zero Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 That must be nice. Not for me, I've never paid anybody a penny for a car/truck/RV/boat repair in my life. Many of the shops in my area put big mark-ups on parts and often install parts that aren't needed. But I assume that happens in many places all over the country. It's kind of "open season" when doing work for a consumer who doesn't know much about mechanics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Not for me, I've never paid anybody a penny for a car/truck/RV/boat repair in my life. I take that back. I got stuck in Canada (London, Ontario) a few years ago when my F250 diesel with camper aboard had a trans-problem. I worked along with a mechanic in his shop to get it going and paid him around $500 as I recall. I had no tools, no time and was not in my own country. I got lucky and found a very honest transmission repair shop with two great guys. One dropped his scheduled work and helped me with the truck instead. We worked side-by-side for near 9 hours. I tried to give him a $100 tip when all done and he refused it. Made me think how I'd like to be a Canadian!. Now - I'm not even allowed there. Oh well. If anyone ever breaks down in that area - the name of the shop in London is "The Transmission Man." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Not quite as good, but I broke down in Hot Springs, South Dakota in my 86 toyota pickup. I heard a noise that I knew was front hub bearings, found the first shop with beat up old off road trucks in front in the first town we came to, and stopped in. After making good natured comments about how my truck had "little car tires", they pulled all the vehicles they had been working on out of the garage and got to mine, since they "liked to take car of out of town people fast". Since I knew what the problem was, he went right to it. Looked in his book, said "it says 3 hours labor but it won't take me that long". Anyway, for being on a cross country trip, breaking down in a tiny little town, it was a great experience. Really cool little town to walk around in. Downtown was in a tight little canyon with a river, and ther were little staircases to get you up out of it onto the top, where the old courthouse and neighborhoods were. 3 hours later we were back on the road for a couple hundred bucks, only very slightly behind schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 around here 75 to a 100 an hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Here's the final damage. It was (at least according to them) a burnt valve. I'm not happy with them because the original estimate included replacing all of the valves. Despite this, they only replaced the damaged one telling me that the others were in great condition. I'm supposed to pick it up today. Yes, they said they'd give me a worst case number, and not surprisingly...it came in at that price. So...north of $2,500 for the Toyhome I just purchased and haven't even gotten to enjoy yet. Bittersweet, but mostly bitter. Invoice attached for your amazement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaChinook Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 What did you authorize? Did you say "do what it needs", or what? Certainly they didn't have to do the timing belt and water pump...but the head work was half your cost. I'm sure the bitterness will go away. You ought to have a pretty solid engine now, and years to enjoy your RV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 You now have a good reliable motor, with Timing belt, water pump, cooling system, crank seal, gaskets, etc. Should be good for at least another 100k.Take that baby out and enjoy it.John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Here's the final damage. It was (at least according to them) a burnt valve. I'm not happy with them because the original estimate included replacing all of the valves. Despite this, they only replaced the damaged one telling me that the others were in great condition. I'm supposed to pick it up today. Yes, they said they'd give me a worst case number, and not surprisingly...it came in at that price. So...north of $2,500 for the Toyhome I just purchased and haven't even gotten to enjoy yet. Bittersweet, but mostly bitter. Invoice attached for your amazement. In my opinion - you a royal rip-off. The head-gasket set they used is a low-end brand and generally sells for $84 (DNJ HGS950). A complete head-bolt set from the same company is $38 (set of 16 bolts for both heads). New valves are only $5 each for intakes and $8 each for exhausts. Looks like they made a killing just on parts-mark-up. I'd call it a rip-off but it all depends on exactly what you agreed to. Nothing wrong with just replacing one valve if priced according. I'm not a big fan of grinding and resurfacing the old parts when new parts are so cheap. OEM or aftermarket new valves are "nitrided" with a special surface hardness. Once you stick a valve in a refacing machine -that hardness is lost. Also as I recall - since that DNJ "head set" is about the cheapest on the market - I don't think it comes with valve seals. I'll have to back and look at your bill and see if any new seals are listed separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_M Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Enjoy it! Forget the bad taste. Come to think about I put a little over 2 grand into mine when I got it. Tires, shocks, fluid changes and other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 I can never forget! Why? BECAUSE IT'S BACK IN THE SHOP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 ...drove for two hours last night to pick it up from Woodburn Automotive. Drove it home. This morning, in preparation for a weekend camping trip, I was headed to Home Depot. It started idling rough. Then at the stoplight it shut off. Even with a burnt valve it hadn't done that. Pressed on to Home Depot once I got on the freeway. Got back inside the RV, fired it up...and it idled worse than ever. So I called them and they told me to drive it back down. They figured it was probably a vacuum hose they'd forgotten to reattach. Got it down there. They said it would need to cool for an hour or so. Four hours later I got the news. No RV for you! It turns out they hadn't correctly adjust the timing belt. Minimum four hour job. Also, there's the little issue of the exhaust leak. They put me in a super nice 250,000 mile car to drive home and hope to have it fixed on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Yeah. I was really disappointed. I'd heard good things about them through this forum, which is why I took it there instead of the Toyota dealership my buddy runs. I figured Woodburn would have more experience working with Toyhomes. The owner of Woodburn Automotive, though nice, simply said, "Hey...we're human." While I understand that, it was their casual attitude about it that was most disappointing. I'll let you all know what they discover on Monday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 I am so sorry.I am the one who recommended them. I had never gone there but many toyota-campers members had and all good responses.Maybe they started getting cocky with all the new business. Hope they fix it right this time Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Nothing is harder that finding competent repair work on cars. I used to do it all myself, but stupidly sold my shop. I was having bad repair experiences with the Ford so I remembered I bought the RV tires from Giusto on a recommendation from this board, they don't do the rear dual brakes anymore so we went to the dealer.But they just finished fixing the last "repair" on the Aerostar and I am a happy camper !!The Hankook Optimo H724 tires are great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 Please don't apologize. It could very well be an unusual event for them. That it happened to me is what I'm not happy with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_M Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 The universe. Be happy that you didn't get straded out on Interstate-5 or on a dark deserted back road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnptld Posted September 6, 2013 Author Share Posted September 6, 2013 Many of you know the ordeal I just went through with my new Dolphin. I'd taken it to Woodburn Automotive to repair a burnt valve. $2,500 later I was back with another related issue. Yesterday I was packing for our trip to Glacier National Park when someone said 'your vehicle is losing tons of oil.' In fact, when I removed the dipstick it was dry as a bone. Glad they caught it because we were supposed to leave at 6am this morning. I called Woodburn Automotive and naturally they said "bring it back so we can take a look." 90 minutes of driving later I arrived...for the third time. They blamed it on the oil sending unit and said it would be done by noon. So I spent two hours in rush hour traffic driving a loaner car to get home. Just called, and they finally admitted the valve cover gasket had been put on wrong and that it was going to be done sometime this afternoon. Recommendation? If you live in NW Oregon or SW Washington I'd skip this place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.