REAL cost of not knowing basic auto repair (sorta off topic)

My assistant at the office is a super swell gal who knows nothing about cars but is basically brilliant in most other regards.

She didn't start driving until last year, and her parents got her a 1994 Geo tracker after she got out of college so she could commute to work. Recently, she started having problems with it and today she dropped it off at the shop...

The symptoms were- Squealing noise when the engine started (loose belt), car shuddering at idle, problems accelerating, and poor gas mileage.

While at lunch she got a call from the Mechanic (rated BEST in Baltimore in recent years) who told her she urgently needed the following items.

- tighten the loose alternator belt
- A new set of plug wires

He also urged her to get:

- new fuel filter (seems like that shouldn't have been optional)
- plugs (hers were fine but he didn't like the "brand")
- wiper blades
- distributor cap
- distributor rotor
- air filter

Here's the fun part... she could have this done ALL TO THE TUNE OF $490!!! YIKES! Not knowing any better, she told him to go ahead and do the work if it needed to be done she then got of the cell and resumed lunch... I said, what are they fixing on your car? and when she gave me the list I knew immediately that she was being overcharged and told her to call them back and have them fax a breakdown. She called back and while he had her on the phone he convinced her to have the belt tightened and to replace the plug wires immediately as it was "too dangerous" for her to keep driving with the current ones. She fell for it and gave him the OK on those two things without seeing the estimate.

Long story short... We got back to the office and I looked up the parts she needed, all of which were available and in stock locally at Parts America. If she bought the parts and we did it ourself, the parts would total $78.82.

The shop was charging $330.29 for the parts and $144.00 for the labor then $16.51 tax. So.... if we did this entire job on our own she would save $412.78.

Since she already okayed the plug wires and belt adjustment, we're going to get the car and pay for those repairs. The damage is $215! The thing that floored me the most was the $169.69 they are charging for the set of plug wires especially considering I can get a set of OEM for $29.95. I feel sorry for all the people out there who are taken advantage of like this, especially because it makes people suspicious of all mechanics even the ones who aren't dirtbags.

I wonder what kind of estimate they would have given a guy?

Stacey

 

i hate the thought of having to take my car somewhere if i cant figure out the problem or is beyond my skill to fix. i don't claim to know alot about cars, but i try hard to solve the problem myself before taking it anywhere... it's just sad to think about because you are only referring to car related repairs/parts, but think about allllllllll the other crap people get ripped off with on a daily basis. it's made me so jaded to the point where i will walk in a store and consider trying to make the item myself before handing out the cash for a 200% marked up product... such is life i guess.

 

Sounds like "the best rip-off artist" in baltimore...

 

Flat rate mechanics typically figure out what the problem is,
and then change everything within a 3 foot radius.




When your mechanic earns a commission based on the parts he sells,you know your in trouble.


ALWAYS ask for the old parts back.

 

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I wonder what kind of estimate they would have given a guy?

Stacey








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Anymore amost dudes would get the same quote because while the population of car savvy girls has gone up, car savvy dudes have gone down....

 

Stacey ,this might help. if you have a vocational school near you, lots of high school kids will be willing to do the job under the supervision of a tech teacher, we have a school near us that does just that, they 'll put on shocks and anything else as long as its not too complicated. they charge a minimal amt of $$ to do it, they need the experience, some move on to pro mech after more schooling .

 

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I wonder what kind of estimate they would have given a guy?

Stacey


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I bet it would be the same. My father has NO CLUE when it comes to cars, so he always pays way too much. He also doens't trust that I know what I'm talking about. For some reason, his 1995 Chevy Pickup needs a $300 tune up every 2 years.

 

They should charge her extra for having to work on a fricking Tracker... they suck...

I had a (I can't believe I'm telling you this) Renault LeCar and when I would take it to the Renault dealership (no one else would touch it) the guys would actually fight over who had to do the work on it... right in front of me. I didn't blame them... you should have seen it...

 

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I bet it would be the same. My father has NO CLUE when it comes to cars, so he always pays way too much. He also doens't trust that I know what I'm talking about. For some reason, his 1995 Chevy Pickup needs a $300 tune up every 2 years.



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I HEAR YOU! My Dad, rest his soul, got very defensive as I got older and started learning things and would correct him. Eventually I got better than him at things. He never listened to me as I was going through two years of high school auto, until one day I couldn't take it anymore. His truck was idling poorly, I told him his distributor was probably loose, his reply was "What the hell do you know?" He always barked loudly. I just got up, grabbed a wrench, started the truck, and adjusted the distributor by ear until his rough idling went away. From then on he'd always come to me first. I felt pretty cool.

