Hi everyone, My brother is moving to Los Angeles and we need to replace the timing belt and water pump on our '97 Camry 2.2 that has 70k miles. We're shipping it from NJ to California. I'm trying to figure out where to get it done.
I called a couple Toyota dealerships in the LA area to get an estimate and here's what they told me:
Miller Toyota has a $169 timing belt special on their website. When I called the service department though, they said "$680 for timing belt and water pump replacement. It's 6 hours labor." They also said that replacing the drive belts at the same time is "an additional 2 hours labor" on top of the $680 (though I'm aware in actuality it's not an extra 2 hours labor on top of the timing belt/water pump job). What they said doesn't sound very honest, so I will not be calling them again... The gentleman I spoke to on the phone told me to go look for him by name when I go to the service dept so that he can "give me a good deal." There must be some sort of commission factored into salaries there, for him to be quoting $800+ for timing belt/water pump/ drive belts...
Carson Toyota in LA said $195 for timing belt replacement, $127 labor for water pump replacement, plus parts cost for a water pump. The parts dept told me $100.95 parts cost for a water pump. They said that they would replace drive belts at no additional labor and also recommended changing the thermostat.
Another option is that my dad has a trusted mechanic who said he would do the job for about $312 labor plus parts. He said we're free to supply our own OEM parts. After speaking to the dealership today that is quoting 8 hours labor for the job, I'm tempted to go with the route of my dad's mechanic. In that case, which parts should I order for the job? At the minimum I need: Timing belt $27 Water pump $77 (parts from exas Toyota of Grapevine, have bought from them before, great service) water pump gasket thermostat drive belts Are there also "camshaft seals" or "crankshaft seals" that should be replaced at the same time?
I am fine with the prices quoted from Carson Toyota, but after what I heard from Miller Toyota, I'm afraid of my non-car-savvy brother going to the service dept by himself and then ending up with a bill much higher than what was quoted. Or can I be reasonably confident that the price you get from the service dept on the phone is usually close to your actual bill?
Appreciate your thoughts, John