Cost of various service shops

[Drumster]

For those of you who've been around this block a few times; how do the various shops compare in terms of cost on service & parts?
For example, I'm fairly close to Japanoid in New West but have no idea about how competitive their pricing is or whether I'd be better off going toTerra2.
Comments?

[loki]

For those of you who've been around this block a few times; how do the various shops compare in terms of cost on service & parts?
For example, I'm fairly close to Japanoid in New West but have no idea about how competitive their pricing is or whether I'd be better off going toTerra2.
Comments?

Does terra2 to do work on vehicles? I hadn't heard that before, I personally would be less interested in price and more interested in skill and knowledge. CVI and CCAutos are the top of the list, you can go other places and it may seem cheaper at first, possibly even look cheaper when you get the bill, but down the road they are the best option as it will have been done right the first time.

[Drumster]

For those of you who've been around this block a few times; how do the various shops compare in terms of cost on service & parts?
For example, I'm fairly close to Japanoid in New West but have no idea about how competitive their pricing is or whether I'd be better off going toTerra2.
Comments?

Does terra2 to do work on vehicles? I hadn't heard that before, I personally would be less interested in price and more interested in skill and knowledge. CVI and CCAutos are the top of the list, you can go other places and it may seem cheaper at first, possibly even look cheaper when you get the bill, but down the road they are the best option as it will have been done right the first time.

According to their web site, Terra2 does servicing. http://www.terra2imports.ca/service/
So does Jananoid http://www.japanoid.com/garage.php
I'd definitely want a mechanic to be competent but I'm looking for a NASA rocket scientist.
It really comes down to their standard of workmanship.

[loki]

According to their web site, Terra2 does servicing. http://www.terra2imports.ca/service/
So does Jananoid http://www.japanoid.com/garage.php
I'd definitely want a mechanic to be competent but I'm looking for a NASA rocket scientist.
It really comes down to their standard of workmanship.

well if you want a competent shop with high standards, CVI or CCAutos, there is a reason people drive all the way from calgary to get work done there.

[flyfishn]

I hear RJD in North Van s good.
True????????

[JMK]

there is a reason people drive all the way from calgary to get work done there.

While I don't dispute that they are good, I've found it very easy to get all the required work done in the Calgary area. I don't subscribe to the notion you have to drive all the way to the West Coast to find someone competent to work on the Deli.

[Green1]

there is a reason people drive all the way from calgary to get work done there.

While I don't dispute that they are good, I've found it very easy to get all the required work done in the Calgary area. I don't subscribe to the notion you have to drive all the way to the West Coast to find someone competent to work on the Deli.

I have to disagree with you, I have tried very hard to find decent service in Calgary. It's easy to get the basics handled (oil changes, brakes, etc) but there are NO shops in calgary willing to, or capable of dealing with injection pump issues, starting issues, MAYBE, but only if you're lucky (took me 3 shops, and I'm still torn on wether I'm happy with the last one...)
I had no luck finding anyone within the city willing to deal with my seized engine either, I had to go to strathmore to get that one solved.

So basically, I'm off to the coast in a few weeks to get my smoking problem dealt with, I suspect it's my injection pump, but nobody in Calgary has been any help, and I have wasted literally thousands of dollars on shops in Calgary who don't know what they are doing with these vehicles, but are quite willing to take my money anyway.

[JMK]

Actually, if you read my post you'll find it's not a matter of agreement or disagreement, I simply stated in my case I don't subscribe to that notion. My feeling is whether you are happy with the local service or not largely depends on luck and how resourceful you are. I think that some ideas kicked around in this forum become "Delica Law", and that is a law that some people I know that own Pajero's don't seem to be aware of but seem to motor on happily in spite of. For example, there apparently are some kick ass diesel injection specialists in Kamloops apparently that have dealt with various JDM vehicles that may be worth investigating.

As I do the basics myself, I don't have any first hand experience there.

The only problem I have had is with the oil seal on my silent shaft. Last year I had my timing belts, etc., done in Calgary, and as the silent shaft sleeve had a scratch and was leaking, my mechanic machined a new one from a risk pin rather than spend $100.00 or so and wait weeks to get one from Japan. Either the new sleeve or the new seal did not work well, and I am leaking oil there again, so it's going back this week for another try. While we're at it we'll blank the EGR valve in the hope it gets the last of the smoke issue that the fuel pump tune up did not resolve.

