A question for experts

I recently bought Toyota Corolla 2001 with 80K miles. I brought it to my mechanic amd he said I need tune up because spark plugs do no look good and also to replace serpentine belt that indeed has multiple crack across the belt. He gave me quotes for parts and labor. Parts quotes seem to be way too high for me. I am trying to find online parts myself.

Can someone advise me what spark plugs and serpentine belt I should be and where. For instance my mechanic gave me quotes for NGK iridium spark plugs for $19 each. The most expensive spark plugs for 2001 Corolla I found are $6.99. However I found several models all for the same price and the same description and all for corolla 2001.

About serpentine belt he insists on original belt. I could not find online original Toyota serpentine belt but found from ACDELCO and DAYCO for half of the price he quoted. How is it really important to have original serpentine belt installed? Is it really worth paying twice as much for this?

Reply to
Sasha
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Enter the type of car you have, and you can check all sorts of prices. Keep in mind that your mechanic makes money on parts as well as labor. His prices may be higher than those at parts stores. It's up to you to be reasonable when comparing prices. If a parts store charges $20 for a belt and your mechanic charges $25, shut up and live with it. Or, do the mechanical work yourself. The mechanic's got to pay his bills, too. On the other hand, if he charges $63.92 for the same belt, ask for an explanation, or find another mechanic.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I recommend using only OEM ignition parts. Try your local parts store and Toyota dealer for prices on NGK or Denso spark plugs. My guess is that the original parts lasted 80k miles, so why would you want to gamble with cheap parts that may or may not last as long or perform as well?

As far as the serpentine belt, the same holds true. The original lasted 80k miles, why would you want to use parts that may or may not (probably not) last as long?

Reply to
Ray O

If the car had 180K, I'd say aftermarket are OK...but this car is still a a baby!

The only thing I'd look at is, does the car (manual, or under the hood) CALL for Iridium plugs? Even at AutoZone, they're $12 each! If you can get by with Platinum, they are only $4-6 each. They used to be the standard for twin-cam fuel injected engines. And stick with NipponDenso or NGK; they were the OEM plugs for Toyota. Use geniune Toyota wires if they are called for.

Tune-up time for most modern engines is 100K, so if you can afford the wires, might as well do them now. There are probably two parts to buy, two igniters with a wire coming from each of them. For my '95 Tercel they were $135 each...

I may be wrong...someone correct me if I am! (And I'm sure they will!! ;)

Reply to
Hachiroku

My mechanic inquired through his supplier and told me NGK spark plugs are original on Toyota. I did search online and found several iridium spark plugs for my 2001 corolla. However, I don't know which one to use as they all appear to be similar, only their model number different. Here is the link:

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car manual says to use only iridium spark plugs. How can I find outwhich one is original? Regarding serpentine belt I don't know which one is original on Corolla. I could not find Toyota serpentine belt. I have close to zero automotive experience but to me it appears very strange that original belt is worth paying twice as much as most expensive not original one.

After gett> >I recently bought Toyota Corolla 2001 with 80K miles. I brought it to

Reply to
Sasha

I guess you are just discovering Toyotas famous high part costs, particularly when you consider they are primarily made in low wage counties. ACDELCO and DAYCO make good belts and as you note they are half the price. If you price the cost of having the work done in on of the domestic brands shop you will find their shop rates are lower as well. ;)

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Not really...

Reply to
Hachiroku

I can only guess you don't shop domestic dealerships often, if that is what you believe. When I was still in retain we always charged higher shop rates on foreign cars, at least 20%. My grandchildren that work were I was GSM, tell me that is still the case. The kicker was we had central service areas that serviced several of the brands we sold at the various locations and the same techs did the work. We also gave lower new car discounts on import brands and lower trade prices as well, Why? because we could Import buyers are generally not as astute, although they think they are LOL

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Astute enough to know $65 an hour is $65 an hour, no matter WHERE it is!

