Funny how car maintenance works

[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.

[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....

[mark]

What does surprise me is they didn't get you for the $50 hit on the cabin air filter.

I think lesson here is next time do what you can handle yourself and shop around for quotes on the rest.

[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.

[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.

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Basically as soon as the snow hits the ground and until the snow is gone I keep it in 4x4.

I think they did the work they said they did, I just didn't think that the work was going to cost so much. $732.96 in labor alone *ouch* They told me that they would start working on it first thing in the morning (shop opens at 7am, jeep was there from yesterday drop off) and they called me at 4:50pm and said it was done. I'm not sure how much an hour they charge but I think most places around here are around $65/hr.

I pretty much keep my Dakota in 4x4 too. Otherwise, its scarry. Even with great snow tires. 2WD on dry pavement tho. Love the shift on the fly... BUt ya A TON of great advice and help here. Next time, just ask, and we will all help you do your own services. Just promise to wash hands thourally before going into the tank Its all really easy, and we'll show you how.

[Slick Fork]

A car dealership is no better or worse then anybody else in the retail world. I have friends and family in many retail stores and you would be sick if you saw the mark up in clothes or electronics.

[dsaundry]

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

Remember that is the door rate; the tech does not make anywhere close to that. Neither do I.
I still think the transfercase service is a bit high. If they did the differentials and transfer case service which on a Liberty would include removal of skid plates if equipped the labour is still too high imo.

A car dealership is no better or worse then anybody else in the retail world. I have friends and family in many retail stores and you would be sick if you saw the mark up in clothes or electronics.

Definately agree!!!

[Parker]

I have two cars in the shop right now - 01 Focus Wagon with a broken timing belt ( I don't think I'm going to fix it ) and my back up, my 92 F-150 with a problem somewhere between the ignition and the starter. ( That pops up the second I need to drive it, the thing hasn't moved in three months and now it breaks! ) I'm cringing waiting to see what the bills are going to be.