I'm hoping you guys can help me make up my mind before tomorrow morning.

Today my alternator crapped out on me.[:@] I was driving along and my battery light came on. I pulled over and stopped. Turned it of, and attempted to turn it back on and it clicked. First thought was it was just the battery. So I waited a while and started it up. I went straight to Murrays to get a battery. But I asked if he could test it first to make sure. I never wanted to have a bad battery so bad in my life!!! I'll be darned if it didn't charge right up. So I knew it was the alternator. Called around and got prices from $650 (Firestone) to $1450 (Audi Stealership). What should I do? Trust that Firestone has the know how to fix my car and if they do screw something up have the decency to fix it. Or have the peace of mind of taking it to the stealerhip. The guy at the stealership said that his best, fastest, mechanic on a good day can get it done in about 5 hours. Firestone said it was a 3 hr job. Audi said that they have basically take the whole front end off. I just called another Audi certified shop and they quoted me $610. They said that you can put the car in "service position". The the front end pulls out about 6 inches and that he'll need it for about a day. Does that sound right?

HELP!!!!

This aint my 1998 Blazer that I changed the alternator on in 30 minutes.[]

 

If you know how to take off your bumper, and pull the lock carrier forwards its pretty easy to do yourself.

 

If your alternator is the same, or similar to my 97 A6, all you may really need is a new regulator, $85. The regulator contains new brushes and is easy to remove and reinstall, if you don't have to remove the alternator to access the regulator (two screws and unplug wire harness) My Volvo's used the same type regulator and were easy to replace, evenwithout removing the alternator, even with an alternator that had more than 275k, as long as the armature bearings aren't shot!

 

Me doing it myself is not an option. so who do you guys suggest I go to?

 

Just talked to Firestone. They're going to use an AC Delco alternator. Will this be ok?

 

uhm...AC delco's belong on camaros and firebirds...but..they could hold up, but I would not put anything on the car unless it says BOSCH on it. Look around..You will find one for less than the dealer or firestone. Then you just pay a bit more for labor. Do a search on AUDI graveyards and I bet they pull those and shelf them. That is gonna be your best price...

 

prbayha - i hear what ya sayin. i feel the same way. but my thinking is that a well known company like AC Delco wouldn't make it if it didn't work for what it's made for. My main concern really was should I trust that the Firestones techs will have a frikkin clue? I really don't have the $1400 to spend, but I don't want to end up spending more later. Dilemma [:'(]

 

The Delco will be fine, at the shop I work at that pretty much all we use. We're kinda leery about other brands. As for taking it to an Audi stealer (as you say and in this case, true), how do you know the tech there didn't work at Firestone last week. There's a lot of good techs out there, (bad ones too) just pick a respectable shop and the price may suprise you.

Good luck
Bill