Dealer Rip Off!

[Wizard1183]

Originally Posted by SIN R G

Ummmm, You took your Sierra in for a misfire and you were told it was a bad camshaft. You say o.k. get me a rental and you leave it there to get the camshaft fixed? Then you get called later and told it was a faulty spark plug wire and call the mechanic a moron. Your the one that went in for a misfire and believed them when they told you it was a bad camshaft. Something is fishy about this story!

The check engine light was flashing, the traction control light was on ( like as if I was losing traction) AND it was misfiring. It NEEDED to be taken in. I KNEW it wasn't a camshaft broken as the mechanic said before connecting the laptop. If it was broken, the noise within the block would be horrible and I seriously doubt the truck would've ran at all. So whats fishy about the story than what I've said? Before he started working on my truck we got on about mpg in vehicles and I can't quite remember what he said, but it was the dumbest comment I'd heard about camaros. Right then, I knew this guy was a DUMMY.

It will be the last time I ever buy a new vehicle. Too many electrical/software issues with this new technological bullshit they're coming out with. Soon cars/trucks will be as disposable as cell phones...

[CamaroCracka]

I prefer working on today's cars. They tell you when a bulb is out. You send your scan to the tuner or read it yourself. No trying to read a scope. Parts last way longer.

The electronics are particular, but fortunately I went from being a mechanic to a field service engineer and got quite a bit of training on that stuff. Just troubleshoot down to the broken component and replace it. Might be 5k or more, but on a 1M dollar machine, 5k is peanuts.

I worked for a dealership one summer and this place would hire a couple guys for $7-9hr instead of one $20hr guy. They had a couple $20hr guys on staff, but most of the work was done buy guys who were not exactly experts, including me. Those dealers don't realize what going cheap on people is costing them in the long run.

My problem is I expect a mechanic to know more than me and there are a lot that don't. I also expect him to fix it like it was his bosses car, and not many do.

A lot of the best mechanics don't work at the dealerships, they work in shops with more work than they can do because the rest of the shops are worried about average ticket price and trying to sell you blinker fluid. The problem is finding the shops great mechanics work in. I had a guy but he bent up the bumper on the wife's truck and I can't go there anymore.

After the local dealership jacked me around not fixing the AC on my truck, I bought a big Snap On box from a mechanic leaving the business, combined it with the tools I had, built a 1000 sq ft garage, and learned to fix my own AC.

I've never understood why people view mechanics as dumb when they can't do what the mechanic does. Kind of like when I worked in the Mid-west, people would talk down to me because of my poor grasp of the English language and then be dumbfounded when all the geeky stuff started coming out of my mouth.

If you want it done right...

[Mr.Jgunn65]

Apparently a person with your level of intellegence didn't see the part where I posted I just had knee surgery.

[Devryn17]

Originally Posted by Mr.Jgunn65

For u clowns that have same batteries that power the space shuttle... U are full of S%@t

I've had my car since 2010. It has almost 90k miles. It sits in the az sun regularly. It regularly goes a week or more without being driven and I'm on the original battery. Take your butthurt somewhere else

[Wizard1183]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

I prefer working on today's cars. They tell you when a bulb is out. You send your scan to the tuner or read it yourself. No trying to read a scope. Parts last way longer.

The electronics are particular, but fortunately I went from being a mechanic to a field service engineer and got quite a bit of training on that stuff. Just troubleshoot down to the broken component and replace it. Might be 5k or more, but on a 1M dollar machine, 5k is peanuts.

I worked for a dealership one summer and this place would hire a couple guys for $7-9hr instead of one $20hr guy. They had a couple $20hr guys on staff, but most of the work was done buy guys who were not exactly experts, including me. Those dealers don't realize what going cheap on people is costing them in the long run.

My problem is I expect a mechanic to know more than me and there are a lot that don't. I also expect him to fix it like it was his bosses car, and not many do.

A lot of the best mechanics don't work at the dealerships, they work in shops with more work than they can do because the rest of the shops are worried about average ticket price and trying to sell you blinker fluid. The problem is finding the shops great mechanics work in. I had a guy but he bent up the bumper on the wife's truck and I can't go there anymore.

After the local dealership jacked me around not fixing the AC on my truck, I bought a big Snap On box from a mechanic leaving the business, combined it with the tools I had, built a 1000 sq ft garage, and learned to fix my own AC.

I've never understood why people view mechanics as dumb when they can't do what the mechanic does. Kind of like when I worked in the Mid-west, people would talk down to me because of my poor grasp of the English language and then be dumbfounded when all the geeky stuff started coming out of my mouth.

