Funny how car maintenance works

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Minor tune up and spark plugs- $249.99
Transfer case SVC- $519.99
Transmission service- $183.51
PCV valve- $96.00
MISC (environ fee & shop fees)- $34.00
Tax- $61.00

On the last page it's broken down as:

Labor $732.96!!!!!! (boy am I in the wrong field)
Parts $453.01
MISC $34.00
Tax $61.00
Total $1280.97 *YUCK!*

ok the plug thing is all that is said there its taken out the plugs and putting in new ones , they dont install the new wires either that is extra I will bet my tank and a years pay on that one.. a transmission service Im sorry you have 50k on your vehicle you dont need them to flush out your tranny

[PoonTang]

Minor tune up at MOST would be air/fuel filters and a set of plugs. Everything else is computerized and unadjustable. 1 hour at most if they did it all. I think you got hosed on that 1 too at $250.

[dsaundry]

Ok I will put my 2 bucks in.
I own an automotive repair shop and yes some of the prices you got seem high, some are not. The transfer case service does seem quite high and without a detailed report on what they do when they service the transfer case and differential fluids next time I would check around. As for the fluid types, full synthetics are quite expensive compared to regular oils, As for some of the advise about what to get done, your manual is a pretty good guide in most cases, however you can go to any warranty approved shop and get the services done there, The average dealership here is about $120.00 per hour and the average shop is about $90.00 per hour, so you save some there. As for the coolant flush I agree to go green, the north american manufacturers seem to have a problem developing gaskets that stand up to the degredation of the long-life coolant. Green is better and there are animal friendly versions out now as well. Tune-ups are a word of the past, there is only scheduled maintenance now. Spark plugs from a lot of manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers are rated at well over 120,000km, but on higher milage cars I wouldnt put a long-life plug in. A regular v-groove actually works better. A bad oxygen senseor will screw up a motor real quick{sorry asmodeus} I have seen that firsthand, but the pcv price seems high too. Depends on what motor you have as far as labour goes, some spark plugs a real pain to get at and pull. Jeeps included. Try doing plugs in a newer Ford with a Triton motor in under 2 hours. Bottom line is if you feel you got hosed find another shop, ask around. There are a lot of good honest shops out there as well.
Ok just to stir the pot even more, A coolant flush would definately be recommended at 50k It deteriorates too quickly,not to flush the coolant can screw up a heater core. Pcv valves are important! 75/140 is about $20 perlitre. Mark up on parts is not where shops make their money, to the heavy duty mechanic. Try paying out insurance for your buildings, payroll tax's, Insurance for the techs, benefits, etc etc etc, and I hate to say this but you are all lucky the dealerships and private shops arent charging $200.00 plus per hour...By the way..its coming, The "Mechanic" has taken a bad rap for a lot of years, not all deserved, now that vehicles are changing to computerized modular systems you need to study a lot just to work on them, let alone the equipment to work on them. Nobody seems to have a problem giving a lawyer $200-500 dollars an hour, but look out if the shop charges you $200-500 to do your brakes. As for my qualifications I am inter-provincially licenced, a master tech and I get a lot of vehicles towed to my shop that a lot of back yard wannabe techs try to fix themselves. I go to courses every year just to keep up to date on the advances[good+bad] that are coming out. So do I think I am worth less per hour than any lawyer...or anybody else..Nope.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by dsaundry

Ok I will put my 2 bucks in.
I own an automotive repair shop and yes some of the prices you got seem high, some are not. The transfer case service does seem quite high and without a detailed report on what they do when they service the transfer case and differential fluids next time I would check around. As for the fluid types, full synthetics are quite expensive compared to regular oils, As for some of the advise about what to get done, your manual is a pretty good guide in most cases, however you can go to any warranty approved shop and get the services done there, The average dealership here is about $120.00 per hour and the average shop is about $90.00 per hour, so you save some there. As for the coolant flush I agree to go green, the north american manufacturers seem to have a problem developing gaskets that stand up to the degredation of the long-life coolant. Green is better and there are animal friendly versions out now as well. Tune-ups are a word of the past, there is only scheduled maintenance now. Spark plugs from a lot of manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers are rated at well over 120,000km, but on higher milage cars I wouldnt put a long-life plug in. A regular v-groove actually works better. A bad oxygen senseor will screw up a motor real quick{sorry asmodeus} I have seen that firsthand, but the pcv price seems high too. Depends on what motor you have as far as labour goes, some spark plugs a real pain to get at and pull. Jeeps included. Try doing plugs in a newer Ford with a Triton motor in under 2 hours. Bottom line is if you feel you got hosed find another shop, ask around. There are a lot of good honest shops out there as well.
Ok just to stir the pot even more, A coolant flush would definately be recommended at 50k It deteriorates too quickly,not to flush the coolant can screw up a heater core. Pcv valves are important! 75/140 is about $20 perlitre. Mark up on parts is not where shops make their money, to the heavy duty mechanic. Try paying out insurance for your buildings, payroll tax's, Insurance for the techs, benefits, etc etc etc, and I hate to say this but you are all lucky the dealerships and private shops arent charging $200.00 plus per hour...By the way..its coming, The "Mechanic" has taken a bad rap for a lot of years, not all deserved, now that vehicles are changing to computerized modular systems you need to study a lot just to work on them, let alone the equipment to work on them. Nobody seems to have a problem giving a lawyer $200-500 dollars an hour, but look out if the shop charges you $200-500 to do your brakes. As for my qualifications I am inter-provincially licenced, a master tech and I get a lot of vehicles towed to my shop that a lot of back yard wannabe techs try to fix themselves. I go to courses every year just to keep up to date on the advances[good+bad] that are coming out. So do I think I am worth less per hour than any lawyer...or anybody else..Nope.

