Wheels24 editor Janine Van der Post recently had to replace quite a few parts on her old 1998 Toyota Corolla, and was reminded of such a valuable lesson in the process...

I proudly own a 1998 Toyota Corolla RSI. 20Valve, Blacktop - I have to throw this in because anyone who is an enthusiast of the car, knows how special these cars are. Yes, he's 24-years old, but he's been real good to me and still drives pretty well (The car that is, haha). When I bought it in Johannesburg fourteen years ago, I was not as wise, and still in a phase of my life where I needed to change the original wheels and grill. I also changed the filter and exhaust. "Cape Town stock" subtle modifications we called it. And I still made more power at Dyno Days than the Joburg boys with their "chipped" RSIs, and faster on the 400m run at Tarlton Raceway track days. They didn't like me very much.

Regardless, I kept my hand on it, changed the oil and spark plugs pedantically almost every 1000km, even when I hardly drove it. The result was a sweet-running engine with more than 380 000km on the clock before it had its first overhaul not too long ago. Fast forward a few years later and my parents now drive it so my obsession to keep it serviced frequently died down. However, as I got older, I wanted the competition clutch to come out so it would be easier for my elderly parents to drive without so much bite. The shortened shocks also came and bit me in the bum when they needed replacing - a costly exercise.  So here's the thing about your car - you need to have a vested interest in it. It should never just be an object to get you from Point A to Point B. And, it definitely isn't just about checking the oil and water once in a while. When the petrol attendant at the filling station asks if he can check your levels on your older vehicle - always say, "yes, please!"

My Corolla had Ian Glass shortened shocks. The go-to man when you wanted this done in Cape Town, and the legend that he is, is still working. I paired it back then with Eibach springs. I decided to get a set of coilovers instead of the conventional Gabriel or Monroe shocks one would usually go for. It meant I needed to make a few visits to suppliers and make a few calls to get some prices and source what I was looking for. Like everything else, prices have sky-rocketed. Years back you'd pay R3500 for some 'coilies' and even that sounded like an arm and a leg to fork out. Now, they cost about R7000 a set. Ouch. 

I called my regular supplier and even his best price was R6000. I eventually got a sweet deal and paid less as we needed to get two sets. When I was old enough to start walking to the 'Best Buy' to buy a loaf of bread, my Father would always say "ask for discount". He would do this wherever we went and as I youngster I would squirm. Now, I do it all the time too, and man, does it pay off. But, you need to make a few calls, and visit part shops - even if you have to call or visit more than once. 

The benefit about coilies is that you don't need to replace shocks or mountings for quite some time, so inevitable it should work out cheaper - but only if you're getting real expensive ones that include their own shock mountings. And this is where I made such a silly error. My rear shock mountings were kaput. And goodness, if you're going to replace something like your rear shock mountings, you might as well fork out the extra cash and get the front set too. Easy right? Sadly, not.

Turns out shock mountings, especially for my vehicle, were like hen's teeth. But here's a valuable lesson: Make sure you know your engine code, and your make and model year off by heart - and make sure no one could argue with you about it. So in my case, 4AGE. 1998 Corolla RSI 20V. (5-speed manual, Blacktop).

And they say women don't know much. The amount of times I had to tell people they were giving me the wrong parts for the wrong car; I lost count. One guy argued with me because he thought I meant engine mountings. I realised he was talking about the wrong thing when he mentioned the middle shock and "the two aren't the same". I got so annoyed calling, I decided to visit the part shops instead over a weekend. One shock mounting price ranged from R495 to R695, excluding vat, PER shock. Thank goodness I was insistent and double checked prices, and also played the suppliers up against each other. I eventually got all four shocks for under R1000. 

I was doing good. R5300 for my coilies, R1000 for the mountings. This was still going to cost me about R7000, or so I thought. 

The biggest drama of this exercise was getting someone to do the job. It's quite labour extensive but I was not expecting the quotes I got next. It went from R2200 right up to R3000 and that was WITHOUT the shock mountings. I also needed control arm linkages. I wanted to cry, because I might as well have just got regular shocks and springs. What saves me is that I won't have to replace it for quite some time or even at all. I eventually found a trustworthy mechanic who has experience with coilies, and he charged me R1100 for the entire job, bringing my tally to R7400. Still painful. But the point to all of this, is that I saved a few thousand rands because I did my homework. So next time you need something fixed, don't just drop your car off at the first workshop you find. Know your car, and understand the parts you need. Ask questions, all the time. And most importantly, ask for discount!

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