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Hand-written by Devon — former restoration shop owner. Parts cost, labor hours, scam-quote markers, and the warranty paths most owners miss. No fabricated stats, no SEO filler — the kind of breakdown you’d get if you called a friend who actually fixes these cars for a living.
Each guide walks the repair mechanic-side: what the labor actually involves, the parts cost band, the scam-quote markers to watch for, and the coverage paths most owners never check.
F-150, Expedition, Navigator 2004–2008. Two-piece plug design breaks during removal — that is what drives the bill from $600 to $2,000+.
Outback, Legacy, Forester, Impreza, Baja 1999–2014. Boxer engines need both gaskets done — MLS upgrade is what keeps you out of the engine a second time.
1GR-FE 4.0L V6 (2005–2015) and 2GR-FKS 3.5L V6 (2016+). Chains stretch, guides wear, tensioners weaken — diagnosis before approval matters here.
A repair-cost guide gives you the population-level range for a specific repair on a specific platform. That’s useful — it tells you whether the shop’s number is inside the documented band or outside it. But it can’t tell you whether the repair is actually warranted on your VIN, whether a TSB or class-action applies, or whether the scope of the quote matches the symptom.
The Mini Verdict (free) takes your VIN and mileage and returns three high-signal reveals — typically a warranty-extension hit, a TSB you didn’t know about, or a platform-specific failure pattern that the shop should have already mentioned. The Full Verdict ($129) takes your actual shop quote, line by line, and scores it against your VIN, your mileage, your zip code’s labor-rate band, and the 730+ pattern failure-mode database.
You don’t need either to use these guides. Read first. Verdict if and when you decide it’s worth the second opinion.
Apply it to your car
Reading the cost guide is free. Applying it to your VIN is the Verdict.
The Mini Verdict is free and takes 60 seconds. The Full Verdict scores your shop’s actual quote line by line.