Date:         Wed, 22 Jul 1998 08:21:13 -0100
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <ron@NETCARRIER.COM>
Subject:      Re: Brake Repair '81 Vanagon => DIY Everytime
Comments: To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
In-Reply-To:  <35B5582D.6B976033@Fament.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> I agree with Ken. This is one area you can save some major $$$, and do
> just as good of a job. I can't imagine paying someone to do something so
> simple. Dirty yes, but difficult, no. If you are not a real DIY person,
> this is a good place to start.


You can let me quote you on parts and take it from there.  People have been
mentioning prices as high as $300 each for rotors.  I have original ATE
drums and rotors for under $50, plus pads and shoes for under $20, wheel
cylinders for around $10, etc.  If you're not a do-it-yourselfer, see if you
can get a local shop to put on customer-provided parts.  Most are not crazy
about this, but many (including some brake chain franchises, such as my
local Monro and Speedy Muffler King shops) will do it, especially if they
suspect that you will go elsewhere otherwise.  They want to make a profit on
both parts and labor, but often will settle for just labor if it's that or
nothing. I often ship parts to various repair shops at a customer's request
(or ship it to the customer and they bring them in with the van). The shop
will probably warn you that using customer-provided parts means that they
won't warranty them, but the parts generally carry a 6 to 12 month warranty
anyway.  Be warned though, that if you discuss providing your own parts
before getting a labor quote, they may pad the labor charge a bit in order
to make up for the lack of profit on the parts.  I have had the same
experience myself with shocks, by the way; my local tire chain branch
charged me $10 each to install my KYB's. For that price, I didn't even
bother to tackle it myself; my time was worth that much.

- Ron Salmon
 The Bus Depot
 http://www.busdepot.com
 (215) 234-VWVW