mechanic like a fool....would prob make me want to charge you more haha

---

and i back that statement 100% hence why i enjoy being an enthusiast and enjoy knowing i know what i'm talking about and doing... perfect example of this is when you take your car for wheel alignment... lets face it, most cars don't come with camber adjustability... when people come in asking for an alignment, they'd get maybe toe fixed and the steering wheel re-aligned which is n00b and unprofessional to not let the customer know what they need to... the moment you come in asking for specific camber/toe alignments and ask for a before/after printout they don't bother dicking you around...

***EDIT***
i support this forum for DIY, wealth of tech info and expert members, traders (which is why i joined long before owning a honda).. and the hot chicks thread LOL

i got ripped recently.

over a thousand bucks to do the following:

replace cv boots
degrease engine
drop sump and replace sump gasket
replace oil mand coolant

sound a bit off?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by trism

i got ripped recently.

over a thousand bucks to do the following:

replace cv boots
degrease engine
drop sump and replace sump gasket
replace oil mand coolant

sound a bit off?

---

sure did...that cost no more then $200 to do. Holy fark you got raped.

on the topic.... $320 to trial fit intake? hhahah what kind of mechanic is that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fatboyz39

on the topic.... $320 to trial fit intake? hhahah what kind of mechanic is that?

---

He must of taken his car through the ferrari pits at the gp lol

i can't help but laugh when people take their cars to smaller workshops to avoid being 'ripped off' by evil evil dealerships..... then get results like this

(not having a go at OP, just many people in general)

As someone stated earlier it's good to show you know what you're talking about to your mechanic and to get to know them a bit. I've gotten to know my mechanic so well half the time he doesn't charge me for little things and when i do pay i can do it in my own sweet time :)

I don't get how people don't get quotes first before sending their car in for work............

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by panda[cRx]

i can't help but laugh when people take their cars to smaller workshops to avoid being 'ripped off' by evil evil dealerships..... then get results like this

(not having a go at OP, just many people in general)

---

actually the workshop is quiet big. but thats beside the point

anyways im goin in today again to finish off the CAI install then ill sort that bit out. not fussed with some of the quotes cos the quality they do is actually quiet good. just not happy with some of the price they quoted with the parts n trial fitting labour.

keep us posted on how it goes.

do the cai yourself mate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by EK4R

actually the workshop is quiet big. but thats beside the point

anyways im goin in today again to finish off the CAI install then ill sort that bit out. not fussed with some of the quotes cos the quality they do is actually quiet good. just not happy with some of the price they quoted with the parts n trial fitting labour.

---

If you are happy with the quotes because their quality is quite good, and unhappy with the trial fitting labour, then let them do the reasonably priced parts and do the others (like your CAI fitting) elsewhere!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aaronng

If you are happy with the quotes because their quality is quite good, and unhappy with the trial fitting labour, then let them do the reasonably priced parts and do the others (like your CAI fitting) elsewhere!

---

its already done. like they trial fitted it already but couldnt get it on

i was happy to pay for labour for fitting the CAI provided they can fit it. that wasnt the problem. problem is they cant fit it after trying and still charging me for it.

i just came back from the work place, i installed the CAI myself...so im going to tell them how come they couldnt do it. i shouldnt be charged for something thats straight forward yet they couldnt install it

you ripped off a guy i know by selling your dodgy car to him..
what goes around comes around

fully sick workshop that can't read instruction to install a CAI. Are they fresh off the boat and can't read english?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zco

you ripped off a guy i know by selling your dodgy car to him..
what goes around comes around

---

Is this a car with a dodgy chassis ? lol.

