Cost of clutch for 1.6 avensis (2004)

dh0011

I was quoted €550 for parts and labour to change the clutch on an 04 avensis with 1.6L petrol engine at a local independent mechanic. Anyone have any thoughts on if this is over the odds. Same place charged 120 for oil (5L 10w40 semi synthetic) and a filter (blue print) + labour recently which is what has made me think about their cost of changing the clutch.

TGi666

Seems a bit high but not overly high if you know your going to get a good job done.

dh0011

Thanks TGi666. the garage used be very reasonable. Last service though the car was there half an hour they used about 15 euros worth of oil and a 3 euro filter and charged 120 so I am curoius as to what is the going rate.

TGi666

have you got quotes from any other garages?
Could be worth a try pricing around

dh0011

got a quote of 320 (just this minute off the phone) but it is about 50 miles away.

TGi666

Can you still drive the car?

Nissan doctor

dh0011 wrote: »

Thanks TGi666. the garage used be very reasonable. Last service though the car was there half an hour they used about 15 euros worth of oil and a 3 euro filter and charged 120 so I am curoius as to what is the going rate.

If you think the oil they used was only €15 worth then I wouldn't use them again.
How much is 5L of a good quality/brand(what you would expect a reputable garage to use) of oil for your car in a motor factors?

Having said that, €120 for just an oil change is expensive but to assume they only used €15 worth of oil is unfair.

To answer you original question. €550 is certainly not a rip off but you should be able to have quality work done for a little less. We'd normally be around the €450-€475 mark for an Avensis for reference..

Nissan doctor

dh0011 wrote: »

got a quote of 320 (just this minute off the phone) but it is about 50 miles away.

If a reputable, registered garage is going to do it with a full OE/OEM clutch kit and new gear oil etc for €320 then bite their arm off....There is such a thing as too cheap though.

dh0011

TGi666 wrote: »

Can you still drive the car?

yea can still drive her but going up hills is a struggle

Nissan doctor wrote: »

If you think the oil they used was only €15 worth then I wouldn't use them again.
How much is 5L of a good quality/brand(what you would expect a reputable garage to use) of oil for your car in a motor factors?

Having said that, €120 for just an oil change is expensive but to assume they only used €15 worth of oil is unfair.

To answer you original question. €550 is certainly not a rip off but you should be able to have quality work done for a little less. We'd normally be around the €450-€475 mark for an Avensis for reference..

I am no car expert (probably obvious to ye) so I never asked anything about the oil they use. I assumed it was ok but looking on the internet 5L of decent oil seems to be at least 40 quid.
Bill was itemised - oil was €15 + vat at 13%. Garage has a barrel inside the door. I assumed they use the same oil in most cars and because they buy in bulk it makes it cheap. (also noticed that it is meant to be 5w30 and not 10w40 that should be used in my car).

dh0011

Nissan doctor wrote: »

If a reputable, registered garage is going to do it with a full OE/OEM clutch kit and new gear oil etc for €320 then bite their arm off....There is such a thing as too cheap though.

Am told by a friend that that lad is good but i dont know him so i am a bit sceptical.

BuzzFish

price the parts on www.mister-auto.ie

This will give you a good start for the price of the parts. Then you just need to ask how much labor is involved and work out the price per hour. My mechanic is about €55 per hour, which is very good considering the wages, tools, insurance etc etc etc they have to pay.

dh0011

Thanks Buzz

Nissan doctor

dh0011 wrote: »

yea can still drive her but going up hills is a struggle



I am no car expert (probably obvious to ye) so I never asked anything about the oil they use. I assumed it was ok but looking on the internet 5L of decent oil seems to be at least 40 quid.
Bill was itemised - oil was €15 + vat at 13%. Garage has a barrel inside the door. I assumed they use the same oil in most cars and because they buy in bulk it makes it cheap. (also noticed that it is meant to be 5w30 and not 10w40 that should be used in my car).