Thank-you for sharing. I welcome the advice. I knew the dealership was going to cost more but I trusted the dealership to do it right, which I think/hope they did. As for the work they did it was listed in the manual as needing to be done and that's why I got the work done. My boyfriend does the regular oil changes so I didn't have them do that, but everything else that was listed (Minor tune up and spark plugs, Transfer case, Transmission service and PCV valve) I had them do. On the plus side they didn't try to tell me that this that and the other thing needed to be done as well, and they didn't do anything I didn't want done.

FYI This is the details on the transfer case that they gave me:
Transfer case svc. tech(s):3811 $371.54

Complaint: Check transfer case fluid; advise if service is required
Use sythetic oil if required; advise if full 4x4 service required
Do not perform before advising please (which they did)

Cause: Dirty driveline fluids

Correction: Performed 4x4 service, used synthetic fluids

Description
Sealer 01-081-003 $6.94
75W140 01-081-020 $110.37
Lube 01-081-090 $31.14
Multipurp 01-081-02 Internal

Total labor and parts $519.99

Any ideas as to what it all means? Thanks for the advice I appreciate it. I thought maybe they replaced the transfer case, and I was under the impression that whatever they did it needed to be done at 50,000km.

And this is the response from balistidae:
It looks to me like they changed out ALL driveline fluids (Front diff, tcase and rear diff). And judging by the sealer charge it most likely means the rear diff had to be split to be serviced which is where the labor charge would have come from.
Although it was a pricey service I doubt they were ripping you off. All of those items are set menu pricing generally and full synthetic fluids are quite expensive.

As for how much you get paid an hour, I'm just jealous! I'd love to make $90/hr

[X-Treme]

Mind if I ask what kind and year jeep this is? I have NEVER seen a transfer case that isn't just a drain and fill with plugs. I too own my own automotive repair shop, and even at the $110/hr that we charge, there is NO WAY that ANY transfer case service takes more than 3 hours. I would guess 1/2 hour or less MAX. It is my opinion to the best of my knowledge that you got ROYALLY screwed on the transfer case service. As for the coolant and spark plugs, I agree that 50k is too early for those as well.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by X-Treme

Mind if I ask what kind and year jeep this is? I have NEVER seen a transfer case that isn't just a drain and fill with plugs. I too own my own automotive repair shop, and even at the $110/hr that we charge, there is NO WAY that ANY transfer case service takes more than 3 hours. I would guess 1/2 hour or less MAX. It is my opinion to the best of my knowledge that you got ROYALLY screwed on the transfer case service. As for the coolant and spark plugs, I agree that 50k is too early for those as well.

Hummmm, I guess I should of called you It's a 2004 jeep liberty.

[X-Treme]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

On the plus side they didn't try to tell me that this that and the other thing needed to be done as well, and they didn't do anything I didn't want done.

That's cause they already hosed you on everything else....

[atc]

Originally Posted by dsaundry

Ok I will put my 2 bucks in.
I own an automotive repair shop and yes some of the prices you got seem high, some are not. The transfer case service does seem quite high and without a detailed report on what they do when they service the transfer case and differential fluids next time I would check around. As for the fluid types, full synthetics are quite expensive compared to regular oils, As for some of the advise about what to get done, your manual is a pretty good guide in most cases, however you can go to any warranty approved shop and get the services done there, The average dealership here is about $120.00 per hour and the average shop is about $90.00 per hour, so you save some there. As for the coolant flush I agree to go green, the north american manufacturers seem to have a problem developing gaskets that stand up to the degredation of the long-life coolant. Green is better and there are animal friendly versions out now as well. Tune-ups are a word of the past, there is only scheduled maintenance now. Spark plugs from a lot of manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers are rated at well over 120,000km, but on higher milage cars I wouldnt put a long-life plug in. A regular v-groove actually works better. A bad oxygen senseor will screw up a motor real quick{sorry asmodeus} I have seen that firsthand, but the pcv price seems high too. Depends on what motor you have as far as labour goes, some spark plugs a real pain to get at and pull. Jeeps included. Try doing plugs in a newer Ford with a Triton motor in under 2 hours. Bottom line is if you feel you got hosed find another shop, ask around. There are a lot of good honest shops out there as well.
Ok just to stir the pot even more, A coolant flush would definately be recommended at 50k It deteriorates too quickly,not to flush the coolant can screw up a heater core. Pcv valves are important! 75/140 is about $20 perlitre. Mark up on parts is not where shops make their money, to the heavy duty mechanic. Try paying out insurance for your buildings, payroll tax's, Insurance for the techs, benefits, etc etc etc, and I hate to say this but you are all lucky the dealerships and private shops arent charging $200.00 plus per hour...