So that's why the workshop couldn't install the CAI...........

alot of mechanics these days overcharge. bring them a sports car and quality parts, straight away they think your loaded...

i took my car to mech to get a service, i didnt want to use their crappy oil or the cooper filters, so i bought a 80.00 oil and oem oil filter myself. the mech said to me "wow, you sure dont mind wasting money on your car" at the time i had a set of fgk header, sard cat, rmo1a exhaust, spoon clutch and fly that i wanted installed, so i asked him to install it.

when i went to pick the car up, he handed me the bill which came to a total of 800.00. i was like WTF??? i been jibbed HARDCORE! work was already done, nothing much i could do bout it. didnt want to make a scene, so i paid him.

i know it cost bout 350-400 to have the clutch and fly installed, but paying 400 to have my exhaust installed was a joke! if there was welding involved and he had to supply additional bolts and stuff then it wouldnt be so bad, but the whole system was bolt on, i could've done it myself.

the mech i went to is well known to be cheap. but not in my case...

why not just DIY?

its really not that hard to do some stuff by yourself at home.

its not, i dont have adequate tools to do it myself, thats why i asked him to install it seeing they got a hoist n all and its a pretty straight forward job.

go to a different mechanic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by zco

you ripped off a guy i know by selling your dodgy car to him..
what goes around comes around

---

what happened?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AsH_

what happened?

---

x 2 =)

x3.

I'm not worried about making a scene if it is that stupidly overpriced.

When i had my 100,000km service done at Honda, the guy scratched my rims on the gutter while parking - when i was in the car.

Free parts, but they charged for labour :)

They are doing a service to you, if they don't do it correctly - get up them.

I work in a hotel, if i don't do something right - better beleive i cop it.

:)

lol i got my SRI put in for $45 by a mechanic.. how the **** do they charge 320 for a CAI installation when it didnt even go right?!?!

mm my 5 cents worth

I went to Honda asked how much to plug n tune my civic all consumables had been changed they said $500 ...then i went home & got friend to ring for same thing but they supply $750

and re: don't go picking on a mechanic oh pls there is not much in the way of a real mechanic these days they are computer operators
id like to see 1 of these so called mechanic's of t-day tune my gt quad su's har har they can't

P.S. mechanic asked whats an su ??????

^English much?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hui

its not, i dont have adequate tools to do it myself, thats why i asked him to install it seeing they got a hoist n all and its a pretty straight forward job.

---

$200 will get u a nice sidchrome socket set and some ramps or stands from super cheap.... and left $200 in your pocket + future savings.





On this note, i installed kazams CAI. And he didnt pay me anything :mad::mad:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aimre

$200 will get u a nice sidchrome socket set and some ramps or stands from super cheap.... and left $200 in your pocket + future savings.

On this note, i installed kazams CAI. And he didnt pay me anything :mad::mad:

---

Don't forget the torque wrench and consumables. :) Not much left after.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AsH_

what happened?

---

travelled from syd to melb to pic up a pos.

radiator support about to fall off.. a totally butchered car.. at a ridicously high price.
dicks to that car lol..


so what zico saying is very true..

take it int he bum lad :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aaronng

Don't forget the torque wrench and consumables. :) Not much left after.

---

my arm has a built in torque wrench.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dupac->

travelled from syd to melb to pic up a pos.

radiator support about to fall off.. a totally butchered car.. at a ridicously high price.
dicks to that car lol..


so what zico saying is very true..

take it int he bum lad :p

---

well technically speaking, isnt it the buyers fault for buying such a POS without checking it out properly 1st... its like putting a used battery up for sale; if u can charge a price u want and someone is stupid enuff to buy it then thats not ur problem. profiting from stupidity isnt an old concept...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aimre

my arm has a built in torque wrench.

---

Wouldn't trust that for bolting a flywheel back on after machining. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NSPYRE

well technically speaking, isnt it the buyers fault for buying such a POS without checking it out properly 1st... its like putting a used battery up for sale; if u can charge a price u want and someone is stupid enuff to buy it then thats not ur problem. profiting from stupidity isnt an old concept...

---

yes its partly the buyer ignorance fault to a degree. i guess some people are more trusting and with abit of bad judgement... but when the seller totally lies about major parts of the car which wouldnt be found on a normal inspection its hard to blame the seller.

and just because people have been doing dodgy things for a long time doesnt make it right. :thumbsup:

im not taking a stab at you. just bringing another perspective to it.:thumbsup:

in this world money comes and goes. people come and go.. all you have is your morals, principles and your word. if you cant even do that. then wat are you doing...

btw the car is getting overhauled now. and if the buyer ever see's the seller ever again, i guess the buyer wont be responsible for his and his friends ignorant actions.

wat goes around comes around.

i agree with you that generally people should be honest and the seller should have atleast some common decency to be honest and point out any issues. but sometimes people want to profit any way they can. this isnt the perfect world and there will always be shady people all through ur life.

therefore, people should not be trusted entirely. supposing the buyer is atleast old enuff to have a license - atleast 17 years old - they should kno this fact already; just like reading the fine print on a document...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aimre

my arm has a built in torque wrench.