If they are just using a cheap bulk 10w40 in most cars then they can't considered a reputable garage IMO.

Your engine requires a 5w30 A3 spec fully synthetic oil so a semi synthetic 10w40 is simply not suitable.


The list time for changing the clutch on your avensis is 5 hours so at €55 an hour as mentioned above(approx average for an indy garage) that's €275 for labour alone, OE/OEM clutch kit retailing at maybe €120-150, gear oil, again decent brand and correct type approx €30 and your well up into the €450+ price range.

dh0011

Nissan doctor wrote: »

If they are just using a cheap bulk 10w40 in most cars then they can't considered a reputable garage IMO.

Your engine requires a 5w30 A3 spec fully synthetic oil so a semi synthetic 10w40 is simply not suitable.

The place have been using the 10w40 oil for the last 30000 miles. When you say unsuitable can it cause serious damage?

BuzzFish

I've noticed a lot of threads in motors recently wandering completely off topic. There was one this morning about an Astra with a burning smell and possible clutch problem that descended into a DMF debate and this one, about clutch problems descending into an oil discussion.

Can we try to keep on topic and create a new thread if necessary?

Sorry to sound like the thread police but the OP's end up with disjointed and confusing answers to their sometimes simple questions.

Mini rant over

.... and I do see the irony of posting this here... in a thread about a clutch problem.

TGi666

Ok if they are using 10w40 never darken the place again

dh0011

BuzzFish wrote: »

I've noticed a lot of threads in motors recently wandering completely off topic. There was one this morning about an Astra with a burning smell and possible clutch problem that descended into a DMF debate and this one, about clutch problems descending into an oil discussion.

Can we try to keep on topic and create a new thread if necessary?

Sorry to sound like the thread police but the OP's end up with disjointed and confusing answers to their sometimes simple questions.

Mini rant over

.... and I do see the irony of posting this here... in a thread about a clutch problem.

The thread has evolved into something different to what I put in the title - my fault.

TGi666 wrote: »

Ok if they are using 10w40 never darken the place again

Given what ye have said, I am going to look for another mechanic.

Thanks to all of you for your advice it is truely appreciated.

Nissan doctor

BuzzFish wrote: »

I've noticed a lot of threads in motors recently wandering completely off topic. There was one this morning about an Astra with a burning smell and possible clutch problem that descended into a DMF debate and this one, about clutch problems descending into an oil discussion.

Can we try to keep on topic and create a new thread if necessary?

Sorry to sound like the thread police but the OP's end up with disjointed and confusing answers to their sometimes simple questions.

Mini rant over

.... and I do see the irony of posting this here... in a thread about a clutch problem.

I though the OP mentioned the type of oil used and the price paid in both his first and second posts.

BuzzFish

Guys,

Sorry I don't mean to come across as being grumpy so apologies if it has. Just nice to see the threads stay on track... anyway... as we are on oil

OP, worth remembering when it comes to Oil types that as the engines get older and mileage climbs there is every possibility you would change the type of oil being used (Although always stick to fully synthetic in my book). We don't know the mileage on yours....

The numbers relate to the thickness of the oil at low and high temperatures. 0w30 means water-like when cold, to get around the engine fast on start but then thickening up when hot to cling to the parts we are lubricating. More detailed explanation here: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

Now imagine an engine with lots of miles done and a bit worn. Many mechanics will swap to 10w40 or 15w40 because this thicker formulas will mean that the oil has less chance of passing the piston rings and being burned in the cylinder and have less chance of seeping out of the gaskets (say between the engine an sump) and causing those oil spots on the driveway. Using the "wrong" oil in this respect will not damage your engine in my humble opinion, not on a 1.6 petrol anyway. Different if it was a v12 big block of an engine.

