Am I getting a good deal?

I work with a guy who was a GM top mechanic for 30 years and now he is a handy man at the hospital I work for and on the side he rebuilds Corvettes from the ground up. He has his own lift in his garage with probably $50K in tools at the least. He said he would only charge me $35 an hour and I could either get my own parts as cheap as I could or he would get them as cheap as he could cause he connections or we could see who can get what cheaper and mix and match and all he is going to charge me is labor. Seem like a good deal? I also would like a list if anyone has the time, listed in order of importance, of what a full tuneup on a 98LT would be. I am looking for the best wires, best plugs which I know are the ac delco plats and any other aftermarket parts that are better then stock to do this. Thanks Guys and Gals I really appreciate it!

Well I got the AC Delco cap/rotor and Platinum Plugs. I found some Taylor 8MM wires for a good deal.

Grease your front end.

Depending on mileage I would replace belts/hoses if you are really trying to do a full tune up. Hook it up to a scanner and check for any error codes. My throttle position sensor went bad on my Blazer at around 60,000 miles and the scanner found that for me.

Obviously brake pads and rotors.

Check ball joints and other suspension parts. Probably new shocks/springs would not hurt.

Also, go ahead and replace the bulbs in your headlamps/blinkers/tails. If you have not done this it is definitely time.

Check tread on your tires.

Replace the stock air filter with something like a K&N or just do a whole intake upgrade. Might as well change the muffler while you are at it.

Now to do all of this you have to have some cash set aside. Then again you were not very specific. These are just things I have done or am planning to do in the next 3 months.

I already changed wires/plugs/cap/rotor/tires/rims/brakes/bulbs and added the new intake/cat/muffler. Also got a bull guard/M3 mirrors (a bitch to try and put on, have not added them yet) and a oil catch can I just got in Friday.

I have 70,000 miles on my truck right now so all of these things needed to be done, minus the bull bar. and mirrors.

Hope this helps.

Have him inspect your truck to see what it needs for brakes forst.

$35 an hour is fair.

Brakes are all set.

Have him inspect your truck to see what it needs for brakes forst.

$35 an hour is fair.
wrong... 45 an hour is fair, and at the low end of the totam poll anymore, 35 an hour is a snatch it up deal, have him look it over, and have him get the parts, and do a safty check on it...

sure, no arguement there.

but I would still save money and do the tuneup myself.

me too, but if you dont know, or are scared to get under there, better off having someone else do it... you would be how suprised how many tune up calls/jobs we get at work from people (even the mid 20's guys) who just dont want to mess around with newer vehicals

me too, but if you dont know, or are scared to get under there, better off having someone else do it... you would be how suprised how many tune up calls/jobs we get at work from people (even the mid 20's guys) who just dont want to mess around with newer vehicals

Gotta point there but seeing he frequents here made me think he could handle himself.

I pay 45 for 2 ASE mechanics so 35 is sweet.

Hell $35 an hour. Send him down here. Your luck to find a ASE mechanic that will go under $50. where I'm at. Go for it..............

Oh I can do all of this myself. But for $35 an hour and he said he will not charge more then 2 hours worth of work if it even takes him that long. I am juts tired of getting dirty and it is cold now so knowing I have a heated garage to stand in and watch is fine with me! ;)

Screw the tuneups, for $35 an hour you should get him to install some JDM parts, like a sweet body kit, maybe a spoiler, an extra loud muffler, and some interior neon.

If you want to just throw money at this thing blindly I would replace the o2 sensors, forgo changing the air filter and order yourself a cold air intake off ebay ($35-50 with cone filter, depending on quality), plugs/wires/cap/rotor, change your diff fluids, do a tranny service, replace pcv, replace vacuum lines, replace front and rear brakes, do a coolant flush and replace rad cap, and finally do an oil change and put synthetic in. Like the others, I would also consider doing your exhaust (muffler would be fairly inexpensive, catback wouldn't be much more).

Hell of a deal though man.

Oh I can do all of this myself. But for $35 an hour and he said he will not charge more then 2 hours worth of work if it even takes him that long. I am juts tired of getting dirty and it is cold now so knowing I have a heated garage to stand in and watch is fine with me! ;)

True enough.

I just like to get dirty and cold.

It is all part of being a Canadian. ;)

True enough.

I just like to get dirty and cold.

It is all part of being a Canadian. ;)

:lol:

Screw the tuneups, for $35 an hour you should get him to install some JDM parts, like a sweet body kit, maybe a spoiler, an extra loud muffler, and some interior neon.
hey man, the civic board is under 'Honda'