3rd brake light assembly on a ‘14 VW Passat $245, part only not including labor, ouch. Remember Kmart in the 70s, headlight, windshield wiper, can of R-12, take your pick. $1.99 each.
I remember when I could change an 1157 bulb at the fuel pump island while the customer was getting their tank filled and be done before the nozzle clicked off. We didn't even charge labor for regular customers if they were easy ones. Just like 50 cents for the bulb. But hey the newer cars have great infotainment systems
Toyota is definitely the best pick for someone looking for cheap reliability, my ex didn’t even know how to maintain a car and her Camry has around 280k today if she still has it and her family got it around low 100k and they didnt maintain it either. Also the price for a new transmission on that Versa is enough to get a new car on marketplace and not have to worry about changing your CVT fluid every 30k.
I wouldn’t expect anyone that chews on their dashboard to even consider changing their cabin filter. Human beings make it so difficult to want to buy used cars when they treat them like this.
Do you think if these VWs AUDI BMW would be better vehicles if they were maintained better from new. Especially BMW with their insane oil change intervals. This is just from a mechanical perspective. Being loaded with tech and a zillion modules and sensors isn’t helping their case either
I just put valvoline full synthetic in my 1998 wrangler TJ with 151k miles and noticed improvements immediately. I want to try restore and protect next. I also have a 2016 Wrangler Rubicon and have only run full synthetic and it runs as good as the day I bought it.
@@anthonynastasi4098 any thoughts on the discussion of synthetic oil leaks, I think it’s called blow by, in older engines? I don’t have the issue but it was a concern as I’ve heard older engines perform better with thicker oil (i live right behind shop rite btw)
I still carry a package of 1197 bulbs in my truck so if I’m stopped for a tail light bulb problem I can fix it on the side of the road. I thought led taillights would be great until I saw the prices $2000 for a replacement assembly from the dealership! I’m sorry but I would just have to add some trailer lights and stick them on the back with som JB weld before I fork over that much cash!😆
Can’t remember the year but probably about 15-20 years ago a competitors apprentices father had a headlight out in his Cadillac. They ordered the bulb from the dealer, Im thinking the aftermarket didn’t have this bulb yet. They couldn’t get the new bulb to illuminate. Not being up to date and nothing like Identifix available yet they bowed out and took it to the dealer. It turns out you have to tell the car’s computer that you changed the bulb! Thinking back then to what electrical systems are like today, it’s never just a bulb anymore! Good to let customers know this.
If you don't have serious fuel dilution, and you change oil at 3K miles. You can use any oil of proper viscosity and be good. The best oil is clean oil. Every 3K with any certified oil will serve you well.
As frustrating as it is knowing people drive such beater and dangerous cars, you just gotta go with the customer dynamic. Give them that 15-minute oil change and move 'em on out! This is just like house renters and house buyers. One tends to be a sh-t hole and the other shows maintenance and care. Ask any HVAC guy what place he would prefer to go. They really are similar dynamics, interesting...
Oh man, the hate for the Touareg just burned a hole in my soul 🤣 Last month I just lost my beloved 2010 Touareg that I had for many years.......girl ran a red and I Tboned her. It was the best and most reliable vehicle I ever owned out of many. It was probably not even a week away from hitting 200,000 miles when it got totaled too. Bought it with 50k on the clock and the only "Repairs" I ever had to do to it before it got wrecked at 199k was the #4 ignition coil and a valve cover gasket. The thing still ran flawlessly and silky smooth with a ton of power before being totaled. No leaks whatsoever, silky smooth transmission, all the bells and whistles functioned perfect, front end still nice and tight, and it also still looked very good inside and out. The thing has taken my family all over the country and never let us down 1 time! I was very religious with the maintenance however. Not just oil changes but ALL fluids. Transmission, power steering, transfer case, front and rear diffs, brake fluid, spark plugs etc where all changed at regular intervals. Being a mechanic myself, I treated it very well and in turn it treated my family incredibly well. Cheers from Brandon Mississippi!
Not to nitpick, just asking the question, if you shouldn't buy a specific vehicle used, is it worth buying new? You would be covered under the warranty of a new vehicle, however, only for so long. And then you have to trust the dealer service department. I can't speak for others, but I go to a private garage because I have had bad experiences at the factory trained and certified technicians who allegedly know the vehicle in and out. Unless I had bought a new vehicle and something major went out, I trust a private mechanic way more than a dealer, but that is just me. And I have never bought a new vehicle in my 4 decades on this planet, always used. Thats just my .02 cents...
