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I'm giving my car to a shop tomorrow for four hours.
They are going to charge me $50 for doing diagnostics.
My initial (unpaid) interactions with these guys has been positive.
This is the first time we've done any money from me to them.
Is there a place on the internet where I can survey car parts, labor charges, and other estimated prices that are generally prevalent among car shops ?
How do I ask the question ?
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Tricky question because pricing is quite regional.
Can understand the $50 charge just for diags, the manufacturers charge a small fortune for the software and more big $ for each update/new model releases. (That's what drove a lot of smaller shops out of business.)
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$50 for diagnostics is relatively cheap; I paid over double that 2- years ago.
If it's a Check Engine light, one thing you may want to consider is hitting the local auto parts chain; most will scan the codes for you at no charge.
Plan on 100 hourly labor, and if you are going to price parts pick a store like NAPA as opposed to the major chains.
Director of Transmogrification Services
Shinobi of Query Language
Master of Yoda Conditional
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MadMyche wrote: If it's a Check Engine light, one thing you may want to consider is hitting the local auto parts chain; most will scan the codes for you at no charge.
1985 Oldsmobile.
Can they scan that ?
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No, it's post-2000 that have OBD2 support (and if you have a vehicle that supports OBD2, get a reader, it saves a lot of money and costs around $100).
That's probably why it's expensive to fix - no debugger, so the mechanic has to know what (s)he is doing!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: - no debugger, so the mechanic has to know what (s)he is doing!
Few and far between those are, hens teeth comes to mind.
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There are times when I think "bring back carbs, and points, and ballast resistors, and rectifiers, and tappets, and..."
Then I remember balancing 4 carbs, and how much I wished for electronic ignition, and decide that computerised cars really aren't that bad!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Here you go: A seven pound chicken with teeth.[^]
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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OriginalGriff wrote: That's probably why it's expensive to fix - no debugger, so the mechanic has to know what (s)he is doing!
Exactly - if an 85 Oldsmobile is expensive to fix, it's only because you need an experienced mechanic who's been there, done that--those are the ones who have the ability to do it blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs.
Ironically, this is where it should be cheap to fix as the mechanic doesn't need expensive diagnostics tools that need to be replaced every couple of years. But experience doesn't come cheap.
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Possibly, computer protocols and ports were not standardized back then and there were many different methods of reading.
Director of Transmogrification Services
Shinobi of Query Language
Master of Yoda Conditional
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C-P-User-3 wrote: 1985 Oldsmobile. Can they scan that ?
Yes.. and No. It probably has a computer that can provide equivalent diagnostic info, but it's highly unlikely that they'll have the knowledge or tools or awareness to be able to so. Be careful they don't want to just start throwing parts at it at your expense.
Good luck. If you're not happy with them, maybe try searching out a mechanic that advertises that they work on classic cars. Yours isn't technically a "classic", but at least they'll know how to diagnose and fix its problems. Perhaps find an Oldsmobile forum and see if they have a list of "guru" mechanics.
Debugging cars isn't as hard as it sounds if you want to give it a try yourself. Fixing them, that's a different story, but debugging them is just like debugging programs.. easier than many programs I've debugged, in fact. Computerized cars are even easier in some ways because they already have a lot of sensors built in.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
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C-P-User-3 wrote: My initial (unpaid) interactions.
Time to recoup the "initial (unpaid)" investment.
If you are just getting a diagnostic done then fair enough as it costs them time and staff salaries. Most dealers here do it as part of the job costs so it appears free, but is just included in the fix.
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I think I stumbled onto the right shop.
Previous day, when the "Check Engine" light appeared, I stopped by and told the #2 guy in the shop about it.
I also asked him to show me how to check the power steering fluid (it's in a very non-obvious place; which he showed to me).
He also checked all the other fluids, and discovered low transmission fluid.
He stepped inside and came back with this large container and poured in the magic goop. (Dextron? Whatever)
That was yesterday.
Today I left the car with them.
At the end of the day, I walked over to the shop (they are walking distance) and the guy (this time, the #1 guy in the shop) told me that they couldn't find anything wrong, and that they reset the code from the previous day which indicated the low transmission fluid.
I pulled out my wallet.
He said: "No Charge"
Really.
Not making this up.
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It's time to get a printer that works.
I've had it with "Low Cost" ink jets. Goodbye, let's meet again,,,,, someday.
From my own searching attempts, I've found a refurbished Brother brand laser printer for $50
It requires a USB cable; maybe I would live with that for the price.
My own personal experience has been highly positive with both Brother and Samsung; although all prior experience has been with brand new equipment.
I welcome ideas.
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The HP P2015 Laserjet is a trooper. As a professional computer support cat, I can truly attest to this. We and many businesses we support lean on them daily and beat the livin crap out of them. They have usb and Ethernet connectivity. It as old fashioned as a good old Laserjet 4 but smaller and much faster.
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I agree 100% with this. We've got a small fleet of them that are used where we can't justify a MFD. They work in a shopfloor environment, being hammered every day for 4+ years now and we haven't had to replace or repair one of them. Easy to set up, networkable and reasonable on consumables too.
Andy B
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I've been very happy with my DCP-L2540DW[^]. I imagine their "just a printer" models are also good. They're pretty much on perpetual sale at Best Buy and other places as well.
TTFN - Kent
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Make sure that it works with Windows 10 (or whatever your current OS of choice is). I bought a terrific laser printer a few years ago for a few dollars and found that it worked with all versions of Windows up to Windows XP. My system at the time was Vista.
I'm retired. There's a nap for that...
- Harvey
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M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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I'very had very good luck with Brother products. I bought their Ethernet-connected CN-4030 colour laser printer a few years back, and it's working very nicely. My father has a 20-year-old Brother laser printer which is also still working.
As someone mentioned, check whether drivers are available for Win7/Win10. You may also want to buy an Ethernet-to-USB plug, so you can network the printer.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
--Winston Churchill
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I'd recommend anything from the old HP 4000 series. If you do the maintenance required (It'll tell you), it just keeps going.
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Has any of the wax printers for home use survived in the market?
At work, we leased a huge, high capacity Xerox copier / scanner / printer / ... using wax technology, giving beautiful photo output. Our capacity requirements dropped ("the paperless office", you know) so it was replaced with another model, a third the size of the old one, although still a floor model. This new one has crappy colors, greens in particular.
I have been in for a new printer for a long time, and was almost decided to go for wax technology ... until the printer at work was replaced. Now I have seen really great as well as really crappy colors from wax printers (and note that they are both from Xerox - you can't draw any conclusions from brand name alone).
If anyone has experience with personal wax printers, would you care to stand up?
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C-P-User-3 wrote: It requires a USB cable; maybe I would live with that for the price.
Add another few dozen bucks and make it ethernet-capable:
A Rasp Pi Print Server » Raspberry Pi Geek[^]
For this, of course, the printer needs to support GhostScript or the like.
I only have a signature in order to let @DalekDave follow my posts.
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I bought a color laser printer (HP LaserJet CP1025) for $100 years ago. At that price, I wouldn't bother with a refurb.
I don't print much, so I'm still on the original set of cartridges, and it still prints just fine. But I'll never go inkjet ever again, as the lesson I learned the hard way is that unused inkjet cartridges will simply dry up. Not so with a laser's toner.
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