The Automotive Thread

[FLBuff PE]

When you start it up.

 

[Supe]

Check if the rubber band is broken.

 

[MetsFan]

I finally fixed the rough idle issue in my car with the $30 coil. I'm glad it wasn't anything more serious. This also means getting a new car doesn't make sense at this point. The only other thing I need to fix is the adaptive headlights, but from what I've read, it will need a whole new headlight assembly. I can live with the stationary lights.

 

[Road Guy]

so my car (2002 Tahoe) does a weird thing in the mornings, only in the mornings, when I get in the car everything works fine, but at my first "stop" when I get out of the car, my door locks, windows, etc wont work, Have to manually lock or unlock all the doors. Once I get back in it works fine for the rest of the day, until the next morning???

Neither the Key Fob nor the switches on the door will work (one time) in the morning?

Does my car need coffee?

 

[MA_PE]

Gremlins

 

[snickerd3]

so my car (2002 Tahoe) does a weird thing in the mornings, only in the mornings, when I get in the car everything works fine, but at my first "stop" when I get out of the car, my door locks, windows, etc wont work, Have to manually lock or unlock all the doors. Once I get back in it works fine for the rest of the day, until the next morning???

Neither the Key Fob nor the switches on the door will work (one time) in the morning?

Does my car need coffee?

what are the temps is the morning out there?

 

[Road Guy]

50

 

[snickerd3]

poltergeist for sure!

j/k

 

[knight1fox3]

Does this pricing seem reasonable keeping in mind it needs to be done at the dealership? 2011 FX-35 w/ approx. 80k miles. Cross-over type vehicle averaging 15-20k miles per year.

Shocks $1,045.90 installed

Struts $727.06 installed

Tires $1,213 installed, balanced, and alignment. This is a sale price good to the end of September for Bridgestone tires.

Price on tires seems high to me having just put all 4 new tires on my sedan. So we'll likely get those elsewhere. Any feedback appreciated, thanks.

 

[csb]

I had tires put on in 2013 for $400 at the dealership.

 

[Road Guy]

I always do shocks myself, you can get high end shocks for $75 to $100 bucks and it takes about an hour of your time for each (for the front) should be able to do the rear in less than an hour..

Last time I got quotes from the stealership on shocks they were $50/EA shock (for installation). And it probably takes them no time at all compared to doing it yourself..

No clue on struts..

I think a set of 4 tires usually runs close to a grand for an above average tire

 

[knight1fox3]

Opted for the upgrade on the rental...

 

[Supe]

Does this pricing seem reasonable keeping in mind it needs to be done at the dealership? 2011 FX-35 w/ approx. 80k miles. Cross-over type vehicle averaging 15-20k miles per year.

Shocks $1,045.90 installed

Struts $727.06 installed

Tires $1,213 installed, balanced, and alignment. This is a sale price good to the end of September for Bridgestone tires.

Price on tires seems high to me having just put all 4 new tires on my sedan. So we'll likely get those elsewhere. Any feedback appreciated, thanks.

In comparison to other cars, shocks are absurd, struts border on high, tires border on high but is really dependent on size. I'm genuinely surprised to see the shocks so much higher than the struts, as the struts often involve more labor. I've never touched a car where the rear shocks required more than three bolts to remove and replace. As a point of reference, my Koni racing shocks and struts combined cost about what they're charging you for shocks...

 

[Supe]

Also just checked Rock Auto for an 03 FX-35 (shouldn't be much different through later years) - $55/ea struts, $47 ea shocks. Even at a shop rate of $80/hr, that would still equate to about an 18 hr job...

Sounds like this dealership wants to give you the ol' struggle snuggle.

 

[MA_PE]

Dealerships are always high, and especially on higher end cars. Most dealers provide a detailed itemized invoice showing the cost. Equivalent or better aftermarket parts are always cheaper as is labor and shop costs. As Supe says it's really surprising that shocks are more than struts as struts are combined shocks and springs. Does the car have automatic load leveling or variable suspension stiffness ( performance vs comfort or something like that). Price the exact same parts and see what's available. You always pay more for names like Bridgestone or Michelin. There are cheaper equivalent tires around. I use tire rack.com to compare.

End result is dealerships are always high. Jmho.

 

[MetsFan]

Does this pricing seem reasonable keeping in mind it needs to be done at the dealership? 2011 FX-35 w/ approx. 80k miles. Cross-over type vehicle averaging 15-20k miles per year.

Shocks $1,045.90 installed

Struts $727.06 installed

Tires $1,213 installed, balanced, and alignment. This is a sale price good to the end of September for Bridgestone tires.

Price on tires seems high to me having just put all 4 new tires on my sedan. So we'll likely get those elsewhere. Any feedback appreciated, thanks.

I don't know about shocks and struts, but that's about how much I paid for tires on my Touareg. I have an odd size so tires are around $270 a piece. Definitely check tirerack.com to see how much you can get tires for. I had my tires/balancing/alignment done at Town Fair Tire since they offered free lifetime rotations and they pricematch tirerack.

 

[Supe]

Discount Tire will also price match Tire Rack's all in cost, i.e. tires, shipping, and then cost you'd pay to have TR tires mounted and balanced.

 

[Road Guy]

I paid $165/ tire (plus all the other BS they throw in) for Big O's equivalent of the BF Goodrich all terrain tire, they did last close to 40K miles, but Ive sadly got to get at least two new ones in the next month before the snow falls, I cant really stand discount tire but will probably give them a whirl...

I found out my old lady had actually been putting all my expense checks in a separate savings account so all the miles I have been driving will be able to cover a new set...

I guess 40K miles is good for driving an AT tire on the freeway a lot, but this was the set that I religiously rotated every 5K miles and two of them are just about gone

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Tires are size/type dependent for price. I just replaced a rear tire for $230 (one tire). Granted, it's a 275/40/R20 high-performance, all-season tire.

For $2k I can put adjustable coilovers on the Camaro, but I would do the install myself.

 

[knight1fox3]

Thanks for all the feedback and info. Sounds like the place that originally quoted us saw that it was an Infiniti and just started adding up the bill. The BIL who help manage a repair shop suggested getting new tires and an alignment and THEN seeing what the shocks/struts look like (he's thinking they are fine). So I think we're going to go that route for now.