A bit of a vent session… How typical is it for a shop to take way longer to get to your car than they said? Dropped car on Jan 29th, was supposed to be done by Feb 10th… haven’t even gotten to it yet. This is for the transmission and hydraulic clutch install. I’d be inclined to pick up my parts and car to take somewhere else… but everywhere else is a month minimum wait and my Truck is also in the shop, so can’t physically move transmission kit.

This shop appears to be reputable based on online reviews, but I can’t stand being strung along with nonsense timelines.

 

I'm not surprised. With the rise in pricing and new vehicle backlog orders, many Americans are keeping their cars longer or purchasing used cars. Shops are getting busy and some waiting for parts taking up space. On top of shortage of skilled workers, who knows what else could the reason. Hate to say it, but if your inline to get repairs, don't step out. Your wait might be longer. Contact the shop and ask them where in line you are with the repairs. If they as reputable as you hear, you should get there honest truth and see what the reason is. From there you can determine what to do.

 

@Turbo86 i hear you… I have a Jeep that’s been sitting in a shop since mid-December because it needs a new PCM. 2 months later, 2 faulty replacements from Jeep and the wait continues. I’m just pissed because I asked these guys what the lead time was as soon as I bought the transmission kit several weeks before it shipped. They told me a week. Parts arrived on the 28th, car dropped on the 29th… told me it would be down when I returned on Feb 9th. 2 weeks ago the car was going to be going up on the lift in a couple days. Last week I’m told there are 2 big projects in front of me, so could be another week or more. I’ll call them end of this weeks to see what’s the latest. I’m even more irked because I have a bunch of little stuff waiting to go on the car and I could have been done with it all by now if they weren’t stringing me along a week at a time.

 

Even with a good shop it can be the luck of the draw. I have scheduled shops before, a long time ago. You start the week thinking I have 65% of the time slots filled. By Monday afternoon you have 130% of the time scheduled for the week just in problems you found on Monday jobs. The week before I had 70% of the time slots filled on Monday and I am sending guys home early on Friday. Your car may be straight forward but the guy right before you was schedule for a water pump and now needs head gaskets. This even happens at dealers with warranty repairs. If they have a loner they may be the last car on the list.

Yes It is not fair but I have put guys toys aside for someone that need their car to get to work or pick up their kids. This is more of a problem as the shop get smaller.

All you can do is let them know how you feel and ask for an updated date.

 

Thanks Gorn, this makes sense. Appreciate the perspective.

 

Well, it finally happened… the work got done and I got my car back on Saturday. Took 6 weeks instead of 8 days, but at least it’s done. Just put the new tires on today, so I had a little fun with it.

The result… wow, Wow, WOW, what a difference gears can make! It’s a completely different car, in the best possible way. To summarize the work done so far: Tremec TKX with .68 OD replacing Borg Warner T10, McLeod hydraulic clutch replacing mechanical, Posi & 3.73 gears replacing open diff w/ 3.08s. I’m still going easy with no hard shifts until the new clutch is broken in, but if I’m being honest… I still put her through the paces…

The motor used to bog at low rpm’s in 1st and take forever to get up in the power band. Now, I stab it more than half throttle from any rpm in 1st or 2nd, and most of 3rd, the tires go up. Pulls hard at any rpm 1st through 4th, assuming I have traction. Feels like the car found an extra 100hp. I was concerned the tall OD w/ 3.73s might be an issue for regular street driving, but she cruises very comfortably in 5th at anything over 50 mph. The car is just so much more drivable now and FUN!

However, my bank account hurts now, so will be a bit before any major changes. Going to poke around a few body shops and research suspension upgrades to keep me inspired.

Thanks for reading and really appreciate all the advice along the way!