WELL SAID.




By the way..its coming, The "Mechanic" has taken a bad rap for a lot of years, not all deserved, now that vehicles are changing to computerized modular systems you need to study a lot just to work on them, let alone the equipment to work on them. Nobody seems to have a problem giving a lawyer $200-500 dollars an hour, but look out if the shop charges you $200-500 to do your brakes. As for my qualifications I am inter-provincially licenced, a master tech and I get a lot of vehicles towed to my shop that a lot of back yard wannabe techs try to fix themselves. I go to courses every year just to keep up to date on the advances[good+bad] that are coming out. So do I think I am worth less per hour than any lawyer...or anybody else..Nope.

Being a lic. tech, this is so true.

[Skimmerking]

Another thing that just hit me is that a lot of times that these shops will take women for granted, and add a few things on too. I have seen that first hand too. It happened to my wife with her car, when we were first dating. She took her car into a shop to get serviced and the guys said i will do this and that. So I knew that some of the stuff wasn’t done. Like the coolant, windshield washer fluid, JUST adding water and charging her for a bottle, stupid stuff like that, knowing that she would never look under the hood. Man Father always taught me to spray paint the oil plug to test other shops so i did that too. and guess what they didn’t even change the oil after saying that they did..

So after that they charged her over 300 dollars, she paid it came home crying and told me that the car wasn’t even touched on some things, she checked the oil and it was black not somewhat clear. The water in windshield container was all water. So needless to sya i went up there for a drive. and i went to talk to the manager. then showed him the receipt and ask if he could put the car up on the hoist, so i can show him the oil that has not been changed, he laughed ,then i told him that Ok i will prove that your guys are ripping people off and will see you in court.
The manager says i will humour you then put it up on the hoist.
any ways guess what happened next. The manager said oh we spray paint our plugs to ensure that they don’t come off.

YA whatever, I told him and then said I will see you in court and told him that is ok i have pictures of it all see you in court. needless to say the shop was closed from other complaints and the manager was fined and had to pay for my court time and we got our money back...

That is why I don’t trust people when they work on my car or the wife's car. I watch...

[dsaundry]

Another thing that just hit me is that a lot of times that these shops will take women for granted, and add a few things on too. I have seen that first hand too. It happened to my wife with her car, when we were first dating. She took her car into a shop to get serviced and the guys said i will do this and that. So I knew that some of the stuff wasn’t done. Like the coolant, windshield washer fluid, JUST adding water and charging her for a bottle, stupid stuff like that, knowing that she would never look under the hood. Man Father always taught me to spray paint the oil plug to test other shops so i did that too. and guess what they didn’t even change the oil after saying that they did..

So after that they charged her over 300 dollars, she paid it came home crying and told me that the car wasn’t even touched on some things, she checked the oil and it was black not somewhat clear. The water in windshield container was all water. So needless to sya i went up there for a drive. and i went to talk to the manager. then showed him the receipt and ask if he could put the car up on the hoist, so i can show him the oil that has not been changed, he laughed ,then i told him that Ok i will prove that your guys are ripping people off and will see you in court.
The manager says i will humour you then put it up on the hoist.
any ways guess what happened next. The manager said oh we spray paint our plugs to ensure that they don’t come off.

YA whatever, I told him and then said I will see you in court and told him that is ok i have pictures of it all see you in court. needless to say the shop was closed from other complaints and the manager was fined and had to pay for my court time and we got our money back...

That is why I don’t trust people when they work on my car or the wife's car. I watch...

Sounds like you have had a bad experience, however 60% of my customers are female, a trend that is more common in the industry today.
If we put a part in, we always keep it for the customer. The majority of people look at it and say yup, throw it away, but I always give them the option if they want their old parts. I will be the first to admit that there are some real lousy shops out there and fortunately most dont last long. I think that is the case with most professions, lousy plumbers, lawyers, dr's, etc, etc. but to condemn a whole industry due to a poor experience is not right. I have a great lawyer that works for me, I love my doctor, and have some great professionals that work for me when I need them. I also have a great crew at work, that included weeding out some questionable staff from the early years. Any business has a growing period and as this is a human industry there are errors, how any individual or corporation deals with their errors is what defines them as good or bad. Just look at whats happening with banks, automotive companies{the big three] in particular. as well as with the economy. I have a motto at my shop..." If you like what we do, tell your friends, if you don't like what we do, Tell Me!" I have always believed in providing people with the same service that I expect to get. You gave a manager a chance to correct a mistake and he blew it. Not all people would. The unfortunate truth in most industries is that most people dont' complain..they just don't come back. I have not advertised in 3 years and my shop is always busy, I stress...always busy. I get all my customers from word of mouth and usually have a strong family connection..if the parents come in, the kids come in and so on. I hope you find a good shop and regain some faith in some industries...