Author Topic: Anything related to automobiles  (Read 100672 times)

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Online Stadler

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #455 on: April 18, 2018, 04:40:58 PM »
That looks like a smart step up, because if nothing else, you can monitor it for future blockages.

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #456 on: April 18, 2018, 05:59:23 PM »
Yeah, just have to take off the sun visor, overhead handle, A pillar trim and pull down the headliner...

Offline ReaperKK

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #457 on: April 18, 2018, 07:39:02 PM »
Is that a VW you're driving? :lol

My golf used to get the sunroof drains clogged all the time.

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #458 on: April 18, 2018, 09:42:33 PM »
Volvo.  I don't think it's unique to any make, though.  I had a Toyota with the same issue about 15 years ago.

Offline ReaperKK

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #459 on: April 19, 2018, 04:01:55 AM »
I'm looking forward to next weekend, I'm going to do some serious car shopping and start making a short list of what I want.

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #460 on: April 26, 2018, 08:43:12 PM »
Really frustrating past couple days with car. Driving to work a couple days ago battery light comes on, power steering gone welp that means my serpentine belt broke, I've dealt with this before. Luckily I was close enough to home that I just coasting my car home and took my bike to work. That night take off the fan only to realize that the belt is fine, and in great shape all the pulleys look great too, looks like my (what I thought was small) oil leak was getting on the pulleys and caused my belt to come off. I thought fuck it, it's an oil filter housing gasket, I'll swap that out, $6 for the gasket. Pull the power steering & alternator change the gasket and I"m doing up the bolts. Get to the last bolt of the housing when the bolt strips. FUCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't over torque it or even get close, so now I have ot run to bmw pick up a new bolt get it as tight as I can and call it a day.

Fucking fuck fuck fuck shit fuck.

//Rant

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #461 on: May 02, 2018, 06:55:26 AM »
Volvo.  I don't think it's unique to any make, though.  I had a Toyota with the same issue about 15 years ago.
Apparently there was a class action lawsuit regarding poor sunroof drains on this model.  Volvo knew about it during production, but it remained an internal memo only, with a technical service b5ulletin sent to service centers.  I just emailed them to see what I could get.  New carpet would be great, and having them install it would be even better.

Edit: argh..

Quote
At this time, there is no recall or extended warranty pertaining to this matter.  You may proceed with inspection of your concern at a an authorized Volvo retailer and the needed repair can be reviewed for cost assistance.  These decisions are made on a case by case basis, so assistance is no way guaranteed.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2018, 08:18:45 AM by jasc15 »

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #462 on: May 02, 2018, 07:03:11 AM »
On another subject, I have been using my smartphone and the car stereo aux input.  The aux cable is male TRS (tip ring sleeve) on both ends, and I am getting random signals into the phone's mic pin which causes the music to pause, skip, and fools the phone into thinking its receiving voice commands.  I know there are TRS-TRRS adapters, but there seem to be so many configurations and permutations, that I'm not sure exactly which is the one I need.  It seems to me that the male input to the phone should have TRRS, with the mic ring floating rather than grounded to the sleeve, and the other end TRS.

Offline YtseBitsySpider

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #463 on: May 03, 2018, 08:37:02 AM »
Random KIA rant.
Love the Sorento. Lots of vehicle for less money. But decided to double down on the already good warranty by buying the extended. Essentially bumper to bumper for 10 years. bad bad bad move....

Turns out. The extended is through a secondary company. Tri-core insurance or some such. And the instant I purchased it, it over ruled the original KIA warranty. Gets better. Because they're a separate company from KIA the dealer becomes handcuffed and is essentially making insurance claims on your behalf when ever things go wrong on the vehicle. It's not a lemon, but shit breaks...hockey sticks break...everything breaks. In our case it was the shift lock when putting the vehicle in park. It wouldn't 100% believe it WAS in park and wouldn't allow us to start the vehicle. But there was no code, nothing to bill to tricore, no loaner, no solution  - and much frustration from mrs. ytse that her KIA truck randomly wouldn't start where ever she might be. We left it at dealerships over nights, weekends, an entire WEEK. They couldn't recreate the problem. Of course not. It started every time because they never drove it anywhere and thus never had to put it BACK into park. It was that question that allowed me and the service manager to solve the problem. In fairness to the dealer/manager/service staff they were pretty damn good. And having researched this problem I've heard others in the same boat. So why would KIA Canada or KIA USA enter into this type of agreement with an independent company when the average citizen could have told them dealing with any kind of insurance company is a nightmare.
Take care everyone - Bet you all didn't even notice I was gone.

Happy Lives to you all.

