27-05-2003 18:58									#1
	It has begun... Get a bigger avatar today!

My car started leaking a pink-ish fluid yesterday so I took it in this morning to have the car guy look at it. He just gave me the first call of the day:

Transmission Pan and Gasket, all for the low price of $141.00 (including labor and tax).

The questions are: How many more calls am I to recieve throughout the day, what will be the total "damage" assessment, and how much will the final bill be?

The person whos guess is most right on the money gets the "Cynical Bastard who understands Crooked Car Mechanics" award, which can be cut and pasted into your signature if you so desire.

	27-05-2003 19:00									#2
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

$700

	27-05-2003 19:00									#3
	Put an end to popups!

$163.50

	27-05-2003 19:01									#4
	Remove this text

Given this guys history, I'm expecting 2 more calls and a brand new tranny when it's all done.



I appreciate your optimism Lancer - thanks!

	27-05-2003 19:05									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

350 USD. good luck. the "wallet removing" operation is always a painful and complicated one.

	27-05-2003 19:06									#6
	Support Apolyton

JohnT, in Oregon the mechanics are fairly honest...Where you are, who knows? However I believe that will be the price, have a really good feeling about this.

	27-05-2003 19:06									#7
	Support Apolyton

$2,500. Transmission jobs are always expensive.

	27-05-2003 19:08									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Ouch!

	27-05-2003 19:08									#9
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Oh, and a word of advice: don't just leave the car, there. Stay, and make him tell you what is broken.Then, go, and buy the parts yourself. You'll save some cash. They always claim bogus costs on the parts. I saved 50 bucks that way when I had my clutch replaced.

	27-05-2003 19:09									#10
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

quote: Originally posted by chegitz guevara $2,500. Transmission jobs are always expensive.

The best guess so far... trannies are expensive.

But, I will go with $2,100... That's what I got charged a few years ago from somebody I actually trust

	27-05-2003 19:10									#11
	Inflate your Upload Space

$2500? No way. It's just a gasket.

	27-05-2003 19:10									#12
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

I'm liking Lancers answer more and more...

	27-05-2003 19:11									#13
	Remove this text

Maybe you'll get lucky and score a $500 fix. Is this like the Price is Right where we get as close as possible without going over?

	27-05-2003 19:12									#14
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Damn car probably needs trading in...

	27-05-2003 19:12									#15
	Tired of ads?

Yes, transmission is bad, but THAT bad? What's the main factor of the cost, Ming? It costs around half that much here. IIRC.

	27-05-2003 19:13									#16
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Mind you I'm not sure on the change John, might be $163.20 or so. Somewhere between .20 and .50. Don't worry though, these guys are just trying to pull your leg.

Quick gasket change and it's all over, painless.

	27-05-2003 19:14									#17
	Inflate your Upload Space

I hope you are right Lancer... but if they claim you need a new tranny, thank them, and then tell them you will be picking up your car so you can get a second opinion.

That usually makes them "rethink" your problem

	27-05-2003 19:16									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

Ming.

	27-05-2003 19:16									#19
	Browse Apolyton AD-FREE

If it's just a leak, Lancer's guess is best. If it's been leaking for a while, and you're just now noticing it, mine is best.

	27-05-2003 19:17									#20
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Will do, Ming.

	27-05-2003 19:23									#21
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

$1,700.

And some shops won't let you buy parts for them to install, since they markup parts and it's calculated together with their hourly rate to achieve the proper profit margin.

RAH

	27-05-2003 19:23									#22
	Inflate your Upload Space

If they continue to say you need a new tranny...
Make sure you get a written estimate from them when you pick up your car. Then, at least you won't feel so ripped off if the next place you take it to says the same thing and gives a similar cost estimate.

	27-05-2003 19:26									#23
	Suffering from ads?

quote: And some shops won't let you buy parts for them to install, since they markup parts and it's calculated together with their hourly rate to achieve the proper profit margin.

So, basically, they're greedy bastards?


Say, how much a Clutch replacement would've costed in the US?

	27-05-2003 19:26									#24
	Re: It has begun... Tired of ads?

My solution to lease a couple of building to automobile service companies, and make sure they know what their landlord can do to them if he has a mind to do so.

	27-05-2003 19:26									#25
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Well, they haven't made their second call yet... but it's still early in the morning.

	27-05-2003 19:31									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Sounds expensive.. only for transmission!? Man, get a manual while you're at it, stays healthy and chicks love it when you do u-turns dropping from 3rd gear to 1st gear in the 7/11 parking lot.

	27-05-2003 19:34									#27
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Ugh, Automatic transmission.

	27-05-2003 19:35									#28
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

quote: Originally posted by Azazel Yes, transmission is bad, but THAT bad? What's the main factor of the cost, Ming? It costs around half that much here. IIRC.

I financed used cars for several years. Ming's estimate for a full transmission job are about correct. There really is no justification for this price. Materials and labor should come to less than half that. This is a case of providers charging what the market will bear.

	27-05-2003 19:36									#29
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Azazel, I know! Manual transmission!

	27-05-2003 19:38									#30
	Tired of ads?

Plato: Figures. But the price changes a lot whether it's manual or automatic, right?

Pekka: