UltraTune major service vs Kmart auto and tyre service

[tngster]

I just sent my 96 Camry Vienta to the Ultratune around the corner from me at Brandon Park. Just came from RWC 2 days ago and the last service was 9 months ago.. at least that was what the seller said. the RWC is legit though. Guy at Ultratune said major service is $280 and mentioned that if the spark plugs needed changing, parts will cost extra. Kmart charges $199 for it's full service and I think it covers the cost of new spark plugs as well. Any thoughts on how services might differ? I sent it to Ultratune this time round cuz i didnt want anything to happen to my car. But if Kmart's service is the same as Ultratune's, albeit being heaps cheaper, I'll just send it to Kmart.

Thoughts?

[alan.chalkley]

I prefer a good mechanic that owns his own business , rather than apprentices at dealerships and the chain repair shops.

My mechanic looks after my four toyotas and his price is also okay.

[trentmeyer23]

I wouldn't let either touch any of my cars with a 10 foot pole, get a decent private mechanic and you will be much happier.

[FRM05A]

I agree with the two above.

[Andrew357]

He wants a service. Not a twin-turbo 2jz conversion with ECU tune.

Any of the commercial mechanics (or a Toyota dealership) will be fine.

[tngster]

I did a major tune up at Ultratune today for $280. When I collected the car, he told me that I needed to change my front and rear bushes because they were "in pieces". He quoted $600+ for the job. Is that a standard market rate in Melbourne? Or should I get a second opinion somewhere else?

Edited July 27, 2012 by tngster

[jeffy]

that better include polyurethane bushes for $600... thats what they charge in pedders...

[tngster]

HAHA. well, i won't go to Ultratune for things like that. Only reason I went to ultratune was because I lived a 5 min walk away from the garage. Probably go to a workshop my mate recommended me in Rowville.

[Andrew357]

that better include polyurethane bushes for $600... thats what they charge in pedders...

You know that poly bushes aren't necessarily 'better' than a rubber bush?

Poly bushes will give the car a better road feel but it cripples your NVH, especially if it is the control arm bushes. I am sure Grandpa or Mr/Miss 'I don't care about my car as long as it is in serviceable condition' would really see huge gains from a poly bush.

[zedder]

like anything you get good and bad ultratune places and same with the private guys. do some research . the ultratune place i use has been great. with a couple of long term mechs and no apprentices. always quality work.

[Ronnyboy]

HAHA. well, i won't go to Ultratune for things like that. Only reason I went to ultratune was because I lived a 5 min walk away from the garage.

Did they do a good job with the Service? If so then you can continue to take the car there for a Service.

[rollaurion]

He wants a service. Not a twin-turbo 2jz conversion with ECU tune.

Any of the commercial mechanics (or a Toyota dealership) will be fine.

Personally I agree with those above about finding a good local mechanic who runs his own business. I avoid commercial garages (Ultratune, Kmart etc) but most especially avoid Toyota Dealerships. The only reason I would ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work, and even then only if unavoidable.

My Mechanic was a level 3 Toyota Tech, and worked in multiple dealerships across Australia. He left because he could no longer live with what they were doing. Seriously talk to this guy for just 10 minutes and you'd never go to another Toyota dealership for maintenance. For a start people should know that so called 'Service Advisers' get most of their income from commission. They exist to upsell to customers and will stop at nothing to get money out of you. Don't trust them...

[tngster]

I looked around at ebay and found that poly bushes are about 90-110 bucks for a set of four and normal bushes are only 20-30 bucks for a set of four. Service charge is PHENOMENAL here!

[Andrew357]

He wants a service. Not a twin-turbo 2jz conversion with ECU tune.

Any of the commercial mechanics (or a Toyota dealership) will be fine.

Personally I agree with those above about finding a good local mechanic who runs his own business. I avoid commercial garages (Ultratune, Kmart etc) but most especially avoid Toyota Dealerships. The only reason I would ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work, and even then only if unavoidable.

My Mechanic was a level 3 Toyota Tech, and worked in multiple dealerships across Australia. He left because he could no longer live with what they were doing. Seriously talk to this guy for just 10 minutes and you'd never go to another Toyota dealership for maintenance. For a start people should know that so called 'Service Advisers' get most of their income from commission. They exist to upsell to customers and will stop at nothing to get money out of you. Don't trust them...

You can't make a blanket statement like that from one person and preach it as Gospel (much like people did with Jesus). An incredibly small sample size but yet a so definite statement.

[rollaurion]

He wants a service. Not a twin-turbo 2jz conversion with ECU tune.

Any of the commercial mechanics (or a Toyota dealership) will be fine.

Personally I agree with those above about finding a good local mechanic who runs his own business. I avoid commercial garages (Ultratune, Kmart etc) but most especially avoid Toyota Dealerships. The only reason I would ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work, and even then only if unavoidable.

My Mechanic was a level 3 Toyota Tech, and worked in multiple dealerships across Australia. He left because he could no longer live with what they were doing. Seriously talk to this guy for just 10 minutes and you'd never go to another Toyota dealership for maintenance. For a start people should know that so called 'Service Advisers' get most of their income from commission. They exist to upsell to customers and will stop at nothing to get money out of you. Don't trust them...

You can't make a blanket statement like that from one person and preach it as Gospel (much like people did with Jesus). An incredibly small sample size but yet a so definite statement.

