RE: I'm I getting ripped?

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.com.pl>]

Obi,

$60 seems a cheap price for a timing belt job. Does your mechanic have
any prior experience with Audis? Because I don't quite understand what
did he mean when he said that "the large bolt would not come loose". I
suspect he didn't realise that it is necessary to remove the crankshaft
bolt to remove the timing belt on 5cyl Audi engine, that's why he rised
the price in the process.
Regarding your ticking noise - have your mechanic told you _what_ is
causing this noise? If a mechanic tells you the price before even
checking what's wrong, yet he assumes he has to "take the engine apart",
you should look for the door, fast. What you say is the "normal Audi
tick" are the lifters. They can tick when the engine is cold. On my car
they sometimes tick like h*ll for no apparent reason when the engine is
hot, but this doesn't happen often, so I assume there's no need to
replace them - yet ;-) If they tick all the  time, however, they should
be replaced. I don't know if it's worth $250, as I've never had this job
done and I don't live in US. If the ticking is very bad, it can also
mean cracked exhaust manifold. If this is the case, then... well, you
have a problem. Certainly worth more than $250. In any case, don't pay a
single buck before the mechanic tells you what's to be done. Or better
yet, find another mechanic. This guy doesn't seem fair to me.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.com.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	O.O. [SMTP:sundog@sedona.net]
> Sent:	Monday, October 20, 1997 4:53 AM
> To:	quattro@coimbra.ans.net
> Subject:	I'm I getting ripped?
> 
> Hi all,
> I have an 86 5k that
> I took to a mechanic
> for a timing belt change.
> he quoted me $60 for the
> job and I said ok.(I took off everything but timing belt)
> Now, the day after I took it
> to him he said that the large
> bolt would not come loose so the
> price was up to $200 for the job and
> again I said ok.
> The car was making a strange ticking
> sound *before* I took it to him and
> I thought the timing may have jumped a little,
> but after a new belt and adjustment, the noise is still there.
> So, now he has an estimate of $200 - $250 *more*
> than the $200 for the belt change to take the engine
> apart and fix this ticking noise.(it sounds bad
> to me, not the normal Audi tick.)
> My question is, does $400 -$450 sound like an ok price
> for a belt change and fixing this weird sound??
> 
> Thanks for any input!
> -Obi-One