Before you buy a car/truck

[CourierDriver]

After 3 months of driving for a local Napa store delivering parts, I have witnesses a lot of cars and trucks being repaired.

One thing I have noticed is how many components are so well hidden that should be easy to change out, but are not.

Example: Toyota Tundra starters are hidden under the intake manifold. It is a 4 hour job to change out the starter, insane IMHO. Cost to the owner , 600 bucks, hey , thats what they are charging in our town. I know , it does not sound right, but that's what it is.



My opinion, before you buy your next new or used ride, ask around on the cost of replacing parts, you may change your mind. PS, I am not a car mechanic, I am just reporting what I was told as I observed some of these jobs going on...

 

[zach1900]

On the other hand the Toyota 5sfe engine is probably the most accessible engine I've ever seen, everything is on top and visible.

 

[Andrew1972]

The worst I have seen is VR6 motors (thankfully long gone) with timing chain issues that require full removal to repair as timing chain is in back of engine.

Subaru is terrible when head repairs happen because full engine removal is required. The valve job on my wife's 2005 Legacy turbo cost $2000 because motor was pulled.

 

[racer12306]

As cars get more compact and more features keep getting added, is this even avoidable as we go forward? Fit more in less space always costs most after the fact

 

[camrydriver111]

This is a good idea for used cars.

The starter is not a regular maintenance item, but I always look at timing belt vs. chain for instance.

 

[CT8]

Most people do not care. That is what we call trips to Waikiki repairs.

 

[skyactiv]

I'm a former Honda, now UPS semi mechanic. I don't care or think about how hard it is to replace this or that when I buy a vehicle. You might end up buying a lame vehicle based on reliability and ease of service.

 

[cat843]

I think this kind of info (to some extent) is in Consumer Reports under freq. of repair. True that does not list the actual cost of repair, but does list how often or what percentage get repaired.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: racer12306
As cars get more compact and more features keep getting added, is this even avoidable as we go forward?


Of course this is avoidable. It's easy enough to make the engine compartment a little longer to make it easier to maintain.

 

[racer12306]

If you're the designer it's avoidable, but I mean is it avoidable to us as the consumer as we have zero say in how a car is designed.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The Toyota 4.7 V8 started under the intake manifold is in a dry protected place. Mine is 12 years old and working perfectly. Your posting prompted me to ask a couple of people here at work with the same setup and they have had no problems. The owner here of a Ram pickup with a hemi is on his third starter in 5 years.

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The Toyota 4.7 V8 started under the intake manifold is in a dry protected place. Mine is 12 years old and working perfectly. Your posting prompted me to ask a couple of people here at work with the same setup and they have had no problems. The owner here of a Ram pickup with a hemi is on his third starter in 5 years.


My parts spent $500 using a $65/hr mechanic to change out on their 2000 Tundra. It fails however the motor otherwise had very little amiss with it in 15 years.

I know I spent $300 on our Subaru and starter is cake walk to change on top of motor at same mechanic. $500 does not seem terrible.

 

[CourierDriver]

A few post in here does not reflect the John Q Public and the on going auto repairs. If you could see what I see each day delivering parts, many repairs having nothing to do with oil changes. Oil changes, though are important, are just a tid bit of a repair shops income...in other words, oil changes are a waste of their time from what I am told. Money is in brake jobs, waterpumps and all the senors that are way over priced at the counter the public pays for. If you go into a parts store and you're quoted say 240 bucks for a map sensor, the auto repair place usually pays about 120 bucks for the same part. You can get them cheaper off the internet. That air filter you pay 15 bucks for, 7.50 the shop.
PS, never buy those air-filters at the oil changing stations,just saying, way to much markup. So, the bottom line is , shops pay 40 to 50 pct less then you do when you go into AZ,Advance, Oreilleys, Napa and so on.
All those oil additives and transmission additives, they are marked up way to much. Just take 40 pct off the asking price which imho should be the public's cost because the store is still making 25 to 40pct because the store will buy lots say in the 5 to 10'000 dollar range which is shipped to them over 3 month period so they do not have all their money tied up and the deals to the store continue,, PS, they are not going broke----bottom line, the markup is quite large............oh well thats business.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I'm a former Honda, now UPS semi mechanic. I don't care or think about how hard it is to replace this or that when I buy a vehicle. You might end up buying a lame vehicle based on reliability and ease of service.


Yep, I bought a Mercedes knowing that the cost of repair was 2-3x more than a regular car, but I didn't really care, it's still a Mercedes and I love all the options it has.

For OEM parts, there are certain dealers that discount on the web, some go as high as 30% or more. Advance Auto parts typically has coupon codes good for 40% off, but they limit it to a maximum amount so parts that around $100 can be worth it, otherwise more expensive parts are cheaper to get online.

 

[andrewg]

It would be nice if auto makers would design the entire car so that an owner can easily access parts that typically need replacing. But in reality, cars are designed to utilize space. If a part was easy to get to...then that may correlate to wasted space. Besides, the vast majority of new car buyers don't own a car long enough to worry about replacing much. They'll trade it in before then or take it to a shop and don't think much about it.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
This is a good idea for used cars.

The starter is not a regular maintenance item, but I always look at timing belt vs. chain for instance.


Here's a Rube Goldberg'esque timing chain set-up, for you.

 

[Fteenthousand]

Nine years ago I bought a 99 Cavalier 2.2L based mainly on how cheap parts were for it. It's still sitting out in the driveway and the alternator and lower radiator hose are the only items that have failed. It's also worth noting that in the case something does happen it's an easy engine to work on with plenty of room under the hood.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I always try to be sure a vehicle does not have weird service access (like having to disassemble a bellypan or remove a skidplate to change oil), super-expensive wear parts (like $300 brake pads or a weird dealer-only air filter), or idiotic PM requirements (like plugs at 25K miles, or a $1000 timing belt job every 50K) before buying. (Honestly...I do not like timing belts, period.)

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
It would be nice if auto makers would design the entire car so that an owner can easily access parts that typically need replacing. But in reality, cars are designed to utilize space. If a part was easy to get to...then that may correlate to wasted space. Besides, the vast majority of new car buyers don't own a car long enough to worry about replacing much. They'll trade it in before then or take it to a shop and don't think much about it.


This is why we have macpherson struts nearly everywhere.

What gets me about my camry is the lower ball joint bolts into the control arm-- a GM product would use massive rivets one has to grind out. And it's (arguably) a wear item.