Perceptions...

l drive 10 to 15yr yr old cars for 2-4yrs , spend nothing on them, they might get some oil now and then but that's it, sell em , usually for almost what l paid for them , buy another one.

l'd love to drive new cars but eh , 10 or 20 k down the minute you drive it out of the yard , insurances , servicing , interest . Add it all up and unless you can claim it that new cars costing you 1,000s and 1.000s.

But , not that l'm saying l've got it right and l do often wonder just how everyday people manage to be driving new ones all the time . Maybe it is a better way to go if you do it right, nice and comfortable , never get your hands dirty. l've never really been able to figure that one out.

Add a decent road side assitance package and I think you're on to a winner for cheap reliable transport.

Edit - for this to work you've got be willing and able to buy a new car at the drop off a hat.
 
Brilliant effort.

How did you manage that (head tensioner guage, other tools required etc) and how long did it take?

Was the head checked for fatigue/warping/cracks first?

no on all counts. just used ringies, a hammer, socket set etc. trick was to pull the rockers off first and then bolt them down last, really slow...took about 2.5 hours all up IIRC.

it was an emergency repair on a datsun A12 - back of beyond repair job to get home. It didn't overheat (i didn't let it) but when it was getting warm i shut it off and checked the coolant to find oil in there, then checked the sump to find some chocolate milk.

got home just fine, with dam water in the radiator and probably some coolant still in the oil. Ijunked the motor there and then, though and 'upgraded' to a 120Y A12.

i highly doubt that would work on any new motor.
 
What sort of car?
My car that I service myself is a Daihatsu Charade, out of warranty.

Can you give me a breakdown of what a minor service and a major service consists of?
My good mechanic works at K-Mart tyre and auto service. Here is a breakdown of what they offer for each level of service with some 4WDs, vans, commercial and imported vehicles may be subject to a surcharge.

http://www.ktas.com.au/car-servicing/packaged-servicing/

I imagine that every shop is going to be different, so no guarantee you will get good service if you try them out.
 
My car that I service myself is a Daihatsu Charade, out of warranty.


My good mechanic works at K-Mart tyre and auto service. Here is a breakdown of what they offer for each level of service with some 4WDs, vans, commercial and imported vehicles may be subject to a surcharge.

http://www.ktas.com.au/car-servicing/packaged-servicing/

I imagine that every shop is going to be different, so no guarantee you will get good service if you try them out.
Interesting.

Just called the closest K-Mart to us for a quote on the same service you mentioned for the car I listed in post no; 52.

The gentleman informed me the "Major Service for $219" was not a log book service.

The log book service on the same car was up in the price range I listed for the fixed price quote site...he was only estimating; didn't have enough info to give exact figures; but more than $600 for sure.

A Daihatsu Charade would be less than a Mazda 6 of course, but I'd wager more than $219 if it was "by the book"...fuel filter would be another add in for a major service.
 
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Yes well we all do it tough when we start out.

My husband used to leave his office job and then do a taxi shift till 3 in the morning so I could be home with the babies. Lucky for him he is a person that does not require 8 hours sleep like some of us (me). We used to joke that he maybe should do a milk run as well when he knock off at 3.

When he bought his own taxi plates he used to steel parts off my car (which he made sure was the same model) to replace the parts in his taxi and left me stranded at home.

But there comes a time when things get better. However his passion for machines drives me nuts, almost like being married to a gambler.

Any way a Honda isn't that expensive, what are you on about, its an average car isn't it. After the lemon, I am sticking with average from now on.

I wont tell you about the 87 year old driver who crashed into the back of my Honda after I only had it two weeks. Shoot me if I am still driving when I am 87.

Fleur



Fleur
 
Don't know Bayview, the M dealers said I was not driving long distances only short and that I should drive long distances to charge it. They gave us a new battery and still kept going flat. A friend told me the problem may be the boot light was not turning off when boot closed but had a gut full by then and just wanted to get rid of it. I have to say I said a lot of hail Mary's when I gave the keys to the Honda dealer to test drive it.
 
Bit of a funny story in a way.
Had a mate , he wanted to be a property guru.
He's mum helped him get finance on an old shop and he rounded up another 10k to turn that in to two flats. Slept in his old van out in the lane way for 6mths while he did the job.
Rented those out then he bought his 3 place.
Him and he's van moved into the yard of the 3rd place , he renovated that and then rented it out.
Last l saw him he was still living in his van but on to his 5th place. It was 10 ac and an old farm house.
He was in the middle of turning part in to some student accommodation and subdividing the rest which was going to give him 12 places all up .
l said so your right now yeah , your gonna move out of your van and into your own place , maybe even buy a new van to right.
He reckons he was thinking about it .
One day he drove me round all his properties in that damn van, man did that thing stink .

He was actually on the dole when he got that first old shop. l'd estimate his stuff worth around 5 million all up now . And with cash coming in all over the place..
He only got that first shop about 6yrs ago .

But eh , now that's getting your moneys worth out of your car or what !
 
I'd expect a minor service to be around $200 and a major around $400. Reality is about double that and previously experienced quality has been average to low. I do my own servicings at around $50 and $100 for minors and majors respectively and quality is, IMO, much higher.
 
I had a friend whose parents had a BMW - he said BMW stood for Big Money Waster. :D

And any other Euro cars, like Volvo's, Mercedes Benz, Audi,etc.... Spouse just serviced my car, and the bill was around $1,500.00.
His is less than one year old, also paid for his first service around $1,500.00.
We are loyal Volvo drivers so I suppose we pay these prices.
Being in business helps little, so when we will retire we may think about other brands?
We have few other vehicles for business, and tolls, services, parking, insurances, petrol, etc..costs us heapssssssssss!:(
 
Just want to share something that i've experienced.

