Best car service place?

[joker_927]

Well, everybody, I'm buying myself a new car! TADA!

All out of my own pocket. (I'm 17) It's a '97 Toyota Trecel. Should last me a while. It's had two previous owners though, and 115,000 miles on it. I know it's a lot, but it's a toyota, and it should last me to 200,000 no problem if I treat it well.

Well, the guy selling to me has had new brakes put on and new timing belt. I would like to GET the car completley overhauled in terms of maintenence.

In your experience, what is the best place to get preventive maintenence done? I live in California.

A few things about the car. First off, the windshield has a 18" scratch in it that needs replacing. The car has a bad drift to the left. One of the tires had been worn really bad on just the outer part. In short, I need to get the front-end aligned, and the tires balanced right away. Since I don't know a lot about cars, the rest is up to the mechanic to decide.

Get all the fliuds changed, all filters changed, and get the clutched either checked or changed?

Any idea on what even an estimate on all this could be?

lol, thanks for reading.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[John Prophet]

Keep the tires properly inflated..thats where a lot of that uneven wear comes from.

[nunyadam]

It may need more than just an alignment. wear on one edge like that could also be from a bad ball joint or other unseen damage.

there are glass companies that can fix that scratch cheaper than replacing it.

I would ask people you know localy as far as where to get the work done. a shop here that is good may be the worst one there.

[Ed_S]

Can't really suggest where to take one in CA, but it MUST be someone you can put a lot of faith in since you don't know cars very well. Tough to advise where, looks are decieving! Some of the most trustworthy shops around here are rinky-dink greasepits...
Asking your friends & family would be the best bet.

Have you already bought this car? If not, I'd have that front end and the clutch checked out first by a competent mechanic, I'd also get an estimate of the maintenance costs and a mechanic's general opinion of the car.
You said "One of the tires had been worn really bad on just the outer part" - does it need tires also? If so, they'll have to be done first before an aligment can be done correctly. Get that cost too. Add it up & see if it's still worth buying. Sounds to me like it's had poor maintenance, the scratched glass tells me that someone put off buying wiper blades until there was no choice. Is there a maintenance record or reciepts?

If you've bought it, then it's another story - go to several shops & get estimates, or just inquire. But GO, don't just phone. Don't necessarily hire the cheapest place, might cost more in the long run.
Cost? Anywhere from several hundred up - could easily be well over a grand!

[Germ]

The car has a bad drift to the left.

I don't know how the prices in Cali are, but if it's the CV joint, it would cost around $200 here to get it replaced. Like Ed_S says.....you may want to get a mechanic to have a look at it before you buy.

[The Real Bingo]

You say the clutch need to be replaced? I'm assuming is a manual transmission, and if it still has the original one with 115k on it, then it must be in pretty bad shape.

[RayH]

Stay away from the car. It's too beat up for the mileage and years. It has a lot of HARD mileage, like almost exclusive city driving!

[joker_927]

What about taking a car to a dealer to get it fixed? Good bad? Ugly?

[Ed_S]

joker, I've worked in parts at a Ford dealer all my life. Laying it right out, a dealer's shop is a lot like any other for the basics. Prices are usually competitive if compared to other large shops, regardless what else you've heard. They have to be or else loose business. But you WILL pay more than the small or cut-rate places charge.
You'll get a quality repair that way, and I'm naturally an advocate of the factory parts they'll use - there really is a difference, btw! Another advantage is the technician's will know the car's specifics better than someone that deals with all makes - but that's not much of a factor for maintenance work on a 6 yr old car!


If you DO need a clutch, I'd STRONGLY recommend factory parts for that, regardless who does the job! It's too big of a job to cut any corners, you don't want it to fail!! Most places consider that a "wear item" and won't warrant the job very long...
Brings up another point - wherever you go, ask how they warrant their work. Parts? Labor? Both?
Nobody's gonna warrant fluid changes much, but the front end work should have at least 1 yr.