Lead Lap
Banshee, depends....... How hard do you work flying a plane? My machinist job was physically easy the headaches weren't. Doing the mechanic thing for a business is demanding physically and mentally, messing up can be big bucks, well so can flying and machisting. As a mechanic you have to be jumping around like a monkey, and some machinist jobs are like that too. And unless your flying an F16 in combat or the like your autopilot does all your work mostly. Gosh some pilots have even slept so I don't think your in the wrong line of work.
Oh and if your a mechanic place charging say 1200 for a timing belt job, like a Lexus dealer would have a few years ago, you get to supply the parts, supply the loaner car,
supply the guy twisting the bolts, paying for rent on the building your using, and the insurance, and the power for the lights and compressor etc. and any specialized tools required to work on the cars. Like AC recovery tools, special mechanic tools etc. depending on the size of your shop the special tools likely in the 300,000 range. Rent per month from 2500 to 10,000 a month all size dependant. And who knows about the power bill, attorney fees, insurance, accounting etc etc.
Naaa you'd find out that charging so little and having to warrant the job would not be the big money you think.
Having a popular fast food place would be the way more profitable. I had an ex that worked at one years ago, one cash register got 6k one day and that was in the late 80's. Oh and at that same time if you owned a large bulldozer you were doing good if it got 1,000 in one day and that's paying for fuel and the operator.
Oh and if your a mechanic place charging say 1200 for a timing belt job, like a Lexus dealer would have a few years ago, you get to supply the parts, supply the loaner car,
supply the guy twisting the bolts, paying for rent on the building your using, and the insurance, and the power for the lights and compressor etc. and any specialized tools required to work on the cars. Like AC recovery tools, special mechanic tools etc. depending on the size of your shop the special tools likely in the 300,000 range. Rent per month from 2500 to 10,000 a month all size dependant. And who knows about the power bill, attorney fees, insurance, accounting etc etc.
Naaa you'd find out that charging so little and having to warrant the job would not be the big money you think.
Having a popular fast food place would be the way more profitable. I had an ex that worked at one years ago, one cash register got 6k one day and that was in the late 80's. Oh and at that same time if you owned a large bulldozer you were doing good if it got 1,000 in one day and that's paying for fuel and the operator.
Rookie
Quote:
I'm out in LA and the 800-1200 belt service is about normal from a reputable mechanic. By reputable I mean someone who knows the lexus and does everything by the book. Originally Posted by lexslexus
It was quite a bit. That shop gave me the lowest quote. Everyone else wanted $1200 and up even though the original owner paid $650 at the dealer. Maybe it would have been a little less if I gave them the parts. They used mostly OEM everything. After joining Club Lexus, I'm shocked to find that purchasing and servicing a LS 400 here in Atlanta is more expensive than in other regions for whatever reason.
400-600 is a screaming deal, but at 400 I wonder what they aren't doing???
The way I see it, no reason to cheap out on a major repair right? Unless you can do it yourself, I say let the best mechanic handle the job.
Instructor
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Oh and if your a mechanic place charging say 1200 for a timing belt job, like a Lexus dealer would have a few years ago, you get to supply the parts, supply the loaner car,
supply the guy twisting the bolts, paying for rent on the building your using, and the insurance, and the power for the lights and compressor etc. and any specialized tools required to work on the cars. Like AC recovery tools, special mechanic tools etc. depending on the size of your shop the special tools likely in the 300,000 range. Rent per month from 2500 to 10,000 a month all size dependant. And who knows about the power bill, attorney fees, insurance, accounting etc etc.
Naaa you'd find out that charging so little and having to warrant the job would not be the big money you think.
Having a popular fast food place would be the way more profitable. I had an ex that worked at one years ago, one cash register got 6k one day and that was in the late 80's. Oh and at that same time if you owned a large bulldozer you were doing good if it got 1,000 in one day and that's paying for fuel and the operator.
Yea, I wouldn't want to work at or own a dealership. But with the prices they get for jobs like this I could have a small shop, charge 75% of that with a fraction of the overhead and have a nice little profit. But that's still too much work. Like you said, I'm better off as an autopilot monitor.Originally Posted by dicer
Banshee, depends....... How hard do you work flying a plane? My machinist job was physically easy the headaches weren't. Doing the mechanic thing for a business is demanding physically and mentally, messing up can be big bucks, well so can flying and machisting. As a mechanic you have to be jumping around like a monkey, and some machinist jobs are like that too. And unless your flying an F16 in combat or the like your autopilot does all your work mostly. Gosh some pilots have even slept so I don't think your in the wrong line of work.Oh and if your a mechanic place charging say 1200 for a timing belt job, like a Lexus dealer would have a few years ago, you get to supply the parts, supply the loaner car,
supply the guy twisting the bolts, paying for rent on the building your using, and the insurance, and the power for the lights and compressor etc. and any specialized tools required to work on the cars. Like AC recovery tools, special mechanic tools etc. depending on the size of your shop the special tools likely in the 300,000 range. Rent per month from 2500 to 10,000 a month all size dependant. And who knows about the power bill, attorney fees, insurance, accounting etc etc.
