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February 1, 2009
Why DIY is so popular
With the weather in Jasper dipping to a bone chilling -35 degrees on some nights, we decided to look into a block heater for the Tacoma. Why it wasn't fitted with one to start with I cannot understand but that was something I should have thought of before leaving Ontario.
It would have been a better idea in Ontario, as our home dealership in Renfrew, George Jackson Toyota, quoted me a price of $85 plus a half hour labour for the install. Unfortunately, I was calling from Jasper to get the quote so it was really only a research exercise. When I called dealerships in Edmonton, they quoted the same price for the part but were asking for an hour's worth of labour for the install.
In the past, I might have paid this and just chalked up the extra cost to bad consumer research on my part. Luckily, in my travels and adventures around Australia, I spent a fair amount of time working on and learning about vehicles and basic mechanics. For a few minutes spent online I was able to find someone else who had done a self install on their own Tacoma and provided a few pictures.
To sum things up, I was able to install the block heater myself and save all the labour charges. That and I was able to do it in 35 minutes...and that's by crawling underneath the truck, lieing on a tarp in the middle of a nice, warm January day to do it. To think that with a garage, a hoist and prior knowledge of the details of installation, it would take anyone an hour to do the job is a little outrageous. I'm also a little peeved with how dealerships/garages charge a flat rate typically associated with a master mechanic's wages, even for jobs that are guaranteed to be passed on to the apprentice making less than a third of his wages.
And that's why I reckon that Do It Yourself is as popular as it is these days. Everyday, people are encountering ridiculous prices for things that most people can accomplish themselves.
Empower yourself and save a bit of cash. That's my tip for the global recession.
Posted by Dr.Unk at February 1, 2009 12:52 AM
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