I am always amazed....

[cruiseroutfit]

So I get a call today from a kid looking for a birf/inner combo....

him: So the shop says my birf and axle are ruined...
me: what made them think that?

him: Well, the other side was broken..
me: So do you need one set or two?

him: just one, they already bought the broken side but then called to tell me this side was broke as well.
me: OK, well I have all the stuff you need, $107 for the axle, birf, clips and the needed seals...

him: Wait a minute, they just charged me $1000 for the other side... and your parts are only $107?
me: WHAT!?!

He imediatly drives over...

He took it to a general 4x4 shop after hearing a bad noise in his open FJ40 front end. They tear one side apart to discover a broken birf and the inner axle ruined as a result of driving on it... sounds resonable to me.... But they go on to charge him $450 in parts, and $500 for labor... ON ONE SIDE!. He could have bought an entire front end for that much...

Then just as he goes to pick it up, he gets a call saying that while reassembling the other side, they found a crack in the birf... and the axle needs replacing as well... I call BS and he is going to bring ALL the old parts here... He tells them not to touch a thing and he comes and gets the parts... Boy is he venting when I show him all the parts I have in stock.... that they wainted 1 week to get from som other vendor (he presumes $OR)....

How do shops sleep at night robbing people like this?

[fj40_rico]

I've done things like that but not that extreme.

I went wheeling with a buddy of mine, and broke exhaust system. took it the shop and they said "oh, it will be about 170.00, well, after 3 calls I ended up paying close to $300.




...Bastards

[cruiseroutfit]

Sad thing is, the kid and the cruiser live down in Orem... Kruzrtek could have come over here, got the parts, fixed the kids rig in a couple hours and $400ish rather than 2 weeks and a $1500....

Rico, if I ever attempt to scam you like that... smack me....

BTW, you still owe me a valve cover gasket....

But I know where you work...

[wngrog]

My friend that lives out there bought a SM465 and 3 speed case from me.

He took it to a General 4x4 shop and they talked him into rebuilding the case and charged him about $2000 in labor.

I felt terrible about it.

He had $3000 in an SM465/3 speed swap behind a 350.

Sucks to be naive.

[Big DW]

Originally posted by cruiseroutfit
How do shops sleep at night robbing people like this?

How you ask?

Because, more and more people in this world have lost all moral fiber and they don't know where they lost it...some even take great satisfaction in seeing how much they can take a customer for....Kurt, guys like you are trying to even things out....I garantee that you have a customer for life...make sure he turns them into the BBB...I got taken like this guy one time and I went back afterwards and made sure the guy knew I was going to go way out of my way to let people know what a crook he was....sad thing is....thousands of people out there don't even know that they have been taken....

[fj40_rico]

and you still owe me a call about the stickers and your website.

I need to get some other stuff from you. ( bushings for the doors)
here...

[cruiseroutfit]

Originally posted by SpongeMan
......thousands of people out there don't even know that they have been taken....

True, true...

I had another FJ40 over here a couple months back that was the victim of another shop scam....

He has an 77' FJ40, now sporting drum brakes on the front... he didn't even realize how crappy they were til' I informed him. Prior to having me do work on his cruiser... he was having it done at a now defunct cruiser shop. He had a broken DB spindle as a result of seized wheel bearings. So rather than calling around and finding a used spindle (I have several).. they sell him on a "complete hub-hub" axle... but it is drum brake... It was recently rebuilt and stops fine, but $1100 later he now sprts drums... and this is from a shop that KNOWS the big picture behind disc vs drums on a FJ40... please....

[cruiseroutfit]

Originally posted by wngrog
...He had $3000 in an SM465/3 speed swap behind a 350.

Sucks to be naive.

True, true... Luckily this kid found me by our website...

I gave him the contact info for the Wasatch Cruisers... and IH8Mud...

Between our club and the tech links on IH8mud... this kid could have done the work himself... He is rather smart, just had no idea there were "cruiser specialty" shops in the area...

Spread the word... no more scam shops....

[cruiseroutfit]

Originally posted by fj40_rico
and you still owe me a call about the stickers and your website.
...

Doh!... BTW the stickers are way nice.. we'll have to get chatting... bushings, in stock.... You putting your top back on soon... I am riding out the fall... I usually put my top on in a snowstorm...

[fj40_rico]

Originally posted by cruiseroutfit


Doh!... BTW the stickers are way nice.. we'll have to get chatting... bushings, in stock.... You putting your top back on soon... I am riding out the fall... I usually put my top on in a snowstorm...

I've been driving down to Spanish Fork to get help from cruizr69 on a seat craddle, so I put the top on so my wife would feel better about it.

I am taking the top of as soon as I get the craddle done.

- Rico.

[cruiseroutfit]

Originally posted by fj40_rico
...help from cruizr69 on a seat craddle, ...

Sweet, Tony is an awesome guy, sweet FJ40 too! I want to see your cradle when it is all finished... power seats and all....

[mantis]

I know a guy in Houston that took his 74 fj40 to Just Brakes to have his brakes done... 4 wheel (drum) brake job... $1200... and I feel guilty when I sell a complete disc front for $400 that needs new pads.

-mike.

[kruzrtek]

Well Kurt, did you give him my contact info??
Or did you scam me??

BTW, do I know these aforementioned shop?

Thanks
Rich
Kruzrtek
kruzrtk@xmission.com

[cruiseroutfit]

Well, I am actually excited...