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #464 on: May 03, 2018, 09:22:39 AM »
Damn. I would never guess that extended warranty would override manufacturer's warranty like that.  I turned down all extended warranty offers last time i bought a new car, but not for any particular reasons other than not understanding exactly how i can get screwed by them.

Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #465 on: May 03, 2018, 10:40:47 AM »
My GF's father bought a new F-350 toward the end of 2016. He bought the upgraded suspension package, as well as the winter and plow package combo. They sold him on getting the extended drivetrain warranty because it's a work truck and he often times has the bed loaded and is pulling a trailer. I think he said he paid like $3200 for it. Anyway, his transmission blew at like 30,000 miles and the dealer said the warranty didn't cover it because the truck was used to plow... They invalidated the warranty they sold him because of another upgrade they sold him. He went ballistic in the dealership and now drives a Chevy 3500. First time he hasn't had a Ford in more than 30 years.

Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #466 on: May 04, 2018, 06:57:12 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something. 

Online Grappler

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #467 on: May 04, 2018, 07:39:20 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something.

I can't speak to the car shaking, but I've had a very loud clicking sound that occurs when you adjust either climate control (hot/cold) or the inside/outside air vent control.  It's an actuator in the dash that controls the vents - my car has at least 3.  I had two replaced and a third just started clicking.

The gears on the actuator are plastic and wear down with use and time.  The clicking is the actuator gears slipping while trying to move the vent.  That could be related to your issue, though my car doesn't shake when it happens. 

Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #468 on: May 04, 2018, 08:09:58 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something.

I can't speak to the car shaking, but I've had a very loud clicking sound that occurs when you adjust either climate control (hot/cold) or the inside/outside air vent control.  It's an actuator in the dash that controls the vents - my car has at least 3.  I had two replaced and a third just started clicking.

The gears on the actuator are plastic and wear down with use and time.  The clicking is the actuator gears slipping while trying to move the vent.  That could be related to your issue, though my car doesn't shake when it happens.

And wouldn't you only hear that sound when the actuators were trying to make adjustments to the vents? Mine noise never stops.

Online El Barto

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #469 on: May 04, 2018, 08:10:37 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something.
Some part of your blower motor broke apart at high speed and now it's majorly out of balance.
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Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #470 on: May 04, 2018, 08:13:55 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something.
Some part of your blower motor broke apart at high speed and now it's majorly out of balance.

That's what I was thinking. Do you think it's the motor itself, or a blade on a fan attached to the motor? It would surprise me that a motor would cause the level of vibrations I'm feeling though, unless it's way bigger than I'm anticipating. Not saying you're wrong.

Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #471 on: May 04, 2018, 08:16:16 AM »
I realized while driving last night I never hit the "max" button on my climate control console. I pushed it and the vents roared to life. Then there was a huge bang and it sounded like a helicopter was taking off. Now if my fan is on anything higher than 2 (out of 6), the whole car shakes and you get an awful earful of something.
Some part of your blower motor broke apart at high speed and now it's majorly out of balance.

That's what I was thinking. Do you think it's the motor itself, or a blade on a fan attached to the motor? It would surprise me that a motor would cause the level of vibrations I'm feeling though, unless it's way bigger than I'm anticipating. Not saying you're wrong.

Sounds like this is the problem.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/MINI_R56/112-ELEC-Blower_Motor_Replacement/112-ELEC-Blower_Motor_Replacement.htm

If your blower motor fails, replace the blower and resistor together. You don't want to have to go back in if one fails later. Over time, a blower motor may become noisy as the motor electrical contacts wear. The blower fan cages also fracture, creating a vibration when the blower is ON. If it fails or becomes noisy, you can use this procedure for the repairs.

Replacing the blower motor is no easy task. You will have to work high up behind the instrument panel in an uncomfortable position. If you suspect your blower final stage or blower are faulty, see our tech article on blower motor and final stage testing to confirm your suspicion.

Online El Barto

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #472 on: May 04, 2018, 08:22:06 AM »
That sucks. The squirrel cage in mine is a notorious pain in the ass, but at least you're working from the top down. I hate working up from the floorboard. Mine is accessed from engine compartment. The flip side is that that the resistor is under the dash, so if you do both you're doing two separate jobs.

If you do it yourself be careful not to let any dirt or dust get in there. You'll never get it out and it'll bug you. I've got what sounds like a tiny pebble that flies from one side of the car to the other when I corner fast.
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Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #473 on: May 04, 2018, 08:25:24 AM »
That sucks. The squirrel cage in mine is a notorious pain in the ass, but at least you're working from the top down. I hate working up from the floorboard. Mine is accessed from engine compartment. The flip side is that that the resistor is under the dash, so if you do both you're doing two separate jobs.

If you do it yourself be careful not to let any dirt or dust get in there. You'll never get it out and it'll bug you. I've got what sounds like a tiny pebble that flies from one side of the car to the other when I corner fast.

