Well I had to tow me car to the garage this weekend because I couldn't change gear while the car was running. Changed just fine when it wasn't but thats life. So I call them ahead of time and ask them for an opinion. They say it sound like I had air in the lines and that it probably would need new lines and bleeding. Made sense to me , car has been sitting for a month so I figured could be just about anything. So they looked at it today and now they say my clutch,throwout bearings, and pressure plate are cooked. Quoted me at $1300. 400 for parts and the rest is labour. OUCH! slite change from a little air in the olde lines if ya know what I mean. The local dealership is quoting me at only $500 for parts and install wtf? Any other opinions or am I getting t in the arse from the garage here?

 

You should be able to buy a good clutch with a TOB for under $400. possibly even a lightweight flywheel. If you are mechanically inclined, do it yourself.
The dealership probably has a set rate for changing the clutch. And the shop you took it to is ripping you off, or is charging you a LOT for the diagnostics of your problem

 

So, the garage wants $400 for parts, and $900 for labor?! That's kinda steep, especially considering you can get a slightly used tranny for alot less. Personally, I'd try to find a used tranny online or at a local junkyard.

 

I was thinkin used but around here youd have better luck with buying a new car. They said the parts are coming as a package made by Luk?!!? Who the hell is that? LOL better when I asked for the name of the company the said the make OEM parts for corvette and high level sports cars! Yea so now am I getting parts from what sounds like an american parts dealer tailoring to american cars. This is just not sitting right with me. I don't have the reasources to do the job unfourtunetly. When I asked them how much it was too look at it they said 20 bucks. So I don't really know what too think.

 

..I don't know if they included the tow in that quote...? Or did you organise your own tow? If not you need a price for what they did already, and a total price to get a driveable car.
If you then weigh up what you owe them to get your car back along with the cost of getting it to the cheaper clutch and total that to see how it balances out.
You could be in a situation where you may as well pay up.....and they probably know it. Before you get a total quote, tell them how much the dealer charges for the same job...it might just pull thier quote down a little.

This could be slightly off topic with your car....
..I once had to use my car with a slipping clutch for a week...a week after I fitted the clutch, the gearbox input shaft snapped cuz I'd cooked it with the old clutch!! That was an Alfa.

I hope these guys dont rape your pockets too much.

 

Can someone verify this for me. Does Luk deal with Exedy? I did a search for Luk wholesale/distribution and it came up with exedy clutches.??!!?

 

If you need to have your car back on the road ASAP this likely isn't an option but you can get the OEM Valeo clutch kit from Gripforce Clutches on Ebay for $67.00US plus shipping. Then have the shop of your choice or the dealer install it for you and you're done. I had the local dealer install mine and I think there was about 4 or 5 hours labour charged. I was most comfortable with them doing it since they would have the most experience with the car and the local transmission shop wanted the same amount of money for the job anyway.

 

I wish I could get paid $300 per hour!!

If you plan to stay NA, then get an OEM clutch off Ebay for under $100.

 

dosn't it take 4-5 hours to do a clutch?

 

Jon has probably broken so many he could change it in his sleep. cool.gif