Our local TLCA club, The Wasatch Cruisers, is working on making a flyer that we can all carry to place on cruisers we see around town. I truely beleive that once your a member of a club, you can start saving money big time... I know that there are guys in our club that are always willing to lend a hand to fix a broken rig....

This particular kid was asking if he could watch me next time I do a birf swap... I was half-tempted to show him how it can be done in 30 mins and take the chance to grease my longs.... but I just told him to come on our next club run.... We always seem to fix a broken birf or two...

[cruiseroutfit]

Originally posted by kruzrtek
Well Kurt, did you give him my contact info??
Or did you scam me??

BTW, do I know these aforementioned shop?

Thanks
Rich
Kruzrtek
kruzrtk@xmission.com

He is going to get ahold of me for ANY future work.. I made him promise ... He was a really nice younger kid that felt horrible about being raped... be sure that you and I will be working with him in the future. As soon as his truck is out of the other shop, he asked if he could bring it over, the toe of us are going to walk through it and make a "priority list".... should be a good chance to get him set... he plans on keeping this truck for sometime.

As for the shops... my lips are sealed... I don't do the bashing thing... I let them bash themselves...

But none of them were DJ's Trac. Sys. ...may it RIP.... DJ was a great mechanic, he just found something better for him. Can't blame him....

[65-fj45]

It's nice to know that there are still some honest shops left.
Thanks

[fj40fax]

I NEVER buy ANYTHING without calling Kurt. In fact, the ony things on my cruiser that I didn't buy from Kurt, are the head (from Trent, a Wasatch Cruiser and great guy), and the bikini top my wife got me for X-mas. I wish I knew him and kruzrtek when a shop charged me $150 to raise my idle. Stupid, stupid, stupid, but learning.

Fax

[Erik D_lux]

Ahhhh reminds me of the days.......

When I first got my cruiser I blew the cross pin in the rear end. It took out my whole 3rd member basicaly. I took it to Jack it and they charged me over $1700 to replace the 3rd memeber and install a lockright!!!! $1700!!!!!!!! Still pissed about that to this day.

Fuuuuuuccccckkkkkk you Jack it!!!!!!!!!!!

[71RCKCRZR RYAN]

damn....i hate shops like that

i would have charged him only 1399.00 to change a birf......

nah but really .......how could you sleep knowing that you screw people daily....

to the shops

[FJ40man]

What happened to DJ? I left Utah several years ago and know DJ when he still worked at another 4x4 shop in SLC. DJ is a great guy. I miss Moab! I didn't have any dents in my cruiser until I moved up here and started wheelin in the PNW. Trees are way to tight. I would like to put in some full width axles but then I don't think that I could wheel it here locally.

[FX2]

I had some crappy experience, when I was trying to fix my first 'Cruiser - it was '74 FJ40 in 1996-1997. I was a college student that time and I was living in Edmonds/North Seattle area, WA. First, I've ended up spending several hundred $$$ on my front end rebuld and getting used KYB shocks. I found guys through newspaper ad. Well, I was dumb and young and I didn't own any tools that time. Later on, I've hired 'em to do Chevy V8 coversion with SM-420 and 3-sp Toy x-case - it took 'em about 2 months and they put a blue smoke blowin' Chevy 305 out of 70something MonteCarlo. I don't rember how much I paid them but it was something around 1.5K. Being student and having a part-time job was really hard on me. I aslo had troubles with ignition and starting this thing up every morning. I've ended up spuning a rod and selling it with a blown engine to some Boeing employee for $1400.
Now, I am in Russia, Moscow. Prices are just outrageous. How would do you like about $600 - $700 for one ring and pinion kit? Now I am desperate to finish my 2nd 'Cruiser
Kurt - are there any news on my card? I'll give you a ring on Tuesday.

[Erik D_lux]

Originally posted by FJ40man
What happened to DJ? I left Utah several years ago and know DJ when he still worked at another 4x4 shop in SLC. DJ is a great guy. I miss Moab! I didn't have any dents in my cruiser until I moved up here and started wheelin in the PNW. Trees are way to tight. I would like to put in some full width axles but then I don't think that I could wheel it here locally.

You and I are long lost twins

I moved from SLC about 3 yrs ago up here to portland. I didnt understand what a tight trail, nor body damage from anything else then a roll over was.

DJ has been gone from "that shop" if (its the same one I am thinking of) for quite sometime, maybe 5 yrs

[cruiserman]

The dealer will charge ~$1000 for a knuckle rebuild and not touch the birfields.

[woody]

I've been a lucky one....first shop I ever took my Cruiser to, the guy charged me $400 to completely rework the entire drum brake system...labor, shoes, one replacement drum, maching, and 3-4 cylinders. 2nd trip in was $500 for a clutch replacement. After those two, I realized even that "cheap" price was gonna kill me, so he took me in as a free assistant. 3 hours a day M-F plus weekends, and he taught me everything I needed to know about working on vehicles. Even reached the point where some projects he just refused to attempt, since he knew I was better at them (wiring, for instance!)

[TRT2]

you know what Kurt...

If someone buys a cruiser and does not know about the various Clubs, chapters, BBs and TLCA, they can easily be taken into believing there are no other options. Many TLCA members are first time cruiser owners and they learn... heck, I'm sure each of us have a story or two about paying too much for an item until we learned other avenues to get stuff or what their true value is.

Kudos to you for helping him!