[Antarctica]

You ever have that luck just like me where you fix one thing on your car and another one shows up? It always happens to me. Earlier today I took my car to Firestone for my lifetime alignment/rotate/balance, and they noticed my driver's side CV axle boot is busted and therefore needs a new CV axle. Bummer. They want a little over $200 to fix that, so I said screw that and decided to find a cheaper shop to take it into. Well as luck turns out, we have a local shop called VJ's, who also sells parts and automotive products just like Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts. They have an extremely good reputation, and they've been around for over 40 years, so I'd trust them 100%. They get OEM parts or parts that exceed OEM specifications, and they sell them to you at cost, meaning they make no profit off them. Anyway, they want $169 in all to replace my CV axle, which I think is an excellent deal, seeing that the part itself is $69, and labor there runs $100 per hour. What do you guys think? Oh, and I asked about a timing belt change. They said they use Gates brand timing belts, and they'd do a timing belt and water pump change for a total cost of around $400. Not a bad deal, eh?

 

[Antarctica]

Yeah, I'm really stoked about this shop. They almost always beat competitor prices when it comes to parts, and they can literally get you just about anything you want. OEM or aftermarket.

 

[CarlR33]

$169-$200 is around the going rate. I just had one done on my wifes Celica and that was around $200. For that price it was the whole axle replaced. From what I understand, it is normally best to replace the axle rather than take the chance of the joint being bad (most have been run without proper grease level before caught) and having to again replace it later vs. just a cv boot. Either way the axle has to come out to replace the boot. Hourly rate is the same.

 

[Accord2004]

Did they show you where exactly where its busted? I am sometimes skeptical of what the shop tells me. I suggest you look at everything your shop tells you.

 

[Antarctica]

They told me where it is, but they didn't show me. So, I'm gonna go under there and look myself. If I can't find it, I'll take the car to a different mechanic and see if they can find the problem.

 

[korrupt3dazn]

Why not DIY? Its really not that hard. I used this video as reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbVQ1dk6is

Parts Costed me $70. Used My Socket Set to do alot of the work and had to get the Axle Socket from Advance Auto but it was free thanks to their loaner program.

 

[Fredsvt]

A timing belt with a Gates aftermarket belt vs a Honda (gates OEM) belt, is an iffy proposition. The price of $400 is an incomplete job.

 

[Antarctica]

A timing belt with a Gates aftermarket belt vs a Honda (gates OEM) belt, is an iffy proposition. The price of $400 is an incomplete job.

A couple questions...

1. You're saying the OEM belt is Gates? If it is I could request he gets the OEM belt instead. He does get OEM parts too.

2. Besides the timing belt, water pump, gaskets, and o-rings, what else would you say he changes? I know some mechanics and shops recommend to change pulleys, spark plugs, drive belt, and coolant, but I've had most of that done already by myself. I just want to know what else I should get replaced while some stuff is being removed to access the timing belt.

I will admit this shop is one of the best in our area and has an extremely good reputation for getting work done at a low cost and done right the first time. So really I'm going by their reputation. Maybe they just have low labor costs when it comes to jobs like this. I don't really know. I've just never seen a quote this low from such an excellent shop.