First post, some questions

LotusLord · 11-05-2007, 10:58 AM

Hi everyone,

My father in law bought a '99 Explorer Sport a few years ago and has had few problems until recently. I should mention neither of us is a car guy really

He took it in to a shop, because he was hearing a clunking sound in the front end. The shop told him a list of repairs that would need to be done to fix the clunking , namely all the ball joints, cv joints and a stabilizer arm. $2500 right off the bat at this place, they then went on to say that the cat was almost dead and would need to be replaced probably by December for $800. When he went to pick up the truck they said it would need a torque converter and some other transmission service soon after. The truck just hit 105,000 miles.

Now, neither of us can probably do the work that this truck needs(though we're more than willing to try), but we do know people who can do some if not all of the work. Do you think its worth it though? And am I right that they were totally trying to rip him off on this work?

Thanks in advance

jonmark1985 · 11-05-2007, 02:16 PM

$2500 for ball joints sounds steep. Could you tell us what the estimate all entailed? The catalytic converter for $800 isn't so bad, if thats including parts. Also what sort of transmission problems are you having that makes them think you need a new torque converter?

LotusLord · 11-05-2007, 02:25 PM

I believe they meant 800 just for the actual Cat. Converter, not the labor, though I can't be sure. I'll see if he has an actual written estimate.

The guy at the shop says they call them "Ford Exploders" there, and that sometime "soon" he'd put the truck in reverse and it wouldn't go, then he said that something with the all wheel or 4 wheel drive (can't remember which it has at the moment) would go bad. I don't know what the torque converter does so I'm not sure what that relates to. As far as I know there are no transmission issues with it.

jonmark1985 · 11-05-2007, 02:56 PM

I worked in the parts business for a year and a half, we dealt half with shops and half with walk in customers. So i know something about being on both sides of the blade....

Your mechanic will generally mark up parts, sometimes very little, sometimes around 40%. Don't be alarmed or upset. He has large overhead, expenses, interest, and labor to pay out. I've also seen several shops that will double labor rates when a customer brings in their own parts. So that isn't always the answer.

What i would suggest doing is first finding your estimate. Make sure it is clear and includes and estimation on labor. Several shops pay their mechanics on the job, rather than the hours. In these cases their boss will open up the estimator book, note that it takes 8 hours to do a certain job, then pay their mechanic 8 hours wages and have them fix the car. If the job takes 4 hours then the mechanic does well, if the job takes 16 hours the mechanic still only gets paid for 8 hours work. If this is the case then its not out of line to hold the shop, SOMEWHAT, accountable for the hours made out on the estimate. I would not argue to try to talk them out of less hours, just make sure that they don't charge 20-35% more than what they initially said.

Remember though that sometimes projects turn into more work than they are expected to be.

After you have a clear estimate, ask your shop what brand of parts they will put on the car, what is the part number, where they get the parts from, what is the quality of the parts, and what is the warranty of the parts. They may want $800 at the Ford dealer, and your shop may only insist on putting OEM catalytic converters on vehicles. Or they may be getting Chinese parts and marking them great amounts. At this point you can make some research as to the cost of the part. If you feel that they are marking the parts up unreasonable amounts you may ask if you can supply your own parts, and if that will change labor rates. If they refuse or want to make a drastic change then you may find that it is time to find another shop.

The torque converter really has me questioning the shop you go too. Replacing a converter is really preventive of transmission problems. Explorers are bad about transmission problems, but if no problems are evident its best to leave them alone. If your Explorer was bucking, shifting hard, shifting late, or had any other problems I would suggest having him fix the problem ASAP, but in this case he isn't fixing anything thats wrong.

Have him take time to thoroughly explain to you what symptoms are present that make it clear transmission failure will happen if these parts aren't replaced.

In all doubt take your explorer to another shop, and start out the same way you started earlier. Just have the shop take a look at the front end and then make sure you get a quality estimate. See if they notice problems with your torque converter and cat.

All in all, be patient and keep your cool, and if your uncertain about something have them explain it to you and make it clearer.