I was actually using one of the ultra tune mechanics for a while and I got them to change the spark plugs. No phone call with any updates but then when I go to pickup the car they tell me that one of the cylinders is misfiring.

Then they told me that they couldn't find out which one it was and to drive it and come back tomorrow to check it out again.
Came back the next day and they did some test and told me that the spark plug coils need replacing which will be about $360.

I had already paid a lot to get the spark plugs replaced so I went to a smaller independent mechanic and they straight away told me which cylinder was misfiring and will have a look for me. Left the car there for a while and found that 1 spark plug was cracked possibly due to over tightening.

Now I go to an independent mechanic that only charges $50 to change engine oil if i bring the oil and filter, while also doing a quick check up.

An honest and reasonably priced mechanic is the best way to go.
 
And any other Euro cars, like Volvo's, Mercedes Benz, Audi,etc.... Spouse just serviced my car, and the bill was around $1,500.00.
His is less than one year old, also paid for his first service around $1,500.00.
We are loyal Volvo drivers so I suppose we pay these prices.
Being in business helps little, so when we will retire we may think about other brands?
We have few other vehicles for business, and tolls, services, parking, insurances, petrol, etc..costs us heapssssssssss!:(
That seems astronomically high for a first service on anything - even for a Dealership. What did they actually do on that visit?

The thing about dealerships - and I'm not knocking them at all - just explaining what I see is their side of the equation;

When folks take their car back to a dealership for a service when it is still under warranty (and we are the same in this case) the dealer or independent workshop or whoever does that service - is obliged out of duty of care, and out of protection from litigation etc to do the service exactly as per the service book - and the Dealerships do just that...

There's none of this sort thing where they'll do only what's needed and leave what isn't - they do absolutely everything on that service list.

Same for me, because if say; the transmission oil was due for replacement, and we don't change it (even though it looks fine with no metal in it etc) , then 2 weeks later the transmission blows up - guess who wears the cost of the new transmission?

In the case of a Beemer, the transmission fluid job alone may be upwards of $300 for labour, oil and filter kit. So, it gets done to protect their @rse.

A Dealership is charging out their workshop labour at $150, $160 dollars per hour - the European Dealerships are up to $300 per hour for the absolute top-end brands.

Is this expensive? It appears to be, but the overheads are substantial in a workshop - especially a Dealership workshop where you have the mechanic, the workshop manager, the parts department, the reception desk and so on, whereas in my workshop the phone, the invoicing, the customer liaising, etc - is all done by one person - me - so there are at least 2 staff less for all those roles in my workshop. It means I can be busy all day long, and not actually work on a car at all.

Go to the doctor and see what a consultation costs - $70 approx; for about 7 mins. Work out that hourly rate. They have overheads too - one receptionist or maybe two. Really big clinics possibly 3.

But then folks say; "Oh, yes; but you are paying for their expertise and professional training!"

And while folks think a mechanic has no real professional qualification or education, they actually do have - the really good ones do, for sure.

Yes, I do agree that the Dealerships charge a lot for their parts, but so does everyone on the planet who has a monopoly on a certain product.

You don't have to opt for it - you can go up the road to a workshop such as mine, get the full-warranty service done as per the book, and we will use non-genuine parts (or we can order genuine, you pay more, and wait until tomorrow for the parts to arrive a lot of the times), and pay less...

It will still cost a lot, because we are doing absolutely everything by the book for our own protection (and yours ultimately), but not as much as a Dealership due to the lower labour cost per hour, and the non-genuine parts.

Or, we can go back to the days where the warranty was 1 or maybe 2 years if you were lucky, and servicing costs will drop significantly.

I can't see that happening.
 
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Don't know Bayview, the M dealers said I was not driving long distances only short and that I should drive long distances to charge it. They gave us a new battery and still kept going flat. A friend told me the problem may be the boot light was not turning off when boot closed but had a gut full by then and just wanted to get rid of it. I have to say I said a lot of hail Mary's when I gave the keys to the Honda dealer to test drive it.
We get these scenarios quite regularly, and often times it is exactly that; a light left on that you don't know about, etc.

But the usage of the car is actually a factor.

We have a lot of retired folks down our way, and lots of Mums - whose driving patterns are;

1. Pensioners - very short trips, often only down to the IGA, and to the Bank to draw out the pension, and/or the doctor/chemist etc...maybe lash out and drive to Mornington (20mins) once in a blue moon.
2. Mums; same as above and to pick-up kids from school, maybe take them to the sports after school, etc.

The normal life of a battery is approx 5-6 years. I have heard of longer; but this is not the normal. Sitting around not being driven - and not being driven far - will often shorten the lifespan to 3 years or so.

So, when someone comes in such as yourself, our first question is; "What is your driving pattern?"

Then, we check the battery. If the battery is testing ok (and has water in it if it is a refill version) we then move on to the alternator.

If that is ok, then it's possible that there is a power leak from somewhere - some workshops have auto electric expertise and may be able to narrow it down from there, or you will need to visit an auto-electrical workshop.

Also, with older batteries; once they go really flat; unless you get it fully charged and drive it more regularly and more distance; they often never come back to full charge - always operating at less than full capacity; so it's easier to flatten them again.
 
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