Service Questions

[jduawa]

Hello
I have a 01.5 GLX passat
I just got back from Osborn VW (needed a new belly pan) and while it was in there they were telling me it needs new tie rod ends and alignment, rear brakes (3/32), power steering flush, and a serpintine belt.  The car has 75K miles on it, so i am wondering if they are just trying to "screw" me or if this is normal stuff at this mileage.  Also i am not really happy with any of the service places i have been at, these include Tynans, Mcdonald, Osborn, and Aspen Goodyear.  Any recommendations on a reputable service place, not necesarrily a dealership
thanks

[92UrS4]

Autobahn Premier Service 303-935-9065 for your service needs.

As far as the items brought to your attention, believe it or not the Tie rode ends are a fairly common problem, especially at that mileage. They use a rubber bushing that wears out. Your steering will feel a little sloppy. Ther eis a nice aftermarket solid piece replacement that will stiffen it up a bit, but will never wear out again.

Brakes...yeah, VW does a crappy job with factory brakes. Also, the discs are usually manufactured every thin, so if they didn;t say you needed discs that is a bonus. Again, there are much better pads out there at comparable prices than the factory ones.

You mentioned you have a GLX, is this a V6 or a 1.8T. I know prior to 01.5 the GLX was teh V6 only, but I can't recall when they change dit to include the 1.8T.

Again, 75K miles, the serpintine belt could be cracking. Honestly for 75K miles not all bad things.

Still, Osborn charegs (as I recently found out) $135/hour for labor. Which you could argue is in relation to the quality of techs they have. Still, Randy and APS know their stuff and can provide a bette experience for you.

Give them a call.

[jduawa]

it is a v6...the thing that bothers me about the brakes is that i was at Just Brakes about a 2 months ago for an alignment and they didnt say anything about the brakes being bad...they thought they all lookked fine...Any idea what the price should be for the tie rod ends...they quoted me 579 + 75 for an alignment
What is the aftermarket part you speak of
thanks

[92UrS4]

Here is a link to the ECS Tuning website they list botht eh OEM and the aftermarket heavy duty TREs:

http://www.ecstuning.com/stage/edpd/pagebuild_v2.cgi?make=Volkswagen&engine=V6%2030v&model=Passat%20B5&submodel=FWD&category=Steering

As you can see teh parts are relatively inexpensive, but it can be labor intensive. And at $135/hour at Osborn that ads up quickly.

It can be a DIY job, however as some folks here can attest, removing the old ones can be a complete nightmare.

The pads VW uses don't last very long, I can't imagine in two months them decreasing that much unless you are driving like Mario Andretti. Still, tehy could hev been worn and VW may use different specs. I think you can pop the wheel off and peek in there to see for yourself.

Rear pads are relatively inexpensive, are another potential DIY job (I'm sure some folks here would lend a hand).

The price for the alignment isn't horrible, you should be able to get a good FWD alignment for a little less. If you search these forums you will find some good recommendations for alignment shops. I am surprised your alignment is out again, hit any big bumps lately? Maybe Just Brakes didn't do the alignment very well?

[jayryan]

Ouch. That's massively spendy for TREs. Before Randy opened his shop, I gave him beer and spent about $110 on TREs. (he charges real money now :lol: )

Here's the link for TREs at ECS Tuning
I would recommend the first (more expensive option) although I went with the others and was just as happy.

All that maint is probably recommened. I don't know about the brakes, but I do know I wouldn't let any chain repair shop touch my car with a polishing rag.[/url]

 
EDIT: That's funny. Jay and I posted at the same time :thumbup: Also, I took my car to Stan's Alignment on Colfax and Garfield or something like that- $37 out the door with no issues.

[SweetVW]

I would suggest as the others using Randy and getting the OE Heavy Duty end.  I have the Heavy duty TRE and have been very happy.  And screwing you over is not even on Randy's list of doing.

[jduawa]

Thanks for the replies,
I also experience the o so common creaking from the front end...control arm bushings..are those something that are easily replaced when the tre's are done?
Any idea what Randy charges per hour?
This is what Osborn qquoted me
rear brakes parts 222 labor 150
tre parts 175 labor 405
alignment 75
serpentine belt 150
power sterring flush 155
and they quoted me 560 for an 80K service
seems steep
the car has 75K miles on it now just wanted an idea of what i have to look forward to as far as the 80K

[92UrS4]

Search for osborn, I just had my 20K done and it was $510 after taxes, I was raped. Don't do it. They do so much extra crap they they make you think is part of the service when it is not. Not to mention they jack up the prices on those services.

Brake cost, looks like pads and rotors to me, pads are cheap, so the $222 probably includes rotors which i would expect on a VW. Time to upgrade.

Control arm busnings, yes, might as well do those while doing the TREs.

Not sure WHY you need the PS flush, I would chat with Randy on that one/

For the most part you are just at that mileage where a bunch of stuff needs to be done. It alos means depending how you do it you could get another 75K or more depending what route you go.

Upgrade the TREs and take care of the control arm bushings. VW did have a TSB i believe on the Control Arm Bushings, not sure if there is anything being done for free on those any more. You could upgrade the rear discs or go oem, but I recommend getting a better pad.

Even if you need everything listed above, I would bet you can get it done for  alot less through APS or even another independent shop.

I assume you are out of warranty with VW so no reason to even think about going to the dealers any more.

[jduawa]

Well i definitely need to get another 75K out of it.
We have a 99 4runner as well and the only thing we had to replace on that so far is the water pump/timing belt and the u joint.  it has 135K miles on it

[92UrS4]

The price you pay for German engineering.

[jayryan]

VW did have a TSB i believe on the Control Arm Bushings, not sure if there is anything being done for free on those any more. You could upgrade the rear discs or go oem, but I recommend getting a better pad.

Only if they're cracked, split or otherwise compromised. I tried having mine replaced under the recall and they wouldn't do it.

You can get your brakes upgraded for that price. In any case, my bill from almost a year ago on my Xterra shows Randy billing $80/hr. His rates may have changed since so check with him on that one- I know they've grown ALOT since then :beermug:

[Eric18T]

fuck the dealer and either do the work yourself or pay randy/todd to do it.

I think randy is still around $80/hr and atleast you know he won;t screw you over. He has done a fair ammount of work on my A4 and i don't trust any other mechanic here in town to work on it.

The HD TRE's will get you thru for a while and you can just get OEM rotors with upgraded pads for less than the dealer wants.

call randy and talk to him about the situation. i am sure he will take care of you.

[Lila]

Perhaps this is obvious, but you must get an alignment after replacing the Tie Rod Ends, so don't get the alignment first.  Also, I did the TREs on my car myself and it was pretty easy.  Yes, I had some trouble removing the old parts, but it was really all that big of a deal.

[Lila]

that is to say, "was not all that big of a deal"....

[jduawa]

I have an appointment setup with randy...when looking over the car he saw some oil on the engine indicative of some leaking gaskets so that is going to be taken care of first, then i will tackle the tre's.  He said i should be able to get another 2-3K out of the pads on the rears so maybe early next year i can get those taken care of.  My main concern with this car is that i am going to be putting all this money into it and it is going to end up being dead at 100K miles...i really hope that isnt the case.
thanks for the input

[jayryan]

It shouldn't be a problem if you take care of it- my old Passat has to be getting up around there by now and Jill hasn't had any problems with it. Randy takes care of that car as well.