Brakes

God dammit. All I wanted was my alignment fixed and my snow tires taken off. What I got was a 'do or die' warning. My brakes are SHOT. Total estimate for complete brake overhaul plus 90000 mile tune up: $900. Here's my problem: I knew I was going to have to replace the brakes soon, but I was going to wait until I had my new wheels on so I could fit a big brake kit on. You can't fit the big brake kits with the 13" rims still on. So I have to have a complete brake overhaul instead of buying new rims. Not to mention that if I buy a big brake kit I will be replacing like-new OEM brakes once they are overhauled. Dammit dammit dammit.

Here's some of the individual charges:
front brake overhaul: 190
front rotor set: 80
rear brake overhaul: 170

They wanted me to pay 15 bucks for a new radiator cap. Why in the world would I need a new radiator cap? Included in that 900 dollar cost is a coolant flush, radiator hose replacement, new thermostat, 4 cylinder tune up, distributor cap and rotor, air filter, and fuel filter. All that for 900 bucks including labor. Is that a fair price?

900 doesnt seem that bad if thats including labor, for the work your getting done. as for the new cap, you can prolly get a new one yourself for half the price at any auto store, maybe your is leaking or not venting correctly.

good lawd, do the brakes yourself...paying that much is ridiculous IMO
what is included in thier "overhaul" anyways?:rolleyes: they also said your brakes are shot? any noises or excessive vibrations to back this up?

as for the rest-

coolant flush-easy
new Rad. hoses-easy
thermo- duno..never had to replace
tune up-not hard(whats included in their tune up?)
air filter and fuel filter-both easy

I dunno...i wouldnt want to blow 900 bucks on that myself, but im also a cheap bastard.
hell...for 900 bucks i could almost have a new "used" b16a setup :D

if youre not too familiar with your car, or mechanically inclined, i suggest getting a helms manual, it will tell you everything you need to know to do just about anything

Well basically they said that the brakes would be have to be completely replaced. If that is true (I am going to take a look at the brakes myself this week) then I will just do the work myself. I think what I'll do is get some slightly used OEMs to last me until I can put my rims and big brakes on. I hate surprises.

Just replace the rotors and brake pads and repack the bearings if they are drum in the rear.

BTW. Changing the Thermostat is easy as hell. Since you are flushing the coolant system anyway. All you gotta do is remove the thermo. housing yank out the old one and the old gasket, Clean the area, and replace with new gasket and thermo.

No brake system ever need a complete overhaul. You probably just need new pads/shoes or pads/pads all the way around at the worst.

If you had leaking calipers/wheel cylinders, your mechanic would have stressed that, so you're getting charged $900 for parts and labor that would most likely cost under $100 if you did it yourself.

Since you don't seem to be mechanically inclined.....definately have someone help you out or get the helm's manual......cost $75.

Either way, you save a good deal of dinero, even if you need to buy the basic tools needed to accomplish the formentioned tasks.

yeah, the thermostat is pretty easy to replace, and the part is only like 15 bucks. My uncle did mine and he thought is was weird where the placement was (on the back sid of the engine instead of front) but it's not something you really would need a mechanic to do if money is an issue.

If you lived in Georgia i'd offer to come help, none of that is stuff that you NEED a mechanic for. If you're cheap like me you'll figure out how to do brakes and cooling systems on your own REAL quick.

Hell, if you can drive the Florida, I'll do all the work for ya for half the price including parts.

and just to make it seem realistic, I'll write up a receipt with a bunch of crap on it that doesn't make any sense and itemize it to death to make it seem like it was alot of work. :)