I don't do anything on my cars. I don't trust myself enough, nor do I have the luxury of having it be out of commission for a few days while I fix whatever I'm working on. When I bring it to a dealer or a garage, I get a loaner. This really blows though. I still owe $4k on the car and was hoping to just be able to dump it for $2k-$3k once I was finally done paying it off. Now I have to decide what I want to do about this.

Online El Barto

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #474 on: May 04, 2018, 08:31:57 AM »
Give yourself a little more credit, dude. Between that monstrosity in your basement and some of your carpentry projects, this will be a cakewalk. Order the part online. Suffer through it until next weekend. Spend 4 hours on a Saturday fixing it. You'll save $600 and feel better about it afterward. This isn't replacing a head gasket or anything. Besides, if you fuck it up it won't cost anymore to have a pro do it later.
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Online Stadler

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #475 on: May 04, 2018, 08:45:47 AM »
I've done that job as well, and it's as el Barto explains it.   I don't know your car, but the BMWs I worked on were a pain in the ass but eminently do-able.   

el Barto, if memory serves that was a VERY common problem on the E30 and E36 BMWs; is Chino's problem a remnant of that, or unrelated? 

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #476 on: May 04, 2018, 09:29:46 AM »
I've done that job as well, and it's as el Barto explains it.   I don't know your car, but the BMWs I worked on were a pain in the ass but eminently do-able.   

el Barto, if memory serves that was a VERY common problem on the E30 and E36 BMWs; is Chino's problem a remnant of that, or unrelated?
I never had that issue with my E30 or E36 over 13 years. It's definitely an issue with the E46, though. As far as I know the problem with those is just that the bearings fail and it sounds like a cricket in the dash. That's what's going on with mine. In my case the chirping is relative to the CoG. When the car is steady it's barely there. When I'm accelerating it's pronounced. As soon as I hit the brakes it's silent.

Sounds like his blew apart. That doesn't sound very common to me. My best guess would be that the bearings have been failing for a while, producing enough slop on the sides that cranking it up to full power shook the thing apart. Or, it the bearings created enough slop for it to bang against the casing. That would definitely do it.
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Offline ReaperKK

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #477 on: May 05, 2018, 09:16:29 PM »
Give yourself a little more credit, dude. Between that monstrosity in your basement and some of your carpentry projects, this will be a cakewalk. Order the part online. Suffer through it until next weekend. Spend 4 hours on a Saturday fixing it. You'll save $600 and feel better about it afterward. This isn't replacing a head gasket or anything. Besides, if you fuck it up it won't cost anymore to have a pro do it later.

This! I've seen stuff you do Chino and it's impressive. There is going to be a forum post, youtube video, online guide out there walking you through all the steps you need to fix the issue. It's how I starting working on cars initially.


Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #478 on: May 08, 2018, 12:29:28 PM »
I found a local Volvo shop and the guy was very willing to look at my car without committing to having do any work.  He did a test drive with me for a few miles and after putting it on a lift found that the rattling sound in my suspension was a sway bar end link.  Besides that, he didn't have anything else besides what I already knew needed to be done.  He then asked about the timing belt, which is another item that's just exceeded its 10 year life.  For belt, tensioner, idler pulley, water pump and serpentine belt, he quoted $1200.  Damn.  I got a dealer quote for the timing belt (which probably included only the belt) for $750, but I'm sure the price would be well north of this guy with the other parts/labor included.  He said it would be a 6 hour job, and might go up to $2000 if he VVT needs replacing.  He also said its $800 in parts, but even with volvo original parts, its only about 250-300 in parts.  I really liked the guy and he seems straight with his business; we talked for over an hour about volvos and various other nonsense, but his prices seem just too high.

Online El Barto

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #479 on: May 08, 2018, 12:54:24 PM »
Never heard of a timing belt that took 6 hours to replace. I'd be calling around on that.

Sadly, it's pretty common for places to mark up parts quite a bit now. Used to be that you paid a mechanic for labor and expertise. Now you're paying him retail on the parts he installs. Basically, you've got cost, let's say 100. Then you've got the "list" price, $200. And then the dealer price, $300. The mechanic will sell it to you for $150 and claim he gave you a 50% discount off of the list price.

Hell, I had a mechanic that charged you for oil even if you brought your own in (he didn't use my brand). Just like dealers marking up prices is an important part of their model.
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Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #480 on: May 08, 2018, 01:20:17 PM »
Yeah, 6 hours seems like what it would take me who has never done one before.  His rate is $100/hour, which isn't totally unreasonable around here, though ive heard of shops that charge 75.   It would be $850 total with me buying the parts.

