$5000 later . . .

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Took my car into the garage to get the carb sorted, as it didn't sound right. Turns out it needed a rebuild. Then the garage discovered the front suspension had given up the ghost, welding was need on the suspension mounts, front brakes had gone, the flex coupling on the steering column had snapped and was missing a bolt and the gearbox mounts were loose!

So had new discs, pads, brake lines, rebuilt carb, did the timing, new wheel bearings, new front suspension with top arm, lower arm, anti roll bar kit, saddles, front sway bar kit, set up camber, caster and tracking, new gearbox mount, freshly under sealed, new seat belts, new horn.

So $5000 later I've got a much improved car. The previous owner hadn't serviced the car for 5 years and hadn't addressed any of the issues. On the positive side they said the car is good now.

It does drive like a different car, it corners flatter and there's much better acceleration. But I'm still feeling ill about the bill :(.

Here's some of the work they did:

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The ride height is better on the front now.

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Owch ! You have some pretty pricy mechanics over there. But the work is completed and everything works properly so best thing to do is move ahead and enjoy the ride as it should be.

I'm feeling your pain in the wallet though. I'm sure Luxstang will also share commiserations.

 
Yes, the mechanics are pricey, I need to find a cheaper one. The bill was broken down into the following:

$1600 parts (inc shipping)

$2500 labour

$900 tax

I think I need a few beers to drown my sorrows.

Hope Luxstang can find a cheaper mechanic than me.

 
$900 tax? What exactly did the government do to deserve that?

 
I feel for you, brother.

Problem here is shipping and import taxes. If I order 100$ worth of parts, I pay something like 90 $ shipping. So I pay import and taxes on 190$ which leaves me with a 250$ bill for a 100$ part.

Add expensive mechanics to the mix and you weep whenever something breaks.

 
ummmm little worry some;

because of the problems in that area that required welding, you need a thorough inspection of the tops of the frame rails under the upper suspension 'A' member. the photos have heavy undercoating over everything and it covers up a lot of rust damage.

if you power washed the area and get something like this:

Dirt, tar, and undercoating can hide alot of problems

this was my car and i fixed it,,, looking back i should of junked it, if this happened today i would of junked it and got another car to start over with.











Junk the car or sell it on as a parts car, it is a 8-15K Hit in repairs.

as for the repairs on your car. a new front end suspension complete overhaul kit is about 290$

new rag joint or repair kit about 40$

the other stuff you mentioned adds up as well to over 1000$ so i can see the 1600$ for parts

2500$ in labor is cheap in my area since the rate is now 120-240 an hour.

that much work on my own car, based on what your garage did was a couple of days or 2-3 weekends.

now 10 years ago when i first got my rust bomb 72 mach 1 i knew nothing about cars, and i went to a local garage i trusted, and was raped for around 6000$ in shotty and non-existent repairs to my car which i did not find out about until later when i bit the bullet and started to wrench on the car myself.

Life sometimes doesn't allow you the free time to work on cars and thus you will always pay more.

 
The garage removed the rust in the area and put that under coat on. The guy that worked on it is a respected chap, been an American car mechanic since 1972 and almost every American car owner in the area seems to go to him. But before he started the work, he did warn me he was expensive. I just didn't realise how expensive he was!

Luxstang, you hit the nail on the head. That's why our bill for parts are so crazy.

The $900 for tax just sucks, because the tax has already been paid for on the parts in the States and then UK import duty and then taxed again by the garage. So the part is taxed 3 times.

 
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The garage removed the rust in the area and put that under coat on. The guy that worked on it is a respected chap, been an American car mechanic since 1972 and almost every American car owner in the area seems to go to him. But before he started the work, he did warn me he was expensive. I just didn't realise how expensive he was!

Luxstang, you hit the nail on the head. That's why our bill for parts are so crazy.

The $900 for tax just sucks, because the tax has already been paid for on the parts in the States and then UK import duty and then taxed again by the garage. So the part is taxed 3 times.
I seem to recall we had a revolution a while back over a similar problem.

Something about tea...

 
yes we did and it took 239 years and we lost :(

VAT is coming to the USA soon as well. :(

 
That is expensive, but money comes and goes. Its better to have a good mechanic do it one time rather than paying hacker with cheap labor cost over and over.