I'd hate to think of the money I'd have spent over the last 20+ years of working on my own cars...

Mike

 

For the other side of the story...having run a repair shop for a while, I understand why they charge they way they do. It has something to do with wanting to make a living.

I charged prices you would want to pay, and basically wasted 4 years (as far as earning money). The education I got was worth the time, though.

But I agree, you should do your own work if you have the know-how or even a friend that is willing to help you learn, you can save a bundl! Unfortunately most people have no interest in working on their own cars.

 

Hey! I used to race a Renualt Le Car. They corner on the door handles. Loads of fun. That said, they are French and basicly a shitty little car.

 

A Le Car is a marvel of engineering compared to the Alliance.

 

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A Le Car is a marvel of engineering compared to the Alliance.

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I agree with Nads... Renault Alliance is the biggest shitbox ever! My friend in high school had one of those things... it was AWFUL.

Stacey

 

Hey, let's give the Ugo credit where credit is due here, OK?

Only car to ever come w/ factory handwarmers on the rear hatch for pushing on cold days.

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A Le Car is a marvel of engineering compared to the Alliance.

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I've got a Renault Alliance story for you.

I and the very pregnant ex wife had an antique store in '89. I really didn't know how to ride a motorcycle but my friend had a '68 Bonneville and I was riding it in the parking lot. My other friend's Alliance was parked in front of a trophy shop. All of a sudden I panicked and went flying into the back of the Alliance and flew over the top and landed on a grassy patch, the ex thought our child would be born without a father. In a way that stupid French car saved my life, otherwise I would've ended up in the trophy shop wearing a prize through my frontal lobe for being such a dumbass.

In one fell swoop I did about $700 worth of damage to my friend's vehicles. I only cried over the Triumph.

Very soon after I helped replace the forks on the Triumph his neighbor across the street backed his car over the poor bike and damaged it again.

The bike was eventually stolen when my buddy moved to California. At least 3 years had gone by when the Police called him and told him his bike had been recovered. Unbelievably the thieves had turned it into a flattracker and had rebuilt the engine and turned into a real little screamer.

I guess the story has a happy ending, I'm pretty sure the Alliance eventally was crushed after having served a useful of life of about five years.

 

A Renault is to a Citroën as a Yugo is to a Chevy.
That said, I've heard from fans of the R5s (LeCar), yet I would never own a Renault.
And I've never had serious trouble with any of my Cits.
Now for another story of the terminally automotively stupid:
A guy I worked with (we all owned routes, generally HiCube trucks) had a 1997 Chevy HiCube. He was going to trade the truck in on a new one, but for some reason decided that he needed the brakes done first. As usual with these trucks, the brake job was $1,200. The next day I saw him on the side of the road near the depot, truck leaning with the left rear duals, axle, brake drum et al off to the side, the end of the axle just barely still in the tube. I figure the repair shop had blown it big time. Day after, he tells me that the shop told him that it was somehow not their fault (I informed him differently, but like someone said, there are those who will not believe you if you don't wear a uniform), he was told that the job would be $1,300 to repair the axle tube (weld on a new end), and re-do all the damage that happened when the whole plot let loose.
Then he traded the truck in on a new one anyway, and got $2,500. Really. I still shake my head.
Cosmo

 

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For the other side of the story...having run a repair shop for a while, I understand why they charge they way they do. It has something to do with wanting to make a living.

I charged prices you would want to pay, and basically wasted 4 years (as far as earning money). The education I got was worth the time, though.

But I agree, you should do your own work if you have the know-how or even a friend that is willing to help you learn, you can save a bundl! Unfortunately most people have no interest in working on their own cars.



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It's not about what she "wants" to pay it's about fair pricing for the job and parts.

3 other well-established shops in the same area (probably with similar or the same parts suppliers) quoted $200 for the same $490 job this place wanted to do. This example has less to do with "making a living" and more to do with gouging the customer. I don't care how you look at it, $168 bux for a $30-$50 set of plug wires is ridiculous. The best thing to come out of today's rip off, is that my friend will NEVER go there again and always see what she'll be paying for before she signs off on a job.

/rant.

Stacey

 

That is a ridiculous mark-up on parts, even though shops do have to do a mark-up to survive. I've done a few tune-ups on trackers and sidekicks (same thing), and if I remember correctly, it only take about a half hour. Belt adjustment is a can of corn, too. The Tech college I went to did repairs for people off the street for no labor. They had to buy their own parts and some food for the person doing the work, if they wanted to be nice. Not all mechanics are evil though, not all of us want to double the price on a ticket just because we have a customer that doesn't know cars. Hell, those are our customers, and we need them!

