akers@oliven.UUCP (Rob Akers) (03/11/86)
> I like to do my own work on my own cars. However, with the advent of > electronic ignition, fuel injection, etc. I find that there's not > much that I can do in the way of a 'tune-up'. In the past, I used to: > > 1. change the plugs > 1a. change points, condensor > 1b. check timing When I had my previous car, a 71 Datsun 510, I was a poor student and did all the work on it myself. (plugs, points, timing, rebuilt carb, brakes, etc.) The Datsun had 140K miles on it, and after a 90+ mph trip from Santa Cruz to the San Francisco Airport I left the car with my lady friend while I was in L.A. Unfortunately, the water pump failed, the car overheated, and some idiot at a gas station put cold water in the radiator. I had recently bought my first new car, an 84 Mazda 626, so I sold the Datsun. Well, since the Mazda was a new car, had a warranty, and was a $9500 investment I decided to have the dealer do all the work. So far my experience with dealer service is: 1)Its a hassle. I have to leave my car there all day and try and find a way to and from work. 2)The dealer bitched because I changed the oil and filter between servicing (twice as often as recommended) and used a Fram filter instead of a Mazda filter. They said it might violate my warranty. 3)Its expensive, my 30,000 mile service cost $250 and basically involved adjusting valves, changing plugs, fluid, and filters. 4)They don't necessarily do I good job. I haven't discovered any mistakes on my car but I know of several people who have had problems with other (non Mazda) dealers. In one case the oil and filters were not changed at all, in another case the valve cover was not tightened. Also it seems to be common practice to overfill the crankcase with oil by a quart or so. I have a feeling that the object is to get the car out as quickly as possible. I wonder if they adjusted my valves correctly? 5)The "service manager" is basically there to schedule the appointments and tell you how much it will cost. Immediately after servicing my car would occasionally idle VERY slowly. The "service manager" said he had never heard of that type of problem and did not encourage me to bring the car in. I took the car in and described the problem to a woman who seemed to be the junior service manager. She said "I'll have Bill the mechanic look at it". Bill the mechanic immediately said "its probably the EGR valve, I'll disconnect it, you drive the car for a while and see if the problem goes away". The problem went away. It makes a big difference who you talk to. I had my car serviced at the dealer because I thought there would be less hassle with the warranty and because I was reluctant to take a wrench to to a car I had shelled out "big bucks" for. I have not had any big problems with the car or the dealer but I think I'll buy the shop manual and do the maintenance myself from now on. It's less hassle, less expensive, and I know the job will be done right. I just hate dealing with all those vacuum hoses, EGR valves, etc. My general impression is that the backyard mechanic can still do routine maintenance on the newer cars. Its probably more difficult to do legal modifications on the newer cars. (Can I change the micro code in the carburetor microprocessor? :*) ) I sure do miss my old Datsun. Rob Akers