justme
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Post by justme on Apr 11, 2014 17:16:42 GMT -5
he just finished changing oil on our vehicles and other maintenance, its not that hard. If he weren't doing it I would likely learn how. Highly dependent on the type of vehicle. Growing up, I knew how to change the oil on my cars and usually did. Depending on the make of car, it can be a challenge to even find the oil filter on the newer cars. And don't get me started on the German cars. No idea what it's like on a Kia, but I wouldn't assume it was easy. It's probably easy on the Kia. I have a Hyundai, which is made by Kia (or visa versa) and it's real easy. Way easier than it was on my Nissan Sentra.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Apr 11, 2014 18:02:18 GMT -5
I honestly did not know that about the rotors. Remember we drive our cars into the ground? So I guess I'm used to the days when they made them heavier. Nuts! I've been bitching about how much I hate my car and wanted a different one. Looks like that will have to wait for one reason or another. We'll see what the trusted mechanic says... Captain, your rotor issues might have as much to do with where you drive the car as the car weight, etc. I had the most trouble with rotors when we lived in the flat LA basin. Even when compared to living in the Sierra Mountains. Very heavy stop and go traffic meant you were always on the brakes. So brakes over heated pretty regularly. To the point where I had two sets of rotors for the front of each car. When the rotors got too badly warped, I'd put in a fresh set of rotors from the shelf in the garage. Then I could take the used rotors in to be turned at my convenience. That meant I could do a brake job or rotor switch in about an hour and have the car back on the road, instead of having the car up on jack stands for several hours waiting for rotors to be turned. Since you live in the Chicago area, if you drive down to the loop area every day, you'd be in pretty heavy traffic for an hour or more twice every day. And you'd proably have similar issues to the ones we experienced in LA. Good point and I appreciate you bringing it up. I take the train to work and DH commutes in suburban traffic. It's not too heavy. Our friend is an auto engineer (seriously) and he confirmed what everyone else here has told me about the rotors. He also believes DH can easily do the brake and rotor job himsef since he's seen DH in action. DH is very handy and I trust his instincts. If he says he's not comfortable doing something then we pay to have a professional do the job. We're trying to get the van into our trusted mechanic within the next week or so. In the meantime DH is dropping and picking me up from the train and driving my car.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Apr 11, 2014 18:04:58 GMT -5
Highly dependent on the type of vehicle. Growing up, I knew how to change the oil on my cars and usually did. Depending on the make of car, it can be a challenge to even find the oil filter on the newer cars. And don't get me started on the German cars. No idea what it's like on a Kia, but I wouldn't assume it was easy. It's probably easy on the Kia. I have a Hyundai, which is made by Kia (or visa versa) and it's real easy. Way easier than it was on my Nissan Sentra. You're right, they are sister companies. I drove a Hyundai Sonata for 12+ years and could change headlights, air filters, etc myself. DH needs at least 30-45 min to swap out headlights and it drives him nuts! I offer to help but he just growls at me until I go away
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Apr 11, 2014 19:03:46 GMT -5
Captain, your rotor issues might have as much to do with where you drive the car as the car weight, etc. I had the most trouble with rotors when we lived in the flat LA basin. Even when compared to living in the Sierra Mountains. Very heavy stop and go traffic meant you were always on the brakes. So brakes over heated pretty regularly. To the point where I had two sets of rotors for the front of each car. When the rotors got too badly warped, I'd put in a fresh set of rotors from the shelf in the garage. Then I could take the used rotors in to be turned at my convenience. That meant I could do a brake job or rotor switch in about an hour and have the car back on the road, instead of having the car up on jack stands for several hours waiting for rotors to be turned. Since you live in the Chicago area, if you drive down to the loop area every day, you'd be in pretty heavy traffic for an hour or more twice every day. And you'd proably have similar issues to the ones we experienced in LA. Good point and I appreciate you bringing it up. I take the train to work and DH commutes in suburban traffic. It's not too heavy. Our friend is an auto engineer (seriously) and he confirmed what everyone else here has told me about the rotors. He also believes DH can easily do the brake and rotor job himsef since he's seen DH in action. DH is very handy and I trust his instincts. If he says he's not comfortable doing something then we pay to have a professional do the job. We're trying to get the van into our trusted mechanic within the next week or so. In the meantime DH is dropping and picking me up from the train and driving my car. I'm sure your DH can replace brake pads and rotors with no problem. My DW did the pads and rotors on our Dodge minivan when one of my hands was torn up. All I did was stand by and give instructions. After 45 minutes of work, the wheels were back on the Dodge and it was ready to drive. If your DH is a bit uncomfortable with the idea, he can google how do I replace brakes on a XX Sedona and he'll most likely find several videos and step by step instructions with photos to help him get familar with the process. I found several sources that showed how to replace tie rod ends on the Dodge, so I'd think finding information on doing brakes would be a slam dunk. And, the up side is that many repair shops are charging more than $100 an hour for labor. Since that's quite a bit more than most of us get paid, a person who can tackle some relatively simple repairs, such as replacing brake pads and rotors can turn a one hour, $300 - $400 repair into a one hour $100 or $150 repair. (By the way, the estimate I got on the tie rod ends included the very same parts I would buy for nearly three times the price I would pay for those parts, plus the labor. $575 for the repairs that I can do for about $60 worth of parts and two or three hours of my time.)
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Apr 23, 2014 13:09:37 GMT -5
OK, we just got the quote from our trusted mechanic (took over a week, he's that busy and we told him we were ok sharing a car so no biggie). Total for all the work = $1,650 and he thinks the old girl still has a few more years in her. So, looks like I've dodged the car buying bullet for a few more years at least!
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Apr 23, 2014 14:25:27 GMT -5
That is the difference between a good mechanic and the dealership. Most of the repairs are maintenance wear items. You should be able to get at least 150k miles.
Of course if you wanted a new car.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Apr 23, 2014 14:56:20 GMT -5
That's the beauty of a trusted mechanic! Our friend/mechanic left his old company and is training for his own shop with a new company, so he is temporarily out as our mechanic. Of course the 15-year-old Civic was due for inspection this month. Hubs took it to the garage near his work and they quoted him $2000 in work, not all of which was yet required repairs (will be done soon). Our friend got one of his mechanic buddies to do the bare minimum required work to pass inspection, and it was only $400.
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