Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > hotfun_1966 > Adventures in Life |
Highway Robbery (or Adventures in Car Repair 2015)
|
Highway Robbery (or Adventures in Car Repair 2015) A follow-up to previous post F'd up Fall or Adventures in Car Repairs 2011... My car is in the repair shop getting the transmission replaced at long last, and should be back in service by the end the month.   I took it to a local shop that advertises fair prices for their work. He wasn't kidding. I priced two other shops. One, a NAPA-certified and sometimes supplied shop, offered to replace the original made by GM in Flint, Michigan with a very pricey Japanese-made unit for about $ 7000!  They did not offer any other options, not even the NAPA-supplied part I could have ordered online for $ 2000.This same pricey transmission, if installed by my fair mechanic, only $ 4900. He at least gave me two other options, including the one we are going with, a genuine GM factory-rebuilt unit at about $ 3300 installed. So I'm saving, at minimum, $ 2100. I showed him my research, and he was just as shocked as I was at the price difference! Questions of the day: 1.) How the heck are mechanics allowed to get away with that kind of highway robbery? and 2.) When are we going to do something about it?  UPDATE 04/17/2015: Tack on needed front and rear main seals and oil pan gasket, and the repairs ka-ching at just less than $ 3900. So overall, I saved about $ 3100. over the pricey shop, and I shouldn't have to worry about those repairs again. 
|
|||
|
I know the feeling of having car problems. My dad was the one the use to fix any car problems that my family had. Lucky for me though, he taught my sister and I a lot about cars. Also lucky for me, I know a guy that has a shop at home where I can take my car if I need to fix anything. I got a 2005 Chevy Silverado for $1500 that needed "transmission work". I checked the fluid and it seemed fine, not much metal in it or anything. I ended up changing the shift solenoids, which is a common problem with the GM 4L60E transmission. Cost me under $200 for parts and fluid. Didn't even have to drop the transmission. So in all, I got a truck for under two grand, and I haven't had any problems with it since. Although, I must say, that I did get lucky, but even if I needed to do a rebuild on it, that wouldn't have cost me that much. Somewhere around $700
| ||
|
I know the feeling of having car problems. My dad was the one the use to fix any car problems that my family had. Lucky for me though, he taught my sister and I a lot about cars. Also lucky for me, I know a guy that has a shop at home where I can take my car if I need to fix anything. I got a 2005 Chevy Silverado for $1500 that needed "transmission work". I checked the fluid and it seemed fine, not much metal in it or anything. I ended up changing the shift solenoids, which is a common problem with the GM 4L60E transmission. Cost me under $200 for parts and fluid. Didn't even have to drop the transmission. So in all, I got a truck for under two grand, and I haven't had any problems with it since. Although, I must say, that I did get lucky, but even if I needed to do a rebuild on it, that wouldn't have cost me that much. Somewhere around $700 I would agree with you that you were lucky, indeed, to spend as little as you did to get your 4L60E sorted. I am curious, though, since mine is also a 2005, how yours would only be $700 to rebuild, and the shop I got an in-house rebuild estimate from said 2000-3000. Is there that much difference between the 4L and 4T series, other than the 4T being designed for transverse mounted engines? Seems the older years of the 4T65E had problems with the torque converter clutch solenoid and pump switches, and apparently my last rebuilt unit didn't have the upgrades like GM usually does for components that are improved during a product's manufacturing run. There was a lot of metal in my tranny pan when they did the flush and fill in September, but at least he got me another 2600 miles out of it.  Thanks for sharing your memories and experiences. 
| ||
|
There are differences between the 4T and the 4L. None of which would make the cost that much different. The numbers tell you what kind of transmissions they are, sure, but they also mean something. The 4 means that there are four forward gears. L or T means whether they are longitudinal, mostly on rear wheel drive vehicles, or transverse, mostly on front wheel drive vehicles. The numbers, 60 / 65 and so on, means how much strength the transmission has. A 65 is stronger than a 60, and can hold up better under more stress. The "E" just means that they are electronically controlled. As for estimates. I got mine simply by looking at how much it would cost me in parts, plus tax. Give or take. Most of the time when you go to a shop, they will make you buy the parts at a premium so they make money off of them as well. Then you have to add in labor costs. From personal experience, most automotive shops, even more so shops that specialize in something, like transmissions, tend to pretty much prey on people's ignorance when it comes to automotive things. I know this, because my dad ran a shop, it was an honest shop so they didn't charge people for things they didn't need, but they did price gouge like every other automotive shop. With the 4T65E, the rebuild kit alone would cost about $300. That doesn't include solenoids, filter, pan gasket, or torque converter. Filter and pan cost $30, and would need to be changed with a rebuild. Solenoids cost between $20 and $40 depending on brand and which solenoid/s need replacement. You can get a good torque converter for like $300, sometimes even less. All in all, it does pay to do research on things so you aren't swindled.