If you want it done right...

Im not throwing every mechanic under the bus by my comment. Just the idiots I've dealt with and I've seen.
You prefer to work on todays cars? Thats great! Thing is not EVERYONE has the capabilities or program to diagnose the vehicles. If you can give me the program to diagnose and flash my own computer? I'll gladly take it to my laptop to work on it myself...

[CamaroCracka]

90 percent of it is an ODB2 reader. It spits out the code, you Google.

I do have an AutoCal that also allows me to scan. It was <$300.

Originally Posted by Mr.Jgunn65

Apparently a person with your level of intellegence didn't see the part where I posted I just had knee surgery.

Really, did I mention I only have one leg and the first week I was home from the hospital I was putting 40s on my mud truck while on crutches with no prosthetic. My daddy told me sympathy can be found in the dictionary between shit and syphilis.

FYI, intelligence is not spelled "intellegence"

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

My daddy told me sympathy can be found in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. FYI, intelligence is not spelled "intellegence"

Bing, bam, zoom! That's a winner!

[Beaver Creek]

Originally Posted by PalmerGA

Bing, bam, zoom! That's a winner!

I so wish we had the "like" function on this forum.

Lee

[Ragnar]

Some of the comments are so frikin funny, back and forth we go, laughing all the way!

[Camarotobeornottobe]

When I had a Mustang, the dealer rep in the garage explained the business model to me when I had a hard-to-diagnose problem that the mechanic (and Ford) wanted to call a "normal operating characteristic." Keep in mind that I don't claim it applies to all Ford dealers or all manufacturers, but I suspect it does for a majority.

Dealers are reimbursed for warranty work by the manufacturer based on an established amount of hours for a particular repair, e.g. 2 hours for front brake replacement. Where they make their money is when they can get good at repairs and get them done faster. So, they might get reimbursed for 2 hours when they got the car in and out in 1.25 hours and move on to the next repair. He also alleged they would get NO MORE THAN ONE HOUR TO DIAGNOSE a problem.

What does this mean for you? The dealers don't want to deal with mystery problems, particularly if they might lead back to aftermarket parts because they make the most money when they can get the car in and out with routine issues they are good at fixing. So, OP, even if not under warranty, it's easy for them to reset the computer, say it is fixed, and send you hopping.

And this is the reason we are all so often blown off by the dealer for problems that are hard to diagnose. If you bought the car from them, there is sometimes more motive to help you out, but the overall business model still drives the experience.

[bdsdnfam]

Originally Posted by wayne watson

im a dummy with a laptop, go screw yourself, you have no right to call all mechanics dummies. whatever you do for a job must be needed or you would'nt do it and so do i. so next time your cobbled up shit breaks, fix it yourself

I manage a company that has 41 technicians and 6 salesmen. Those 41 technicians sell more trucks then the dedicated salesmen because of their expertise and training. They're worth every penny!!

[BigBlock69RS]

Dealer charges $100, its mobile one synthetic and an SS takes nearly 9 quarts.

Even if I buy it at wally world and do it myself its more than $50 for just the oil, 3.6L doesn't have the same capacity as a V8 (6 quarts vs 9), so you really should know what you are talking about before you open your mouth.

Btw 6 quarts of RP will be more than $40, and thats not including filter, so quit blowing smoke.

Originally Posted by mr02Z/28

oil change = $100, you getting ripped dude ....... same oil you use in your SS, I use in my 3.6L and I pay about $40 ......., who changes your oil ????

I use Royal Purple usually .....

[sonnydurden]

Originally Posted by tooslow

If your battery went down after only five days, you have an electrical issue. I've kept my car in the garage for months and it's always fired right up. Likely the drain is related to your aftermarket electronics.

True...Last winter I garaged my SS for 2 months...and like you said it started right up!!

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by Camarotobeornottobe

W
Dealers are reimbursed for warranty work by the manufacturer based on an established amount of hours for a particular repair, e.g. 2 hours for front brake replacement. Where they make their money is when they can get good at repairs and get them done faster.

that's pretty much how all auto repair works. that's how they can price a job before they do it, and without it, it would be impossible to do that. Legally, once you get an estimate the final price has to be within 10%. that's another reason they used standardized numbers of hours. that information is in the service manuals they buy, like alldata.

but you are correct, a good mechanic makes his money buy doing the work in much less time than the book calls for. a good mechanic (in addition to being able to diagnose) will typically be able to do 60-100 hours of work in a 40 hour week.