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Re: Independent Mechanics
In article <E6KdnUXBOJKn4nHbnZ2dnUVZ_ryqnZ2d@comcast.com>,
lon.stowell@comcast.net says... > XS11E proclaimed: > > "Big Tex" <big_tex_1@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > >> But this guy looks like he charges the same as a dealer would! > > > > Why not? I'll bet his mechanics shop at the same stores and pay the > > same prices as the dealers mechanics do, why should they earn less? > > I've been willing to pay more at an independent to get mechanics with a > pulse and a service manager who is an actual mechanic rather than a > business major or thinly disguised sales type. Even better is if the > shop owner is the service manager or a very good mechanic as well. Agreed. A lot of service advisors/managers suck. If people really want to lessen the cost of car repairs they need to stop buying cars that require a gazillion very expensive special tools. They also need to stop messing with the a/c system and dumping in oddball gases. They need to stop buying cars with options out the ying yang. They need to stop the Gov from mandating expensive safety and emissions requirements. And finally they need to buy cars that are all alike...or they need to stop driving. I didn't drive the price of car repair over 60 bucks an hour, the cost of staying in business did. I thought $270 bucks for those repairs was more than reasonable. |
Re: Independent Mechanics
In article <E6KdnUXBOJKn4nHbnZ2dnUVZ_ryqnZ2d@comcast.com>,
lon.stowell@comcast.net says... > XS11E proclaimed: > > "Big Tex" <big_tex_1@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > >> But this guy looks like he charges the same as a dealer would! > > > > Why not? I'll bet his mechanics shop at the same stores and pay the > > same prices as the dealers mechanics do, why should they earn less? > > I've been willing to pay more at an independent to get mechanics with a > pulse and a service manager who is an actual mechanic rather than a > business major or thinly disguised sales type. Even better is if the > shop owner is the service manager or a very good mechanic as well. Agreed. A lot of service advisors/managers suck. If people really want to lessen the cost of car repairs they need to stop buying cars that require a gazillion very expensive special tools. They also need to stop messing with the a/c system and dumping in oddball gases. They need to stop buying cars with options out the ying yang. They need to stop the Gov from mandating expensive safety and emissions requirements. And finally they need to buy cars that are all alike...or they need to stop driving. I didn't drive the price of car repair over 60 bucks an hour, the cost of staying in business did. I thought $270 bucks for those repairs was more than reasonable. |
Re: Independent Mechanics
In article <E6KdnUXBOJKn4nHbnZ2dnUVZ_ryqnZ2d@comcast.com>,
lon.stowell@comcast.net says... > XS11E proclaimed: > > "Big Tex" <big_tex_1@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > >> But this guy looks like he charges the same as a dealer would! > > > > Why not? I'll bet his mechanics shop at the same stores and pay the > > same prices as the dealers mechanics do, why should they earn less? > > I've been willing to pay more at an independent to get mechanics with a > pulse and a service manager who is an actual mechanic rather than a > business major or thinly disguised sales type. Even better is if the > shop owner is the service manager or a very good mechanic as well. Agreed. A lot of service advisors/managers suck. If people really want to lessen the cost of car repairs they need to stop buying cars that require a gazillion very expensive special tools. They also need to stop messing with the a/c system and dumping in oddball gases. They need to stop buying cars with options out the ying yang. They need to stop the Gov from mandating expensive safety and emissions requirements. And finally they need to buy cars that are all alike...or they need to stop driving. I didn't drive the price of car repair over 60 bucks an hour, the cost of staying in business did. I thought $270 bucks for those repairs was more than reasonable. |
Re: Independent Mechanics
do you think his boss comes to him and says your are working a half pay
today??? that is what he was asking of that shop owner hell let him find the tools to do that work not to mention the scanner to look at the pcm i had a call from california sunday about a car no one can seem to fgure out and the dealer s told him no way they would even look at it and in talking to this guy he told me the labor rate out there is 95 to 110 a hour. 82 is cheap if you walked into my shop and pulled that the check out fee crap i would have gone to 100.00 to release vehicle and if it sat there 2 days there would have been a 20 dollar storage fee ta boot or by the way your boss will be making you pay in full for health care bllsht wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > Or you should have diagnosed and repaired it properly the first time. > > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > |
Re: Independent Mechanics
do you think his boss comes to him and says your are working a half pay
