Monkey King Stu

I can confirm that it's totally legit for anybody who believes in wanda pethi! Have a blast! 👍

You can find more details in my other thread: Engine head service + Gasket Overhaul kit + labor was over 50k. I'm not sure if that constitutes a full engine overhaul...

To the best of my knowledge, a bad CV joint doesn't necessarily have to be changed urgently, depending on the condition. I first noticed the 'kata kata' sounds ? as well when taking a right u-turn (I turn steering all the way to make the turn in one go), maybe about 5 'katas' in a turn. Upon inspection we found a ruptured CV boot on left side, I was adviced that replacing the boot would help prevent it getting worse, so i went with that for now since i could manage my aggressive turns. Later, during a more thorough service we noticed damage on the steering rack and had that repaired. Since then I've hardly noticed the sound anymore. You can find videos on Google so you can ID the sound of really bad CV Joints, it's a LOT of 'katas' ?, and even on small turns. If the sound is from CV joint then don't worry about it, you will definitely KNOW when to change it as the noise starts to get annoying, check out Google for reference.

Agree ? Standard just less than 50k, entire set for cash is 41k

Just called KYB and this is NOT true! I have no idea where you got your information from, but it's wrong... A single front shock (strut) for my car is around 16k and single rear is around 9k, so total 50k, while i paid 53k at the garage. I don't mind the small difference because if there are any issues, then the garage will have to take responsibility, whereas if i bought it then I'd have to handle it myself. At the same time i'd like to mention that Taas offered me a cash price of 41k for the set... now that's huge... but it was my fault for not checking up on the prices when i was given the estimate... But i still did call up the owner about it because i proceeded with good faith and felt it was unfair. I wasn't being aggressive, just wanted to give him a chance to explain. And he did; he said that they don't buy directly from Taas, but go through a dealer and was not privy to any offers from Taas. He said that interacting with most agents such as Taas, in the instance of warranty claim and such is marred by long waiting times and lots of red tape, so it's more convenient to go through dealer, plus their profit margin. I actually agree with what he's saying, it was really my fault for not calling up Taas earlier anyway. In hindsight i find it difficult to imagine what decision i would have made at that time had i know about the Taas offer... So overall, it doesn't appear that i got fleeced... but i guess that's subjective... I tend to be on the optimistic side so I'm gonna go with paying premium for the service! No regrets! specially now that's it's all paid for... ?

?

Well it was driven in Japan for 42k for at most 3 years (It's a Nov/2007 model) before i got it, so maybe the damage was already done there? ? But i doubt it cause when i got the car, it was perfectly fine until vibration started 6mnths later. Didn't bother to check fuel efficiency at that time either, but i fell the car was initially in good condition. I'm not really a harsh driver... but I suspect one of more of the following: Shocks worn early because of not slowing down enough on bumps, potholes, etc. Mounts either normal wear/tear or worn early because of local road conditions coupled with above... Engine troubles because of late oil and filter change intervals Engine troubles because of vibration + all of the above... Bad lemon luck? ? Maybe i really didn't need any engine work done, but it was really frustrating that i'm getting such bad fuel efficiency when that was really the whole point of getting a 3cylinder 1000cc car! and i just had to get to the bottom of it... It's gonna suck if it turns out to be the same after the engine work... i don't want to get ahead of myself with the readings until after i've done like 200kms. Well we selected the car online while on auction in Japan, so we already knew all the details.

I'm the first owner locally, so i don't believe it's been tampered with.

I did try to shop around, my FIL has a spare parts shop over in Polonnaruwa, but when he called around people in Colombo nobody had stocks. So i figured might as well let the garage source the oem parts from TL. Only the KYB shocks happen to be aftermarket.

Main reason i went for the engine overhaul was because the car was under-performing and i was getting only 7+km/ltr, which gradually declined from 8+, and i'd already done a fuel filter replacement earlier as well. I didn't want it getting worse and figured might as well try it as i was already committed to fixing up the car. Also the initial estimate was for gasket overhaul which was estimated at 52k with labour, it burgeoned to 140k because of parts and labour on engine body work later on. I couldn't tell them NOT to replace piston rings which were worn (they appeared to be worn into the grooves) and bearings which had visible markings, i had to take their word for it since i had no clue about these things. Sludge cleaning cost 14k which seemed rather excessive but again i had no clue as to what kind of effort really went into it. I did try to bargain with no luck... ? I figured i'm probably never gonna open up the engine again, so might as well get whatever needs done. How did TL comment on condition of your engine without opening it up?

?This! This is the assurance i was looking for! Thank you! ? Good to confirm about their high agent level prices! And yes Sajaad is definitely a knowledgeable guy, being a racer and all, I really appreciate his hands on approach, never shy's away from a question, takes the time to listen and answer, very rare in SL, can't say the same for some of his underlings which he himself acknowledged... ? I actually thought he wouldn't pay much attention to me or my car, since i wasn't a racer but i really surprised by the treatment i got! ? I also do believe that his techs probably know more than agent techs because of their workload and cars that come through, and also from personal experience with TL ? So far the prices i've checked up on match up with the agent so i guess like you say, i shouldn't worry about it. As soon as the KYB shock prices come in, i should be able to find the closure i want. ?

Maybe my lack of knowledge and the delayed oil change with ignored vibration did the damage, either way I guess i'm making lemonade then... ? Car was selected at Japanese auction so mileage genuine i guess. I'll reply about KYB as soon i get the prices from them. Mount prices have been confirmed from TL to be around the same, so we are clear on that i believe.

Merge away if you are a moderator, i have no problem ?. I put that in Toyota thread because it was more car specific, and this is about the garage prices, but if you feel they should be together i have no problem. Thanks for the advice, i agree completely about finding a reputed (reliable) garage, that's the whole point of this thread. I feel this is a good place, owner is a nice guy. I've realized they are expensive and i'm gonna have to make a choice, i just want the assurance that they aren't overcharging me for parts i could easily source cheaper outside (including transport costs), or overcharging me for labour just because i don't know any better... I just don't want to be taken advantaged of... I don't mind paying a little extra to the garage for parts because they would have to bear complete responsibility for any consequences.

?This makes a whole lot of sense!

I don't know how i would use this to calculate labour if the garage uses fixed rates or unless they supply me with detailed records...