What, ya think we all just fell off the Turnip Truck?

When I call and ask for an hourly rate, I don't say, "What's your rate for Toyotas?" Even the Chrysler dealership I worked at charged $65 an hour, just like the Toyota dealer next door...

Reply to
Hachiroku

So, if $17 for a Toyota spark plug is so "high," can you explain why a Ford spark plug is $12 more, and how that equals 'domestic is "lower?" (bearing in mind that replacement of that $29 ford spark plug may well involve removal of the cylinder heads and removal of the cylinder heads may well involve removal of the body.)

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Nah...you put the truck up in the air, and then drop the subframe/motor assembly! It's SIMPLE, esp. if you have a 6-ton lift in your back yard! While you're at it, might as well replace the headgaskets, cause if you blow one, you'll be doing it all over again!

Reply to
Hachiroku

I wish our local (California) Toyota dealer only charged $65 an hour labor..... It's $88 an hour there. I realize that the techs are (supposedly) well-educated, but are they all PhDs?

About parts, I think the prices must be all over the map. Some years ago, I had to get a parking lamp assembly for a '90 Mercury Cougar, which was as I recall, about $80 and change. It was just a hunk of fancy plastic. Shortly thereafter, I had to get a similar parking lamp assembly for my daughter's '86 Camry, and it included the little wiring harness and the lamp bulb itself. It was in the low $40 range.

Reply to
mack

Actually, I will find that at my dealership, which handles Toyota and Buick, the shop rates are identical for all cars.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

It is not. Although OEM parts are nearly (but not always) certain to perform adequately they are not necessarily "the best" (talk to someone who has replaced Tundra brake rotors every 20,000 miles) and rarely represent good value for the performance/price. As a practical fact, the Gates-branded belt is at least the equal to the factory job and the aftermarket plugs may well be superior to the contract-priced OEM product, even though the brand may be the same. Example: I drive a 1993 6-cylinder F-150 in which someone had installed incorrect starter mounting bolts (cap screws). Although they are a common ASTM size (3/8" X 1.5", 16-pitch), the dealer wants $11

*each*! The fastener store sold me same size but higher-spec'd bolts for
Reply to
Derald

NAPA shows your NGK plugs at $18.00 each.

My suggestion would be to actually ~look~ at the Dayco belt and the Toyota belt, the difference should be obvious. (one looks like a belt, the other looks like a strip of plastic)

His insistence on a OEM belt no doubt has to do with prior experience with the aftermarket ones being noisy.

Oats that have already been thru the horse are always cheaper than the fresh ones.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

Where did you get the parts? For my LHS, I needed a taillight assy and a front turn signal. The taillight was $65 from Chrysler, I believe, and the front turn signal was $85!!! I bought the front assy from Certi-fit for $45. It fit quite well.

Then, I backed into a truck in front of my house (the only complaint I had with that car..it had a TERRIBLE blind spot RIGHT where the truck was parked. He parked there between the time I looked and the time I hit him!) Another new taillight, from a bone yard for $30...

Reply to
Hachiroku

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My car manual says to use only iridium spark plugs. How can I find out> which one is original? The manual didn't tell you? The number refers to the size of the plug and the heat range. Try
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click on SHOP and then look through Engine Internal, IIRC. It will ask you the year, make and model of the car, and steer you to thr right application.

It may also be on a sticker under the hood.

Reply to
Hachiroku

That may work for oats. But have you seen that coffee, made from beans that have been (wait for it) through the guts of some breed of Far Eastern jungle cat... I mean, _what_ bright spark brought that to market -- and had the nerve to charge mucho dinero for it on the, um, grounds that it is somehow extra-yummy-and-desirable?

IOW, some metaphors maybe should come with a health warning. ;-)

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

Both lamp assemblies for the Cougar and the Camry were from parts counters at the Mercury and Toyota dealers.

>
Reply to
mack

Civet cat coffee!

Reply to
Ray O

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