Edit:  He said he uses this tool to keep the cams locked, which requires access to the other end of the head to install, and presumable more labor.  It seems in most write-ups people don't do this.

« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 01:25:54 PM by jasc15 »

Online El Barto

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #481 on: May 08, 2018, 01:57:08 PM »
Yeah, if he needs access to the front and the back he's dumping a lot more time into it. While I can certainly understand wanting the cams locked down, it sure does seem like there would be simpler ways of doing it. If I had to take a guess I'd say that he's taking the safest, most conservative approach, passing the added time along to you. He probably took a bath once doing one when somebody drove off and had their valves turn into mangled mass of steel a block from the shop. Decided to take a different approach.

Sometimes it's best to let others assume risk. There's a part on my car called a DISA (German acronym for a variable length intake). They wear out and replacing them is a 20 minute job. Every once in a while it'll break when you try to remove it and drop bits of plastic into one of the cylinders. Now you're having to tear into the top of your motor. Suffice it to say, that's a 20 minute job I'll pay my mechanic to do.
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Offline JayOctavarium

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #482 on: May 09, 2018, 09:42:02 AM »
Timing Belt?

That was a $900 all day job for my uncle's shop (2005 PT Cruiser) a few years ago. Other places quoted $1200+ or just laughed at me when I asked for a quote. 

My other half bought another '05 PT after her first one was totaled, and we are going to have to deal with that bullshit in another 20k miles.
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Online Chino

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #483 on: May 09, 2018, 11:32:22 AM »
Timing Belt?

That was a $900 all day job for my uncle's shop (2005 PT Cruiser) a few years ago. Other places quoted $1200+ or just laughed at me when I asked for a quote. 

My other half bought another '05 PT after her first one was totaled, and we are going to have to deal with that bullshit in another 20k miles.

When my timing belt went in my 2000 Passat, it was $3800ish in damage.

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #484 on: May 09, 2018, 12:36:27 PM »
Lol, anecdotes range from "$13 and 20 minutes in my driveway" (not for my car, but i've read this) to "$3800ish in damage".

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #485 on: May 09, 2018, 12:43:30 PM »
Lol, anecdotes range from "$13 and 20 minutes in my driveway" (not for my car, but i've read this) to "$3800ish in damage".

Changing the belt is one thing. Having to replace the damage caused by a broken belt results in far more than just the belt needing to be changed. 4 cylinder heads were damaged and had to be remilled. 16 valves needed to be replaced. Etc..

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #486 on: May 09, 2018, 01:10:08 PM »
Lol, anecdotes range from "$13 and 20 minutes in my driveway" (not for my car, but i've read this) to "$3800ish in damage".

Changing the belt is one thing. Having to replace the damage caused by a broken belt results in far more than just the belt needing to be changed. 4 cylinder heads were damaged and had to be remilled. 16 valves needed to be replaced. Etc..
Ah, I didn't interpret in your post that it failed.  Yikes.

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #487 on: May 09, 2018, 02:26:41 PM »
Yeah, a cam belt failure on an interference engine is quite often a car killer. If your car is a non-interference engine it'll just sputter, die, and your mechanic will slap a new belt on. Off you go.
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Offline ReaperKK

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #488 on: May 09, 2018, 04:08:38 PM »
Timing Belt?

That was a $900 all day job for my uncle's shop (2005 PT Cruiser) a few years ago. Other places quoted $1200+ or just laughed at me when I asked for a quote. 

My other half bought another '05 PT after her first one was totaled, and we are going to have to deal with that bullshit in another 20k miles.

When my timing belt went in my 2000 Passat, it was $3800ish in damage.

My first car was a 2001 VW Golf and it had a ridiculous timing belt interval, something like 40k miles.

Being a broke college student I didn't replace it until around 120k.

Offline jasc15

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Re: Anything related to automobiles
« Reply #489 on: May 14, 2018, 11:50:32 AM »
I called another Volvo shop to quote this timing belt job.  Same job, same parts replaced, they quoted $850 compared to $1200 from the first quote, which had an option to go to $2000 with potential VVT service.  Damn.  Its a shop that specializes in a bunch of euro makes, and they have 4 stars on yelp, however a one-star comment ends with "The positive reviews have GOT TO BE pure buddy system bullcrap".  The positive ones do seem a bit more enthusiastic than a simply satisfied customer might write.  It seems to be a reasonably large business, unlike the sole proprietor with assistant I saw previously.

My hesitancy stems from a co worker who had his timing belt replaced and months later had an aux belt failure.  My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think it then interfered with the timing belt which then damaged the engine.  I want to make sure I have some recourse after this repair if something goes south.  He used a dealer, and was able to go to corporate to get it resolved.

Gonna call one more place, then just pull the trigger on something.