The auto repair business is a ripoff

[subeman90]

see beer makes everything go better

[Freeman]

Yeah it is a little much to say that all mechanics are a rip off. Take Tom for example, he is the only one I have gone to ever since I got the SVX and he doesn't over charge for parts for charge too much for labor. He is really good at what he does for a great price.

Hey Tom can I have a discount now?

[K_Dub]

Originally Posted by Freeman

Yeah it is a little much to say that all mechanics are a rip off. Take Tom for example, he is the only one I have gone to ever since I got the SVX and he doesn't over charge for parts for charge too much for labor. He is really good at what he does for a great price.

Hey Tom can I have a discount now?

I need a Tom.

The amount of frustration I undergo every time I lift the hood of my SVX is worth a reasonable amount of money. Problem is that nobody around here charges "reasonable amounts of money." I hate working on my car, but not $100/hr worth of hate.

[dcarrb]

My mechanic is trustworthy and charges a fair price, I think. It's a shame if that's a rare commodity.

Awhile back he installed a reman AC compressor I'd bought. When it stopped cooling the next day he could have given me any BS story. Instead he discovered he'd used a mis-sized O-ring. Cost him the time to find and correct the problem, plus the refrigerant recharge.

Last week he replaced what was apparently a defective front wheel bearing. He'd sourced the part. No charge.

It's understandable that the cost of such "bring-backs," even if only labor, has to be built into a shop's rate structure, or he won't be in business for long.

dcb

[K_Dub]

Originally Posted by dcarrb

My mechanic is trustworthy and charges a fair price, I think. It's a shame if that's a rare commodity.

Awhile back he installed a reman AC compressor I'd bought. When it stopped cooling the next day he could have given me any BS story. Instead he discovered he'd used a mis-sized O-ring. Cost him the time to find and correct the problem, plus the refrigerant recharge.

Last week he replaced what was apparently a defective front wheel bearing. He'd sourced the part. No charge.

It's understandable that the cost of such "bring-backs," even if only labor, has to be built into a shop's rate structure, or he won't be in business for long.

dcb

I took my car in for an A/C fix right after I bought it. After replacing a couple of O-Rings and giving it a fresh charge all of the freon leaked out in less than 24 hours. They ended up refunding me the labor cost, but I still sunk almost $200 into my non-operational AC, and to this day it still doesn't work. Point being, not every shop budgets for "bring-backs", some just charge their customers for their mistakes. I haven't been back there since.

I'll also add the E-Commerce is a ripoff. The online retailers always sell for less, but shipping is invariably slow and expensive resulting in paying more for a product and waiting a week to get it rather than just going down the street to pick something up. I spent $54 on overnight shipping for my replacement Alternator harness (a $10 part) and it still took four days to get here. The local shops that I stopped at said that they don't bother stocking those parts because they just order them online. A vicious cycle. Now I'm on the hunt for a Knock Sensor, and not even the dealerships stock that part (despite being common to all Subarus for a decade). They want $65 for me to pick it up on Wednesday, but if I order it online it only costs $45 PLUS SHIPPING. Right now, neither option looks good to me.

Edit: I tried calling the supplier of my alternator harness to ask why I paid $54.26 for 4 day shipping, but since they're on the other side of the continent they went home right about the time my part showed up today. At this point I'd gladly pay $85/hour to anyone willing to get my car back on the road while I sip coffee in the waiting room. Any takers?

[SSSVX]

Originally Posted by K_Dub

I need a Tom.

Fly him there,

or,

Move to east coast.

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by K_Dub

I'll also add the E-Commerce is a ripoff. The online retailers always sell for less, but shipping is invariably slow and expensive resulting in paying more for a product and waiting a week to get it rather than just going down the street to pick something up.

A couple or three years ago I bought a throttle position sensor for my silver SVX from AutoZone online. $180-something including sales tax, with "free" delivery. On my doorstep within days. I was impressed.

