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I wondered why a rotor would warp. Sure, they get hot on hard braking. So what? They shouldn't warp, but they do. Why? My thought was that if one braked hard enough to get them hot, then came to a stop at a traffic light, there may be a reason why warpage could happen. You stop, and your brakes are applied to hold the car in place until the light changes. OK, so what? Well, the pads are clamped onto the rotor on one spot. The rest of the rotor is now being cooled by the prevailing breezes. But, the area under the pads cannot cool with the rest of the rotor. My thought is that this may cause warpage due to uneven cooling. I now try to stop 10 feer or so from the light, then allow the car to creep forward, exposing all of the rotor for more even cool down, rather than trapping the heat in one spot.
A dealer and his finance man have a bag of tricks that Santa Claus couldn't carry. They are experts at countering any arguments that you may have and can push and shove a customer in so many directions that they become so confused, they just sign the paper while feeling they are getting screwed. The best way to counter this is to do your homework, decide what it's worth to you. Then, you simply go in, present it to them and say "the only thing I require from you is a yes or no." If no, then walk, and see if they call you back. Request the same because if they get you talking, they will win. You can always come back.They have no way of knowing if they will ever see you again. BIG lever in your hand. If you engage, you are a novice going against people that do this every day for a living. The more they can squeeze out of you, the better the living is. Nice guy? Really wants to help me? Sure - to get your to sign at the best deal for the dealership. That's their job.
So, how do you come up with your numbers? Well' you're right here. Use Edmunds for a start. Also, try KBB, NADA etc. Call your bank. Use Consumers Reports to check reliability. Ask your local salvage yard what parts seem to be a problem. They get requests every day and know what the problem areas are for a given brand/model. Do an advanced search on Ebay and check Completed Listings only. Look for Sold items. This will show you what people are willing to pay for your vehicle. Look on Auto Trader to see the asking price range of your vehicle. Internet prices seem to be pretty close to the bone. Remember that prices at a car lot are probably inflated by 2-3 grand to allow them to deal so they can pretend that they are giving you more on your trade than it's worth. How many times have you heard 'Well, they were giving way more than my car was worth. I would be a fool not to trade.' Probably a fool if they did.
Then, decide if it would be advantageous to sell your own car as opposed to the higher sales tax you would pay without a trade. But if you do, clean it up and detail it first. It may even be worthwhile to pay to have it done. If $100 spent gets you $500 - $1000 more, it'e a pretty good return on that investment. That's what a dealer does before it hits the lot, and look at how much they jack the price. Who knows, it may look so nice that you will decide to keep it a year or so longer. Then take that extra money that you would be putting into higher car payments, interest on a loan, insurance, licenses, fees etc. into a savings account every month, and when you are ready to trade, you will have a much smaller loan and far less money thrown away in interests, not to mention that big new depreciation hit. It does take a bit of discipline though. Best way is payroll deduction into a savings account titlrd CAR. Then don't mess with it. By time you get done figuring what trading is really going to cost you, the old ride may look much better. ;-) BTW, we have noticed that the used car lots are pretty sparse. In tight times, more people may be looking for used cars as opposed to taking a big hit and going out on a limb for new when their job could go away. This could mean a premium for yours after it's detailed. Lotsa food for thought.
Some dealers may allow you to pass your car through them as a trade, then sign it over to your buyer. That would take care of that problem. Oh ya, decline on all the 'extras'. It's a profit enhancer for the dealer.
The last car we bought was a pearl white 03 Toyota Avalon for my wife. Bought it from Enterprise at less than a year old. Base model, but still nicely equipped. I explained what I did to it in the Avalon forum, but basically bought everything online to make it appear like the top of the line for less than the dealer wanted for the spoiler alone. Then my wife put chrome wheels on it, and it became Cinderella.
There are lots of ways to turn the crank. You're here, and that's a good start. Search on 55396 for details.
Remember, the money in car dealerships is in the used car market. And, they usually want to make about $3,000 on their used car sales.
But, accessory packages in most cases don't add much if anything to the value of a used car. Are these thing that were added to the car at the dealership, or are they a factory option package. If not factory, they will not appear in the Blue Book, etc list of accessorys, and therefore 'have no value'. I don't know what 'trim' includes, but mudguards and wheel locks really aren't worth anything when considering the overall value of a used car.
The VIP package - this looks like a lot of 'inspections' and so forth, very limited percentage off values, and other minor services. I would bet you would have to run the car to the 'change oil' indicator came on, which in modern cars probably will be close to 7,500 miles or so - this mean you would be getting only a few changes. Overall, don't even think about this package.
They are selling you stuff, stuff with high markups - extended warranty, VIP package, etc. You never said what you are buying. But if it is a Honda, you probably will never use much of an extended warranty.
Also - if your city has a Carmax, take your Pilot there and they will make you an outright purchase offer. This will help with knowing what your car is worth. And, it might be best to sell them your old car and do a straight deal without a trade - you then know exactly what you are putting into a new car.
You also said your car is in average condition. Throw out the fast food containers, vacuum the inside and wipe stains off the windows, trim, etc, get it washed. Just doing this before you show the car will make some difference in how it is appraised.
The accessory package that I was talking about is for the purchase of the new car, not for the value of the trade-in. They are trying to sell this with the purchase of the new car. The trim is just the decorative pinstripes on the sides of the vehicle.
The car that I am looking to purchase is a Honda and now that it's been said, I completely agree about the extended warranty probably not getting much usage.
The Carmax idea is good too. Thanks for the advice!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Same for paint touchup folk. Same for paintless dent removal people.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
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When she was presented the big bill, she advised them she didn't own the car, and was renting it from their rental department, but appreciated their fixing her minor complaint.
Since it is approaching the 60K maintenance, I was wondering how much this will cost me?
In particular, do I need to replace the timing belt AND water pump, or can I just replace the timing belt? How much will these things costs?
And are maintenance and repair costs expensive for the 2004 Optima LX? Can most mechanics/shops work on the KIA Optima?
My questions are:
Is $110 an exorbitant price for a VW brake flush?
How does one know when to replace a timing belt?
Is $905 a lot to pay to replace:
timing belt
timing belt tensioner (arm?)
water pump
(I was told that if you are replacing the timing belt, you might as well replace all three b/c they are right there, and easy to get to once the TB is off).
I'm new to this board, so if I need to repost elsewhere, please just let me know.
Thank you in advance!
David
My wild guess is you will find out it's 100,000 miles and the dealer just wants to up the timing to move some money from you to him sooner.
I think I got my Honda Ridgeline brakes flushed for about $50 plus a little for fluid. And, I asked if they truly flushed the system and did not just pull fluid from the master cylinder and re-fill.
It appears that Gates recomends 60K mi for that engine, if I am reading their timing belt replacement guide correctly:
http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2256&location_id=3487
The schedule at vw.com says "check" every 40,000 miles:
http://www.vw.com/myvw/yourcar/maintenance/findschedules/en/us/
My understanding is it is very difficult to really do much checking without doing most of the labor involved in replacing it. I would not take chances, it is an interference engine if the belt breaks you are probably looking at major engine repairs or replacement. Prices vary a lot, if there is an independent VW specialist in your area you might contact them for their price. (googling "VW repair specialist texas" seems to indicate you would have some options)
I have an independent specialist I've used before. They quoted me about 50 bucks less than the dealership, so I guess that's something. It sounds like the smart thing to go ahead and get it changed. Especially when I picked up my car from the dealer, and had a headlamp out. When it rains it pours
Thanks also for the link to Gates. That Timing Belt Replacement Guide PDF is a great resource!
Can someone pleasse tell me why, my volkswagen dealer quoted me a price of
$1100, when the edmunds website is approximately 3 times as less. I have a 2003
passat station wagon 2.8l engine. What should be the going rate for this job.
Why such a price discrepancy.
Thanks
changing the timing belt. Would I also need to replace the other iems you mentioned. Unfortunately the cost of raising an autistic son has my on a very strict
budget. What is your opinion on this job would cost on a 2003 passat wagon?
Regards,
David
This isn't rocket science stuff, you'd think the manufacturers would just have a diagnostic routine that you could run which would then spit out the error codes on your instrument cluster. They could probably do this for a buck, but I guess all of the lobbying from the dealers would block that.
OBD is better than nothing, but as my dear departed Dad used to say (he was a field engineer for Packard) "a diagnostic machine is only as good as the man running it".
P0220 - Throttle/Petal Position Sensor/Switch B Circuit Malfunction
I am able to research the code online....
but have no idea what the repair will be ???
Is this just a part that can be replaced? more difficult to diagnose ?
Clearly making repairs on an 11 year old van is something I want to know about BEFORE I agree to the repairs.
Sucks though as you pointed out. I went to Autozone to have codes read on my 99 Buick. Came back as Mass airflow problem. When I went into dealership to have it replaced they strongly suggested the "$89 disagnostics fee", saying if they just replaced the MAF sensor without the diagnostics, they couldn't guarantee that would fix the problem. Well, it did fix the problem. Also stated my fuel pump pressure was low and recommended replacing it. That was about 3 years ago and fuel pump hasn't been a problem.
In any event, a Technical Service Bulletin is not a recall and so after warranty it would be purely discretionary/goodwill kind of thing. Probably if there was a known issue, it would be handled on a case by case basis, which I'm sure would include assistance from the dealer, the extent of the car's mileage, the quality of the service records, and a petition from the dealer & you to the District Offices---things like that.
For many things it is both, for example, oil changes schedules will usually say X months or Y miles, whichever comes first.
It will indicate both miles and/or time for all maintenance.
Some items do have a time associated. Most auto manuals want the oil changed at least once a year, no matter how little miles are accumulated.
Don't do any maintenance not in the maintenance schedule.
I'm sorry, but I feel many service departments just love for people like you to appear, and recommend many unneeded services.
NOTE: Numbers in parentheses ( ) indicate a component or tool in the associated illustration.
Screw off screw cap (2) with socket wrench attachment 103 589 02 09 00 or equivalent and remove oil filter cartridge (4).
Replace sealing ring (3).
Insert new oil filter cartridge (4) into oil filter housing (5).
Install screw cover, use socket wrench attachment.
They wer common on cars from the 50's and they were usually a mess to deal with. You had to use a suction gun to suck out the remaining oil in the canister.
Chevys had them until the late 60's. They made a conversion kit that we would install so we could use spin on filters.
The ones used on Chrysler products with a hemi V-8 were just palin nasty to change and no matter how careful you were they would usually leak afterwards requiring the job to be redone.
I've got guys who change my oil for $5-$10 more than the materials would cost me to buy, so far they have done so with no problems on our cartridge filter equipped 2007 Mazda6 and 2005 Jetta.
In any case, I'd look to Harbor Freight personally. I mean, Fleet's cheapest impact gun is $96, and that's 1/2". Harbor Freight has a 3/4" for $59.99. Not to mention Harbor Freight has brick and mortar stores to avoid expensive shipping costs for such heavy items.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S