Is it time to put the b!tch out of her misery?

[Supreme05]

Ok....... stopped by landrover and the assshole at the counter told me that my '00 disco was going to need about $2,400 worth of work... from the diagnostic, they recommended:

Needs spark plugs, replace spark plug wires hooking up to the testbook, intake gaskets, valve cover gaskets plate t-body and gaskets, coolant hoses, plemium intake, intake bottle, rad bottle, coolant, screws, 2 seals intake perform drice cycle c.

Can I take this to my private mechanic or is this something that land rover should work on? I don't even know if its worth my while. This car has become a headache.

[cookingwithfat]

Well, let's put it this way... if you are selling it send me an email.

[RudemanRB]

Your 1st Mistake was taking your Disco to the Stealership.

How is the disco running? you can fix this stuff in parts. Plugs and wires. ,

as for hoses are they leaking? do they really look like they are going to crack?
Your dealer is doing what they do best. burn a hole in your pocket.

as for gaskets. are you leaking? what type of oil are you using, if your using Synthetic you will have wet gaskets all over the place.

As for replacing your bottles? are they mad? again are they leaking?
there are tons of independant Land Rover shops, try a google search for one in your area.

what year and miles is your Disco?

Rudy

[Disco Mike]

The dealer, when replacing the wires, will always remove the intake manifold for easier access and if they didn't replace those mentioned gaskets, you would have reason to be pissed off, as it stands, they are doing the right thing, so what is your complaint????????????????
Mike

[Crysyn]

I think his complaint is the $2400.00 dollars they are telling him he has to spend.

Yeah, just look for an independent Land Rover mechanic.

[Disco Mike]

Good point, should be more in the $350 to $400 labor range plus the seals and plug wires.
Mike

[XtremeMarine]

All right. Let's assume you are in my town. Land Rover is out of warranty, so no need to put it at the dealership for work.

My local dealer - 110.00 per billable hour.

My local (trusted) european indie shop - 60.00 per actual hour worked.

Difference of 50.00 per hour, and if the job is done faster than book, then an additional savings. 10 hours labor (est.) is a savings of 500.00.

You'd save, in Florida for an example, more than 500 on your quote by going to your mechanic.

Save the truck, she's only in misery because you don't give her enough attention.

[KDamericano]

Do yourself a favor and never ever take your car to the dealer again. The Land Rover dealer network is one of the glaring reasons that LR got such a horrible reputation for reliability.
You can do all of that work yourself. It's really not complicated at all. If you need any reassurance, drive by the garage bay at the dealer and look at all the retards that you're paying $100 an hour. Trust me, you can handle it.

[tee51397]

Originally Posted by KDamericano

If you need any reassurance, drive by the garage bay at the dealer and look at all the retards that you're paying $100 an hour. Trust me, you can handle it.

Nice

But, in all fairness, there are some very competent techs out there... I think.

[Rovin4life]

Originally Posted by KDamericano

Do yourself a favor and never ever take your car to the dealer again. The Land Rover dealer network is one of the glaring reasons that LR got such a horrible reputation for reliability.
You can do all of that work yourself. It's really not complicated at all. If you need any reassurance, drive by the garage bay at the dealer and look at all the retards that you're paying $100 an hour. Trust me, you can handle it.

for your info we dont get paid 100 dollars an hour. its more like 15 to 25 depending on the area. its other costs that get expensive.

oh and can I drive to your work place and call you a retard, asshole, and general cheat or would hurt your feelings.

Give it rest if your really want to know why the industry sucks dont look at guys doing the job but look how they get paid.

Its called flatrate, you get paid for what the job pays. if the job pays 14 hours you get paid 14. Regardless if you get it done faster. You can get screwed every time they cut warrantee times. And get this same in any shop wether its domestic or an import. The old guys have lost money due to the cutbacks whilst the new guys have to work harder for less. So get off your high horse and stop pretending your mister perfect looking down on us retards.

As the old guys get screwd they leave for greener pastures and the bays have to be filled to get the work done. Sadly the right guy isnt always fixing your car.

Plus the industry as a whole has large number of hacks that go from dealer to dealer screwing things up or go into the business for themselves robbing people blind and leaving us to fix their fuckups at your expense.

Want to know a litle secret about your so called favorite independant shop without a trained rover tech on staff?

They dont diagnose your vehicles. Oh they say they do and charge you money but the real way they make their money is to call the local parts department or ab and order as many parts as possible and throw them on until one works. Then they send the rest back. Of course dealers would like to charge them but they dont want to lose a client. But if the shop doesnt want to throw parts at it and dont want to invest in say GTR or rave access then they call the parts department and get the parts department to bug the nearest tech at the window to give him an answer.

And they charge you for diagnosis. Get that, they call up somebody else and get the answer from a land rover technician working flatrate and then charge you for their stupidity.

