Help Emergency! Dealer wants to swindle my mom!

[sgw_88FoxGT]

This is a non-5.0 question but I figure people here might know the answer.

My mother's 2001 Camry's driver's side window needs a new motor. The dealer wants to charge her $483 to put in a new one! Does anyone have any experience with the Camrys, replacing the motors/regulator? Can I do this myself? The most work I've ever done inside a door is fixing my Fox's door lock actuator.

I want to do it myself but I don't want to screw it up but I also do not want the dealer swindling my mom.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I tried to put a new window motor in my mom's ;02 Durango.

Needless to say...the dealer ended up doing that job for me.


Check with autobody shops. They can sometimes do the install for you. Have you priced a new motor?

 

[stykthyn]

you should be able to replace the motor yourself, it is not that different from the fox motor

 

[Beasty306GT]

i think there held in with bolts...not like fords use rivits ...same as any other car i would assume do it urself..Buy it at autozone so the dealership dont rape you.

 

[MAC'n89Blckstng]

Toyotas are pretty much extremely easy to work on. All the models are very straight forward. If you a mechanically inclined do it. That price doesn't sound too bad. I'm guessin its writtin up for 3.5 hours labor and the rest is the cost of the part. Most dealerships get around 95 an hour.

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

My mother's 2001 Camry's driver's side window needs a new motor. The dealer wants to charge her $483 to put in a new one! Does anyone have any experience with the Camrys, replacing the motors/regulator? Can I do this myself? The most work I've ever done inside a door is fixing my Fox's door lock actuator

.


ive acually done a couple of these they are easy actually..

 

[Fett]

I checked on-line, you can get the motor seperatly from your local parts store, should run you around $70. The A1 Cardone part number is 47-1103 for the left front motor. From the looks of it, the motor is held in with three bolts....as is the norm.

Your best bet is to remove the door panel and plastic protector and take a look yourself. Most window motors are not hard, usually just three bolts...the hardest part is getting the motor back in the regulator...which is normally done blind, with a lot of turning of the motor to get the gear to sit in the regulator. Just be sure to have someone hold the glass in place with the window up when you remove the motor. You don't want the glass falling down into the door when you pop the motor off.

Take a good look at the regulator first, they might be replacing the whole assy because the regulator is bad.

 

[JrzyBullitt]

I'm sure you can DIY it. See if there's any info on Toyota forums. I had a heater part break in my Dakota which would've cost me about $100, but I checked some Dakota forums for the symptoms and found the fix. It was an $11.00 part but in a place I NEVER would've found it.

Thank goodness Al Gore gave us this internet thingy. LOL!!

 

[old_blue]

I did it on my 01 VW and it was easy. I dont see it being a problem you cant handle.

 

[93 teal terror]

I spent a couple of hours yesterday rebuilding a window motor from a 95 Nissan 240. It was just held in with screws. The driver side motor is the one that always dies, so its impossible to find one at a JY. We found a passenger side and just rebuilt the electric motor with parts from it. Pretty simple and cost $7 instead of the $500+ the dealer wants just for the motor, not including installation.

 

[sgw_88FoxGT]

Thanks a lot guys. I'll look at it myself today or tomorrow.

 

[68stang351]

If the motor is available seperately it shouldn't be too hard. However, if the motor and regulator must be replaced together as an assembly it could turn into a pain in the ass.

 

[sgw_88FoxGT]

Found out from the dealer that they were gonna charge my mom $291 for the motor. Unbelievable.

 

[Beasty306GT]

So what happened? They fix or did you?

 

[Fett]

Found out from the dealer that they were gonna charge my mom $291 for the motor. Unbelievable.

That's motor alone, or motor/regulator assembly? Just curious.

 

[5spd GT]

I dislike many service departments at dealerships, through some personal experience.

Try having a $2,000 bill and fixing it all in 30 minutes, for $40.

I just replaced a IABC valve two weeks ago on a '99 Accord and was going to be charged $250 from a local guy. I did it for $116.99 (cost of part).

A dealership would have been well into $500.

A local Nissan Dealership told me that they charge $84.XX an hour in their service deparment.

 

[QUICK91LX]

its easy...i work on toyotas for a living and can have a regulator swapped out in less than 20 minutes, the motor is also easy...everything is bolted in

my dealership charges $110/hr for labor...yeah...

factory OEM parts are ALWAYS expensive and dealerships charge alot for labor, and often will replace things as systems rather than just a single part, making the cost add up. i just did an alternator job on an 03 focus zts used car and i did the alternator, battery and serpentine belt. no sense in having the charging system apart 3 seperate times, so all were done at once. its not swindling, just trying to sell the "whole" job

 

[QUICK91LX]

That's motor alone, or motor/regulator assembly? Just curious.

they arent sold as an assembly, they come seperately. and that price sounds about right

 

[MAC'n89Blckstng]

Where are you workin now bill!?

 

[Fett]

they arent sold as an assembly, they come seperately. and that price sounds about right

Yea I called today...very expensive for a motor by itself. That price sounded like an assy...but I'm comparing it to Ford parts.

Either way, it is a motor that is available outside for much cheaper...that's the route I would go, and do the labor yourself.

I wonder if it could just be the bushings to begin with....a $5 fix.