Mobile Mechanic

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
12/20/2016 at 21:47 • Filed to: None

The starter died on my 03 Odyssey last Saturday. AAA towed it home for me, and today, a mobile mechanic came out to my house and installed a new starter.

I called Honda on Saturday to see about a proper replacement starter. They wanted $416 for the part (with a $30 core charge). I came home and dialed up a Denso starter on Amazon: $128. And, I had a $20 credit, so the price went down to $108. I went ahead and paid the extra $10 to get it here a day early. James arrived this evening around 6:00pm to install it. He worked into the dark and charged me $160 for the labor. I paid him $200. So, all in all, I was without the van for three days, but I ended up paying less for the entire repair than Honda wanted to charge for the part alone. Winner winner chicken dinner.

Check out the work light attached to the hood. It’s an LED light that is designed to be mounted on a floor stand. He retrofitted a large magnet to the mounting bracket, sort of like one of those old refrigerator magnet hooks your grandma had. Brilliant.

DISCUSSION (21)

jkm7680 > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 21:51

Tell em to shove $416

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 21:53

Nice!

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 21:57

Kinja'd!!!

I have the previous version of the Joby Gorrilatorch. (Picture is the new one, damn should’ve asked for this for Christmas!). It’s pretty much the ultimate worklight for auto repairs. The feet are magnetic, and you can’t find steel, you can usually curl the legs around something to get it where you need light. It has a fully adjustable dimmer and it runs pretty log on a set of batteries since it’s an LED. The one I have stand to be a bit brighter if you’re working in a large area, but I think the newer model has been updated with the latest LED’s to solve that.

ttyymmnn > jkm7680
12/20/2016 at 21:57

I pretty much did, just not to their face.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 21:57

I’ve heard rumors that if you’re ever stranded with a bad starter. A big hit with a hammer will get it to work just one last time.

Fortunately I’ve never been in a position to find out.

Urambo Tauro > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
12/20/2016 at 21:58

Yup, that works... sometimes.

ttyymmnn > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
12/20/2016 at 21:58

You couldn’t have gotten to the starter in the Oddy with a hammer. He had to remove the battery and the battery tray just to get to it.

MM54 > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
12/20/2016 at 22:08

Depends how it fails - sometimes a good flailing on will get it working for quite a while!

gmctavish needs more space > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
12/20/2016 at 22:28

I was in the middle of nowhere in Ontario, and the starter in my Blazer decided to stop doing anything, at all. Just clicking. It had always been ornery, but never not started. I got under it, hit it with a hammer a few times, and she started right up. That was 2 years ago, and the same starter is still in the truck, starting away.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 22:37

Did you tell the dealer to go eat a rear main seal and get lost for that price?

jkm7680 > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 23:01

Well that’s no fun!

Flavien Vidal > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time
12/20/2016 at 23:02

Or you drive a manual and just push start it :)

Orange Exige > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 23:14

Working in the dark sucks... :(

This is coming from a guy who has not spent a penny on- let alone invested in- worklights for working on my car.

Luckily last Christmas I got a 19.2v Craftsman power tool set that included a surprisingly awesome flashlight. It gets really hot and isn’t LED, but it’s bright and effective. Sure beats the free Harbor Freight flashlight. And killing the car’s battery pointing/reflecting the headlights off the garage ceiling. (#miniproblems I didn’t kill the battery the first time doing that... second time was the charm I guess)

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn
12/20/2016 at 23:33

I often think I could make good money and keep a lot of people happy doing this kind of gig.

ttyymmnn > RallyWrench
12/20/2016 at 23:55

This guy really seemed to be enjoying himself. I spent the whole time outside talking with him. Great guy.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
12/21/2016 at 00:39

Awesome sauce and a side of fries.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
12/21/2016 at 00:46

I figured $200 was a fair price. That’s what I get for playing 3 songs at a wedding.

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn
12/21/2016 at 10:47

Honda parts often are in BMW/Merc territorry. The cars may not need parts that often, but if they they can be pretty costly compared to other non luxury brands.

Die-Trying > Flavien Vidal
12/21/2016 at 12:00

start parking with it backed up an incline.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
12/21/2016 at 19:22

Tipping is always nice. He’ll be responsive next time you call him.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
12/21/2016 at 19:32

I don’t think I really thought of it as a tip. I just thought he deserved more for coming out at night to get us back on the road.