97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

.... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
.... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

.... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.

Do not know. Drop off, 4 hours later picked up.

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...
... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?
... bit of a difference yes ?
John T.


Do not know. Drop off, 4 hours later picked up.


The better garages will give you a ticky-box check-list
when you pick up the car - showing what they inspected -
noting & talking to you about any problems found -
- often having done a detailed repair estimate.
My Kia dealership oil changes includes checking tires ;
fluid levels and visual inspection. ~ $ 54. Canadian
parts, labour, taxes all in. They will even give it a quick
wash-down if needed - no charge.
John T.

On 6/21/2020 5:57 PM, wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.

Define " inspection " ...
... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?
... bit of a difference yes ?
John T.

Do not know. Drop off, 4 hours later picked up.

The better garages will give you a ticky-box check-list
when you pick up the car - showing what they inspected -
noting & talking to you about any problems found -
- often having done a detailed repair estimate.
My Kia dealership oil changes includes checking tires ;
fluid levels and visual inspection. ~ $ 54. Canadian
parts, labour, taxes all in. They will even give it a quick
wash-down if needed - no charge.
John T.

My stealership just pencil whips it.

Lazy slugs are supposed to check tire pressure at the nnnn mile intervals but turns out they don't bother to check the spare in the trunk.

Since they don't do the simple easy stuff, I doubt they do the stuff that requires effort.Â* Maybe that's extra?

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:57:00 -0400,
wrote:


97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...
... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?
... bit of a difference yes ?
John T.


Do not know. Drop off, 4 hours later picked up.


The better garages will give you a ticky-box check-list
when you pick up the car - showing what they inspected -
noting & talking to you about any problems found -
- often having done a detailed repair estimate.
My Kia dealership oil changes includes checking tires ;
fluid levels and visual inspection. ~ $ 54. Canadian
parts, labour, taxes all in. They will even give it a quick
wash-down if needed - no charge.

A wash does not make them better. And of course there's a charge for
it, it'sjust embedded in the price. Other than that, I agree with you.

John T.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 21 Jun 2020 14:29:05 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

Do not know. Drop off, 4 hours later picked up.

Did you agree on a price first?

On 6/21/2020 5:24 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:55:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 5:24 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.


No road test ?
.... there are "inspections" and there are
mandated inspections with paperwork ...
The OP seems to only knows what it cost him ..
... with no idea what was done.
John T.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 21 Jun 2020 18:12:05 -0400,
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:55:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 5:24 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.


No road test ?

A road test is not required in Pa. The owner drives the car. He can
test it.

... there are "inspections" and there are
mandated inspections with paperwork ...
The OP seems to only knows what it cost him ..
... with no idea what was done.
John T.

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...
... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?
... bit of a difference yes ?
John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.


No road test ?
... there are "inspections" and there are
mandated inspections with paperwork ...
The OP seems to only knows what it cost him ..
... with no idea what was done.
John T


A road test is not required in Pa. The owner drives the car. He can
test it.

..
.... you would know .. :-)

http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Public/DV...ons/PUB-45.pdf

but just in case - read page 42 of 140.

John T.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 19:50:15 -0400, micky posted for all of us
to digest...


In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 21 Jun 2020 18:12:05 -0400,
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:55:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 5:24 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.


No road test ?

A road test is not required in Pa. The owner drives the car. He can
test it.

Baloney...
... there are "inspections" and there are
mandated inspections with paperwork ...
The OP seems to only knows what it cost him ..
... with no idea what was done.
John T.



--
Tekkie

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:55:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski posted for all
of us to digest...


On 6/21/2020 5:24 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas
wrote:

97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Define " inspection " ...

... check tires & fluid levels & quick visual ?
... pull 4 wheels and inspect brakes ?

... bit of a difference yes ?

John T.


State inspection in PA. Pull two wheels to check brakes, exhaust
system, ball joints, etc. Should take about 20 minutes.

Don't have to pull wheels with disc brakes.

