Mechanics near Evansville Indiana

npkdm · **Joined:** Wed Sep 03, 2014 8:28 pm **Posts:** 163

Want to replace timing belt and water pump. Any other place than the dealership?

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2015 8:48 pm

Hi! I'm the traveling mechanic for the CRD, and have worked on over 50 of them so far. Depending on your schedule, I may be able to save you some travel costs by combining yours with another CRD in your region.

I know it isn't exactly around the corner, but if you are willing to drive up to Chicago for a day, I can combine your CRD with another member and then both of you would split the travel costs. Let me know if you are interested in this, and I can get things in motion.

npkdm · **Joined:** Wed Sep 03, 2014 8:28 pm **Posts:** 163

thanks for the offer. the dealer quoted me 675 to 800 for the labor. but they also said they would have to order the tools to do it with. i would cost me 100 i fuel to get to chi. not to mention a hotel if i had to stay over night. what would it cost for your services? i would travel to save money, but not to save a couple bucks.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2015 10:10 pm

I sent an email too with the answer, but here it is for everyone:

I charge $1400 for the entire job including all the parts - this is a BIG question for a dealership, because they usually are wanting about double what IDparts sells the kit for. Then you say they have to order the TOOLS? This is a dead giveaway that they have no clue how to do the work, and I would be highly suspicious of that labor total - it is almost certain to rise.

If they don't do it correctly (and being a dealership is no guarantee of this) then the risk is breaking the rockers. This is the designed failure point of the engine, but it is all-too-frequently called a "complete engine replacement" by a dealership, an $8000 repair job. Even if they correctly decide that only the rockers need to be replaced... That is still a 15 hour (book labor) job, and another $1500 in parts. Then they STILL need to get the timing right.

If you don't mind the length of the day, you wouldn't need a hotel - I can do the entire job in 3 hours, and I could do yours first. I would be trying to avoid hotel costs as well, to keep the travel costs down for everyone. I'm willing to drive up to you, but it is 12 hours from Savannah, so there is definitely a hotel and plenty of fuel on that end too. Chicago is a hub city, so flights there are cheaper than to anywhere in the middle. If you and the other member are interested in splitting the distance, maybe St Louis would be more central? I'll send him a message and ask.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 08, 2015 10:57 pm

Geordi isn't joking. If the Stealership doesn't even have the tools on hand, be very scared. If you insist on using them, absolutely do not do it unless the tech doing the work has already performed this exact job on one of these liberties SEVERAL times (and how can you trust their word?). This is a crap job for a tech to be forced to do under the thumb of management that reads in a book that it should be done in X hours. I've personally had one CRD that a dealership failed at the head gasket 3X, and another that they damaged the valve cover on.

They may botch it, like many other dealerships have done, and then claim that the rockers went bad do to age or some other BS. And then it's either lawyer up and hope you win, or eat several thousand in repairs when you tow it somewhere else to fix it, if you can find a decent mechanic. They simply won't lose their hides from the owner when they realize it's an $8k mess up, so they'll try to weasel out of it. :2cents:

Hexus · **Posted:** Wed Sep 09, 2015 6:16 am

I would recommend Geordi, I don't come that far north often enough (Even though I should because my sister lives in Princeton).

Mechanics near Evansville Indiana

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