What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[MoVolvos]

Got the car back together tonight! Did the dual mass flywheel, clutch/pressure plate, internal slave cylinder, a hydraulic clutch line, harmonic balancer, and replaced the right drive shaft and alllll the seals. It really drives like a new car, such a rewarding feeling

My son asked me what I think our (his) 08 C30 T5 would drive like with a new clutch . I told him don't worry as he drives it pretty gingerly so it would be awhile before replacing although we both know it is pretty worn .

How long did it take you?

*

[smacknab]

Got the car back together tonight! Did the dual mass flywheel, clutch/pressure plate, internal slave cylinder, a hydraulic clutch line, harmonic balancer, and replaced the right drive shaft and alllll the seals. It really drives like a new car, such a rewarding feeling

My son asked me what I think our (his) 08 C30 T5 would drive like with a new clutch . I told him don't worry as he drives it pretty gingerly so it would be awhile before replacing although we both know it is pretty worn .

How long did it take you?

*

I definitely could've gotten by with the old set, but I think everything was original with over 200k miles. Plus I got a very good deal on a near new DMF and clutch assembly from a member on this site

Did it slow over 4-5 days but working mostly in a 90+ deg heat. I had one full 10 hour day with a friend, another 4-5 hours with that friend and probably another 6 hours by myself before/between/after work. I would've been faster if I kept better photos of the wiring and kept my tools more tidy.

[abscate]

A shop will bill you 10 hours plus parts for that job but SM probably did a lot of stuff that was easy while the car was apart.

Precision here in Albany quoted me $3000 in 2018 for a P2 clutch but were booked 6 weeks out.

I did it in two weekends on 4 hours per day/ Sat Sun, dropping Subframe, then engine and transmission.

[Ocelot]

A shop will bill you 10 hours plus parts for that job but SM probably did a lot of stuff that was easy while the car was apart.

Precision here in Albany quoted me $3000 in 2018 for a P2 clutch but were booked 6 weeks out.

I did it in two weekends on 4 hours per day/ Sat Sun, dropping Subframe, then engine and transmission.

I'm always a bit surprised when I see quotes like that, 3000 dollars for a clutch job. A while ago I helped a buddy of mine find a decent shop to change the clutch on his C70. The shop asked 1700 euro's all in, even the Volvo dealer made a good offer doing it for 1950 euros. If I remember correctly, I once heard Robert DIY talk on his YT-channel that changing a headgasket on a P80 can differ between 1800 and 5500 dollars. Ofcourse, when valves are bent and pistons are damaged, yes, the bill will dramatically rise to such numbers. But I asked the Volvo dealer in my hometown (I'm good friends with one of the mechanics, we visit the same church) what a headgasket job costs in the BEST CASE scenario. That means, just the headgasket and the hours. He said somewhere around 750 euros. A PCV job at the same Volvo dealer? 450 euros. So I'm just curious: it looks like car maintenance in the USA is way more expensive than over here in the EU. Again: it looks like that's the case. Anyone in the USA that wants to inform this Dutchie on the way how things are done overseas?

[RickHaleParker]

So I'm just curious: it looks like car maintenance in the USA is way more expensive than over here in the EU. Again: it looks like that's the case. Anyone in the USA that wants to inform this Dutchie on the way how things are done overseas?

There have been a couple of studies in the U.S. that prove we got s 50/50 chance of getting ripped off when we get car repairs. Either due to fraud or incompetence. What are your odds over there?

[Ocelot]

So I'm just curious: it looks like car maintenance in the USA is way more expensive than over here in the EU. Again: it looks like that's the case. Anyone in the USA that wants to inform this Dutchie on the way how things are done overseas?

There have been a couple of studies in the U.S. that prove we got s 50/50 chance of getting ripped off when we get car repairs. Either due to fraud or incompetence. What are your odds over there?