--
Tekkie

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:30:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:30:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.
My oil changes on the Taurus cost me over $50 doing them myself and
buying the oil on special - synthetic oil with premium filter. The
ranger is a little less - takes 2 liters less oil - and the Sorento is
about the same as the ranger - the filter costs a wee bit more. Put
half an hour of labour on at a $90 per basis and that price doesn't
look too bad - if they are using synthetic it's actually a REALLY good
deal.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 21:45:51 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:30:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.
My oil changes on the Taurus cost me over $50 doing them myself and
buying the oil on special - synthetic oil with premium filter. The
ranger is a little less - takes 2 liters less oil - and the Sorento is
about the same as the ranger - the filter costs a wee bit more. Put
half an hour of labour on at a $90 per basis and that price doesn't
look too bad - if they are using synthetic it's actually a REALLY good
deal.

I'm never surprised when they offer to replace the air filter, the cabin
air filter, and the wiper blades every time I go in. They have to make
money somewhere.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 21:17:23 -0500, Jim Joyce wrote:

I'm never surprised when they offer to replace the air filter, the cabin
air filter, and the wiper blades every time I go in. They have to make
money somewhere.

I don't disagree, where it makes sense that someone who doesn't change his
own oil likely doesn't know enough to know _what_ to check for by way of
the standard maintenance schedule.

Given the shop likely makes money on the "inspection", I always wonder why
people _pay_ for that inspection, since, I think, many shops must be giving
it away (so to speak) for free.

Don't they?

BTW, adding "rec.autos.tech", so here's the URL to the a.h.r thread:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.home.repair/sChKzO3h5rg
--
Usenet is a wonderfully helpful public potluck discussion of added value.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 21:17:23 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 21:45:51 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:30:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.
My oil changes on the Taurus cost me over $50 doing them myself and
buying the oil on special - synthetic oil with premium filter. The
ranger is a little less - takes 2 liters less oil - and the Sorento is
about the same as the ranger - the filter costs a wee bit more. Put
half an hour of labour on at a $90 per basis and that price doesn't
look too bad - if they are using synthetic it's actually a REALLY good
deal.

I'm never surprised when they offer to replace the air filter, the cabin
air filter, and the wiper blades every time I go in. They have to make
money somewhere.
And I still have not changed my air filter on the ranger in 8 years -
or the serpentine belt in 7

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 21:45:51 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.
My oil changes on the Taurus cost me over $50 doing them myself and
buying the oil on special - synthetic oil with premium filter. The
ranger is a little less - takes 2 liters less oil - and the Sorento is
about the same as the ranger - the filter costs a wee bit more. Put
half an hour of labour on at a $90 per basis and that price doesn't
look too bad - if they are using synthetic it's actually a REALLY good
deal.

My oil changes on the bimmer are similar to Clare's oil changes, where the
equivalent shop rate in the Silicon Valley is never below a hundred and as
high as two hundred an hour by way of comparison to home DIY.

The time to DIY isn't an issue since you take your sweet time, and while
I've sucked out the oil from the top, long ago I gave up on that since
draining is so trivial:
a. Drive up on ramps (or chock the rear and jack the front)
b. Loosen the oil cap & remove the hollow oil pan bolt & drain
c. While draining, go topside & replace the filter cartridge & o-ring

In general, I take an hour or two, since I check other things while I'm
there, and I often put the care on four jack stands to rotate the tires and
check the brakes, fluids, serpentine belt, and the damn plastic cooling
system parts for telltale white deposits indicating leaks, etc.

The time doesn't matter, and the cost is negligible.

I used to buy the Costco synthethic case for around $28 (now around $35 or
so on sale) but I then figured dino juice, replaced at standard intervals,
is just as good as synthetic for such an old engine (couple hundred thou)
so now that's about, oh, around one to two dollars a quart (I forget) at
Costco for their Chevron-branded dino juice.

The filters are mail order, Mann (or Hengst or Mahle), at less than five
bucks per filter (depending on the sale), where the filter comes with the
o-ring but not the o-ring at the oil dipstick nor the hollow drain bolt
gasket.

Disposal is easy as O'Reilly's will take back the used oil & filter for
free, but I wonder, from a home-repair perspective, if the wooden
RR-tie-style steps (pre-treated as I see the dashes all about but they're
decades old and bone dry from the California sun) would benefit from an oil
soak?

If the oil soak stays within the decades-old railroad-tie style steps, do
you see any harm to the environment of simply dumping the used motor oil on
the railroad ties, and, if none, do you see any benefit (they're bone dry).
--
Usenet is a wonderfully helpful public potluck discussion of added value.

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce wrote:

Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.

Wow. That seems inexpensive for sure. What locale do you live in.

