should I ask the mechanic if I can bring in my own parts?

[(vikm)]

I had a couple of clutches done by the same shop over the years and he was totally cool with me bringing in my own gear. Even had it shipped directly to him. Didn't gouge me with additional hours or anything. Kept going back to him for whatever I needed until I moved.

Not surprising but a shop that would stick it to ya for using parts you bring in is also often the same kinda place that would charge you the book hours even if it took them a couple hours less to finish the work.

Again, if you have a good relationship with the guy, ask. If he says no, fine. If he says I'll charge you extra, tell him you'll find a new mechanic.

[Black]

Carm wrote:
If you trust your mechanic, you shouldnt be asking about him/her marking up the cost of the parts. Ask for receipts of the parts.

Joe

What a strange comment. Having a markup on parts is a normal, legitimate part of how these folks make a living.

[Numo]

If you do order your own parts, I've had good luck getting them from Rockauto. I replaced a tail light on my car and the one they sent me was indistinguishable from the OEM. However, when I ordered a replacement door handle, my mechanic said it didn't fit perfectly.

[BillMac]

Most shops don't typically "mark up" parts. They sell them to you at the distributor's "list" price. The shop's profit comes in the DISCOUNT they are given OFF list. If you have a shop that is marking up list price, you need a new shop.

[Carm]

Black, some shops around here call a parts delivery place for their parts, they charge whatever the delivery guy charges them. Markup on parts is not what everyone does. When I had my transmission done, my mechanic charged me what the transmission shop charged to get the transmission rebuild. I paid my mechanic diagnostic fees, plus hourly rate for his services of installing/removing/ and reinstalling twice. After i drove off the lot, a part in the transmission was leaking, he replaced the seal at no additional charge because he stands by his work. A year and a half later, car is running great.

EDIT: If you have the skill most of what you listed can be done by you.
OEM parts are usually the best. As mentioned before there might be slight differences in parts depending on when the car was built. Beginning of model year to the end of model year.

[space-time]

thanks guys, I think I'll just ask the mechanic to use OEM parts and let him make a small profit (on top of the labor). I have too little experience to try such a major maintenance by myself. I did do brake pads once, I can change a battery, air filters, spark plugs, rotors and distributor cap (although this was on an older model, the 2001 does not have a distributor IIRC) and I also replaced brake fluids once.

I don't want to mess with timing belt, it's lots of work, many things can go wrong, and I don't have the place to do it.

talking about it: I try to stick to the Honda manual and they recommend to replace the timing belt, cooling fluid, and spark plugs at 120k miles or 120 months, whichever comes first. They also recommend to change the oil every 10k miles in normal driving conditions and 5000 miles in "severe" driving conditions. I try to change the oild between 4 and 5k, depending on how busy I am, and I never changes the cooling fluid in 8 years I had the car. Several times when I did an oil change they offered to replace the antifreeze and I said "no thanks" and they looked at me like I was neglecting my car, and try to offer advice, but I told them I stick to the book and they gave up.

[Dennis S]

"This was clearly stated on a sign prominently posted in the shop also depicting a fellow walking into a restaurant with his own ham and eggs."

I saw that sign years and years ago and it still makes an impression on me. I figure the mechanic has the last say on pricing, so why antagonize him.

[space-time]

"This was clearly stated on a sign prominently posted in the shop also depicting a fellow walking into a restaurant with his own ham and eggs."


but there are places without an alcohol license where they encourage you to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) and they charge a corking fee.

[vision63]

I always buy the parts for my mechanic to fix my cars with. I'd punch his lights out if he got miffed about me getting the wrong part (much money as I've spent with them). They're cool about it. Just got 4 new struts for $179 bucks plus $100 for him to install. Can't beat that.

[chopper]

<>

Ever .. work in a shop at all? It's usually the other way around, takes longer than the shop manual states.

That said, shop rates around here are now $100 an hour.