In these trying economic times, the last thing you need is an automotive maintenance nightmare. Since information is power, and most car owners have used cars, here is the 21th century answer to the car maintenance estimate
problem.
My used 2001 Ford Escort was overheating and running roughly (sounds familiar?). I could take it to several car repair places in Phoenix and get estimates from several mechanics wasting at least one day, or I could use the Internet to research my options.
To find out what problems are peculiar to my car, I went to RepairPal.com
and searched for information on my Ford Escort. It looked like it could be that the water pump and the timing belt needed replacement.
Next I looked at Phoenix auto repair information. The estimates came back in a range, so I could budget how much it was going to cost me.
I found out that to replace a timing belt on a 2001 Ford Escort in Phoenix would cost $306 to $396 ($45 - $63 for the parts and $261 - $333 for labor).
To replace the water pump would cost $306 to $406 ($99 - $140 for the parts and $209 - $266 for labor).
Needless to say, this sure beat going from mechanic to mechanic getting
estimates and then choosing the lowest one! Beside time and money saved,
no mechanic could pull a "fast one" on me, since I had the information
before walking into the automobile repair business!
There are a few things though that I did like about repairpal.com. For instance, you don't need to register or anything to get an estimate. It's a very clean and simple site to use. I've seen some sites that make it almost impossible to do anything on. It also tells you what places are near you so you don't have to do a separate search on that.
Brought to you by another friend of repairpal.com.
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