Import Discrimination

[thelinja]

Well, I got my new clutch this week and I called around to a few shops to see if I could get a quote for installation. The only place that would actually install the thing was the dealer, and they wanted $600 and 2 days.:mad: All of the other places I contacted said "Oh, we don't "do" imports." I stopped at a place on my way home from work the other day and they told me the same thing. However, as I was walking out, I saw a Benz, and a Camry in the garage on lifts. I walked back in and asked the guy why he turned my business down if he has two foreign cars in the garage. He said they were in for just a basic maintainence. By the looks of it, the Benz was getting a full brake job, and I'm not sure about the Toyota.
My question is :
Why does it seem that you almost have to go to an "import specialist" if you want any kind of work done on a foreign car? Are imports and domestics really THAT different? Granted, the 240 is the first car I have actually WORKED on and I have never had experience working on a domestic car before. But then again, this is Indiana where nearly every other car on the road is either a 5.0 or an F-body and I can understand if there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to RWD I4's.

btw : I've decided to save the money and install the clutch with the help of a friend who has experience.

[KiDyNomiTe]

I don't see why they can't install a stinking clutch. I never thought you would have problems with that. Afterall its a car with a tranny, can't be that different.

[Bbandit]

screw them
do it yourself
get a friend or two to help you out
not really hard... but it will consume a lot of times

hell if i live near you, i'll help

[thx247]

its because the domestic shops dont have tools in metric :D

[S14TiNMAN]

do it yourself. save big bucks!:p

[FRpilot]

yea do it yourself. if its your first time, it might take you a while to take out everything. but after your first time, changing a clutch will be like a cakewalk. acutally, i changed my entire clutch and redid the lines all by myself. you probably only need a few friends to help you reallign the tranny. it would help to have someone hand you tools and stuff too but you can do it all by yourself.

[thelinja]

Originally posted by thx247
its because the domestic shops dont have tools in metric :D
Nah, I just think it's because they are biased. All three of the other cars we have are domestic and they use a lot of metric sockets.

[misnomer]

Meh, they likely have enough domestics to fill the garages with. It is the businesses choice what they work on (whether it's good business for them or not is their decision). So suck it up and bust out your tools :P

[weirdstyles.net]

Iv'e gotten that all over the place. Theres a place around my way Kaspers Korner, 7 second stang, 9 sec Mark VIII and what have you... their fast ****. Their only suggestion to me was low profile rims and nitrious.

My plan, by the time I am thrity, to know everything about cars. Including body work, paint, mechanics, electronics and shizzle so I only have to hand my keys over for alignments, a/c evap. recov. recharge and other bs that requires overly exspensive tools. Other than that I wanna do it all on my lonesome..

[Downfall]

I work at a dealership. Free labor and all the tools you need. I dont make a lot of money their due to the fact im only 18 and mostly just change oil but ive saved tons of money on stuff i would have had to pay for. Plus ive got access to OBDII scanners when my CEL comes on.