The Good news Bad news call!!

Uncamitzi · #1 08-06-2002, 11:05 AM

I've a new (temporary) opinion of Stevens Creek Subaru (chev, hundy, christler , hudson and whatever) I took my svx in yesterday out of desperation and lack of time. I just went over 100k, and was worried about my timing belt. So I figured it was a pretty straight forward job and I'd pay the extra ($98hr shop rate) to have it done there. While it was there I thought that I'd have the drive belts replaced also. They had some scuff marks and had started to fray on the outside edge. Well, this morining I got a call from the service writer. He said he had news about my car........... I waited for a couple of seconds for him to continue but there was only silence.......... So I said, "Good news or Bad news?" He said. "I don't know.".................... So I asked, "Did something break?".... He said," kind of." .... I could tell that this was going to be a long converstation at this rate so I raised my voice (just a little) and asked him to explain the problem to me like I was a two year old.......... He explained that the timing belt that was on the car was new no more than 15,000 miles or so but that when the person that was replacing it took it off they pretty much destroyed the cover and used silicon and off the shelf "o" rings to secure it. They had also put the drive belts on incorrectly. I asked if the timing belt had been installed correctly other than the cover and he said that the "expert subaru tech" said that it looked fine and the marks matched up fine. So I asked how much a new cover would cost and he said he didn't know and the didn't have one in stock. I asked if they could put the damaged one back on and have it be water proof enough to protect the belt for a year. He said yes. So I asked how much it was going to cost me to find out that I already had a decent timing belt on (by the way he said that the water pump had been replaced also)? "about three hundred dollars." I guess it's better than the 800 that they were going to charge. So I'm having them do the spark plugs as I was figuring on spending about 1000 anyway. I would appreciate any comments (good or bad) At least they were honest about the belt and not needing to replace it?

kuoh · #2 08-06-2002, 04:56 PM

Umm...they were going to charge you $800 just to do the belts?! Heck I'd only charge you $500, include a year's warranty, and throw in the spark plugs in for free!

KuoH

Quote:

Originally posted by Uncamitzi
I guess it's better than the 800 that they were going to charge. So I'm having them do the spark plugs as I was figuring on spending about 1000 anyway.

Aredubjay · #3 08-06-2002, 05:30 PM

300.00 to remove the TB cover and put it back on. Call the cops. That's robbery. I'm sorry, but 98.00 hr for shop labor is absolutely insane. Hell YOU can go to Technical School and buy tools for that kind of money. SHEESH! Don't get me started.

#4 08-06-2002, 07:04 PM

It seems like the higher the price of labor the more incompetent the work gets. I hope you did not tell them how much you planned on spending otherwise the plugs will cost you about $700--- or they might just pull out a few tell you they look okay and charge you another $300. I hope that they are replacing your cover for free

like aredub said "don't get me started" but for 98$ hr the techie better be able to eat RTV and s*** gaskets. but thats just my opinion, good luck on whatever you decide

huck369 · #5 08-06-2002, 07:31 PM

Cost me about $50.00 bucks to change the timing belt myself, hearing prices like that make me think maybe I should do Subaru maintenance work for a living!
Just glad to be able to do my own maintenance, or I wouldn't be able to afford an SVX

immortal_suby · #6 08-06-2002, 07:47 PM

This is exactly the reason why I do as much of my own maintenance as possible. I would hate to take that call - good news or bad news? It sounds like an incompetent workforce to me. You should have never even known about them breaking the cover - even if it meant one of them driving to the next town to get one from another dealer's stock. Butchering it together with duct tape is inexcusable at a dealership. I'd expect that kind of stupidity at jiffy lube.

Dangit, now I'm all fired up and it's not even my car.
Thanks for the warning, I will push my car (uphill) past Steve's creek subaru if it ever happens to break down in front of there.

kuoh · #7 08-06-2002, 08:57 PM

I think he ment when the work was done by the previous owner, not that the dealership screwed up the cover. Perhaps the previous did have Jiffy Lube do the work?

Regardless, that price was excessively high considering the amount of work involved.

KuoH

Quote:

Originally posted by immortal_suby
It sounds like an incompetent workforce to me. You should have never even known about them breaking the cover - even if it meant one of them driving to the next town to get one from another dealer's stock. Butchering it together with duct tape is inexcusable at a dealership. I'd expect that kind of stupidity at jiffy lube.

Ron Mummert · #8 08-06-2002, 09:47 PM

I always thought it was virtually impossible to tell how old a timing belt was by simply eyeballing it, unless it was totally trashed.

I have mixed feelings on this one. They could have replaced everything, shut up, & billed you. They seem to be incompetently honest.

MHO - Ron.

Uncamitzi · #9 08-06-2002, 10:20 PM

My God!