today??? that is what he was asking of that shop owner hell let him find the tools to do that work not to mention the scanner to look at the pcm i had a call from california sunday about a car no one can seem to fgure out and the dealer s told him no way they would even look at it and in talking to this guy he told me the labor rate out there is 95 to 110 a hour. 82 is cheap if you walked into my shop and pulled that the check out fee crap i would have gone to 100.00 to release vehicle and if it sat there 2 days there would have been a 20 dollar storage fee ta boot or by the way your boss will be making you pay in full for health care bllsht wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > Or you should have diagnosed and repaired it properly the first time. > > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > |
Re: Independent Mechanics
do you think his boss comes to him and says your are working a half pay
today??? that is what he was asking of that shop owner hell let him find the tools to do that work not to mention the scanner to look at the pcm i had a call from california sunday about a car no one can seem to fgure out and the dealer s told him no way they would even look at it and in talking to this guy he told me the labor rate out there is 95 to 110 a hour. 82 is cheap if you walked into my shop and pulled that the check out fee crap i would have gone to 100.00 to release vehicle and if it sat there 2 days there would have been a 20 dollar storage fee ta boot or by the way your boss will be making you pay in full for health care bllsht wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > Or you should have diagnosed and repaired it properly the first time. > > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > |
Re: Independent Mechanics
do you think his boss comes to him and says your are working a half pay
today??? that is what he was asking of that shop owner hell let him find the tools to do that work not to mention the scanner to look at the pcm i had a call from california sunday about a car no one can seem to fgure out and the dealer s told him no way they would even look at it and in talking to this guy he told me the labor rate out there is 95 to 110 a hour. 82 is cheap if you walked into my shop and pulled that the check out fee crap i would have gone to 100.00 to release vehicle and if it sat there 2 days there would have been a 20 dollar storage fee ta boot or by the way your boss will be making you pay in full for health care bllsht wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > Or you should have diagnosed and repaired it properly the first time. > > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > |
Re: Independent Mechanics
i'm in howell and my labor rate is 40.00
reboot wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > > the shop is AE Autocare in Livonia and until now I have been very > happy with them. > > my first job was a kid-car, a '95 escort with front brakes acting up. > took it in and they called me and said that the calipers were hanging > up on corroded pins. that for about $250 they could replace them or > for $100 they would take them apart and put the pins on a wire wheel > and put it back together with some good lube. i was delighted because > the car was only worth about $500 !! > > i know the serp belt needs replacing, i'll do it when i replace the > cracked exhaust manifold. but i'll do that on my own time, not when > i'm leaving on a business trip and have about 20 minutes to give it a > quick once over and a lick and a promise. > > in this case there wasn't a check engine light flashing and if i had > more time i would have gone to autozone and scanned it in the parking > lot. > > he didn't offer (at least yet, I'm going to pick it up in a few > minutes) to drop the diagnostics. the bone i'm picking is 'standard > times' that don't vary by vehicle. on this tj it's really only a 5 > minute job to repace the MAP sensor. > > with some time available, i'm my own shade tree mechanic, i've got the > FSM (props to the alt.binaries.e-books.technical newsgroup) and basic > tools. just didn't have the chance this time with going out of town. > > gripe done ... peace > > reboot > > --- > avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > Tested on: 9/15/2007 12:42:03 PM > avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > http://www.avast.com |
Re: Independent Mechanics
i'm in howell and my labor rate is 40.00
reboot wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > > the shop is AE Autocare in Livonia and until now I have been very > happy with them. > > my first job was a kid-car, a '95 escort with front brakes acting up. > took it in and they called me and said that the calipers were hanging > up on corroded pins. that for about $250 they could replace them or > for $100 they would take them apart and put the pins on a wire wheel > and put it back together with some good lube. i was delighted because > the car was only worth about $500 !! > > i know the serp belt needs replacing, i'll do it when i replace the > cracked exhaust manifold. but i'll do that on my own time, not when > i'm leaving on a business trip and have about 20 minutes to give it a > quick once over and a lick and a promise. > > in this case there wasn't a check engine light flashing and if i had > more time i would have gone to autozone and scanned it in the parking > lot. > > he didn't offer (at least yet, I'm going to pick it up in a few > minutes) to drop the diagnostics. the bone i'm picking is 'standard > times' that don't vary by vehicle. on this tj it's really only a 5 > minute job to repace the MAP sensor. > > with some time available, i'm my own shade tree mechanic, i've got the > FSM (props to the alt.binaries.e-books.technical newsgroup) and basic > tools. just didn't have the chance this time with going out of town. > > gripe done ... peace > > reboot > > --- > avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > Tested on: 9/15/2007 12:42:03 PM > avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > http://www.avast.com |
