strange question
 

ok I do alot of work on my car, maintenance, etc.. Ive been having a problem finding somone to just replace my timing belt, I had one mechanic at a honda shop today tell me it would be $400 because not only would he replace the timing belt but the water pump, the other belts, crankshaft and camshaft seals and a couple other misc things that i cant remember...others have told me the same thing, and they all refust to just replace the timing belt like I want and nothing else.. are these mechanics just trying to wring more money out of ppl or is what they are saying valid?

RE: strange question
 

It really does not matter what they say or think...........it is your car, your money your choise.......

hell i rather replace just the timing belt every single time ,, than a few months later when the water pump leaks or is noisy ,or the balancer shaft leaks i would get money for doing the same thing again

What i am trying to say is that ,it is wise and a money saving situation to do the complete job while you are there ,,

but for a shop to refuse to replace just the timing belt it is totally ridiculous ...

RE: strange question
 

Yeah, what they say is true. $400 is not too bad a price either. The water pu,p comes off to get to the timing belt, many places won't put a used part like that back on due to failure reasons.

RE: strange question
 

there is no need to remove the water pump in order to replace the timing belt ....

....and a shop should listen to a customer request as long as it is not out of reason,,
heck i will install his old oil filter if so he ( she ) chooses .....the shop has no right to dictate to a customer how to spend his money or what part to use .. as long as the shop tells the customer that if it fails ( ITS YOUR BABY ) , and have customer sign paper

and if they put a used part in as per customer request than the customert HAS TO PAY all over again to redo the job if it fails

Many customers bring their own parts to my shop to install them .. i tell them that if that part fails even 1 minute after i install it , they have to pay me labor all over again to redo the job
and i have them sigh the repair order

RE: strange question
 

thanks for the input guys, the water pump in my car isnt that old, '92 accord lz with 185,000 miles, i think the water pump has like 28,000 miles on it and its brand new. I honestly just need the timing belt replaced nothing else is wrong with the car.

RE: strange question
 

what you mean is that nothing is wrong right now. But if the belt is replaced and the seals are left to start leaking in a few thousand miles, you'll have the chance to bad mouth that mechanic all over town. It's a matter of fixing it right the first time, someone didn't replace the waterpump the first time which led to a failure before the second belt change was due.
If you have a price of parts and labor of $400, you should jump all over that.

RE: strange question
 

no what you fail to realize is that I know what goes on with my car and I knowwhat needs to be fixed/replaced and when. I just need a timing belt replaced...nothing more. I do not bad mouth mechanics unless there is something intentionally done that I did not approve to be done. if something messes up with the car that few thousand miles after the timing beltis replaced than thats not the mechanics fault, and its me that will have to deal with going about how to fix it. dont assume or jump to conclusions.

RE: strange question
 

Just wanted to say "my bad" for giving the info that the water pump had to come off in order to do the timing belt. My 'trusted' service manager at my old honda dealership told me that. I'm glad that the folks on this forum really know and do what they talk about.
Thank you for correcting me Deserthonda.

RE: strange question
 

ehy not to worry Slusher ,,:) but i am surprised that they would say such a thing to you,, continue with your helpful suggestions and thanks for your input ;)

RE: strange question
 

if the pump is that new then I'd probably be of the same opinion as you, just do the belt, however I'd have the seals redone while he's in there (they're cheap and quick to do now but costly to do it all over again) leave the pump there and just do the belt, have you ever considered doing this yourself? As long as you don't rotate anything while you're doing it then your timing should be fine and it's a fairly straightforward repair, it just takes time... And like others have said $400.00 for the belt, seals, pump, etc is a pretty good price if you want all that done, but it's a pretty crappy price if you just want to do a fricken belt

RE: strange question
 

nice suggestion I however do not have the proper tools and i dont have $400 to plunk down on a seal job that isnt needed

RE: strange question
 

So your between that Rock and a Hard place one often hears about ! Nothing ventured..nothing gained by this post I'd say :eek:

WheelBrokerAng
[sm=americanasmiley.gif]

RE: strange question
 

i wouldnt say that....I did get some nice info on how mechanics actually work. no offense to any of the Mechanics that do this for a living but persoanlly I cant stand mechanics, In my experience they are all cheats and swindlers that try to get as much as possible out of the poor schmucks that come to them for auto help.

RE: strange question
 

NOW MY MAN YOU HAVE STEPPED OUT OF LINE..AND YES I DO TAKE OFFENSE TO YOUR CLOSE MINDED STATEMENT ........you cannot stand machanics ,,? they are all cheats.. ? I have been a tech for 27 years have had my own shop for 10 years and i have NEVER cheated a person ,as a matter of facts i go out of my way to save them money ,

no offense but you are full of crap to make such a statement ..You cannot condemn everyone for the few bad experience you might have had ,,
i have met more swindelrs customers than mechanics.... come in for an oil change and then complain that the a/c does not work ,, was working ok before,, ( system was totally empty )
come in for frt brake job and then complain car overheats and never did that before ,, i could go on and on

So,you tell me who the cheats and swindlers are

If you feel that way i would reccomend that you buy yourself a HELM service manual , invest some money in tools and do all the work yourself .. that way you will never feel cheated again

RE: strange question
 

Desert I sincerely apologize to you. Like I stated it is with my personal experiences. I had to go through a legal battle to get my last Honda I owned back from a mechanic who did $1400 woth of work to my car that I did not authorize him to do he then tried to tell me that I did. anywho after that Ive had a sour taste for mechanics. again Im really sorry I was just stating personal experience

RE: strange question
 

There are good and bad people in every corner of life.........Not just auto repair shops. Try to have faith in your fellow man (or woman).
But cover your butt just in case.

Say, how do you insert those smiley faces?

RE: strange question
 

My friend i understand your frustration and i am sorry that you had to go to such ordeal ,,,,,,and you are correct that shop had no right to do all that work without your approval

but it is not to me that you have to apologize but to all the honest techs that come in here giving their time and effort with advices and suggestions to help people save money and aiding them to fix the car themselves ,,,,, and this is not just in this forum but in all other forums ,, if we wanted to make more money we sure would not tell someone how to fix their car ..

RE: strange question
 

point taken.. again Im sorry to tall the Honest Techs that visit the forum I didnt inted to make it a personal attack