Should I trade my astro van

[bk2valve]

Awesome! Congrats....Best of luck with it....<br>Bri

 

[windymichelle]

thanks bri<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[windymichelle]

took it to a mechanic this morning. it needs about $500 worth of repairs and it'll be good to go. a bunch of little things and the rear brakes. all in all im thinking i definitely made the right choice

 

[Seraphim]

Congrats, Windy!

$500 in repairs isn't bad. I generally assume twice that much.

Enjoy the heck out of it - they're neat little RVs

 

[windymichelle]

thank you<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br>i was prepared for it to be more so that was definitely a welcome&nbsp;surprise<br>now that i don't have to do a conversion i can leave sooner than i was originally planning<br>woot! so excited<br><br>

 

[Seraphim]

...and you have more space - good for the spirit.

 

[bk2valve]

Excellent news Michelle, glad it was so reasonable to get ready...that is super and good luck getting on the road...<br>Bri

 

[windymichelle]

yes more space is much needed. but not too much space. just perfect.<br><br>thanks bri. i'm so excited i cant stand it lol<br><br>windy

 

[rvwandering]

&nbsp;Congratulations! It sounds like you got a nice little RV! Pictures?

 

[windymichelle]

thank you!<br>i posted some a few pages back but ill post some more when i get it back from the shop

 

[Cold Brian]

Congrats, Michelle! Toyota rvs rock! Happy for you!

 

[windymichelle]

thank you!!<br><br>windy

 

[c_hasbeen]

Good Job

 

[Cubey]

Just $500? Heck.. I've spent about $5,000 on mine so far (and I'm still not done..) including 5 tires and I did most of the work myself! I really have too much in this van... I can never resell it for what I have in it. But since 78-83 Dodge motorhomes are so common, if something happens to this one, I have a wealth of parts to use toward another one. But one local mechanic screwed me over bad and it cost me about $2,000.<br><br> Long story short, he tore into the differential, didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground in regards to putting it back together, claimed I needed tons of parts for it... so I bought them all new... and in 3 or 4 months time, he never finished anything, not even the drum brakes I took it in for originally. I finally paid $100 to have it towed somewhere else and had to pay that shop to put it back together with the tons of new parts I bought which was about $600 labor.<br><br>And I'm now having to mess with the drum brakes a year later because the two shops that have had it for brake work didn't do it right and I'm sick of paying worthless mechanics to mess with them. The shoes were dragging on both sides and new high quality brake shoes on the one drum I pulled off is partly glazed already. I'm going to leave them for now since they're brand stinking new with almost no miles on them but still. <br><br>Mechanics are too damn incompetent these days it seems like. The oil filter on my mom's car from Midas 6 months ago was barely FINGER tightened to the car when I went to change the oil on it the other day! I barely bumped it with my thumb and it spun loose. *shakes head*

 

[windymichelle]

@c. Thank you and thanks for all the support and encouragement

@cubey ugh! That sounds like a nightmare!

 

[c_hasbeen]

Cubey, I have to agree that today's mechanics that I have come across even at a dealership are not the troubleshooters that used to be required back when I turned a wrench.<br><br>

 

[wagoneer]

Go for the chinook I had one 1974 R18 gutless but yours will have the R20.

 

[Cubey]

Cubey, I have to agree that today's mechanics that I have come across even at a dealership are not the troubleshooters that used to be required back when I turned a wrench.<br>

<br><br>Small town dealerships and large city dealers seem better than one in medium sized cities it seems like. It seems to me that ones in small towns really work for their business and ones in large cities can afford to pay for better employees. Medium sized cities... they seem to be in a position of having enough business to keep the managers/owners comfortable but not enough to hire good workers.<br><br>I dealt with a small town Ford dealer for recall stuff on a Ford van I had and later on for a transponder key for a car I had. The local medium sized city Ford dealer wanted $125+programming for the key. the small town Ford dealer wanted $50 for the key and programing.. for an authentic Ford key, not a cheap knockoff. I had them also cut a door only key for $5 more.<br><br>A friend of mine was in the market for a brand new Honda car in dark grey color a few years ago. She went to the local medium sized city Honda dealer and they told her "we have white and black, that's all we have, take your pick". When she mentioned a competitor in some way a Honda dealer about an hour away and they got nasty about it and told her to buy from there then if they don't like white or black... so she did. That Honda dealer in a larger city ordered the car she wanted and gave her free lunch vouchers while she waited for them to do their thing a time or two. She drives the hour each way to take it for routine maintenance and warranty repairs instead of dealing the nasty behavior from the local dealer.

 

[Seraphim]

A good mechanic is worth his weight in gold lol.&nbsp; I don't go to dealers because you don't know who is working on it or how much experience they have. Find a reputable independent mechanic in your area. They exist. They also charge labor by the book: if their manual says it takes 3 hours to do a job, that's what hey charge, even if it actually took half the time. Of course, if it takes longer, they charge you for the extra time, even if it was due to their own incompetence.<br><br>I had a run-in early with dealerships. They fixed my car from an accident, and it pulled to the left when I got it back.&nbsp; Said it was the tie rod ends, or somesuch: a problem the insurance company wouldn't pay for. Dealership said the ends joints were worn, and the impact just aggravated the problem, which was not noticable before.&nbsp; I agreed, and told them to keep the old parts for my inspection. Test drove the car before paying them and it still pulled.&nbsp; An old mechanic came out and - without looking - idenified the problem: the frame was bent above the wheel, where it couldn't be visually seen.&nbsp; Sine the frame was bent, and the wheels are alined to the frame, the car pulled.&nbsp; Sure enough they fixed it the insurance company paid for the frame work. I went back and test drove the car before signing for the repairs. Worked fine.&nbsp; Of course, they wanted payment for the tie red ands and labor. I advised them that was their problem - their diagnosis was wrong. I finally asked them to show me the bad parts, and if they truly looked worn I would consider paying for the new ones. They advised me they had thrown them away. When told they weren't getting a penny from me, they said I couldn't have my car (recall I had just test driven it?). I held up the keys and said, "Really? Stop me." Walked out, got in my car and drove off. They kept billing me and I kept ignoring them. They called my dad, and I told him he'd better not pay it either. Finally, I called some regional supervisor, told him to sue me but to stop pestering me&nbsp;and, after hearing the story, he told me not to worry about and he deleted the bill.<br><br>Still, I never trusted a dealer after that.<br><br>(But I LOVE messing with them.. *grin*)

 

[bk2valve]

I also think a good mechanic is as important to me as a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good dentist...whatever it is I pay to have someone do for me, I cultivate that relationship and recommend and send others to them also. <br><br>That is one of the difficulties of life on the road is that if you are always in a new place, it is hard to find and rely on a good wrench. No good answer for that. <br><br>Even for myself, who only in the last ten years have ever even used another mechanic, having made my living as one, sometimes something will come up on the road where I need a mechanic and I am liable to go to a dealer for the work due to knowing I will get OEM parts and not some crapola. <br><br>Sometimes I have gone to an auto parts store since I speak the lingo and ask them to recommend a shop.....I don't go to the consumer parts stores like Autozone or Oreillys for that though. <br><br>I go to the industry parts store....you can pick it by looking really...In my town it is a Carquest dealer who is an independent...sometimes it will be the Napa house but if there is any independent dealer it will be them...They are often the scruffiest store with lots of greasy guys going in and out and a parts delivery truck or car out front...LOL Seriously....<br>Bri