Re: Independent Mechanics
i'm in howell and my labor rate is 40.00
reboot wrote: > On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 23:28:06 -0400, reboot <reboot@nothere.com> wrote: > > >bought a '99 TJ 4.0 last spring, have a daughter driving it, 67k miles > > > >other than maintenance and a radio, i haven't had to spend much on > >repairs. > > > >daughter comes home tuesday night just before i leave on a business > >trip, says the car is running rough, idles rough. runs under WOT but > >not well at part throttle. > > > >so being a student of this group i'm thinking electrical connectors on > >the CPS or TPS or MAP sensor ... easy to get to. open each up, spray > >out w/ electronics cleaner, put a dab of dielectric grease on it and > >put them back together. pull the TB, looks clean, shoot it w/ some > >carb cleaner and blow it out. check the IAC and clean it out. the > >jeep now starts fine, idles smooth, drive it and runs part throttle or > >full throttle fine. tell daughter it should be OK, leave town. > > > >phone call next day while i'm out of town, sam ting happening. > > > >so i call up an independent mechanic shop i've used over the past > >three years and arrange for daughter to drop it off. > > > >up until now this shop has been excellent, good work, reasonable > >prices, no upselling etc. > > > >today the service writer tells me that the MAP senson was bad, the > >Throttle Body needed cleaning. my wife authorized the repair whild i > >was on the trip. > > > >oh ... btw - the shocks and steering damper are shot and the serp > >belt needs replaceing. sheesh, glad i didn't tell him to look > >anywhere else. and that my wife had sense not to authorize these > >fixes. > > > >so i check out the price for the MAP sensor. Mopar retail is about > >$108 and I can get it for about $90. call the service writer back and > >ask him how he gets from $110 to $270 > > > >1 hr. diagnostics $82.00 > >MAP Sensor $110 > >Labor for MAP Sensor 0.7 hr $57 > >Labor for TB cleaning 0.25 hr $21 > > > >hooking up a scanner ... about what - 5 minutes? > > > >replacing a MAP sensor on a 4.0 about what - another 5 minutes > > > >so i called the shop owner and told him that his diagnostic charge is > >out of line on a car like this, that his labor is out of line for this > >particular repair and that if i ever get upsold again i'd be taking my > >business elsewhere and that i absolutely won't let my wife or > >daughters drop a car off and authorize a repair ever again. > > > >i don't think he gets it. > > > >thanks for letting me vent, should have told the kid to wait until i > >got home. > > > >reboot > > > > > >--- > >avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > >Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > >Tested on: 9/14/2007 11:28:08 PM > >avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > >http://www.avast.com > > > > > the shop is AE Autocare in Livonia and until now I have been very > happy with them. > > my first job was a kid-car, a '95 escort with front brakes acting up. > took it in and they called me and said that the calipers were hanging > up on corroded pins. that for about $250 they could replace them or > for $100 they would take them apart and put the pins on a wire wheel > and put it back together with some good lube. i was delighted because > the car was only worth about $500 !! > > i know the serp belt needs replacing, i'll do it when i replace the > cracked exhaust manifold. but i'll do that on my own time, not when > i'm leaving on a business trip and have about 20 minutes to give it a > quick once over and a lick and a promise. > > in this case there wasn't a check engine light flashing and if i had > more time i would have gone to autozone and scanned it in the parking > lot. > > he didn't offer (at least yet, I'm going to pick it up in a few > minutes) to drop the diagnostics. the bone i'm picking is 'standard > times' that don't vary by vehicle. on this tj it's really only a 5 > minute job to repace the MAP sensor. > > with some time available, i'm my own shade tree mechanic, i've got the > FSM (props to the alt.binaries.e-books.technical newsgroup) and basic > tools. just didn't have the chance this time with going out of town. > > gripe done ... peace > > reboot > > --- > avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. > Virus Database (VPS): 000774-6, 09/14/2007 > Tested on: 9/15/2007 12:42:03 PM > avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software. > http://www.avast.com |
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