I was talking to a mechanic I know in Banff a couple off weeks ago, and he does some work on the side. He's thinking about specilaizing in JDM vehicles as he has done some work on his friends LHD Pajero, so at the moment I seem to be spoiled for choice. I do get out to the coast once or twice a year, but holiday time seems too precious to be sitting in a B&B in Coombs or Richmond (Coombs would be seem the better alternative to me). I think if I had to go 1100km for service, I would not own a Delica.

[Green1]

So you state that because the problems you have had have been solved in Calgary, that there is never a need to go to BC for service? I find that a little ignorant to be honest. I know that I have run in to several different problems that simply can not be dealt with in Calgary at all. These same problems are ones that people have reported that CVI has dealt with quickly and painlessly.
For that matter, my most recent starting problem, although solved now, would have been at least $1500 cheaper had I just driven to the coast (I don't know about you, but that starts to pay for itself!)

I don't plan to spend time sitting around in Richmond or Coombs, I have other plans for the week, but they don't involve the use of the vehicle, so rather than have it sit in a parking lot for the week, I'd rather it sat in a competant shop and got service work done that I can't get done at home.

[JMK]

Indeed, I am no doubt often in denial, and more than often a little ignorant. So it's probably pure luck and co-incidence rather than design that I have never had two catastrophic engine failures leaving me high and dry on the edge of the road in spite of the fact that I have had all my maintenance work done in Calgary. I guess that fate must be imminent however if I am to subscribe to conventional wisdom, or could it simply be a myth?

Today while working in the Banff West Field Unit on Highway 93N I noticed 3 Pajero's with the 2.5 and 2.8l diesel and a couple of Land Cruiser SWB and LWB diesels. The thought occurred to me, "I wonder where they get their work done?"

In the past year, I have run into quite a few Delica owners and of course when I ask them if they use this forum, they were unaware of it. A few of them had excellent work done by Wayne ('crushers' on this forum I think). I met a fellow from Kimberly that has owned and sold a number of JDM Toyota Diesels that has no problem addressing the mechanical issues. So it seems it may be ad-hoc.

Green1, last year I used GCL Systems to work on my fuel system and I was happy with the outcome, you did the same and you were not (details of this are in a previous post). I furnished you with the name and contact details of my mechanic that has done great by me, and you were not happy because he did not return your calls, so you went to Strathmore, and you were again unhappy.

So because I am happy with the service I've been able to find in Calgary, and I am of the opinion you don't need to drive all the way to the coast for a mechanic, and because you do not agree, you call me 'ignorant'. So let's call me 'ignorant', and let's call you 'ungrateful' and maybe someone with 'unreasonable expectations', OK?

Again, I don't for a moment doubt that probably some of the best service you could possibly find for your Delica would be either in Coombs or at CVI in Richmond. It makes me envy those that live in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. However as I have been lucky so far with things East of the Rockies, if I can help anyone out that doesn't have the luxury of driving to the west coast, feel free to PM me and I'll help the best that I can with the resources I have. In the meantime it would be interesting to explore where all those Pajero owners in ALberta that have never heard of this forum are going.

[Green1]

All I'm saying is that you have never needed major work on your vehicle, I have, several times.
I have no doubt that you can get the basics worked on locally, that is not in question. but there are NO shops in the local area that can do major work on the engine.

I did get a hold of your mechanic, he refused to do the work needing done at the time. (engine had seized)
I was happy with the work done in strathmore, and it is closer than Vancouver, but it's not in Calgary, and even he was unable to tackle my injection pump or starting issues.
I used GCL fuelsystems once, they charged me well over $1000 to check out my injection pump and they didn't even take it off the engine or test it! when I asked about getting it re-built I was told that it would be well over another $1000 just to get it off the engine and test it, and that wouldn't include re-building or re-installing. At that rate it would be cheaper to drive to the coast and get CVI to do it as their re-build, including removal and re-install has previously been advertised in the $500 range. Add to that the fact that GCL told me no less than 3 times that they had solved my starting problem when the vehicle was still cranking for over 3 minutes to start, and the fact that they burned out a set of glow plugs and broke my temperature sensor in to 2 pieces, and refused to take responsibility for any of that, and you can see why I might not recommend them to people.

