PEOPLE! DO NOT DELAY BASIC MAINTENANCE!
I know the economy sucks, and if you have a job, you may not be earning what you were, and the last thing you want to spend money on is the car or truck that never seems to need it. I know Toyotas and Hondas last forever and take a beating, but only for so long. What happens when you can’t get to work or pick up your kids? You will need to rent a car, borrow one, beg for rides, or ride a bike in the rain( don’t get me wrong, I love riding bikes, just not in the rain with my kids in the bike trailer). IF YOU DEPEND ON YOUR CAR YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE OF IT!!! I hate getting a “Poor me, I am screwed attitude” from somebody who never changed their oil. Yes. We can tell.
Recently we have been having a rash of cars and trucks with serious engine trouble. Mostly cylinder head gaskets, but also a couple of engines run without oil that turned into boat anchors.
What we have been having the most trouble with is Toyota Tacoma and 4Runner cylinder heads that are cracked. This is not totally surprising, but the trouble is that we have not been having luck finding decent used ones that aren’t cracked! This has been putting our down time for customers with cylinder head problems into the weeks, instead of days!
The cost for a brand new Factory Toyota blank casting, with no cams, valves, springs, etc., is about $1100 not including labor for swapping those parts and adjusting the valves, versus $350-$400 for a used casting. Obviously, if you are the owner of a V6 with two cylinder heads that are cracked, it becomes very expensive or time consuming.
I am not saying that these could have been totally avoided with some tender loving care and maintenance, but it is getting to the point that I cringe when I answer the phone and a customer I haven’t talked to in over a year tells me their check engine light is on and that it seems to be running rough…
What is telling is the nature of our business has gone from maintaining to repairing. We have been doing a LOT less maintenance work which is definitely being offset by the big ticket repairs.
A lot customers and all my friends realize that my trade will provide me an honest living in good economic conditions and bad; people need their cars. But I hate, HATE telling people I have to give their truck last rites. Sometimes a simple tune-up really can save you thousands of dollars, and I don’t have to be the guy that ruins your whole year.
