MK5 Golf GTI
General => Random Chat => Topic started by: Neiltdi on August 20, 2012, 05:50:54 pm
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Just asking cause since ive been driving (3 years) ive had a few cars mainly old vw's and always done the work on them myself and when i got my mk5 as it was the most expensive car ive ever owned i said i would take it to garages/specialists.
Today i rang jkm and asked how much it would be to fit some lowering springs and they said £200 with v.a.t so with the springs thats £400 which to me is alot as i only earn £240 a week.
Do you think its better to give it a go or pay someone else to do it ? I like to think im mechanically minded (done engine conversions on my mk1 golf etc)
I suppose the point of this thread is to just see how many people actually work on there cars themselves or pay others to do it for them?
Neil
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I do work on the car myself but servicing will get done elsewhere just so that I have some history.
Jobs like the Cambelt I put the car to the garage
There are lots of guides on here or on American forums for doing most of the jobs to the mk5
I do grudge paying £50+ per hour for a garage to do work but when I do get work done I normally stay at the garage so that I know exaxtly how long they have spent on my car
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Servicing is fair enough as everyone when buying a car is looking for good service history and vw arent too overally priced.
My car got a cambelt done (by previos owner at vw garage) and the timing is out -7degrees which isnt good so thinking of doing it myself.
To be honest on my wages after rent/food etc i cant afford to pay out for agarage to do the work so think its quite good if ypu can do the work yourself but i suppose if you have loads of money/no time you may aswell get someone to do it for you
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Contrary to what many folks think, I don't have loads of money nowadays. I'm useless at car mechanics and so will always pay others who have the expertise to work on my car. I don't have the tools nor the space anyway to do my own work. Frankly, doing my own work on the car doesn't interest me.
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If you can fit springs why pay £200? Servicing should be done at garage unless you planning on keeping untill it's worth few grand then service history will make no differance, annoys me having to pay for everything at dealer for warranty, mad money for an hours job.
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small things like changing spark plugs, fitting a CAI etc i'll do on my own
servicing is left to my Audi dealer, for resale value (tho i have no intention of selling my car before it dies anymore) and because they give good will contributions for out of warranty claims with a full service history. it needn't be expensive - if i provide my own oil they charge me less than £100 for a minor service
aftermarket stuff was previously done by Midland VW. whilst i think they're a great bunch, i have now gone with vRSAlex and his firm AKS Tuning. you can't beat a specialist who owns a car with the same chassis and engine as yours and he is an absolute perfectionist in everything he does.
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I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.
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Do most my own stuff and all of jhtrophys stuff too :signLOL: I like getting my hands dirty so will happily take the engine or gearbox out of a car without much drama. I do enjoy it
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If you have the ability/knowledge to change the springs yourself, go for it. :happy2:
I am as mechanically minded as a turnip so have to rely on the professionals to do their thing. I still dont understand why the VW main dealer charge me £108 per hour for labour but there you go, I'm a captive audience I suppose. I always factor in the cost of labour, beit main dealer, indy or another forum member offering their services, when I go for a mod.
:happy2:I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.
I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. :signLOL:
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Seems like a good variety , nothing better than doing something tricky on your car and rewarding yourself after.
Sometimes i wish ihad the money to pay someone to do work for me.
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If you have the ability/knowledge to change the springs yourself, go for it. :happy2:
I am as mechanically minded as a turnip so have to rely on the professionals to do their thing. I still dont understand why the VW main dealer charge me £108 per hour for labour but there you go, I'm a captive audience I suppose. I always factor in the cost of labour, beit main dealer, indy or another forum member offering their services, when I go for a mod.
:happy2:I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.
I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. :signLOL:
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I think im gonna go for it , ive only ever changed suspension on mk1/2 golfs and mk4 6n polos but im sure it cant be too hard i have all the tools for the job too so no problem with getting half way through the job and not having the tool to finish it.
Thi k of the mo ey you guys could save if you give it a go yourself im sure the tools will pay for themselves
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^^^^ to true. :happy2:
I have all the tools, very shiney and all in their correct places in my tool chest, looks the part in my garage I can tell you (just never used them for anything mechanical).
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I also leave the servicing to the vw dealer so there is a proper history for the car as it will affect the resale value of the car. But I have done all the performance modifications myself (springs, s3 ic, turbo outlet kit, intake, engine mounts, precat removal, subwoofer, headunit, amps, door speakers etc) in my carage. My GTI is basicly my spare time hobby, I love working on the car in my carage! :drinking:
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I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. :signLOL:
The coilpacks are really easy - if I can do it, so can anyone. Followed a guide on here and used zip ties to pull them up.
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I can do most jobs on a car including engine swaps given time space and tools available. It depends on all of those.
Just ordered some coilovers for the wife's lupo. So will be fitting those myself.
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I haven't got a scoobie! I take my car in to get the tyre pressures done :signLOL:
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I do as much as I can myself. I love tinkering, always have.
I don't care about stamps in the service book. I write in the work I've done with the date & mileage.
You'll get more cash for your car if it's detailed to perfection (and regularly serviced), not from VW main dealer stamps. In my opinion.
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I am a tinkerer and try to do a lot myself.
Although sometimes a brick wall can approach.
I attempted to fit an exhaust to my MK2 on the drive, I ground through my hand with an angle grinder trying to get it off but it was only superficial.
Got it done.
My new BCS will be fitted at AKS but if I had a ramp I would do it myself.
No job is too hard its only nuts and bolts.
Not bigging myself up but compared to what I build/fix at work a car is a very simple machine!
