Recent quote I got - reckon I'm being ripped??

[snewin]

Hi all,

Went to the mechanics today and got the pink slip (NSW) done today and the owner reluctantly passed it for me. His apprentice or whatever did the initial check and found the wheel bearings were loose and a parking light was out. I fixed them and took her back and when the owner went to check he found a heap of issues. He said because they were missed by his apprentice he can't pull me up on them for the re-check, but he said that I really should get them done and if he checked it initially he wouldn't pass inspection without getting them done. I think he's full of crap. Before I list them keep in mind the following......

* 2000 GU TD42T
* I have very limited mechanical knowledge, ability or tools.
* I have a mate who has all of the above and works for beer
* I think it's only a swival kit and a couple of bushes. Am I missing something here?

So.....

Remove front wheel, remove front wheel hub, replace front swival bearings and gaskes, replace front hub and wheel. 4 x $128 = $512

Swival kit. $429

Panhard rod bush. $75

Remove front panhard rod and replace. $102.40

Remove front radial arm, replace bushes to diff. 2 x $128 = $256

Caster bushes. $130

Gear oil 80W90. 2 x $13.28 = $26.56

Degreaser - $6.35

Brake clean. $14.85

Environmental levy and consumables. $13.30

Freight. $33

Total Cost ~ $1600


Yeah so I think I'm getting toasted here. Could me and my beer loving mate knock off any of this in his shed

Cheers for any help and advice here.

Rob

[Bloodyaussie]

All that stuff is not hard... the front hub kit is about $200 online with all new bearings... really the rest is not hard at all mate!!! Plenty of advice on here if you get stuck.

[snewin]

Thanks bloodyaussie. By front hub kit I assume you mean the swivel kit? Remember you're talking to a mechanical borderline retard here. Any of the site sponsors sell such a kit perhaps?

[MudRunnerTD]

All of it.

the Swivel Hub kit at $429! is about twice what you can by a Terrain Tamer kit of ebay for including wheel bearings.

Why does it need a swivel hub kit? is it leaking oil? that will likely only be an inner axle seal. For sure put the kit through it but do it your self as there a quite a few threads about this job on here.

the caster bushes? and the rear Radius arm bushes can be done together and you will need a press. For those prices though go and buy a Press from Supercheap for $150 and then you have one or take them to someone that has a press and have them pressed out and in.

Same goes for the Panard Bush. $100 to take the panard off and refit!!! Holy Crap! That is a 10 minute job tops!

Tell him he's dreaming

[Bloodyaussie]

Well the full kit has wheel bearings swivel and all seals and gaskets, swivels are even less and you can cheat and do that job much easier than a full rebuild.

You need to confirm whether it is just the swivel bearings that need doing or a full rebuild.

If its just swivels then give yourself a couple of hours as a novice but if doing full rebuild put the day aside.

[nissannewby]

As above mate.

I can't believe he is charging for degreaser and a "brake clean". You could prob get all those parts for less than 700 then there is heaps of info and help on here if you get stuck

[snewin]

This is awesome info. I'm sure my beer swilling mate would be more than happy to help me out with this. I might even look a getting a press I think that could have more than one use.

So it looks something like this -

Swival kit - $200 off ebay from Terrain Tamer (which includes wheel bearings). Easy to do just set aside a whole day.

Panhard rod bush
Caster bushes - Go get a press from Supercheap and buy the bushes from Nissan dealer or online? Do I get original rubber Nissan ones - I think I may have read somewhere only to get Nissan rubber ones.

[nissannewby]

Yes mate stick with genuine Nissan bushes. They are slightly more to buy but last longer than any alternative.

[NP99]

As above mate.

I can't believe he is charging for degreaser and a "brake clean". You could prob get all those parts for less than 700 then there is heaps of info and help on here if you get stuck

I know a bloke that does excellent front end work.....
And he doesn't charge for consumables :)

[BigRAWesty]

Yea mate he's taking you for a ride..
Good move asking.. as the boys said if your mate is keen give it a go. The more you do the more you learn and you will be better for it if anything happens when off road..

Kallen Westbrook
Owner of
Westy's Accessories (http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?15134-Westy-s-Accessories.-A-small-back-yard-builder.)

[krbrooking]

Just make sure you get at least half way through the job before the beer comes out or you might need to set an extra day or two aside to get the job done. Lol.



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[anasaz09]

Mate I got ripped off just like you did, only I had to pay for more shit that didn't matter. I paid around 2400 dollars and still had a lot of other work done to my car, so now I will never take it to mechanic unless its a hard job or afraid of breaking my car.

[Morton]

you are being ripped hands down, start on one side only, if the grease smell of diff oil then your axles have to come out, hope it is not the case for you

[trekster]

Or better still, buy the gear and give Nissannewby some coin to do it for you :)

[liftlid]

it looks like he is charging $128 per Hr. Is this high? who knows what it costs him to run a business.
you could do the job your self its not hard just messy with a few tools. eg axle stands, trolley jack, torque wrench, bearing press, hand tools etc. or you could purchase your own parts cheaper and supply them to a mechanic to fit. just remember you would be suppling the warranty for the parts not the mechanic and if there is a failure you would wear the cost of replacement not the mechanic.
that said its good to do your own maintenance so that when you have a failure in the bush you know how to fix it.

[threedogs]

Just make sure you give him beer when job is done, lol