Hi Anthony, you should probably try a Berryman’s Chemtool piston soak on this engine. Audi 1.8 liters are bad for sticking up the low oil friction ring. Walnut blast or baking soda blast the back the intake valves. I would recommend Valvoline Restore and Protect at 1,000 mile intervals for the first four oil services to clean it out and then every 5,000 subsequently with the Valvoline RP to keep it clean. Hope this helps.
A mechanic is like an oncologist. If they came to you with a problem they could no longer ignore, it's a 99% chance you're going to give them bad news. "My car runs like crap. How much will it cost to make it run right? _That_ much? Oh, well, I'll get used to it running like crap." I'm still forced to do as much auto work as I can, I have for the last 50 years, and at 70 years old, will continue for both me and my daughter. I'll be putting in a new CV drive shaft for my daughter this weekend, because there is no way she can afford to have it done at a shop.
Your saving people thousands of dollars in hospital bills by removing them germ filled & diseased filter. Driving around breathing that in will give someone pneumonia.
"Modern engines are better and will last longer, "They say. They've never talked to the engineers nor the mechanics who works on these. Engineers will tell you they push the envelope to get better fuel economy and emissions but never mention reliability. Mechanics.....well this guy says what all mechanics say. We've had diesel engines for decades and we couldn't figure out how to make a reliable GDI engine? Why can't they just put the crank case breather pre air filter instead of aft? Air filters are cheap and can be swapped out every oil change.
What do you think of Valvoline's Maxlife red bottle ATF? So far that stuff has been great in my Toyota instead of using the OEM WS fluid. The garage I go to for work uses Maxlife ATF and its been good stuff. I cringe to think how many people don't regularly change their fluids. I can't afford a new or even used car often, so I have to take care of what I have.
I “think”the Valvoline Maxlife ATF (red bottle) is at least as good or better than Toyota WS. I’ve used it in RWD ZF BMW, Maserati, Toyota/Lexus and Subaru. But if you don’t like to guess try looking up RAT540 Engineering blog. Wealth of information by a mechanical engineer and lifetime engine builder of flat tappet engines. He searched for the truth over 10yrs ago for the highest wear protecting oil because he got increasingly frustrated with information spewed on the web and forums. Anyway he recently got to testing gear oil and ATF and the thin stuff ie Mercon LV, Maxlife, Transmax, Mobil synthetic multi vehicle blue bottle (not mobil1) all cause his test rig to seize scoring 0psi. For reference even cheap Supertech engine oil tests maybe 68,000-80,000psi. I have since changed to Mobil1 Synthetic ATF Multi Vehicle (silver bottle/black label) which is his highest scoring ATF (128,000ish psi) even beating Amsoil Signature and OE series. Remember the additive pack is largely responsible for its wear protecting capacity not whether its group 2 or 4… The 1# function for any oil is to protect against metal to metal wear and tear. Everything else comes second… RAT540 does not like Restore and Protect saying it CANNOT clean AND protect at the exact same moment and it’s sort of like their old Modern Engine oil marketing or diesel formulas.
The Cliffsnotes: #1 protecting engine oil for all liquid cooled gasoline engines is Quaker State Full Synthetic 5W30 (exactly as it’s spelled) or Ravenol VSV 0W30 in Europe. Best ATF for torque converter automatics is Mobil1 Synthetic ATF Multi Vehicle (silver bottle/black label). Best 75W140 GL5 is Motorcraft and Amsoil. Best 75W80 and 90 belong to Valvoline conventional and synthetic (whichever one’s which). I’m sure everyone has their favorites and dislikes. See what your favorites rank among his all time list! Haha
On the BMW seven series cars they have two fuel pumps under the hood which of course go bad for the same reasons you mentioned here and they are over $6000 for the pair. If that ever happens on an older seven series it mechanically totals out the car.
I put one in for a customer the other day. $850 something for the GM part. Aftermarket warranty company covered it though, which should be noted. They are often covered by the warranty
and now there useing very low tension rings causing blow by just to save gas milage but destroy your engine ,and now oil 0 /16 there crazy , fk the epa .
just what I did rather then pay $95 k for a piece of plastic bill gates computer crap all over them, and a dozen modules I restored my 91 GMC that still runs on propane and gasoline , you couldn't pry that truck out of my cold dead hands.
Yeah, the older Honda engines are so much better than the GDI garbage nowadays. That’s why I bought an older K series Honda CR-V EX with a stick. Mine is a 2005 model year. Honda’s an Acura is also have problematic automatic transmissions on certain years and models as we all know.
And I am the cheap basterd who would take it apart and bridge over the blown out led to get the rest working as they run in series as its cheaper to manufacture that way.
