I'm only 18 and don't know much about cars, but my car was overheating so me and my boyfriend brought it to a mechanic.They told me it needs a new timing belt and water pump and that alone would be like 1450.. From my research that sounds like bullshit. By the way I drive a 2000 neon, is it THAT hard to work on, or am I being ripped off?
i think those neons have problems with the plastic inside the timing cover breaking apart. Some form of plastic guide I think. I've replaced that for about 20-30 dollars and the water pump for around 35 bucks. The shop you went to is raping you as most shops in america do. They claim that they need to eat too yet they want steaks while the rest of us eat soups. You'd be best off finding someone you know who is reputable with car repairs and see if he or she would be interested in doing the repairs. You can find people like this all over the place. You should also perhaps check around with some other shops regarding your car and the repairs. Maybe you'll find someone to do it for around 500 or less. If you were near me I'd do it for 200 tops. and no, the dodge neon isn't crap to work on.....like a little riding mower in my opinion. Is your timing area making noises like something rattling around? If so it's that plastic piece I told you about. But check around and always remember that most of these shops with their outrageous repair costs don't provide vaseline for free.
WAY too much for that job on that car. I'm not sure what they think they're fixing. zxc090
Take it someplace else... I could be wrong but $1400 sounds to high.... maybe $400 would be closer to a correct ammount.
sounds like a lot of money also i am not sure that's the problem better get a second opinion
Your water pump is shot, it's not pumping water through out your engine to cool it off. Usually timing belt has to be taken off or loosed to get to the water pump. In that case why not replace the belt along with the water pump. Let's discuss the break down of the labor and parts. 2000 neon timing belt - $50 2000 neon water pump - $80 2000 neon timing bolt package and misc gasket seals - $20 3 hour job to replace the timing belt $50 per hour x 3 = $150 for labor. So you should actually end up paying $300 at most for the job and that's what I usually pay a Joe mechanic down the street at his back yard garage. The $1150 is the profit cut so your getting screwed. Cheer up, when I was little older than you I paid $4000 for timing belt and water pump for my NSX at the dealer.
