So my normal mechanic doesn't work on Subies, but works on my car for minor stuff like brake pads, etc. Unfortunately, he found today something that looks like a cam seal leak, but he doesn't know enough about the WRX(-derived cars) to say for sure, and doesn't want to get into my engine. Given that the work he performed today (60k mi service, as a favor) cost me $140, whereas every dealer I called wanted over $1,000, I'm not terribly interested in paying e.g. SoG prices. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good in-town mechanic that won't force me to eat ramen? I don't have the space or inclination to do this work myself, since it could end up being basically a timing belt job. I called Japanese Automotive Performance in Alpharetta and was quoted $800, but if I can avoid the long drive and cut the price (or find a suby specialist that won't charge more), that'd be nice... P.S. 26k mi and the cam seal's dead. Can I blame Jim Ellis Saab for this one when they installed my new engine? Gaah.
Word. I assume that somewhere like Batlground or TopSpeed wouldn't really want to do such mundane work, or their labor rates are high enough that I wouldn't want to pay them to do it... is that even a fair assumption?
I believe TS has specials for 60K, which I thought a timing belt was part of. I may be wrong, their labor rates are inline with most places and their specialty is subaru. IIRC 85per hour.
^^^ Batlgrounds labor rate is about the same, I had a quote from them to install my sways (I was lazy, but ended up doing it myself) Keep in mind, your probably still going to have to pay fees for racking your car, and most all maintenance items have set rates (ie, charge for 4 hours as standard even though they can do it in 2). Price you pay for having it done right the first time...
If Jim Ellis Saab did a short block swap I would assume they fubar'd the install. I would try to get them to fix it. If they won't then just get the seal replaced. If your timing belt only has 26k on it and the idler has the same I wouldn't pay for any parts except the $4 cam seal.
take it to buckhead auto over in piedmont. ask for Jim that's my dad. tell him you know his son Justin
Nah, the t-belt is scheduled by 'baru at 105k. Basically the 60k is just a lot of inspection, but I wanted trans and diff oil changes thrown in, too, and was quoted over $1k. Unfortunately, they did the shortblock swap at 32k, so it's long past warranty. In addition, my preferred mechanic has expressed concern that the t-belt could be degraded having been bathed in oil. Plus, once you've got things that torn down, you might as well go ahead and replace them. At that point, parts costs are relatively insignificant, especially if I decide not to trade this cursed cage in on an 09... Keep the recs coming, y'all - I'm going to spend some time tomorrow talking to all the shops and getting quotes. Plus, searching didn't turn up a concise "here are the non-speed-shops we like" thread.
Autofab motorsports with my cousin thomas! tell him i sent you ("his cousin matt") and that he said he can beat anybody's price, and BAM you will have yourself a deal (i think).
Here is a price list for you. http://www.wrxatlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23372 For doing the timing belt and all related parts you are looking at 300 easily just in parts. Not sure what the shop hours are for a timing belt but I would guess around 5 or 6. At 90 an hour your looking at another 500 for labor. Don't expect to get it done for less than 800 unless you do it yourself or you find someone here willing to do it for less. BTW if your current mechanic can't figure out how to do a cam seal replacement on a Subaru I'm not so sure I would want him working on any of my cars.
Cool, thanks for the price link - that's good to know. It's not that my normal mech can't do it, it's more just that he doesn't really want to. He's one half of a two-man operation that's completely full with Toyondissans 100% of the time, and I suspect it's just not worth his time. I don't begrudge him that. His labor rates are way, way below $90/hr and he does really good work (and has for me for years), so I've stuck by him. If I can find someone like him (price, honesty, skill) that works on our cars, I'll gladly go there for internal work.
Usually... but not never. (for the record, I'm talking about Petes' Import Garage in Decatur. The Petes are my ideal of honest, fair-to-a-fault mechanics and I cannot recommend them highly enough.)
http://www.quantummechanicsauto.com/ The website to them. One of the mechanics owns a WRX so he is very familiar with Subaru's.
Wow! I did it myself but buying subaru parts (coolant, spark plugs, tranny / diff fluid, air filter, fuel filter, oil filter + Castrol 0W30 oil) and it cost me about $175-200.