2 months ago I put $1700 into a rebuilt transmission on a 93 V6 Camry with
73,000 miles on it. Now with 75,000 miles the front head gasket goes bad. Bad luck as the car has been maintained by the dealer since day 1. Whats the thought on independant shop vs dealer to save some $$$ on labor getting it fixed. And how does one find someone to fix it as a 'side project?'
93 Camry V6 Head Gasket
Oct 27, 2004
2 Replies
The quality of the tech should be your concern, not where they work. Ask around, find a good guy you know will do a good job. YOu may find him at a dealer, you may find him at an indie shop.
Keep in mind that the dealer and another shop will charge you the same for labor. They all go by a book on how much labor they should charge for each job. What's the difference then? They differ on the parts that they use. The dealer obviously uses OEM while the others use aftermarket. The aftermarket parts are cheaper but so is the quality most of the time. You may be able to find that you can negotiate with the dealer's service writer. Get a quote from somewhere else and use that as a negotiating tool.
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