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Im a mechanic and i did everything to mine servicing, performance mods the lot! the suspension on a mk5 is a doddle to work on so go for it! the back is very easy to do so give that ago and see how you feel after that and see if you want to tackle the front :smiley:
Just think about it this way! if you do it yourself ( as long as you do it right ) then that 200 labour cost can go towards something else like a exhaust or intercooler or what ever tickles your fancy ha!
Thats how i justified spending all my money i was like well iv just saved 300 quid labour in doing my own cambelt water pump change and full service so thats 300 quid to go towards my forge twinercooler!
It was like free modding in my head haha!
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Im a mechanic and i did everything to mine servicing, performance mods the lot! the suspension on a mk5 is a doddle to work on so go for it! the back is very easy to do so give that ago and see how you feel after that and see if you want to tackle the front :smiley:
Just think about it this way! if you do it yourself ( as long as you do it right ) then that 200 labour cost can go towards something else like a exhaust or intercooler or what ever tickles your fancy ha!
Thats how i justified spending all my money i was like well iv just saved 300 quid labour in doing my own cambelt water pump change and full service so thats 300 quid to go towards my forge twinercooler!
It was like free modding in my head haha!
I like your thinking :happy2:
Time is the problem for me To do work to my car, I have had my suspension kit for almost 2 months now but it will get put on at some point
I would love to have a garage big enough to do work on a car and have a mk2 or nova project to potter about on
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This is only in relation to the original poster and not other members that have commented....
If you dont feel overly confident and haven't fitted springs onto the car before, I would recommend you pay someone like JKM do fit them. There is a lot that can go wrong, you might cost yourself a lot more than £200 if its not done right. It can easily cost you £200 in tyres if the tracking is not done right.
Companies like JKM are not there to rip anyone off. they are there to provide a professional service, get it done right first time whilst at the same time feed a family, pay for a mortgage etc. Your not being ripped off, £200 is a fair price when you think of all the labour and tracking that needs to be done. Your paying to put a daughter thru university or a to put tea on the table for someone like JKM, not paying for yachts and fancy holidays.
thats just my opinion. By all means, DIY if you are fully confident, if not, get the professionals in!
Oh and you other members that I said i wasnt addressing, Im more than confident there are a lot of our members that would be able to do this themselves ;)
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If that includes tracking that's a good price if not, its not.
The rears are very easy.
The fronts marginally more difficult.
1.5hrs I would say.
:popcornsoda:
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This is only in relation to the original poster and not other members that have commented....
If you dont feel overly confident and haven't fitted springs onto the car before, I would recommend you pay someone like JKM do fit them. There is a lot that can go wrong, you might cost yourself a lot more than £200 if its not done right. It can easily cost you £200 in tyres if the tracking is not done right.
Companies like JKM are not there to rip anyone off. they are there to provide a professional service, get it done right first time whilst at the same time feed a family, pay for a mortgage etc. Your not being ripped off, £200 is a fair price when you think of all the labour and tracking that needs to be done. Your paying to put a daughter thru university or a to put tea on the table for someone like JKM, not paying for yachts and fancy holidays.
thats just my opinion. By all means, DIY if you are fully confident, if not, get the professionals in!
Oh and you other members that I said i wasnt addressing, Im more than confident there are a lot of our members that would be able to do this themselves ;)
Its not that im not confident enough i know for a fact i can do it and understand thats what they do for a living also it isnt a dig at jkm personally i only rang them cause they did my re map for me and seemed like good people and good at what they do its also the first time i have ever rang/payed anywhere to do work for me apart from an m.o.t its just i lost my unit to work on my cars and live in a flat where i cant work on my car
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If it includes tracking it is a very good deal
I was getting quoted £200 just to fit the suspension then £100 on top for 4 wheel alinment
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This is only in relation to the original poster and not other members that have commented....
If you dont feel overly confident and haven't fitted springs onto the car before, I would recommend you pay someone like JKM do fit them. There is a lot that can go wrong, you might cost yourself a lot more than £200 if its not done right. It can easily cost you £200 in tyres if the tracking is not done right.
Companies like JKM are not there to rip anyone off. they are there to provide a professional service, get it done right first time whilst at the same time feed a family, pay for a mortgage etc. Your not being ripped off, £200 is a fair price when you think of all the labour and tracking that needs to be done. Your paying to put a daughter thru university or a to put tea on the table for someone like JKM, not paying for yachts and fancy holidays.
thats just my opinion. By all means, DIY if you are fully confident, if not, get the professionals in!
Oh and you other members that I said i wasnt addressing, Im more than confident there are a lot of our members that would be able to do this themselves ;)
....Nail on head! (but don't use nails when working on cars, unless they have vintage coachwork!) :happy2:
And it also applies of course to other good professional workshops like JKM such as AKS, Statller, etc.
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Ive done a few things myself but all major stuff gets taken to someone who knows what they are doing.
I once tried to drop the subframe on my old mk5. I couldn't get the ARB brackets bolted back on because the wheels were unsupported. Proper shat myself, but if I did it again I would know exactly what to do.
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Ive done a few things myself but all major stuff gets taken to someone who knows what they are doing.
I once tried to drop the subframe on my old mk5. I couldn't get the ARB brackets bolted back on because the wheels were unsupported. Proper shat myself, but if I did it again I would know exactly what to do.
....It's certainly true that we all learn from our mistakes and also simply by doing things. But my car is not something I want to make any mistake with!
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I do the basic stuff myself such as changing spark plugs/coilpacks, filters, break pads/discs. But anything more technical I leave to the professionals :happy2: