Fair or Unfair Price

[Maritimer]

--change oil and filter
--lube propeller shaft
--change transmission fluid and filter
--check belts and tension
--rotate tires
--change air filter element
--new engine coolant
--new spark plugs and wires
--change differential fluid
--change transfer case fluid

The garage is doing all the labor. It's not the Toyota dealership.

Just over $500, in Canada. It seems a little steep, and it makes me wonder if it's even worth going to a small garage for--especially since it's been since yesterday morning to today at 4:00 to get it done.

 

[Jed]

That doesn't seem too bad, IMO. You're probably looking at roughly $120 in parts (and fluids), which would mean about $380 for labor.

Hmmm....maybe a little steep, but it depends upon the hourly rate of the shop. To do all that work, it would probably require somewhere around 2 hours....but the book time would be significantly higher.

 

[Maritimer]

That doesn't seem too bad, IMO. You're probably looking at roughly $120 in parts (and fluids), which would mean about $380 for labor.

Hmmm....maybe a little steep, but it depends upon the hourly rate of the shop. To do all that work, it would probably require somewhere around 2 hours....but the book time would be significantly higher.

Alright, if it doesn't seem too bad, then they are probably in the ballpark, and I'll feel OK. At least most of it won't need done again for two to three years. Apparently the transmission filter was pricey, and the synthetic fluids as well. Hate to see what Toyota would've charged me, then.

 

[Maritimer]

It came to $610 in the end. The guy did all the hinges and fixed a couple of odds and ends that bothered him as well. Thank god I got all that done because he said the old oils looked like ****, and the filters were all crap. The spark plugs were in dire straits as well. I feel good, but the wife put me in the dog house. :cry2:

When you see what this guy did with a second generation 4Runner you'll all trust me that I'm in good hands. It involved lots of welding. I'll put up some pics after I scan them.

The fan and alternator belts are going to be done next week, and we're looking at the filler pipe over a P0441 code. DOG HOUSE!

I'm not going to see Mrs. Maritimer naked until this 4Runner sees the last of its days at 300,000 miles. It's only at 120,000 right now.

Please tell me this stuff was well worth my money! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND MY LIBIDO!

 

[Jed]

It sounds like your 4Runner was in good hands. If you trust the guy and he does a good job, then I'd say you got your money's worth. Don't sweat it.

 

[brian2sun]

That price doesn't sound too bad to me either. Next time if you want to see the wife naked a little sooner than 300K, a lot of that stuff is easy DIY like the plugs, wires, engine oil, diffs, and t-case. The tranny isn't hard but it's a PITA. Oh well, now you can take that well-oiled machine to the strip club!

 

[Maritimer]

Hahaha! Thanks guys. I trust your opinions, too, as I read a lot of your posts here, obviously.

I was reading over what I got for my Honda Type D service last spring ($300), and except for the air filter and the engine oil and filter, everything is "inspect" or "check" or "adjust". My guy today spent about 40 minutes telling me about all the things I could think about and all the things he noticed, and was walking around lubing hinges and tightening various things while talking to me. He really is a mechanical genius, and I'll be sad if I move cities and don't have him do my work. In a month or so I've found a trustworthy mechanic. He basically did a Type D, and pumped liters of oil and fluids and several filters and put six new spark plugs into my beauty. He said the transmission fluid was a PITA, too, LOL.

He's the type that will spend five minutes making sure a filter box is latched tightly because he noticed it was a bit open when the only reason he went into the engine was to look at the fan belts.

Can't wait to get new belts on next week to take the fan and squeak sound out of the engine. For some reason I'm so much more particular about the way this marvel runs than I ever thought about how my Honda ran.