FTO GPX 100,000Km Major Service

MIVEC_GPX · Post by **MIVEC_GPX** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:39 pm

Hey guys,

just wondering if anyone in Sydney has had the major service done on thier '96 MANUAL FTO GPX? where you got it done and how much did it cost you?

Ive just put my FTO in for service and it apprently needs a lot changed and they have quoted me a bomb and its gonna take 2 weeks... that to me sounds ridiculous so i was just wondering about other people's experiences with this.

Post by **aza013** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:50 pm

the price should be around $1000- $1800
but two weeks to get this done thats not right, the parts are not that hard to get.
at worst it would take two days tops.

JOeJOe · Post by **JOeJOe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:55 pm

The two thing you need to change will be the timing belt and th water pump. Aftermarket gates belt is T987, it's about $110. If you want genuine then be prepared to pay double that or even more. Water pump you can get it cheap from Kempys in NZ for about $70.

Now, you will need to change the cam seals when you change your timing belt, they don't cost much from what I recall. Cheapest place to get them is kempys in NZ (along with the water pump).

If your tappets (or lifters) are making noises then get them adjusted, I would say that'll cost $200 but if you do it at the same time as the two above then labour cost would be cheaper.

Then you have the usual things, oil change and oil filter, gear oils, fuel filter, sparkies if you haven't changed them.

All parts plus labour I would say around the $1,500 mark. It also depends where you go.

Where you at?

MIVEC_GPX · Post by **MIVEC_GPX** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:00 pm

ahh ok coz im getting raped by the price. They have said that there are a lot of parts that need replacing and they have to get them from japan so will take about 2 weeks. they have also quoted me closer to $3000 and that is with a few things that my brother has said that he can get done for cheap elsewhere.

Im starting to begin they might be trying to rip us off. I live in Sydney in the Five Dock area but ive taken it to a place in seven hills which i cant remember the name of.

Does that sound very wrong to you??

JOeJOe · Post by **JOeJOe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:06 pm

You better off sourcing the parts yourself.

Just make a list of the parts you need and I'm pretty sure we can direct you to the right places.

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:06 pm

IF you searched, you would find a few topics about this..
They should be able to knock it over in a day, if they have a lot to do, they might want to keep it for part of day 2.

If they expect to keep it for 2 weeks, to me; that sounds like they don't know what they're doing .. so, take it somewhere else.

Go to UAS - Unique Auto Sports or get the number of Bennoz' mechanic
www.uniqueautosports.com

It'll cost $1500 minimum - Keep in mind that it is just a base price -

Heres what it covers;
http://www.uniqueautosports.com/major_service.htm

Some of the things that they "check" will need to be done, so budget for extra labour costs.
Get all your engine seals replaced - extra cost, but better off getting it done while they're doing the rest of the stuff.

Get the water pump replaced while they're at it - Don't use the water pump they supply - $510 is a rip off - Order it from Kempy's in New Zealand before you take it in for a service.

Grue · Post by **Grue** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:09 pm

Christ, even going to my local Mitsi Garage my 100k service only came out just over the 1grand mark, and done in a day. NZ doesn't have QUITE as much mark up as oz

Wherever you go, best to get the belts and the waterpump yourself beforehand.

MIVEC_GPX · Post by **MIVEC_GPX** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:18 pm

Unique Auto Sports... Thats where my car is and they r really f@#kin me over money wise...

have i done something wrong lol coz im only 18 and working part time while i study so im really gonna struggle to pay this

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:36 pm

how much are they charging you so far? & what have they listed as extra things that they're fixing?

If you can get us a list of extra's that they're doing on top of their base price, we can give you a rough estimate of how long it should 'actually' take

Have they actually started work on it yet?

JOeJOe · Post by **JOeJOe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:43 pm

There's some parts they need to be shipped in from o/s, so if you don't have the parts then 2 weeks would be a fare estimate.

Post by **I8A4RE** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:21 am

$3000 F%^k Nooooo that is bullshit

It cost $989 for my 100k, 2 weeks is also bullshit. What parts do they need to ship over???? and why would they need his car for 2 wks why wouldnt they order the parts in and when they arrive book the car in and do it.

Mate i would be staying well clear of them

JOeJOe · Post by **JOeJOe** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:24 am

That $989 that's including all parts and labour?

What did they do?

Richy · Post by **Richy** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:29 am

I got quoted $770 from Maytech automotive. but i sourced all parts myself...

However, i ended up spending something like 6 times more with other things...

Post by **Bennoz** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:56 am

MIVEC_GPX · Post by **MIVEC_GPX** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:26 pm

they are saying that there are a lot of parts that need to be ordered in and some can only come fron Japan. My brother works in a car dealership so they are sending us a list of everything that needs to be done and my brother will be getting as much as possible done at his work because we can get it done for cheap.

funnily enough we havent heard anything about the water pump needing changing which i find a bit strange... i think ill just wait till i get the list to find out what im gonna do.

