Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[dodint]

Oh man, that sucks. Long distance deals are tough like that sometimes but I hate to see it happen to you.

[RonnieFranchise]

Never trust a seller who doesn't punctuate.

[CBear3]

That sucks, especially the lack of recourse. Nothing like getting burnt when you think you're getting a once in a lifetime opportunity.

[Morkle]

Jeep is back today, $2800 later.

[faftorial]

Sorry to hear that. Sucks that people can get away that.

[faftorial]

Maybe @dodint has some advice.

[dodint]

Fraud is very hard to prove.

[mac5155]

Mazda quoted us $8,900 - cracked cylinder head. Car is 6 months out of warranty, and now we're gonna call and fight with Mazda.

I wish you best of luck in your fight but if they won't budge I see used motors in car-part for 1900-2500 ish assuming I've put the right in go in, and if it was my mechanic he'd probably say $800-1k to install the motor.

[Shyster]

That price for the Mazda seems grossly excessive. Does that include replacing the entire engine?

[dodint]

Ford offered to put a brand new V10 in my van for $9500 out the door.

[faftorial]

Ford offered to put a brand new V10 in my van for $9500 out the door.

[dodint]

I honestly should have. I probably have that much in the X5 and it's a much less capable vehicle.

[faftorial]

I honestly should have. I probably have that much in the X5 and it's a much less capable vehicle.

What are the specs on the engine?

[dodint]

The X5? 4.8L V8.

Ford was the 6.8L V10.

[Morkle]

That price for the Mazda seems grossly excessive. Does that include replacing the entire engine?

Yes

[Morkle]

Mazda quoted us $8,900 - cracked cylinder head. Car is 6 months out of warranty, and now we're gonna call and fight with Mazda.

I wish you best of luck in your fight but if they won't budge I see used motors in car-part for 1900-2500 ish assuming I've put the right in go in, and if it was my mechanic he'd probably say $800-1k to install the motor.

What mechanic is this that's doing it for that cost? At some point, it's not worth the time of effort around here to replace it. We're holding out hope Mazda does something. This apparently is an issue for this year vehicle, across multiples online - and it's not a driving defect, it's a failure of the casting itself.

I can safely say, I will NEVER own a Mazda again. Hated it's transmission from the start, so naturally it's the first vehicle I've ever owned where I'm potentially losing money because of something out of my control.

[RonnieFranchise]

So I've been told by several friends for years I should just learn to do my own brakes, it's easy and cheap. I feel like me doing that myself would put everyone's safety at risk. Yet after spending $300-something for rear brakes and rotors on a 14 year old vehicle yesterday- how difficult is this and is it worth it?

I've done my own plugs and wires in the past on vehicles of low value. Don't do my own oil changes. For reference on my mechanical ability.

[Morkle]

Time Vs. Effort Vs. Doing it Right

Basically puts me in the just buy it and cry over it category lol.

[NTP66]

So I've been told by several friends for years I should just learn to do my own brakes, it's easy and cheap. I feel like me doing that myself would put everyone's safety at risk. Yet after spending $300-something for rear brakes and rotors on a 14 year old vehicle yesterday- how difficult is this and is it worth it?

I've done my own plugs and wires in the past on vehicles of low value. Don't do my own oil changes. For reference on my mechanical ability.

Brakes are very easy if you just spend 10 minutes learning how to do it right, which can easily be done with the help of YouTube. That said, the deciding factor for me is sort of what Morkle mentioned - time and effort. I have air tools to make getting the wheels off quicker, but you're talking about getting the car on jack stands, removing the wheels, removing the caliper bolts (if we're talking sliding calipers), etc. Rotors are also easy, but more time consuming because you have to pull the calipers completely off the rotor.

I still do my own brakes, but I'm at the point now where I simply don't want to put in the effort, and it's worth it for me to pay to have the work done. I drive so little that I can go years on the same pads, so I'm in a different spot than most. If I had a lift in my garage like dodint, I'd probably still do the work since that's the bulk of time and the biggest annoyance outside of caliper screws which should all burn in hell including the inventor.

[Rylan]

Brakes arent hard to do on your own. But they can be time consuming. If you will get enjoyment out of learning and satisfaction of doing the job then its worth it.

I get neither and hate it with a passion, so I like when someone else does it.

[dodint]

The hardest part of doing brakes is jacking the car up. Unless you can get all four corners off the ground at once you have to move the jack around. Not a huge deal, but tedious.

As for the actual job itself, it is very easy. The pads clip into place without any tools, just some binding clips. And the rotors are held onto the hub either with nothing, or with a small set screw. All of it comes undone when you take the caliper off, which is typically just two large bolts.

That assumes it's a modern disc setup. If they're drum brakes it's a little different.

[NTP66]

If you're lucky enough to have Brembo-style brakes, even weenie could figure out how to replace pads on them with little effort.

[dodint]

The hardest brake job I ever did was on our MINI. It turns out the rear caliper on those differs from anything I had ever seen. It had a large, like silver dollar-sized, piston that you had to compress. Took a special brake caliper compression tool that clamped and turned at the same time. Only on the rears. I only did that job once, luckily.

[Kane]

The hardest brake job I ever did was on our MINI. It turns out the rear caliper on those differs from anything I had ever seen. It had a large, like silver dollar-sized, piston that you had to compress. Took a special brake caliper compression tool that clamped and turned at the same time. Only on the rears. I only did that job once, luckily.

The rear disc brakes on my Elantra have that style caliper. I had to buy a ratchet attachment that twisted it in.

[dodint]

I borrowed the tool from Autozone after a healthy amount of cursing. My simple c-clamp wasn't doing the job.