[cynar]

Hey everyone,

After lurking here for a few months and learning as much as I can from everyone, I finally went for it and picked up a lovely 1995 164LS out of Seattle.

Sadly I do not have the service records, but from what I can see (and what I expected) it needs a fresh timing belt, belt has visible wear and top tensioner spins freely.

I need to have it done soon at a Bay Area shop, but so far I have gotten widely different cost estimates. To do the timing belt, serpentine belt, tensioners and water pump I've heard $1100 and 2 days work and $2800 and 10 days work.

I was expecting around $1200 given what I've read in other threads, but $2800? Am I missing something? What could justify the difference in price? I know this is a complicated job that not every mechanic wants to do, but that seems very high.

Thanks

 

[Del]

Depends on the shop and the mechanic who would do the job. Yes, prices do vary. You would have to do a little research on who would be doing the work. Also, I would more than likely believe it would be more toward the $1400-$1700 range and two-three days worth, but as I said, who are they? The $2800 and 10 day quote seems quite high and not realistic for someone who has done the work previously, and how much they want to replace.

Hope you didn't drive the car to SF from Seattle in that condition, pretty darn risky. You should have had the work done here in the area, in Tacoma at Alfa of Tacoma. Very good and reasonable.

 

[cynar]

Thanks Del,

Both are reputable shops I found on AlfaBB, The Alfa Center and Paolo's Garage. The $1100 quote surprised me as well, I even called back to confirm it was for the 24v job.

I would have had it done at Tacoma, but living in SF I had the car shipped down here from Seattle, it was a trade in to Audi Lynnwood, carfax says it was serviced at Ferrari of Seattle, but maybe you saw it, I think the previous owner's name was Randy.

I've driven it a few hundred miles down here without issue since receiving it, but I know that's risky so I'll have the belt done this week.

 

[goats]

If its the same guy, Randy used to run the parts dept at FoS, he is now at Ferrari of Denver as I recall.....Talked to him a few months ago about a couple Ferrari parts.

 

[stefmiesterb]

2 years ago, the shops I asked wanted around $3K. Parts alone cost around $1K. The problem I think is, not many mechanics who have done this service before are still around. Lots of ancillaries need to be removed which is timely, and special tools make the job easier. I think Alfa quotes the job around 17 hours, someone else may have the exact number.


A gentleman I recently met who was looking at my LS proved this to me as he brought his car to an "excellent mechanic." The car was running rough (I suspect timing jumped a tooth) and the mechanic claims when trying to rectify the problem, "the car backfired, now has no compression and bent valves."

Sorry for the rant, its just a touchy subject for me as I've seen at least four cars with near catastrophic or total engine failure. Will larry at Alfa Parts Exchange do the work? He's in CA.

 

[Del]

After remembering what Carlo has told me through the time I've had the 24V LS, I might raise my own estimates up by several hundred from what I had estimated from my own receipt for the last timing belt change on my LS. The price sure depends to a great deal as to which parts are replaced, and just how experienced the mechanic is and how close to the book he decides to stay for labor time. He feels that at least a few parts don't need to be replaced if they are good at the time, and that he also doesn't tend to charge over book time if he can help it.

I know they have perhaps lost money on my cars a couple of times (the hassle with the steering pump and bogus no good rebuilt/replacement rack in the LS being a good example. That turned out to be a pain for them. Sorry.

I certainly cannot argue with the list of replacement parts Steve has listed for the full Monty job; however, it is obvious not all the parts need to be renewed at the same time, depending on when they were last looked at or changed. Changing all the listed parts will raise the price quickly. Your choice, of course.