Oh, my favourite subject of the summer.... "Just what *will* it cost?"
My first question is how well do you know this particular repair shop?
Had a
lot of experience with them? Do you have friends that have had good/bad
experiences there? Do you have other options to do a price comparison?
Also
keep in mind that regardless of the price you are quoted, things get
found
and sometimes the price is more. Does your local club have a mechanic
that
it recommends? That you have personally met? Also keep in mind that a
particular mechanic may specialize in certain era's of MG - some are
great
with CBB's, but no so great with RBB's, etc. The cost for repairs is
all
relative... where you are accounts for quite a difference in labor
costs.
This summer as I drove 17,000 miles across the USA & Canada I had the
opportunity to do some MG repair shop sampling along the way. AKA
Rolling
Restoration! In some cases I went to HIGHLY regarded and recommended
establishments and got way-less-than-stellar-service (could be read
"crappy")
and many times at an absolutely outrageous cost. At other times I went
to
the mechanic in the phone book (usually a tiny town with only one or two
mechanics) and happened to get some of the best service. I often relied
upon
the service guide that NAMGBR puts out, but to be honest, I didn't
always
find it to be so helpful. It has incorrect phone and address info, many
of
the people in the book are actually vendors and aren't SERVICE oriented
at
all.
I often keep things in prospective by considering the IDDIM (I Didn't Do
It
Myself) Tax. This is a tax for keeping mechanics in business for those
of us
that don't always do the work ourselves. Consider that most of the
people on
this list are DIY'ers. Anyway, I'm willing to pay for GOOD, QUALITY
service. When I go someplace and get bad service I simply tell all my
friends and I don't go back.
Just for the record - so that you can make notes in your own service
provider
book, here are the shops I got to visit this summer. Keep in mind that
you
may not have the same experience that I had. In some cases, I certainly
HOPE
you don't have the same experience that I had! As one mechanic said at
the
Twist Party, "Well, things happen..." Yes, they do. (I keep repeating
this
in my mind as I do the math and think about how much money I poured into
the
car this summer.)
Jim Griffin & Son, San Bruno, CA - I do not recommend at all. The son,
Gerald, was smart enough to avoid me at the Palo Alto show. A great
example
of overcharging/misdiagnosing: I mentioned having an electrical problem
with
the front turn signal indicator and he charged me $2.10 (plus labor)
for a
bulb and when I took it in a week later and said that the electrical
problem
was still a problem he charged me another $2.10 (plus labor). I
laughed. I
then got out my trusty volt meter and proceded to figure out that the
fixture
was bad. A great example of the IDDIM tax.
HJB (Hajo Brandt), Albuquerque, NM - Very nice guy that works out of his
house. I'm still not sure what went wrong. The car didn't make it a
mile
after leaving his shop. Test drive, test drive, test drive.
Taos Garage, Albuquerque, NM - Don and Carol are fabulous people and
know
quite a bit about MG's. I do not recommend buying rebuilt parts from
them.
I bought three - a starter, alternator, and air pump - and not one
lasted
more than 1,000 miles. They were fabulous in taking in the car when I
was in
a desperate situation and Don did peg the valve problem. They also have
a
new mechanic renting out the back workshop and he did fine replacing the
starter - too bad the starter was worse than the one that was already on
there.
British Motors Ltd, Oklahoma City, OK - Herb is great...an old friend
that
let me hang out in his shop back when I was in high school and college.
I
learned a lot poking around his shop and watching him fix not just my
car,
but others. He lets me watch and learn while he works.
British European Auto, San Pedro, CA - Fast, efficient, and... cheap?!
Of
all the times I had to have my valves adjusted, they were the fastest
and
cheapest. These Aussie guys were great. $60.
British Sportscar Center, Cameron Park, CA - Our own lister, Lawrie
Alexander, was always there for me via email or on the phone when I
broke
down in the middle of no where Canada. He also didn't shoo me away when
I
was there to have work done. I appreciate that.
Performance Motors, Lynwood, WA - I was just not impressed with their
"run
along little girl" attitude. Especially when what I suggested was so
rigourously denied as possibly being the problem and actually was the
problem. Of course when I picked up the car it was their idea as to
what the
problem had been.
Octagon Motors, Vancouver, BC - I know many of you highly recommend
Octagon
and have had a good experience, but once again test drive, test drive,
test
drive. The overheating a block away from the shop was due to a bad
radiator
cap (how often the little things are overlooked). The alternator
replaced
here wasn't the right one. By the time I got here I realized just how
bad my
valve problem was, but he pshawed me and said I was paranoid.
West End Towing, Brandon, MB - Not a LBC shop, but incredibly nice and
helpful. Didn't charge me a thing to let me borrow tools and helped me
bipass the smog system (with some phone support from Lawrie). It was
sweltering that day, but these guys went out of their way to help me
out.
Guy St. John, Northville, MI - Test drive, test drive, test drive. Had
the
head replaced and a Weber put on. Cheap. (But sometimes "things
happen" and
you get what you pay for.)
Motorhead, Fairfax, VA - Didn't fix my oil leak, but supposedly did
retorque
the head. (the same one that had a blown headgasket 500 miles later)
All for
$300. You do the math.
Alpine Motors, St. John, NB - It's bizarre taking an LBC to a German car
specialist. Thank goodness he *used* to be a Brit enthusiast. Beware,
though, if you take a block in - make sure you specify what color you
want!
(Yes, I'm a girl - didn't like the read. It went in black, it should
come
back out black. Ford/Chevy red doesn't belong!) My problem here was
that
when I said I wanted something replaced, I was told that it didn't need
to be
replaced (the cam). I had a new cam when I picked the car up - although
it
wasn't what I had wanted. He also refused to replace the studs which
blows
my mind. If someone is paying to have the work done, why wouldn't you
want
to do it? I can hear you all now asking why I didn't go elsewhere. My
only
choice at this particular point was whether to have the car towed back
to
California, or to get it back on the road.
Joanna
79 MGB LE
http://www.onthegojo.com
"M. Edwin Vaughan" wrote:
> Hello Listers,
>
> I took my '77 B to repair shop and they quoted me $800 to replace the
> head gasket. Is this par for the course? I had a Peogeot diesel once
that
> blew a head gasket and that was about $1300 to repair. I seem to have
a
> corrupted version of the midas touch. Every car I own blows a head
> gasket. If I ever get marrried I wonder how long my wife will last!?!?
>
> TIA,
>
> Edwin
> '77 B
>
> "I try to think But nuthin' happens."
> -- Curly Howard (the stooge)
>
> The MG Filling Station
> http://www.auburn.edu/~vaughme
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