---

lol the amount of "professional mechanics" out there that apply this rule. Its abit disconcerting lol. Ive seen quite a few examples of what a arm torque + flywheel bolt does to a gearbox casing.

problem solved with mechanic.

now regarding the car being sold - get your facts straight.

i gave the buyer all the information i knew and had with the car since i purchased it, didnt try to hide any fact from the buyer. gave him all the chasis code , engine number etc prior to coming down so he would be wasting his time.

i drove my car for 1 year with not a single problem yet the buyer seem to have had more problem with it in the 1st 2 days.

i gave the buyer a refund on the AGREED value due to imperfections on the car. i refunded him another amount for the tyre he blew up while driving back to syd. (funny how it didnt blow during our TWO test drives and his 2 day stay in Melbourne which he were driving around in)

two people inspected the car and he was happy to purchase the car as is.

now i know i didn't hide any information towards the buyer, i told the buyer everything i knew about the car, if there was missing information or major problems that i wasn't aware of then i was not informed by the previous seller.And if that was the case im sorry on that behave but thats life from buying a used car.

I agree with EK4R. Its the buyers responsibilities to inspect the car to the fully extent before carrying out the purchase. In regards to the tyres blowing, i reckon you are being fair on giving him some moeny for it. It shouldn't be your fault, that was jus plain badluck on the buyer.

There is always two side to the story, dont judge people from what you read.
I sorta heard things from this so call 'trip', i dont want to say much, but its the buyers responsibilites to inspect the car and the seller's responsiblities to provide as much information as possible.

venturing off topic - this debate between EK4R etc , can we keep it to pm. Both side might have some explaining to do and both sides might feel "ripped off" or " let down". Lets not start a e-war of sides.

Whats done is done and lets all get on with it.

in regards to the mechanic. I don't think you should ever have work done, without firstly gaining a quote on the work to be done. if any complications come up, the mechanic will inform you first. Just leaving a car with a mech to do wtv he pleases, is just asking for unnecessary expenses.


in regards to ek4r's old ride and its new owner. It doesn't make sense to me why the owner would describe the car as "butchered" and "highly over priced", and yet he still purchased it? If it is too overpriced, and 2 ppl have inspected and test driven it, then simply do not purchase it? rather than buying it then calling the seller a liar on open forums afterwards.

then again, i can only see the facts shown here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tuintegra

in regards to ek4r's old ride and its new owner. It doesn't make sense to me why the owner would describe the car as "butchered" and "highly over priced", and yet he still purchased it? If it is too overpriced, and 2 ppl have inspected and test driven it, then simply do not purchase it? rather than buying it then calling the seller a liar on open forums afterwards.

then again, i can only see the facts shown here.

---

:thumbsup:

alot of hear say, gossip and crap goes on from people that dont know much or anything about the situation... and story keeps getting longer and more bullshit just keeps getting added it seems.

"i gave the buyer a refund on the AGREED value due to imperfections on the car." - i never heard about this? or saw any refund given to the buyer.

"i drove my car for 1 year with not a single problem yet the buyer seem to have had more problem with it in the 1st 2 days." - thats weird, the buyer was told otherwise and given records of parts replaced because of issues with the car.. just seems you failed to fix all the important issues.

about the tyre - yes the agreed refund was done because of the blown tyre.. and to set things straight - the agreed term was car tyres would be good enough to get the car back to sydney.. which it failed to do. simple as that.

if the car was in the "condition" as it was discribed, the price would of been quite fair. but sadly it wasnt...the terms used in this thread to describe the car are abit long winded but not that far from the truth alot of the issues were found after the car was taken apart, which wouldnt of been found from a normal inspection.. unless you plan to rip half the car apart when you buy one.

ben's right. this is off topic and no point .. wats done is done. live and learn. but wat goes around comes around... if you have any more things to discuss private msg.

i guess since the actual topic is also solved someone can close this thread

Problem solved. Closed.