Received a quote for just over $1,000 to replace a water pump and idler bearing. Bought the parts myself for about $200 and fixed it in a couple hours in my driveway while showing my son what I was doing throughout the process. A good mechanic is worth the money. Few mechanics are worth $400/hr. On the bright side, I only had to pay $100 for an estimate and mis-diagnosis.
I am glad you where able to fix this yourself. I had to do some digging into this as this was a quote we did for you 8 months ago, At that time we quoted you a new water pump, belts, and belt tensioner. We also recommended and quoted a thermostat as this appeared original and we had the cooling system drained. I am not sure what parts you replaced when you performed the repairs yourself. Also please keep in mind that part stores sell different grades of parts and sell parts less expensive than what we would sell that same part for. We need to have a fair markup on parts because of the liability and warranty we offer with any parts we install. This is with all repair shops. As far as misdiagnosing your vehicle, we diagnosed the reason your belt came off in February was the fact that you had a bad tensioner as well as a bad water pump. Any of these can cause a belt to come off especially in winter driving conditions. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss this further.
- Northwoods Auto Techs LLC