I got the call after I had posted the lead of this thread. They said they would have to remove the cam covers and .. I forget something else I knew they didn't have to remove to get to the spark plugs.......I got out for 400.00 I told them to just put the drive belts on and button it back up. 400.00 !!! 300.00 in labor to tell me that they didn't know how to do the work.. I have half a mind to stop payment on the credit card and dispute the work. I don't have anything good to say about them. And I will be changing my own sparkplugs in Salt Lake with a friend next weekend (and having a room temp glass of Guieness!!!!) I wish I had a place around here to do work on my car. My Apartment complex has a very strict rule about ANY work (they get upset if they catch you cleaning your windows in the stall). Life's a ***** or you marry one!!! (sorry I know most of you guys love your wife)

I'm not going to get married again..... I'm just going to find a woman I don't like and give her a house!!!

1994SubaruSVX · #10 08-07-2002, 08:44 AM

you have to dispute the charges. that is bull****!!! i am so sick and tired of this idiot shops taking advantage of people. do not pay this people.

nordique14 · #11 08-07-2002, 09:46 PM

Mitch,

Here's an amusing story...
A woman brought her SVX to have the 60,000mi service done at a certain dealership in the Santa Clara area. Afterwards the car ran really rough. She brought it back. They couldn't find anything. She got so frustrated dealing with the dealership that she decided to sell the car. Another Subaru dealership in the area bought the car. They eventually tracked the problem down to a timing belt incorrectly installed. They replaced the timing belt and installed it correctly. The car ran fine afterwards. In a interesting side note, the guy who bought the SVX totalled it two weeks later. Too bad, it was in great shape.

My personal experience with Steven's Creek Subaru involves me driving up and the service guy looking at my car and saying, "Is that a Suabru? I've never seen one of those before."

Also, Steven's Creek marks up their prices over what other Suabru dealerships sell parts for. On the parts I have price, they are consistantly 10% higher than the Subaru suggested price.

Matt

#12 08-08-2002, 12:53 AM

i smell misunderstanding and impatience...i think you may fail to realize, that no matter what a shop may charge per hour, its YOUR decsion if you want the work done there, knowing it is some 90per hour, maybe you could have went somewhere else...also, i think this point is more often overlooked then anyother...just becuase a shop charges a high labor rate, it certainly does NOT mean they hire magicians!!!!! i mean if someone prior to them working on it messed up this cover, why has the burden shifted from the last guy to them???? any certain procerdue has a flat rate labor time...not dependant upon how long the ACTUAL procedure takes, but how long they can charge it for, so if you bring a job to them that pay 3 hours, its charged under the assumption that the work will be done on a "sound" car, or correctly assembled car, now if someone else messed it up, then, why are they to blame for the longer time??? I know that is not a popular statement, but it is very true, let me give you a "for instance"...i own a body shop, and if someone comes to me and askes me to change a fender, and say the book pays me 2 hours to change it, then i cannot charge more then that in the peliminary estamate, even if it takes me 7 hours...BUT if now say i start to tear it apart, and find someelse has welded some broken bolts, or cobbed a bracket, it now needs to be price adjusted, laws governing repair shops state that if it is not in "factory order", that additional fees can apply, on the same token, if it is an insurance company payoing for the repairs, then they will issue me a supplement check for the additional labor...what im saying is, you knew going in it was 90 some odd dollars an hour... and that things such as the messed up cover are beyond their control, it certainly is not there fault, and have every right to put it back together they way it came apart, unless YOU want to pick up the difference in price...hence buying a new cover and such...bty, if you guys think 90 is bad, there is a midas muffler around me that charges 87 an hour!!!!!! yes, i said midas, how CRAZY is that!!!

Uncamitzi · #13 08-08-2002, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by double0bondo
i smell misunderstanding and impatience...i think you may fail to realize, that no matter what a shop may charge per hour, its YOUR decsion if you want the work done there, knowing it is some........................t came apart, unless YOU want to pick up the difference in price...hence buying a new cover and such...bty, if you guys think 90 is bad, there is a midas muffler around me that charges 87 an hour!!!!!! yes, i said midas, how CRAZY is that!!!

Come on.... I'm not an Idiot... I know and knew that I had a choice. 98.00 was robbery I made decision to go against the common wisdom. I'm not blaming them for the cover.... read my first post more carefully. I saying that they are incompetent and they lie.... I don't know if they damaged the cover. That's my bad, I should have checked before I took it in.. I should have done the work myself. (I've rebuilt a few engines in my 48 years of tinkering with cars. I was in a hurry and that upset the SVX gods. again my bad! I've learned a lesson and I want to pass it on to anyone else that thinks that they just might fly against the common wisdom again

Get a mechanic that you trust or do the work yourself. I wish you luck at midas!!!! I personally have no trust in them either. I have had good luck with my GL at Mineke in Salt Lake!! The one on 9th south and just off West Temple, for those of you that know Salt Lake . Tell Mike I sent you. (he won't remember me .... but tell him anyway ... it'll drive him crazy!!!)