They have sent me photos of my car and half my motor is in buckets so thats y they are keeping it there 4 2 weeks

MIVEC_GPX · Post by **MIVEC_GPX** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:53 pm

hey everyone,

just thought id update you on my service. still haven't got my car back and its been 2 weeks now. just got the email telling me what needs to be changed and how much the parts cost. The total price will be pushing over $4000 by the sounds of things.

These are the things that need changing:

Rocker cover gaskets front and rear $145

Half moon seals front and rear $38

Timing belt $220

Tensioner bearing $105

Idler $70

18 x Rocker cover washers $98

Valve lash adjuster has to be bought in a kit each need to clarify but $14 each x 24

Plus about 18 hour labour as have to adjust the valve lash.

I think the part about 18 hours of labour is complete bullshit, there is no way they will be spending 2 and a bit days on my car.

Does anyone have any advice or something that can help me out?

mr-charisma · Post by **mr-charisma** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:47 am

fark mate

$4000!??? you could buy a new car for that!

Unless he had contacted you at each & every point that he was doing something 'non-standard' for the service & asked for your permission to do it .. DON'T PAY IT!
i.e. above & beyond the $1500 base price

Seriously, get all your facts sorted & take your case to fair trading, cause this is just blatantly ripping you off. Find out how much it would cost to source the parts yourself etc..

As for the cost of parts - some of them I'm not sure on .. but I've managed to find pricing on a few of the bits they're quoting you for;

Timing Belt - $100-130

tensioner bearing (if he's referring to Cambelt tensioner bearings) - You can pick up the complete cambelt tensioner for $35 AUD + postage
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m3b0s9p160

Idler - More specific?

Complete Gasket Set - Includes Every Single Gasket for the whole engine - $335.30
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m3b0s9p5811
They're charging you half that just for the rocker cover gaskets!

half moon seals - No idea - sorry

Valve lash adjuster - Again, no idea what they mean by it..

18 hours labour - My ass. I know some of it is a big job, but they're the ones who are supposed to know their sh*t, so they should've been able to qive a fairly accurate quote before they took your car..

khunjeng · Post by **khunjeng** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:01 am

MIVEC_GPX wrote:hey everyone,

just thought id update you on my service. still haven't got my car back and its been 2 weeks now. just got the email telling me what needs to be changed and how much the parts cost. The total price will be pushing over $4000 by the sounds of things.

These are the things that need changing:

Rocker cover gaskets front and rear $145

Half moon seals front and rear $38

Timing belt $220

Tensioner bearing $105

Idler $70

18 x Rocker cover washers $98

Valve lash adjuster has to be bought in a kit each need to clarify but $14 each x 24

Plus about 18 hour labour as have to adjust the valve lash.

I think the part about 18 hours of labour is complete bullshit, there is no way they will be spending 2 and a bit days on my car.

Does anyone have any advice or something that can help me out?

thats $170/hour when you subtract the parts costs whihc actually look like OEM . Dont get caught up in prices from the UK cos when you add shipping its the same . Timing belt is OEM at that price and most workshops will use OEM.

$170/hour is rather high....get them to quoate without the tappet adjustment...

The 2-3 weeks is no suprise...its not that it takes 2-3 weeks its how they have scheduled you in with all their other customer. this is pretty typical. IIts not commonfor anyone to take their car in and get it back in 2 days...in fact I would almost say it never happens - anywhere.

rock_it · Post by **rock_it** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:27 am

I had my 100k service at Ricol ... Granted I get a bit of discount due to the 2 cars they have built for me, and the servicing on my other cars ... But I had 100k service + replacing of the power steering belt (cause it snapped driving home) and a few other things here and there .. And it was below the UAS price of $1,500 ...

Not sure if they did the water pump though ... But UAS I think charges another $300 for that ... All up, it took 2 days ... Only reason it took that long, is that Top Gun had run out of leads for FTO's ... So they had to make them up ... Mechanic called all the local suppliers, but no one had any to send him either....

Car feels sooooooooooo much freaking better now....... Goes like a rocket .....

JOeJOe · Post by **JOeJOe** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:00 am

Simply, if you don't want them to do the work coz of the price, tell them to put everything back together and take it somewhere else.

There's no point bagging out the place and wasting your time on here. UAS is a reputable place, some members on here use them regularly. Before you complain about the cost, ask them precisely what will be done. Tell them to give you a list. You only listed some of the parts, do you have a good idea of what they will be doing? They quoted you a price, they haven't done the job yet so you can refuse their quote and take your car away.

And the point about going to fair trading is ridiculous. The company only quoted a price, they haven't done any unauthorised work so what does fair trading got to do with it.