I do my own oil changes, where, oh, assuming on average a typical car is
five or six quarts at, oh, what, maybe 2 bucks or so a quart, that's a
dozen dollars just for the oil alone.

Given I don't know what repairs cost (I do my own DIY repairs) I just
googled for prices in the Silicon Valley for a typical oil change.
o https://duckduckgo.com/?q=typical+prices+oil+change+san+jose

First hit:
o https://www.groupon.com/local/san-jose/oil-change
Sale prices were as low as $17 but most in the 20s, up to over $40.

Second hit (I hate the "dollars off" prices - which are meaningless):
o https://oilstopinc.com/oil-change-san-jose/
Five dollars off (off of what?).
"FREE Beverage, FREE WiFi,FREE between service topoffs"

Third hit:
o https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/change-oil-and-filter/?city=san-jose-ca
Price range for all vehicles = $92.34 to $157.60

Notice that the "typical" price is astronomical, while the "sale" price
seems pretty reasonable (given the oil itself costs about twelve bucks or
so and the shop rate, in San Jose, is oh, something like $100 to $200/hour
(AFAICR).
--
BTW, adding "rec.autos.tech" where this is the URL to the original thread:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.home.repair/sChKzO3h5rg

On Mon, 22 Jun 2020 04:37:12 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce wrote:

Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.

Wow. That seems inexpensive for sure. What locale do you live in.

That was Kansas City and San Antonio.

On Mon, 22 Jun 2020 01:00:42 -0500, Jim Joyce
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Jun 2020 04:37:12 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 17:26:31 -0500, Jim Joyce wrote:

Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.

Wow. That seems inexpensive for sure. What locale do you live in.

That was Kansas City and San Antonio.
And that's using the cheapest oily swill they can buy and the
ceappiest filters made - not to mention only 1 in about 10 get out the
door without spending another $25 minimum on un-needed stuff.

I have no beef with mechanics - I was one half my working life - but
the shysters at the fast lube, tire, and muffler shops should
virtually all be in jail.

On Mon, 22 Jun 2020 01:00:42 -0500, Jim Joyce wrote:

I wait for the $9.99 coupon to roll around. If I miss it, there's always a
$14.99 coupon available.

Wow. That seems inexpensive for sure. What locale do you live in.

That was Kansas City and San Antonio.


Thank you for clarifying, where Usenet is a polite discussion that takes a
bit of clarification since it's text only and we don't know each other.

Here's the San Jose "typical" price range (according to "yourmechanic"):
o https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/change-oil-and-filter/?city=san-jose-ca
Price range for all vehicles = $92.34 to $157.60

Compared to Kansas City (presumably Missouri and not KCK) ... hmmmmmmm....
o https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/change-oil-and-filter/?city=kansas-city-mo
Price range for all vehicles = $92.34 to $157.60

Heck, it doesn't change, so the site I reported is bogus for oil changes:
o https://www.yourmechanic.com/services/change-oil-and-filter/?city=san-antonio-tx
Price range for all vehicles = $92.34 to $157.60

So I clicked on the default zip code for each locale...
o And I chose the _first_ vehicle, make, model, and engine in the list...

Which, for San Jose, 95101, Acura CL 2003 V6-3.2L was:
Acura CL 2003 V6-3.2L Change Oil and Filter
Labor $45.00
Parts $42.79
Tax $3.96
Your total price $178.00

Drat. It was the same for Kansas City zip 64101, and San Antonio zip 78201.
So that web site is worthless.

On 06/21/2020 03:30 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


Depends how many quarts and what kind of oil. I've heard of people
spending that just for oil change.

Yeah, for a Detroit 60 diesel that takes 10 gallons of Rotella...

On 6/21/2020 4:48 PM, Thomas wrote:
97.99?
Steep?

Yep.


2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.


The main reason I always wrench on my own vehicles

On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 13:48:14 -0700 (PDT), Thomas posted for all
of us to digest...


97.99?
Steep?
2004 xterra.
Steve Shannon tire, PA.
Nothing needed fixing.

Was the sticker fee & emissions included? Actually not bad 1/2
hour for inspection while under the car for the oil & filter
(most likely low end products) and plug in the emessions test.
Drive in & out of bay for major clunks. My guess is they
couldn't find anything, so you made out.They are looking for
the no maitenance hooptie crowd. I forgot does your area have
emissions inspection?

--
Tekkie