Its the indie's dirty little secret they dont want you to know. And if they dont want to call the dealer they call AB.

[Crysyn]

When I first got my Disco, it needed a brake job so I just took it to an independent shop because I thought a brake job was not big deal. Left there with the three amigos on. Came back and they told me I needed a new caliper(looking back, I doubt I even needed one unless they screwed it up), put a new caliper on and three days later while out wheeling, my three amigos come on again and not understanding a lack of a center diff lock at the time, I got stuck in the most embarassing way where a Subaru had just gone through. Take it back to the shop and they tell me its the speed sensor and so I pay to have that replaced. F-cking three amigos come back on the next day.

Finally I said screw it and took it to the dealer and they told me that the shop I had taken it to had cut the sensor wire and spliced the old one into the new one. So they had to pull out that and put in a whole new speed sensor(paid twice for that). My eyes were watering at this point. But I never have had the three amigos come on since taking it to the dealer(several years now).

The dealer is expensive yes, but I trust my local one and I think the parts department there gives outstanding customer service.

Now having two Disco's I have been fortunate enough to have as my mechanic one of the old Land Rover techs that opened his own shop because as was stated left for greener pastures. He has been working on rovers since 1987(works on jags too), but even he has his limitations as I get the impression he would not be comfortable working on a new LR3 or Range Rover(course most of those have been under warranty).

He has done many little things for me for free and watches out for all the preventative maintenance things. Both rovers have been very reliable, perhaps just because of having a great mechanic.

[tee51397]

Originally Posted by Rovin4life

oh and can I drive to your work place and call you a retard, asshole, and general cheat or would hurt your feelings.

As a whole our society tends to make broad generalities. I don't believe the posters comments were directed at you so no, it would not be appropriate for you to drive by his office and call him a cheat, etc. If you wanted to call doctors or lawyers cheats that's fine. The thing is, I don't think too many would have their feelings hurt because the comment was not directed at them.

There are many great techs out there and perhaps you're one of them, I don't know, but there are far more bad than good. Being a good tech doesn't just mean knowing how to use a wrench. Being a good tech requires solid analytical thought and deductive reasoning. These are skills that are not widely represented in the general population and, as such are not widely represented in the automotive industry.

I think the point the he was trying to make is that if someone else can do it, you can too. After all, we are talking about taking a car apart and putting it back together not re-working string theory. Being a proficient diagnostician is something else altogether.

You must admit, the industry is not known for recruiting the nations greatest intellect. While I would be the first to point out we all deserve to be treated with respect, we need to have a sense of humor as well.

I'm really not trying to be an ass but, be it right or wrong there is a stigma associated with mechanics and techs and it's not going to go away. If people making broad generalities about techs having diminished mental capacity really does hurt your feelings, perhaps being a tech is not right for you, and I mean that with the utmost respect.

[tee51397]

Everything else aside, I totally agree with your comments on industry practices.

[KDamericano]

Rovin4life - - Before you get your SnapOn panties in a bunch, let me clear up a few things

1. The point of this thread was to offer support to a member who's at a bit of a crossroads concerning his vehicle, obviously upset with his dealer, and perhaps considering a different method of performing some maintenance.

2. My comments were directed at the thread's author, all in regards to #1, as a joke.

3. I'm very aware of how flat rate works. I realize the tech is not taking home $100 per hour. This does not change the fact that the customer is still paying $100 an hour.

4. Unfortunately in my experience, as well as the experience of everybody I've ever talked to about the auto repair industry; the honest, experienced, and competent dealer is the exception and not the rule.

5. The fact that you have even a basic understanding of what it means to throw parts at a problem tells me that you are probably a good mechanic. See #4.

6. Your statement about the absence proper diagnostic procedures and general incompetence of all independent mechanics is general, unreasonable, and false in my experience. Kind of like the comment I made regarding dealer techs. Only I was exaggerating to make a joke, which I hope was also the case in your comments.

7. My favorite independent shop is run by a rover-trained tech who does most of the work. And any questions I have regarding the work that was/is to be performed, or general concerns can all be asked to and answered by the tech that was working on my car - - a privilege that's denied by many dealerships.

8. You stated yourself that there are inexperienced and/or incompetent techs at the dealer, where you seldom have the ability to choose who works on your car. So while you yourself may be a very proficient tech, the one who works on my car could be a complete ass-clown.

I hope this clears things up. To reference the popular slogan "Don't hate the player, hate the game." Believe me - I'm hating the game...

[Supreme05]

Thanks for all of the help info and guidance everyone. I'm going to take it to a nearby mechanic who specializes in European vehicles. As another note, Ive been informed by the dealer that they recommend that my Rover receive a complete engine reseal at a guesstimate of $5,000. just my luck .