Naaa you'd find out that charging so little and having to warrant the job would not be the big money you think.
Having a popular fast food place would be the way more profitable. I had an ex that worked at one years ago, one cash register got 6k one day and that was in the late 80's. Oh and at that same time if you owned a large bulldozer you were doing good if it got 1,000 in one day and that's paying for fuel and the operator.
Lead Lap
Yeah and age has something to do with it too. When your in your 60's you won't think its as fun as it used to be climbing under cars etc.
When you do it as a job the fun goes bye bye, and the people you do it for expect only perfection. You better have that white vinyl protectant film or what ever its called that is used to ship cars to protect the paint and body, do the wrong thing there and your paying to work on peoples cars instead of them paying you.
When you do it as a job the fun goes bye bye, and the people you do it for expect only perfection. You better have that white vinyl protectant film or what ever its called that is used to ship cars to protect the paint and body, do the wrong thing there and your paying to work on peoples cars instead of them paying you.
Quote:
Aint that the truth.Originally Posted by dicer
Yeah and age has something to do with it too. When your in your 60's you won't think its as fun as it used to be climbing under cars etc.
Nowadays I only work on my kids' cars, and mine once in a while. When it gets to the point where I cant do it anymore I wont complain about what a good mechanic charges b/c I know what's involved.
One other thing.. I will be doing the timing belt myself, the kit also contains a crank seal which I would like to change since it came in the kit... The 2 youtube doco's on changing the timing belt don't show changing this seal. To get at the seal I'll have to remove the timing belt drive 'gear'. The workshop manual doesn't show how to get this gear off either. Does anyone know how to get it off ?... It doesn't look like you can get a puller behind it. Maybe it will just tap off or kind of ply it off with a pair of large screw drivers ? Any suggestions ?
Instructor
It slides off by hand. At worst you gently pry with two flatheads. The shop manual shows using a puller. They also show a puller for the crank pulley. That's another 'nope.'
Driver
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400-600 is a screaming deal, but at 400 I wonder what they aren't doing???
The way I see it, no reason to cheap out on a major repair right? Unless you can do it yourself, I say let the best mechanic handle the job.
True. Like the guy who did the job said, "Sorry I had to charge you so much but with these cars every penny you spend will be well worth it."Originally Posted by 8055y
I'm out in LA and the 800-1200 belt service is about normal from a reputable mechanic. By reputable I mean someone who knows the lexus and does everything by the book.400-600 is a screaming deal, but at 400 I wonder what they aren't doing???
The way I see it, no reason to cheap out on a major repair right? Unless you can do it yourself, I say let the best mechanic handle the job.
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Yes Banshee365... I just found that in the workshop manual after you mentioned it... I looked a few times before and missed it but when you said it was in there I went page by page until I found it. ...And I spoke to a mechanic who has never done a 1UZ timing belt but he also said the timing pulley gear should come off easily. (famous last words).... I'm borrowing a puller for the crankshaft pulley and we have a 3/4" rattle gun for the main pulley bolt.....Anyway, on we go !Originally Posted by Banshee365
It slides off by hand. At worst you gently pry with two flatheads. The shop manual shows using a puller. They also show a puller for the crank pulley. That's another 'nope.'
..... And while I'm at it, gotta do the starter motor too as it's starting to do the click-click-click-click on start up...
... There's a guy on ebay 'Auto 8' selling starters with a 5 year warranty for $130AUD ($100USD) so I'll go with one of his.
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400-600 is a screaming deal, but at 400 I wonder what they aren't doing???
The way I see it, no reason to cheap out on a major repair right? Unless you can do it yourself, I say let the best mechanic handle the job.
Yeah, I got a CHEAP deal. I soon found out after going to pick up the car, and immediately driving off, that it had a bogging issue, so I immediately knew what that was, having done timing belts on my Honda Accords/Preludes, it was sure enough a tooth or three off on the Timing belt. Would bog right at 3k rpms. Second time i picked it up, he didn't top off the coolant or didn't know how to bleed the system and I was about half a gallon low, and I almost overheated when driving off. Had to turn around 1-2 miles on the way home to go back, luckily it was November and cold out.Originally Posted by 8055y
I'm out in LA and the 800-1200 belt service is about normal from a reputable mechanic. By reputable I mean someone who knows the lexus and does everything by the book.400-600 is a screaming deal, but at 400 I wonder what they aren't doing???
The way I see it, no reason to cheap out on a major repair right? Unless you can do it yourself, I say let the best mechanic handle the job.
I know now at least to go to a certified Toyota/Lexus independent mechanic for this type of job. This guy was clearly new, or had never worked on a Lexus V8, so he messed a couple things up, but ultimately fixed it. I guess it cost him more than the 400 he quoted me, which I feel bad, but to my defense, I had to schedule two separate trips and call off work an hour early to make it to his shop on time. He did at least drive me home the first night I had to leave it with him, so he was a hospitable guy. And also I found that he logged it into the Lexus Driver's maintenance records system, so that was good for my future reference.