Am I making a mistake?

As some of you know I recently bought a 91 R/T TT. It has 81,500 miles on it and I can't confirm if the 60k has been done or not so I have just decided to do it. I already bought the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, pulleys, and some oil filters from a Mitsubishi dealership online. Now, I have chosen a shop around here to do the work rather than the local dealer. The shop is only going to charge me about $380 to do the labor. I am going to do the plugs, wires, and gaskets myself. They said they will cover the work and the parts are warranted so I figure if either causes a problem then someone will cover it. The shop says they have worked on these cars before.

I just seems that everyone at 3Si thinks I'm nuts and that I should take it to the dealer. However, the dealer didn't seem to think that the water pump was part of the 60k, so how competent are they?

What do you guys think, should I take it to the dealer or do you think I would be fine to take it to this shop?

I personally don't trust a dealership to check my tire pressure. I worked at one, and I can honestly say, I've seen complete idiots destroy cars. A co-worker made the mistake of trusting the Ford shop to change his oil in his 11 second mustang (hey, he's an employee...it's free...can't go wrong right?) Idiots never put his drain plug back in. He made it 3 blocks.

Another time they left a few rags under the hood, and a Camaro caught fire. This is literally in 1 month, just doing oil changes.

If you find a mechanic you trust, I'd say go for it. Personally, if you have any mechanical abilities, I'd try doing it yourself. There are great links in teh FAQ, but if not, just find someone you trust. I have a mechanic, whom I don't use often, but I would and have trusted him with my vr4. That is more than I can say for my friends and my vr4.

That's freaking scary!

I would do it myself, but this way the work is covered in case something goes wrong and when I feel more comfortable and I know the car more I could probably do the 120k myself.

yea water pump is definitely a 60k item. If the dealer doesnt know that, its very sad.

most mitsubishi or dodge dealerships dont know squat about the 3/S

try finding a mechanic that really knows his stuff

Well, this shop won't hire you unless you have six years of experience. One of the guys there is a Turbo Dodge guy so that makes me feel better and they say they've worked on 3Ss before and they guarantee all their work.

On a side note, I got my parts from Rockville Mitsubishi Parts Online:

http://www.mitsupartsdirect.com (http://www.mitsupartsdirect.com/)

All were Mitsubishi parts. Water pump, timing belt, tensioner, pulleys, five oil filters, bag of nuts, and a FREE K&N filter. All that for $320, awesome deal!

Poly, that's an awesome deal man. I'm gonna be ordering from them too but how did you get all those stuff? Did you get free shipping too? Did you order online or called them up? I'm assuming you got the KIT874 right? I tried putting that kit in as the part number and it said "part not found" so I just kinda stopped. :p

Poly, that's an awesome deal man. I'm gonna be ordering from them too but how did you get all those stuff? Did you get free shipping too? Did you order online or called them up? I'm assuming you got the KIT874 right? I tried putting that kit in as the part number and it said "part not found" so I just kinda stopped. :p

Nope, no free shipping, but it was only about fifteen dollars. As for ordering, I called them and ordered it since I had the same problem you did.

yea water pump is definitely a 60k item. If the dealer doesnt know that, its very sad.

Actually no it is not. However its a good idea to do it while you are in there.

Nope, no free shipping, but it was only about fifteen dollars. As for ordering, I called them and ordered it since I had the same problem you did.

Hmm....and then they just offered the free filter? Or did you ask 'em for it? Yeah, it'll be nice to get the same package...but I don't understand how you could get all that for $320. The kit itself is 300. Plus 5 oil filters ($20) plus shipping ($15) makes everything total $335 at least. Oh, and what were the nuts for? I'm assuming you mean like nuts as in bolts, right? Or did you mean actual peanuts? LOL Thanks dude because I'm gonna be ordering from them too and it'll be nice to get the little extras. Hehe Especially the filter. :p

Hmm....and then they just offered the free filter? Or did you ask 'em for it? Yeah, it'll be nice to get the same package...but I don't understand how you could get all that for $320. The kit itself is 300. Plus 5 oil filters ($20) plus shipping ($15) makes everything total $335 at least. Oh, and what were the nuts for? I'm assuming you mean like nuts as in bolts, right? Or did you mean actual peanuts? LOL Thanks dude because I'm gonna be ordering from them too and it'll be nice to get the little extras. Hehe Especially the filter. :p

They didn't offer it, and I didn't ask for it. It just came with the other stuff and I didn't pay for it. I said it was about $320, that didn't include shipping. The nuts were a bag of peanuts. :)