If only the lottery was easier to win. Wait, that's right; you have to play the lottery to win. Guess I better start.

 
Its better to have a good mechanic do it one time rather than paying hacker with cheap labor cost over and over.
That's very true. I was using the local garage to look after the car and they didn't have a clue. I tried to get them to sort the carb out, with no success.

On the positive, at least I've got a good car now. And the money, you can't take it with you . . .

 
Hey Mark,

I feel your pain, and you have my complete sympathy. I too have just paid out $5,500 Aus to have mechanical repairs done to my newly bought '73 Mach 1. Finding a really good mechanic that doesn't overcharge, is everything as well.

I have ranted on in other threads that owning, repairing,driving and upgrading these cars in overseas countries away from America is a much more expensive proposition than doing the same thing in America. I won't go into details, but it just is this way.

So for the average Joe in a foreign country, this is an expensive hobby for sure. Even if you can do some or all of the work yourself for example, it's still expensive in any event to own and drive these classic American cars. And that sir, is the reality of the whole thing. As the saying goes - I HOPE YOU HAVE DEEP POCKETS!:s

Greg.:(

 
That's a real bummer when a car goes in for certain repairs and once a competent mechanics looks over it, the costs to fix it a lot higher than expected. It's better to have the car fixed properly and safety issues fixed now, than finding out the hard way. As for talk of mechanics prices being too high, this is one area that really annoys me sometimes, having been in the trade for many years. To open a workshop is not as easy as just renting a premises and bring a few tools with you to work on cars. To rent a good workshop is not cheap to start, on top of that is all the tools and equipment needed to open the shop, then all the insurances that go with it, as well as all the certifications needed, plus the usual phone and power. Add all these things together and your looking at a fair chunk of money just to open the doors every day and that's without paying anybody. Years ago when I was stiil in the game and running a shop, we worked out one day that we were looking about $1200 per week just to open the doors, so you need to make that money just as a start, let alone paying yourself or any employees. I'd really hate to think what it costs today as the rents are a lot higher, let alone all the extra certificates needed and the price of insurances, as its been over 12 years since I left the game. So when you think about the prices of mechanical work and think they're too high, just look around the workshop and have a look at the equipment involved, let alone the rest of the overheads and you'll see why most shops charge as they do. Then again I've also seen some prices charged that have amazed me too. Unfortunately the downside to owning an old car is they are always going to be needing something and need to be continuously maintained. As has been said, for those of us who live outside the U.S. the cost of parts themselves is not too bad, but it's the shipping and at times the tax you have to pay on them, but this is something that should've been factored in when purchasing vehicles like these. The more people can do on their own cars, or know someone that is competent that can help them, then a lot of money is saved and you learn something else about your car. I love working on my cars, but with my body going downhill, it just takes a bit longer than it should, lol, but I still get in there and do it as I'd rather the satisfaction of doing it myself than paying someone else to do it, to make life easier for myself. I don't know what I'll do if the day comes where I can't work on my cars any more, because I don't think I could handle paying (or trust) someone else to work on my babies, I'll worry about that when the time comes.

 
$900 tax? What exactly did the government do to deserve that?
That's the governments cut for allowing him to spend his hard earned money that he had already paid a tax on to earn. They get you coming and going. It's the same here in the good old USA. God Bless America we learned everything we know about Taxation from the Brits.
 
$900 tax? What exactly did the government do to deserve that?
That's the governments cut for allowing him to spend his hard earned money that he had already paid a tax on to earn. They get you coming and going. It's the same here in the good old USA. God Bless America we learned everything we know about Taxation from the Brits.
Well said,

It would be fair to say that governments are over taxing their peoples in most developed countries these days, and sadly, they keep on inventing new ways to tax us more.

Greg.:mad:

 
I want to post, I want to post! I would likely receive a warning for being on a political rant about the forced redistribution of wealth and consolidation of power in the form of a "we know what is best for you" under informed and corrupt central government. I do feel for all of you owning American cars overseas. It takes money and determination. Hang in there.

guy-fawkes.jpg

 
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