I'd save 'em at least till next spring break...Uuugh sorry ev1. Dad joke! But really thats where dealers make their money. I've even had them charge me for the shop towels they cleaned their hands with! Best go to a small shop that specializes in suspension or even full repairs but they dont sell cars and they want you to come back next time.
Yeah, i sadly have never been able to swear by any particular shop i've been to. We have a small shop right next to the house that we generally have do our small repairs. But they charge just under dealer labor rates ($90 vs $100) and I cant say my service has been absolutely exceptional. They do good work, but they trust my abilities to diagnose things a little too much, and it's hard for me t oget them to price things out for me. They're happy for me to bring parts in, and they'll just charge by the book unless rust is an issue. (no real quotes). They also are so busy that they dont take the time to diagnose additional work, such as my slow coolant leak. They guess and want me to throw parts at it more or less. This ontop of GM's warranties for new parts creates an ever shifting balance of where I have work done. (they guessed the coolant pump based on high mileage and it looked a little wet). More or less, it comes down to part costs vs warranty value.
The current project had started out with me needing to replace the shackles, both fuel pumps, and one tank completely. Local shop qoted me 3.5 hours per each tank + 1 hour for rust. (8 hours total) whereas the dealer quoted me 2.5 hours for the aux tank, 3.5 hours for the front tank, and nothing additional for rust. Ontop of this, the GM fuel pumps were only marginally more expensive than quality aftermarkets ($220 for the front, $250 for the rear. (I could get the rear cheaper on RA, but i dont trust a $50-125 pump ) and have a 24 month, unlimited mile warranty that includes labor. (with a lifetime parts-only warranty). They also diagnosed my coolant leak was from the quick disconnect fittings on my heater core. ($275 fix). Which makes sense. from the symptoms. (you can smell it, cant see it, no signs of a gasket issue. Didnt notice it for the first few months I owned it, but seemed to burn about .25 gallon/ month during the winter)
When I was told about the whole spring ordeal, I called the local guys and they quoted me the same labor as the dealer, so there's not point in me having it done at two different places, especially when the spring is what damaged the fuel tank in the first place.
This is in contrast to when i had the rear axle seals and bearings replaced. The dealer quoted me somewhere around 5 hours to do them, local guy was 3.5. Dealer wanted something crazy like $30 for the seals and $50 for the bearings (each). I bought timken bearings for $7 each and the seals for $4.
Personally I wish i had the tools and equipment to safely and efficiently work on it myself. (Though, in hindsight of the current cost I could have bought everything I needed) But that would still be from a novice POV working on things and much of what I've done I'd just assume let a professional handle.
Well, I have a load of tips from my first day here. First on my list are replacing the corroded ground cable and a tranny tune up. Later I'll be going with new exhaust including headers, now that I know what that famous ticking is. I'm also thinking about a new radiator and fan. I tried sanding and buffing my head lamps. They came out better but the pits are too deep. Totally cheap enuf online for new ones all around.
Yeah, I went with a new amazon set for mine and they look gorgeous compared to the old faded ones. My light mounts were broken, so It was a must for me. Plus, my fog lights were missing completely. Man, it took the dealer a couple tries to get the right pieces for that. The screws are like $0.80 each, but the metal clips they screw into are more like $7.
getting ready for camping. I have a gauge on order since my " base ' edition didn't come with much...I'm ok with that.
) an 07 AV. Used to have a Yukon years ago and had to get back to GM truck experience.
