2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Blown Head Gasket Repair Estimate – $620 to $1,025 (0)

-Hello my name is Serena W. and I have a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo that has a blown head gasket. About how much would that repair be?

Serena W.    Whittier, California

-Hello Serena we would estimate the repair to break down like this.

Labor Cost Range - 6-8 Hours $450.00-$800.00 (depends on shops hourly rate)

Parts Cost Range - Head Gasket Kit $170.00-$225.00

Total Repair Estimate Cost Range = $620.00-$1025.00 (depends on shops hourly rate, part quality and manufacturer)

1996 Toyota Camry Timing Belt and Water Pump Repair Estimate – $525 to $960 (0)

Hello,

  I would like to get an estimate on getting my timing belt replaced on my 1996 Toyota Camry.

Thank You  Mike D.     Matthews, North Carolina

-Hello Mike,

We would estimate the repairs to break down like this.

Labor Cost Range - 5-6 Hours $375.00-$600.00 (depends on shops hourly rate)

Parts Cost Range - Timing Belt and Component Kit $110-$200.00

                                         Water Pump (recommended) $25.00-$125.00

                                                                                   Gaskets $15.00-$35.00

Total Repair Cost Range = $525.00-$960.00 (depends on shops hourly rate,part quality and manufacturer)

Cost of replacing car brake pads – as low as $35 per axel – DIY (0)

Brake pads in your vehicle wear out given some time. The rate at which the pads wear depends on many factors: your driving habits, weight of the car, frequency of stops, hills in your driving area, etc. The bottom line is that at some point, before the brake pads are completely worn they need to be replaced. If the pads wear out completely you may need to have the brake rotors replaced too.

Brake pads are located at each wheel. Sometimes only the front wheels pads need to be replace, or need replacing before the back one, sometimes all of them need to be replaced.

Good filters vs. bad filters (0)

When you go to get a drink of water, you want a clear, cold glass of spring water. Well, to get that water, it had to be filtered, and in the same way, your car wants a clean filtered drink of oil, fuel, and air.

7 rules of thumb for choosing a mechanic (0)

It’s Monday, you’re most hated day of the week, and just your luck, something’s wrong with the car. So now you’re stuck in traffic phoning a tow truck to come and whisk you away to a garage somewhere, where your car will be fixed for a price. Negotiating this price may be a little tricky. Here are seven simple things to consider.

Want to be a mechanic? (0)

The line at the unemployment office is getting to be too long to be worth it, so why not jump in a shorter one and go back to school while you’re out of work?

More and more people are spending their down time between jobs to go back to school, and a few folks are hitting the ground running on new career paths. Although these tough economic times have nearly eradicated some occupations, auto mechanics are in higher demand than ever.

Toyota Sales up 24% in April 2010 (0)

Toyota Motor Company reported sales increased by 24% in April 2010 compared to one year ago.  However, sales were down by 16% compared to March 2010 and were much lower than forecasts as high as a 39% increase.

Overall US sales were up about 20% compared to 2009, but again were down 8% compared to March.

Chrysler sales up 25% in April 2010 (0)

Chrysler reported sales that were 25% higher than the same month a year ago.  Sales at Jeep were flat from a year ago, car model sales doubled, whiles sales of light trucks and minvans fell by 22%.

Chrysler was the only major auto maker whose sales exceeded forecasts, which were predicted at 11% to 19% year over year growth.

Ford Reports surprise $2.1 Billion Profit in Q1 2010 (0)

Ford Motor Company announced a better than expected profit from the first quarter of 2010 with a $2.1 billion profit.  Ford reported that revenue had increased by 15% in the quarter with $28.1 billion in revenue.  The first quarter results were a size able improvement from the first quarter of 2009 when the company experienced a loss of $1.4 billion.

Ford reported that strong sales of the Fusion, F-150, Taurus and Focus were partially responsible for the improved results.  Ford's market share improved by 2.7 percentage points in the first quarter to 16.6% of all US auto sales.