If you can find me a shop in Calgary willing to tackle a seized engine, and willing to rebuild the delica injection pump (for cheaper than a week long all-inclusive vacation to Vancouver) I might relent on this, until then you should stop claiming that ALL work can be done locally. you can rephrase it that all the work that YOU PERSONALLY HAVE NEEDED can be done locally, this is not at all the same thing.

[JMK]

If I were unhappy with GCL then I would have given the shop in Kamloops a try as I heard very good reports about them, and I remember I called them. In fact I think all that information is contained in a previous post here from last year.

I think you have gotten the wrong impression, as I'm really not trying to get you to relent on anything. Perhaps you're a bit too quick on the keyboard to respond? For example:

So you state that because the problems you have had have been solved in Calgary, that there is never a need to go to BC for service?

While I regret that you infer that, that is not exactly what I said:

I've found it very easy to get all the required work done in the Calgary area.

So I should rephrase that then to:
I've found it very easy to get all *my* required work done in the Calgary area.

In any case so as not to turn this into a personal diatribe between you and I, once again it is more important for me to reiterate that if anyone needs some resources in this area feel free to PM me. As most of the 'required work' usually does not require addressing the problems of a seized engine, perhaps they can be of value. And as I said I talked to a local mechanic who is interested in developing his skill set with JDM Diesels on his own time (but he has access to all his workplace resources) and that as yet has to be tested as to wether it will work out or not.

In fact I'm off to Calgary in a few minutes to drop the Delica there for the leaky silent shaft issue, and I've been hearing a 'whining' sort of sound when the Turbo kicks in for about the last year so I'm suspicious about the bearings in there. As well I'm hoping that blanking the EGR will address the last of my smoke issues. We'll have to see how all that goes and then I can re-evaluate my Calgary impressions if necessary.

[marsgal42]

I must admit I'm baffled at this thread. Every mechanic I've talked to has expressed an interest in working on Gumdrop. If they are any good as mechanics they welcome the opportunity to work on a simple, easy-to-fix older vehicle. If they are any good as business people they welcome the opportunity to grow their business. New cars don't break very often, and when they do, can usually only be fixed by a dealer. Independent shops are feeling the squeeze, and good ones welcome our Delicas.

Mechanically, a Delica is only slightly more complicated than the 1965 Ford station wagon I learned to drive on. It is comparable in complexity to the 1986 VW Jetta that was my car before I bought Gumdrop. And any shop that can fix an A2 VW (especially one with a diesel engine) will have no difficulty with a Delica.

Personally, I'd like to see more people take responsibility and maintain their Delicas themselves. This is a shade tree mechanic-friendly vehicle.

...laura

[JMK]

Thanks Laura,

Your observation seems very unbaised considering your demographic.

My statement that "I don't subscribe to that notion', stems from a number of observations:

- Posts raving about certain shops, largely from the same 'core' group of cheerleaders, but also to be fair, independant posters who have made me a believer that both CVI or CC Autos would be a great place to get service. (For example, why does it seem like there are way more posts raving about CVI than there are about CC Auto, or why do these posts omit mentioning CC Auto even when the original poster is on Vancouver Island?)
- The fact that this vehicle is ubiquitous in other countries, and also shares common components. Therefore it should be possible for a wider group of mechanics to easily become proficient with them.

I absolutely agree that anyone who has worked on these vehicles is out of the starting gate well before others. So when I dropped my Deli off yesterday I explained to Brian about removing the seat and the crossmember to speed things up. Then, as a competent mechanic, he did a quick test to address my concerns about the Turbo bearings and said on first impression they are probably OK.

Microsoft grew exponentially, much to our chagrin, because they managed to monopolize a market through domination. During that time, others that were able to persevere and grow various distros of Linux. I make this analogy because I see a parrallel here.

If we don't give others a chance to work on our vehicles, how will any of them get an opportunity to develop their skill set and widen the demographic of capable service shops?

