[aelred]

I'll lead off by saying, yes, this is why I need to get a house with a garage. Lack of space to work on things really sucks.

Last week I took the car in for an oil change and state inspection. Decided "while they were in there" to have them recharge the AC.

Call #1: "Hey, did you know you have cord showing on your tires on the inside edge?" Why no, no I didn't actually. Result = 4xKumho ECSTA ASX-S for a total of 502.80 mounted/balanced. And of course and alignment for $282.

Call #2: "Hey, your right rear CV boots are cracked. Left are okay but worn, probably replaced awhile back." Result = Left & Right inner/outer boots replace for $752.36

Call #3: "Your brake fluid is pretty nasty" (At this point, I'm thinking WTF, this stuff was all supposed to be handled when I bought the damn thing, I guess I'm a sucker). Result = brake flush/fill w/ATE 200 gold for $115.40

Call #4: "Umm, when we were putting your tires on, the wheel machine jammed and put a gouge in the paint, we'll take care of it, but it's not going to match your other wheels now" :XX (fresh vs. faded) Result = $150/per to get the remaining 3 wheels refinished.

All told, including the oil, ac, inspection, tires, brake flush, wheels, cv, alignment, that little adventure cost me $2692.30

Some of this is safety related, so I can't really bitch, but damn, the "I'm a n000b" tax hurts. But at least my baby has nice new socks and shoes.

They also told me on the way out the oil recirculating lines need to get replaced with the new 2 piece units as they are seeping a bit on the heat exchangers. Is this a huge safety issue or can I afford to wait for the bank balance to recover a bit?

[edevinney]

Ouch. Welcome to the club, your wallet will eventually either recover or just get so cripsy you don't care anymore.

Did they at least knock some $$ off the tire job for fuch'ing up your wheel? And for 750 clams did they replace the CVs or just the boots?

Fortunately, some of this stuff can be done in the driveway and other costs can be lowered through careful shopping based on the trove of info found here on D'phus. Brake fluid flush will cost $20 in ATE fluid, plus another $75 or so the first time if you want the fancy bleeder and tools. Tire deal is hard to beat at Radial Tire in Silver Spring (I drive there from P'ville) and the alignment is the one thing to get done at HBL ($150 or so done by an attentive tech on a regularly calibrated machine).

You can also snag lift time at the various tech sessions for some of this stuff.

[Trak Ratt]

Wow, forgot how much this stuff cost out in the world! Seeping is better than weeping but would have to see to tell. Some wetness around fittings is OK. BTW one or more of those lines may connect to the thermostat just in front of the right rear wheel. If so replacing them should be left to a Porsche shop as the stat is aluminum and can be destroyed if lines removed wrong.

[Jase007]

Yowzaa Scott !!!

Next time, contact one of us, buy the parts and some donuts / pizza / beer and set aside some time to save yourself some $$$.

I've heard Jazzbass and VaSteve have open garage spots frequently and bonus ... they don't mind if you leave your car there for a week or so

[Potomac-Greg]

Take comfort in the fact that with a good solid investment, you'll be trouble- and cost-free for a good long time. Right.

[}{arlequin]

you got raped.

it's precisely the reason websites such as this are in existance

[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by }{arlequin

you got raped.

lol. Don't keep sugzr coating everything dave... just tell us how you feel

[Lupin..the..3rd]

Lotsa words to describe these cars but "cheap" aint one of em.

[BlackTalon]

Scott -- most of us here probably went through an experience like yours before we discovered the DIY route. Lots of what you had done could be handled in a driveway if you had some basic tools and a pair of jackstands. Heck, an oil change doesn't even require jacking the car up. And the brake bleeding could be accomplished when replacing the tires, which would reduce the amount of labor.

Consider this the first day of the rest of your life

[jbailey930]

Indeed we can pitch in and help you with maintenance. At least it wasnt as bad as our coworker who bought an 84 over Ebay then had $8k worth on top of the purchase price - tranny rebuild, tires alignment, etc.