I HATE car dealers!

dasmel30

So my check engine light has been on for a while now and I just today took it in to get it looked at.  The dealership that services my car said it would cost $400 to get it fixed!!!  Just out of curosity, I called a mom and pop repair shop and they said it would run about $150 to get it fixed! This mom and pop shop is pretty trustworthy as my boss takes his foreign vehicles there.

DH says I should just tell the overpriced dealer that I'm going to get a second opinion on my car.  I'm just worried that the dealership will say, well since we ordered the part you'll have to pay for it.  Anybody have any experience with something like this?

danies08

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The local Chevy dealer is SO insanely overpriced for stuff! Jeff's work sends him to a town about an hour away, and there is a good locally-owned body shop/repair shop, so he sometimes just has us drive our personal vehicles down there for anything they need. 

danies08

And...the first car I ever bought (a Chevy Lumina for college) was "checked thoroughly" before I bought it by the dealership, but a week later the same mechanic said the transmission was shot!! Ugh, I was LIVID. I had signed the No Warranty paperwork, but with Lemon Laws they did pay for half of the transmission and all of the labor. But I was still livid. I could have bought a lot more car with that extra $1000!

RachieK10

Do you know why your check engine light is on? It's often for something really stupid or nothing at all. You can go to Advanced Auto Parts and they will run a check for free (and I know how you like freebies!). If it's nothing, they can just reset the light (also free). If it's something more serious you can take it in.

My dad worked for Firestone my whole life so I never went to the dealership for maintenance or repairs.

RachieK10

Also they shouldn't make you pay for a part until you actually use it. It's not like that part is specific to your vehicle - they can always keep it on hand to use for the next person who has this issue. No loss to them = you don't have to pay.

mickylvr1

That is why H refuses to take our vehicle to a dealship for services.  We go to Car-X and have had pretty good service there.

Also, PP was right in taking it to somewhere like Advanced Auto Parts or Auto Zone to have them run the test first.  It could save you big $$.

Kryssttle

How annoying!! I hate that they think they can (and do) take advantage of people! I would assume they can put the part into a general stock, but with how car dealerships are, you never know....

dasmel30

I took my car to Autozone and had them pull the code.  It is my oxygen sensor.  My dealer came back with the same code. 

@Rach:  That's what I thought about the part too.  

Wish me luck in trying to tell them off!

waltzingmatilda13

That sucks Mel. I'm pretty sure though that they can't actually complete any work other than diagnostics without your specific approval. So if they just told you and you said you'd think about it, then if they do the work it's their own too bad. Hopefully you can get it fixed some where else cheaper.

LIL Vero

My husband use to work for several dealership as a Service Advisor years before he went into banking. 

It's the labor that cost so much. What takes 2 hours they charge you about 4 hours. Question them on:

1. how much labor are they charging you or how many hours does it take to fix your car 

2. to give you a list of the products with pricing

3. Do your homework and compare it to Autoparts warehouse

Once they see that you know the lingo they might drop the price.