-jeremy

 

Ok, you win....

 

Is that $490 for the job? Or $490 for the parts? Labour and taxes add up pretty damn quickly. I forget what we were working on in the shop the other day, but a set of plug wires, (for "better" ones) was just over $200.

 

If you don't know how to (or aren't married to someone who knows how to):

- new fuel filter (seems like that shouldn't have been optional)
- plugs (hers were fine but he didn't like the "brand")
- wiper blades
- distributor cap
- distributor rotor
- air filter

you should be prepared to take it up the ass for the rest of your life.

That's the cost of NOT MAINTAINING YOUR OWN VEHICLE.

I don't blame mechanics. I would pay thier price if I couldn't do the work myself because it will save money in the long run as opposed to running your car into the ground.




Ed

 

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Is that $490 for the job? Or $490 for the parts? Labour and taxes add up pretty damn quickly. I forget what we were working on in the shop the other day, but a set of plug wires, (for "better" ones) was just over $200.

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Is that $200 canadian? I can get a great set of wires all day every day for $79. Great plug wires....

 

Even here in Canada she has a point!! And as for what he'd charge a guy? I agree with the people who said the same. Seems most guys are pretty stupid about cars too. Even the ones that work in the Auto industry!!

I work around various dealers and most of the employees couldn't do their own work if their lives depended on it!! Then the customers wonder why they get the wrong parts. I don't!!

 

- new fuel filter (seems like that shouldn't have been optional)

how many miles on the craper,uh tracker?
efi or carb?some of those get pretty pricy.

- plugs (hers were fine but he didn't like the "brand")

probably champions or bosch platinums


- wiper blades
that'sd be obvious

- distributor cap

maybe

- distributor rotor

i'd replace it if it needs a tune anyway, bad plug wires seem to like to kill rotors.

- air filter

does it need one?


btw, gracie, i see we agree on something
Kia spurtages are way worse, though.
triple time?


170 bucks for plug wires though, kinda high but maybe not.
sometimes ya just can't use "fitall" crap...
anybody use napaonline?

 

I'm sure some of you will disagree with me about this statement but...
In my experience any shop that uses a flat rate book for pricing instead of actual time plus materials is going to rip you off. I believe those books are really generous as far as time goes. If the book says the job will take 3 hours that means 3 hours done by a organ grinder's monkey using only a butterknife and a pair of plastic pliers. I've found that the typical 3hr. by the book job will actually take around 45min-1hr by a novice with rudimentary skills armed with a manual. Perhaps the flat rate books take into account time spent answering the phone, coffee breaks, talking to other customers, planning vacations and telling fish stories to other mechanics. Perhaps the book takes into account the cost of tooling the shop with the items needed for specialty jobs. The hourly rate charged should be reasonable. I don't mind paying someone with 20 years experience considerably more than a kid fresh out of high school. Chances are the old-timer will get the job done faster with fewer mistakes but new mechanics have to come from somewhere. So then hourly rates should be adjusted with experience. That doesn't make it right to charge $55+ per hour for that fresh kid just because he's working in the old-timer's shop.

 

so, you're telling me that the 80K i've got invested in tools to make the job go faster so i can make more money on commission is going to make me less by your way of doing things.
what's wrong with THAT picture?

 

Tomslik, i think the point of this is the fact that she was obviously being taken advantage of. If you the kind of mechanic that thinks its ok to do this to people that done know any better, piss on ya.

Its not about you not making a living, its you thinking its ok to rip people off, to make that living. No better than scam artists, making people replace stuff that dosent need it.

 

I just did all that, as well as cam seal, valve adjustment, valve cover gasket, and a lot more on a Tracker (or Dirt Squirrel).

I paid $100 for parts (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, oil filter, gaskets...) and got them at my brother's cost (he's a mechanic). All of it was good, name brand stuff. In my case, a 100% markup would have been slightly more than a set of your friend's plug wires.

Your friend got dicked.

And for a small, disposable commuter, the Tracker/Sidekick isn't too bad. It cost me $62 to fill my truck yesterday, but I can drive the Tracker all week for less than $20.

 

It's good to be friends with a local mechanic and his shop. He hooks me up with shop usage when I need to work on the Byooik or one of the family vehicles, and I help him out with computer stuff.

Which reminds me, I gotta get on his case about my little brother's truck....

 

dakota, that was directed at 34 hupp but let me ask both of you this;
what do you do for a living?
how much money do you HAVE to lay out for tools?
clothes do NOT count unless you're a stripper,etc.

btw, napainline sez 61 bucks for the "best" plug wires.
also, how do YOU know it(the tracker)doesn't need it?