| ||
|
There are differences between the 4T and the 4L. None of which would make the cost that much different. The numbers tell you what kind of transmissions they are, sure, but they also mean something. The 4 means that there are four forward gears. L or T means whether they are longitudinal, mostly on rear wheel drive vehicles, or transverse, mostly on front wheel drive vehicles. The numbers, 60 / 65 and so on, means how much strength the transmission has. A 65 is stronger than a 60, and can hold up better under more stress. The "E" just means that they are electronically controlled. As for estimates. I got mine simply by looking at how much it would cost me in parts, plus tax. Give or take. Most of the time when you go to a shop, they will make you buy the parts at a premium so they make money off of them as well. Then you have to add in labor costs. From personal experience, most automotive shops, even more so shops that specialize in something, like transmissions, tend to pretty much prey on people's ignorance when it comes to automotive things. I know this, because my dad ran a shop, it was an honest shop so they didn't charge people for things they didn't need, but they did price gouge like every other automotive shop. With the 4T65E, the rebuild kit alone would cost about $300. That doesn't include solenoids, filter, pan gasket, or torque converter. Filter and pan cost $30, and would need to be changed with a rebuild. Solenoids cost between $20 and $40 depending on brand and which solenoid/s need replacement. You can get a good torque converter for like $300, sometimes even less. All in all, it does pay to do research on things so you aren't swindled. (and then you've got the 700R4 crate transmission, which bolts on just about any old GM engine made from the 1950s through the 70s... I'm watching too much Velocity... lol )Quite true on the parts and labor markups, and you were in the right place to see it up close and in person. It is unfortunate, though, that some repair shops are out to pay for the owner's luxury homes, cars and boats. (Or so the Car Talk brothers always used to joke about.)I definitely agree with you about the need to research, and become as knowledgeable about your vehicle and its workings as possible, so you don't get swindled. For example, one of the mechanics said I also need a rear main oil seal replaced, but the vehicle hasn't had oil consumption that would merit that job, that is a red flag I raised. Because I had one done on my Toyota, I know that key indicator, and made sure my fair mechanic double checks that before doing unnecessary work. On a transverse mounted engine, it would be a good time to replace it if it really is bad since the transmission is being removed anyway; doing my own oil change revealed no major leaks and a full crankcase. The big thing that steered me towards the new/rebuilt ones is that they all come with new torque converters and a 3 year/100000 mile warranty. The local rebuilders only offer the standard ATRA warranty of 1 year/12000 miles for their work if they are able to rebuild it locally instead of putting an already rebuilt one in. Thanks again for a wonderful and informative post. I wish my sister had inherited more of the family know-how on cars and car repair.
| ||
|
There aren't many people talk to about car things. Most find it mind boggling that "someone like me" would know so much about them. This was definitely a surprising place to flex my automotive brain. And I thank you too.
| ||
|
There aren't many people talk to about car things. Most find it mind boggling that "someone like me" would know so much about them. This was definitely a surprising place to flex my automotive brain. And I thank you too. And after reading some of your recent comments on other blog posts, some big ladybughugs to you. Not to be able to have kids because of that weird twist of genetics is very sad.
| ||
|
I was more shocked at the one repair shop charging so much and not giving lower cost options. Did your Corvette have automatic or manual transmission? If manual, the transmission costs considerably less because there are no complicated electronic controls inside the valve body (like the torque converter clutch solenoid and shift solenoids). And as ladybughug443 noted in her comment above, that "E" in the transmission designator means you've got the electronic controls. My GM rebuilt unit itself still costs around the same as when I replaced it in 2009, roughly $ 2,300 . My fair shop was a former GM dealer, and now I have a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty I can take to the current GM dealer if problems arise during that time. Nice weather today, so I took a day trip over to the Idaho panhandle and back. Flawless performance.  So the car is ready for a major road trip. Now I need to do some maintenance work on the driver so I am. lol 
| ||
|
Me too and thanks. The transmission is working flawlessly at 3.5 weeks and just over 2000 miles in. So yours was an automatic at $ 2400 the last time it was replaced. Riughly the same as mine then.
|
Become a member to create a blog