Well, I don't have any statistics but I do know that shops that are connected to the BOVAG association have to obey to a certain set of rules. That includes that the Dutch consumers association has a big say in what procedures must be followed when a repair go's wrong. Every repair a BOVAG shop does has a 6 month warranty and if something go's wrong in those 6 months, all costs will be for the shop (ofcourse the shop is allowed to investigate what went wrong et cetera). I do know that the AutoWeek (the biggest car magazine in the Benelux) did a hidden camera experiment where they pulled out the sensor of the coolant tank so that the EML went on and then they visited different BOVAG shops. The results were a bit rudementary. Some shops couldn't find what was wrong, other shops came with ridiculous quotes and luckily the majority found out about the loose connector and just fixed it for free.

[smacknab]

So I'm just curious: it looks like car maintenance in the USA is way more expensive than over here in the EU. Again: it looks like that's the case. Anyone in the USA that wants to inform this Dutchie on the way how things are done overseas?

There have been a couple of studies in the U.S. that prove we got s 50/50 chance of getting ripped off when we get car repairs. Either due to fraud or incompetence. What are your odds over there?

Well, I don't have any statistics but I do know that shops that are connected to the BOVAG association have to obey to a certain set of rules. That includes that the Dutch consumers association has a big say in what procedures must be followed when a repair go's wrong. Every repair a BOVAG shop does has a 6 month warranty and if something go's wrong in those 6 months, all costs will be for the shop (ofcourse the shop is allowed to investigate what went wrong et cetera). I do know that the AutoWeek (the biggest car magazine in the Benelux) did a hidden camera experiment where they pulled out the sensor of the coolant tank so that the EML went on and then they visited different BOVAG shops. The results were a bit rudementary. Some shops couldn't find what was wrong, other shops came with ridiculous quotes and luckily the majority found out about the loose connector and just fixed it for free.

Sounds like the EU regulations on airlines where you're owed €600 if you're late to your destination by a certain number of hours, as long as it's their fault. For the mechanics it seems to me like a good set of regulations for car repairs, though you think it would raise the qoutes. Or maybe we are all just getting ripped off over here in the US. I've had mixed results with both small shops and dealers, and it's almost always a frustrating experience.

The only people I've had a good experience with is my local Volvo indie, but I haven't had them do any major work so I can't speak to their pricing.

As a related note, maybe for anyone who doesn't have a good mechanic they trust or have brought their car into a new shop- do you get alot of pushback when trying to help diagnose a car issue with a new mechanic? When using a new mechanic, they don't seem to trust that I've taken the just about whole car apart myself. They are dismissive of the information I give them when trying to help diagnose an issue ('i was just working on x and this y sound started from z area' or 'the issue seems to pop up in these instances'). Not saying I know better or anything, I actually trust their input as a professional and would like to learn how they look at a problem, but I end up getting blown off.

[bmdubya1198]

Most mechanics are assuming the customer has no idea what he's talking about, because in most instances that's true. My cousin was just telling me yesterday how they have customers come in to his dealer and tell them they want X replaced. They replace X, then they get angry at them when the problem still exists. Well, if you just let them diagnose the problem, maybe it would be fixed!
As a mechanic, you can't trust that anyone knows what they're talking about. That's when it helps to have a good relationship with a mechanic who can take your advice and put it to good use. It's extremely helpful to know what happened just before an issue popped up, or if any particular job was just completed. When you're providing information like that, they certainly shouldn't discount that... it'll help make their job WAY easier. Then again, the less information, the more they can charge for diagnostics!

[abscate]

We get into trouble as DIY folks when we do the easy stuff, oil changes and brake jobs, and then give them the hard stuff

The brake jobs and oil changes are their bread and butter (In Dutch, I think it translates as 'cheese with the bread'
where they make good margin. Just like you and me, no one wants to spend 8 hours on rusty subframe bolts fighting them off to replace a $5 steering stop.

The diagnosis hours are just as valuable as the labor hours to replace the part and get billed at the same rate.

Our city labor rate is high, $150-200 an hour, too.

[smacknab]

That's fair, I did notice a clear change in the Volvo indie's attitude towards me when I told him I had done my own headgasket and resealed my oil pan myself. I'm actually happy to pay for diagnostics because I lack the experience to be able to identify issues. I'm great with following Haynes instructions and DIY write ups because with some competency it makes working on the car like a big, expensive and somewhat dangerous Lego kit