Last month: Different car, same order, same price, same free shipping. (The local O'Reilly's quoted over $200.) Only this time, it took weeks and finally a dreaded phone call to customer service to get the part. I must admit this CSA was good; she even phoned AutoZone's vendor to get the scoop, while I held the line. The thing arrived a few days later.

Bought a coolant temp sensor from the aforementioned O'Reilly store a couple of weeks ago and paid 75% more than they'd charged me for the same measly part some 6 years ago. Even had a clerk at Advance Auto, an older gentleman, grousing to me awhile back about how corporate had been steadily raising prices, this after I'd expressed surprise at having to pay $20-something for a replacement headlight bulb for my daughter's car.

Inflation? What inflation?

dcb

[92snowmachine]

it may be too late anyway but the high estimate for replacing the tensioner on that grand prix was probably to replace the tensioner assembly not just pulley. the assembly is a large expensive piece that is also the alternator bracket and part of the cooling system. autozone wants $95 just for the part. if someone called my shop for an estimate to replace the tensioner that is the estimate i would give them, if they asked to replace the pulley the estimate would be much lower. sometimes it's all in what you ask for.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...712350_0_1562_

[North Ursalia]

Easy way to find a trustworthy mechanic- do something to your car that is simple, patently obvious, and easily reversible; pull a plug wire for instance. Take it to the mechanic and say "it is running funny, kind of like it's missing on a cylinder."

If the answer is anything other than 'it was just a loose plug wire' move on and never look back.

[subi-crosser]

Originally Posted by subeman90

Tom is right.... Let me add: My dad was a service manager of a farm eq. dealership. Sounds easy right? Heck no it isn't. All the overhead and the expensive tools like tom and crazy-pilot said would make your head spin. Every time I see the snap-on tool truck I shudder to think of what those mechanics are spending just to be able to work on some POS that some guy is just trying to get by untill next inspection or in the farming industry next season.

You know all professions come at a price. Try giving yourself a colonoscopy or do your own taxes or heaven help you, you had to work on your own Jaguar like Ben.

I paid $275. to the snap on man for the WORST spray gun that I have ever OWNED!! I bought a gun for $35. at the local SURPLUS store that cleaned up the problem. However, it did not fix the damage!
The customer 'lost faith' in me over the lousey paint job!
He sold the car with lousey paint before I bought the $35. gun.
That was 25 YEARS ago.
I have NOT bought ANYTHING from 'Snap-On' SINCE!
I use that gun today. I shoot PRIMER with it, as long as I am doing a SMALL part!

IMAGINE that! I use the MOST costley gun that I OWN to shoot PRIMER on SMALL parts!

PRICE is a LOUSEY indicator of 'QUALITY'!
I have shot paint that looks like GLASS with a $35. gun, and pi$$ed off a customer so bad that he will NEVER call me again with a BRAND NEW SNAP ON gun that cost $275.!
Same paint, same shop, same guy spraying it.
I even tried painting it again. same LOUSEY job! (just more money and time invested)
Snap-on guns are TRASH!!

[Frank Rizzo]

Originally Posted by 92snowmachine

it may be too late anyway but the high estimate for replacing the tensioner on that grand prix was probably to replace the tensioner assembly not just pulley. the assembly is a large expensive piece that is also the alternator bracket and part of the cooling system. autozone wants $95 just for the part. if someone called my shop for an estimate to replace the tensioner that is the estimate i would give them, if they asked to replace the pulley the estimate would be much lower. sometimes it's all in what you ask for.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...712350_0_1562_

You're probably right about that. I was going to replace the whole assembly myself before I realized it'd be easier to just replace the pully.

[92snowmachine]

frank, your profile says your svx was just painted. where did you get that done and are you satisfied with the results? i am about to have mine repainted and am just starting to look for a good referral.

[Frank Rizzo]

Hi sorry I just saw your post. I got mine painted at Raul's auto body and rust repair. A guy called Rudy owns the place. Yes I'm very satisfied with the job. They guy is so cheap I tipped him an extra hundred bucks. The bill came to $750 or something around that.

The number is 720 297-6448