Question About Engine Oil Leak - Corolland: the Toyota Corolla Forums

I visited my mechanic today for routine oil change. I asked him to inspect my Corolla CE 2001 car for any maintenance. He inspected and showed me that there is minor oil leakage from engine and gasket needs to be changed. Also rear brakes needs replacement. here's the breakup of total cost of 151.06$ rear brakes = 41.06

Gasket=30.00

labour=80.00

He also suggested some servicing which included another 275.00$.

So i getting a quote of 426.06$+tax=451.06$

My question is charges quoted by him are they reasonable or more??

if $150 is for parts and labor then its not too bad.

which gasket needs replacing?

whats the other $275?

if $150 is for parts and labor then its not too bad.which gasket needs replacing?

whats the other $275?

he said gasket, i don't know which one. are there more than one gaskets in engine. About 275$, it's been 1 year more than i have serviced my car. He said all fluids needs tobe replaced. i guess normal servicing, i don't know much doing it for first time. let me know what is it all about ?

you need to get the details, have him put the estimate in writing.

after one year all fluids shouldnt need to be replaced. coolant every 3 to 5 years, brake fluid every 2 years, oil every 3-4 thousand miles or 4 months (whichever comes first), power steering every 30-50 thousand miles, and transmission fluid every 30-50 thousand miles.

plugs every 30-50 thousand miles, wires about every 60 thousand, hoses at the time of the 2nd coolant change with new clamps. water pump and timing belt every 60 thousand miles. tire rotation every other oil change.

Bikeman982

It would depend on which gasket is leaking.

Also rear brakes are not very complicated and can be done yourself.

What other servicing does he suggest??

you need to get the details, have him put the estimate in writing.
after one year all fluids shouldnt need to be replaced. coolant every 3 to 5 years, brake fluid every 2 years, oil every 3-4 thousand miles or 4 months (whichever comes first), power steering every 30-50 thousand miles, and transmission fluid every 30-50 thousand miles.
plugs every 30-50 thousand miles, wires about every 60 thousand, hoses at the time of the 2nd coolant change with new clamps. water pump and timing belt every 60 thousand miles. tire rotation every other oil change.

I'm driving a used car 2001 make. It's just that i have got it for 1 year now. I don't know when has the fluids been replaced by my previous owner. Well, i'm going on Monday to mechanic, so would ask him in more detail. He said that there is minor oil change; needs to be rectified withinnext week, otherwise would get worse. I can't take chances.

you need to get the details, have him put the estimate in writing.
after one year all fluids shouldnt need to be replaced. coolant every 3 to 5 years, brake fluid every 2 years, oil every 3-4 thousand miles or 4 months (whichever comes first), power steering every 30-50 thousand miles, and transmission fluid every 30-50 thousand miles.
plugs every 30-50 thousand miles, wires about every 60 thousand, hoses at the time of the 2nd coolant change with new clamps. water pump and timing belt every 60 thousand miles. tire rotation every other oil change.

Draining and refilling the radiator yearly or every two years and you will never have coolant related problems. Same with PS fluid. Sucking out the fluid in the power steering resevoir and refilling with new fluid every 10K will always keep new fluid and new additives in the system, it's cheap preventive maintenance and take 3 minutes to do.

agree mostly with the other numbers. 5K oil change intervals are standard for warranty now

Bikeman982

Oil changes can be done less frequently if synthetic oil (more expensive than conventional) are used.

Ok. Just completed my work with my car. Following are the changes:

25pt. inspection

oil change & filter

Lubricate chasis

Inspect & adjust Brakes

Replace air filter, Fuel Filter

Replace Spark plugs

Cooling System Service & Automatic Transmission Service

Induction Service & Certified Road Test

Replace Rear brake shows & Adjust Systen

Resurface rear drums

This costed me 452$. Can anybody tell me are these reasonable charges???

Bikeman982

Ok. Just completed my work with my car. Following are the changes:25pt. inspection

oil change & filter
Lubricate chasis
Inspect & adjust Brakes
Replace air filter, Fuel Filter
Replace Spark plugs
Cooling System Service & Automatic Transmission Service
Induction Service & Certified Road Test
Replace Rear brake shows & Adjust Systen
Resurface rear drums
This costed me 452$. Can anybody tell me are these reasonable charges???

My suggestion is to get a good repair manual, such as Chilton's or Hayne's.

Learn to do the work yourself and save all the labor charges.

Get the parts where and when you can get a good deal.

I bet you can get everything done you had the mechanic do for $50-$100.

No labor cost - just your time.

Did you get a good deal - the mechanic will tell you that you did.

People that know how to do it themselves will tell you that you could have saved a lot of your money.

Just my opinion