Car Repair Costs

Notmyrealname

Strider590 wrote: »

Most cars now come with Torx security screws everywhere (to deter the home mechanic)

Really? Whilst they come with torx screws, you've been able to buy the screwdrivers for them from anywhere for decades. I've got a set of torx bits that are coming up for 30 years old.

Its not to deter home mechanics at all.

At the extreme end you have Mercedes, who make their cars so that you can't even check your own oil level, water level and no filler caps to top these up. They've even bought out all the Merc specialists to force people into dealership repairs/servicing.

You do talk some rubbish. But thankyou for confirming you've never owned a Mercedes.

stephanie80

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Strider590

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Really? Whilst they come with torx screws, you've been able to buy the screwdrivers for them from anywhere for decades. I've got a set of torx bits that are coming up for 30 years old.

Yes, they're much more easily available now. But it still deters people from fixing stuff themselves..... There is NO other viable reason for using security bolts.

Notmyrealname wrote: »

You do talk some rubbish. But thankyou for confirming you've never owned a Mercedes.

And I never will, pile of crap that they are..... I was told this by someone who buys new Mercs every few years. The newer Mercs and im informed BMW are jumping on this too, they don't have an oil dipstick, it's checked via the ECU.

Notmyrealname

Strider590 wrote: »

Yes, they're much more easily available now. But it still deters people from fixing stuff themselves..... There is NO other viable reason for using security bolts.

They've always been widely available from any motorist shop selling tools. THEY ARE NOT SECURITY BOLTS.

And I never will, pile of crap that they are..... I was told this by someone who buys new Mercs every few years.

So you're taking the word of someone who probably has never opened the bonnet of any car he has ever owned.

The newer Mercs and im informed BMW are jumping on this too, they don't have an oil dipstick, it's checked via the ECU.

But I thought you said it couldn't be checked....

Trucks have had this for well over half a decade. I remember using the dashboard display to check oil levels in DAFs and Mercs as far back as 2004.

davidanddeirdre

Thanks everyone for your comments. There are obviously ways and means to beat those who would charge us unnecessary and exorbitant sums for vehicle repair, through use of self diagnostics, trouble is they are not generally known. Perhaps there needs to be a campaign of education on this subject.

fred7777

davidanddeirdre wrote: »

but is anyone concerned about the ever increasing tendency by car manufacturers to incorporate components into cars which can only be diagnosed and repaired by their own dealers?

No. Instead I'm concerned by the ever increasing tendency of garages and mechanics to rely on computer diagnostics which they can charge a small fortune for instead of basic fault finding skills.

Example. In the winter of 2005/06 my windscreen washer jets froze and when they thawed the pump wouldn't work. I checked the fuse in the fuse box shown in the manual, which was OK, so took it to a garage. They told me it wasn't the fuse so it must be a faulty switch which needed to be replaced by the dealer. The dealer fixed the fault charging me 34p for a fuse which had failed in the engine compartment and £45 for a computer diagnostic which told them it was the fuse!

The same problem happened again when the jets froze in 2009 but rather than spend £45 at a dealer for a computer to tell me a fuse had blown I spent 34p and found the fuse in the engine bay and replaced it. :j

Regarding the power steering problem. If you now know what part needs replacing what stops that part being changed without going to a dealer and spending £600.

red_eye

fred7777 wrote: »

No. Instead I'm concerned by the ever increasing tendency of garages and mechanics to rely on computer diagnostics which they can charge a small fortune for instead of basic fault finding skills.

Example. In the winter of 2005/06 my windscreen washer jets froze and when they thawed the pump wouldn't work. I checked the fuse in the fuse box shown in the manual, which was OK, so took it to a garage. They told me it wasn't the fuse so it must be a faulty switch which needed to be replaced by the dealer. The dealer fixed the fault charging me 34p for a fuse which had failed in the engine compartment and £45 for a computer diagnostic which told them it was the fuse!

The same problem happened again when the jets froze in 2009 but rather than spend £45 at a dealer for a computer to tell me a fuse had blown I spent 34p and found the fuse in the engine bay and replaced it. :j

Regarding the power steering problem. If you now know what part needs replacing what stops that part being changed without going to a dealer and spending £600.

I think for 2012 you should tfill up with screen wash insted of plain water or dish washing soap:D

fred7777

red_eye wrote: »

I think for 2012 you should tfill up with screen wash insted of plain water or dish washing soap:D

Thanks, the screen wash froze! :rotfl:

The other lesson I learn't from this is when really cold weather is forecast drain the water out of the washer tank and tubes before filling with neat screen wash.