It's to do with toyota (and most manufacturer dealerships) policy, which is why he saw exactly the same stuff in multiple dealerships across 3 states. Also I talked about what I would do. The only thing I preached about was service advisors, they are all on commission at toyota dealerships, this is a fact....

Most dealerships in Australia make more money from service than sales.

[tngster]

I called the workshop that did the RWC cert and told them about what Ultratune said. They told me to bring it in tomorrow for them to have a look at it. (obviously it's gonna cost me money). They said that different companies have different interpretations of what is roadworthy and what isn't... I'm probably gonna lose money either way.. sighhh

[tngster]

went to the workshop which did the roadworthy certification this morning. They took the car and put it on the lift. Head mechanic there took me around the car and showed me the bushes and told me that it wasn't going to be a problem.. he said that the front rear bushes had 'fractures' on them but it was normal for a car thats 16 years old. He moved the wheel around and stuff a crowbar through it and there was slight movement but not anything that would create metal-metal contact. Same for the other bushes that Ultratune pointed out. He said that I can replace it if i want but it's not gonna be essential right now.

Seems like Ultratune was just trying to make money... or trying to make my car ride a really stiff one.

[SecaBoy]

Andrew357: do you work at ultratune or something? you seem to go on and on about them.

:P hehe

[Andrew357]

Andrew357: do you work at ultratune or something? you seem to go on and on about them.

:P hehe

Remember the Fortitude Valley one screwed up the driveshaft install! I'm just saying you can't make a blanket generalisation and preach it as if it were Gospel.

For the first 2 years of being a hoon I took my car to UltraTune Rocklea and I had no issues whatsoever.

With regards to the bushes, if they are cracked/broken while you can technically still use them you probably should replace them.

[rollaurion]

Seems like Ultratune was just trying to make money... or trying to make my car ride a really stiff one.

Without knowing exactly what ultratune said to you, I think that's unfair. It would be standard practise for mechanics to recomend replacing cracked bushes.

[4ABHGE]

Learn to DIY and invest in tooling. Saved a billyun dorrahs that way.

[tngster]

Learn to DIY and invest in tooling. Saved a billyun dorrahs that way.

I would love to do everything on my own. However, I'm a temp resident in Melbourne and I don't know how long more I will have with my Camry.. but my friend does.. hmmm

[viper33]

Personally I agree with those above about finding a good local mechanic who runs his own business. I avoid commercial garages (Ultratune, Kmart etc) but most especially avoid Toyota Dealerships. The only reason I would ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work, and even then only if unavoidable.

My Mechanic was a level 3 Toyota Tech, and worked in multiple dealerships across Australia. He left because he could no longer live with what they were doing. Seriously talk to this guy for just 10 minutes and you'd never go to another Toyota dealership for maintenance. For a start people should know that so called 'Service Advisers' get most of their income from commission. They exist to upsell to customers and will stop at nothing to get money out of you. Don't trust them...

The last part about service advisors making money from upsells is true, see plenty of that at my work every day. Some of the most **** selfish (I am an idiot i swear) ive met. So if they see an old asian lady who doesn't speak very good english or knows anything about cars, they've hit their jackpot(not intended to be a racist statement). I've seen them upsell stuff like power steering flush without even looking at the fluid. The techs send them a quote for stuff the car needs like brakes and tyres and the service advisor instead upsells stuff like wheel alignments and throttle body cleans, which is great if you get pulled over on bald tyres.

But the upside of taking your car to a dealership(ie toyota at toyota, ford at ford etc) is the fact that the mechanics and apprentices work on the same model cars day in and day out. They know them very well and know exactly what to look for and common faults. So your small workshop mechanic at times may take 4 hours to diagnose a problem whereas the dealership tech will do it in 1 coz hes seen it in plenty of cars before. And the more time a mechanic spends on diagnosing the more its costing you.

[tngster]

Personally I agree with those above about finding a good local mechanic who runs his own business. I avoid commercial garages (Ultratune, Kmart etc) but most especially avoid Toyota Dealerships. The only reason I would ever take my car to a dealership is for warranty work, and even then only if unavoidable.

My Mechanic was a level 3 Toyota Tech, and worked in multiple dealerships across Australia. He left because he could no longer live with what they were doing. Seriously talk to this guy for just 10 minutes and you'd never go to another Toyota dealership for maintenance. For a start people should know that so called 'Service Advisers' get most of their income from commission. They exist to upsell to customers and will stop at nothing to get money out of you. Don't trust them...

The last part about service advisors making money from upsells is true, see plenty of that at my work every day. Some of the most **** selfish (I am an idiot i swear) ive met. So if they see an old asian lady who doesn't speak very good english or knows anything about cars, they've hit their jackpot(not intended to be a racist statement). I've seen them upsell stuff like power steering flush without even looking at the fluid. The techs send them a quote for stuff the car needs like brakes and tyres and the service advisor instead upsells stuff like wheel alignments and throttle body cleans, which is great if you get pulled over on bald tyres.

But the upside of taking your car to a dealership(ie toyota at toyota, ford at ford etc) is the fact that the mechanics and apprentices work on the same model cars day in and day out. They know them very well and know exactly what to look for and common faults. So your small workshop mechanic at times may take 4 hours to diagnose a problem whereas the dealership tech will do it in 1 coz hes seen it in plenty of cars before. And the more time a mechanic spends on diagnosing the more its costing you.

I think i'll be taking my car to my mate's mechanic out in rowville. They work on his AE86 Trueno alot and hate him for that. Nevertheless, they'll be honest and upfront about things(here's hoping).