We recently got the infamous post accusing us of being 'snobby nerds'. In a way, although I disagreed, I reflected that the poster was expressing an angst that was not totally without merit. In this forum could it be if you 'go against the common wisdom as it is written', you are either ignored, or perhaps ganged up on, especially by the cheerleader gang.

This thread had me considering leaving this forum completely because although I have been trained to have a thick skin, I don't appreciate being called 'ignorant' for expressing an opinion. But then I remembered an incident last year when I came across a Deli on the side of the road on the TCH. In my job, I spend a very large part of my time on the Trans Canada Highway, and I generally ignore traffice on the shoulder. However, this was a Deli, and I have access to a large set of backup resources, so I made a U-Turn and came back to see if everything was OK or if they needed assistance. I ended up meeting a couple (who have posted here) and although they didn't need assistance, it made my day talking to them. I reflected that as it is mainly folks like this that make up this forum, it wouldn't make sense to abandon it or desist from speaking my opinion whether it is popular or not. I will continue to assist where I can, especially in the field where if you break down in my field unit, I can rapidly become your new best friend.

[loki]

Thanks Laura,

Your observation seems very unbaised considering your demographic.

My statement that "I don't subscribe to that notion', stems from a number of observations:

- Posts raving about certain shops, largely from the same 'core' group of cheerleaders, but also to be fair, independant posters who have made me a believer that both CVI or CC Autos would be a great place to get service. (For example, why does it seem like there are way more posts raving about CVI than there are about CC Auto, or why do these posts omit mentioning CC Auto even when the original poster is on Vancouver Island?)
- The fact that this vehicle is ubiquitous in other countries, and also shares common components. Therefore it should be possible for a wider group of mechanics to easily become proficient with them.

I absolutely agree that anyone who has worked on these vehicles is out of the starting gate well before others. So when I dropped my Deli off yesterday I explained to Brian about removing the seat and the crossmember to speed things up. Then, as a competent mechanic, he did a quick test to address my concerns about the Turbo bearings and said on first impression they are probably OK.

Microsoft grew exponentially, much to our chagrin, because they managed to monopolize a market through domination. During that time, others that were able to persevere and grow various distros of Linux. I make this analogy because I see a parrallel here.

If we don't give others a chance to work on our vehicles, how will any of them get an opportunity to develop their skill set and widen the demographic of capable service shops?

We recently got the infamous post accusing us of being 'snobby nerds'. In a way, although I disagreed, I reflected that the poster was expressing an angst that was not totally without merit. In this forum could it be if you 'go against the common wisdom as it is written', you are either ignored, or perhaps ganged up on, especially by the cheerleader gang.

This thread had me considering leaving this forum completely because although I have been trained to have a thick skin, I don't appreciate being called 'ignorant' for expressing an opinion. But then I remembered an incident last year when I came across a Deli on the side of the road on the TCH. In my job, I spend a very large part of my time on the Trans Canada Highway, and I generally ignore traffice on the shoulder. However, this was a Deli, and I have access to a large set of backup resources, so I made a U-Turn and came back to see if everything was OK or if they needed assistance. I ended up meeting a couple (who have posted here) and although they didn't need assistance, it made my day talking to them. I reflected that as it is mainly folks like this that make up this forum, it wouldn't make sense to abandon it or desist from speaking my opinion whether it is popular or not. I will continue to assist where I can, especially in the field where if you break down in my field unit, I can rapidly become your new best friend.

if you find a place that will work on your deli and is good at that is great. I don't think anyone has ganged up on anyone else about their choice of shops, but people are quick to advise or warn or certain places. As for shops not getting to learn if they can't work on deli's, that is true, but I don't want to pay for their mistakes along the way. also there are some places that welcome JDMs with open arms and that makes people think they must know what they are doing but then it turns out that they are complete hacks (marigold, IMO and others as well).

When ever I recommend CVI, CCAutos, and the like I'm just trying to save people the trouble that I know lots have had going to these other shops, a friend of mine took his van to marigold anyways after I had said he shouldn't, and shortly after he said he never would again and is no going to take his van to ccautos to fix their mistakes.

just my prospective, I think if you should look at these posts as people trying to help instead of some elitist conspiracy.