auto servicing ripoffs...

[occupant]

that should read: "I don't go to auto service chains, oil-lube places, and anywhere that offers coupons that are impossible to redeem or any shop who advertises on daytime TV..."

An independent mechanic operating an honest business in a small town is none of the above.

 

[Vikas]

If you get a coupon for "free oil change" or "free car inspection" in the mail, shred it immediately *before* anybody else from your family falls for it.

- Vikas

 

[InvalidUserID]

I heard one from a nice old widowed lady that works for one of my accounts: they charged her $45 to replace the rear license plate lights on her 2000 Saturn (.5 hours work).

 

[mopar_monkey]

Originally Posted By: InvalidUserID
I heard one from a nice old widowed lady that works for one of my accounts: they charged her $45 to replace the rear license plate lights on her 2000 Saturn (.5 hours work).


it's things like this that are killing this industry! on most bulbs i charge no labor, just the cost of the bulb. also i only charge $55 hr so even if i did charge .5 it would only be half of that amount.

 

[George7941]

Originally Posted By: InvalidUserID
I heard one from a nice old widowed lady that works for one of my accounts: they charged her $45 to replace the rear license plate lights on her 2000 Saturn (.5 hours work).

At a large shop, there are many people involved with even a simple job like a license plate light - besides the mechanic, there is the service advisor, parts person, cashier etc. They don't work for free, they all have to be paid. $45 isn't that out of line. If she wanted to save money she should have gotten a friend of hers to change it for free.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: mopar_monkey

Well due to the "60 minutes age" everyone believes that every repair shop is trying to rip them off, that's what the media has instilled in people. yes there are bad ones, and most places do go through a check list but the spare tire won't be on many of them and the brake fluid (in my opinion) should have been brought to the customers attn. but not topped off. as for the tire pressure and the light bulb, non should have missed those. we had a local paper do one of these "stings" i was one of the techs that got this car. i passed but according to them i actually failed, they brought in a car that had no a/c, according to the article they took it to 10 shops, 8 told them the compressor was bad and they need $1500 worth of work, i found a bad fuse and fixed, charged no labor but $2.50 for the cost of the fuse, the paper said i should have given them the fuse for free, even though i did not charge a diag fee.


In South Florida there is no way [in a million years] the shop would have changed the fuse...It would have been a new compressor with a 1200 hundred dollar bill at least but probably more.

The tire chains [all of them] are the worst of the worst...Sears is probably the best of the worst but they will still get over on you but usually not as bad...All of the dealerships [down here] are stearlerships I am sorry to say...My Ford dealer was good until they merged with another dealer...After that they turned into a stearlership.

But not all dealers are bad...My buddy deals with Wayne Linc Merc in New Jersey...He says they are actually honest and they only do the work thats necessary unlike the stearlerships in South Florida.