I wouldn't pack my bags and find another mechanic without first asking him his reason for using 10w40

dh0011

BuzzFish wrote: »

Guys,

Sorry I don't mean to come across as being grumpy so apologies if it has. Just nice to see the threads stay on track... anyway... as we are on oil

OP, worth remembering when it comes to Oil types that as the engines get older and mileage climbs there is every possibility you would change the type of oil being used (Although always stick to fully synthetic in my book). We don't know the mileage on yours....

The numbers relate to the thickness of the oil at low and high temperatures. 0w30 means water-like when cold, to get around the engine fast on start but then thickening up when hot to cling to the parts we are lubricating.

Now imagine an engine with lots of miles done and a bit worn. Many mechanics will swap to 10w40 or 15w40 because this thicker formulas will mean that the oil has less chance of passing the piston rings and being burned in the cylinder and have less chance of seeping out of the gaskets (say between the engine an sump) and causing those oil spots on the driveway. Using the "wrong" oil in this respect will not damage your engine in my humble opinion, not on a 1.6 petrol anyway. Different if it was a v12 big block of an engine.

I wouldn't pack my bags and find another mechanic without first asking him his reason for using 10w40

The car has 110,000 miles done but they have used 10w40 since I bought her with 80K done. They use the same oil in my brothers car which should use 5w40 and has low milage.

Another car in the family should be using 5w30 is getting 10w40 and it has 50000 kilometers on the clock.

It is just one barrel fits all.

Nissan doctor

BuzzFish wrote: »

Guys,

Sorry I don't mean to come across as being grumpy so apologies if it has. Just nice to see the threads stay on track... anyway... as we are on oil

OP, worth remembering when it comes to Oil types that as the engines get older and mileage climbs there is every possibility you would change the type of oil being used (Although always stick to fully synthetic in my book). We don't know the mileage on yours....

The numbers relate to the thickness of the oil at low and high temperatures. 0w30 means water-like when cold, to get around the engine fast on start but then thickening up when hot to cling to the parts we are lubricating. More detailed explanation here: http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

Now imagine an engine with lots of miles done and a bit worn. Many mechanics will swap to 10w40 or 15w40 because this thicker formulas will mean that the oil has less chance of passing the piston rings and being burned in the cylinder and have less chance of seeping out of the gaskets (say between the engine an sump) and causing those oil spots on the driveway. Using the "wrong" oil in this respect will not damage your engine in my humble opinion, not on a 1.6 petrol anyway. Different if it was a v12 big block of an engine.

I wouldn't pack my bags and find another mechanic without first asking him his reason for using 10w40

I don't mean to seem like I'm getting at you or anything...but the last thing you should do as the mileage rises is change the oil type. Running the engine oil its correct oil type with regular maintenance is the key to trouble free high mielage engines.

Changing the temperature range and lubrication properties of the oil at a critical wear point of the engines life will likely lead to a fast downhill spiral for the engine.

If an engine is burning oil people will often used a thicker oil and that can be ok, but if the engine is burning oil then its on borrowed time as it is so at that stage it makes no difference.

Now we really are going off topic though.....

BuzzFish

dh0011 wrote: »

The car has 110,000 miles done but they have used 10w40 since I bought her with 80K done. They use the same oil in my brothers car which should use 5w40 and has low milage.

Another car in the family should be using 5w30 is getting 10w40 and it has 50000 kilometers on the clock.

It is just one barrel fits all.

I agree with the other guys so, time to shop around as this mechanic either does not understand what he's doing or doesn't care enough to use the correct oil.

Rest assured though that I'd be very surprised if any damage has actually been done by the "wrong" oil... its just seriously sloppy work on the garages part.

dh0011

Thanks very much lads to all of ye. I really appreciate your advice.
Now to find a new mechanic.

dh0011

Just got the clutch done and the oil changed to the proper grade 5w30 fully synthetic made by Mobil 1 aswell as the oil, air filters and clutch for €500.

TGi666

Good to see you got sorted for what looks like a decent price

dh0011

Thanks again lads - ye were a big help.