Almost got ripped off..!

[dave]

So I go to school about 500 miles away from home to a school with a good reputation for producing good automotive technicians (near motor city.) My wife apparently had an intermittent start issue with a 2007 Saturn Relay. I asked her a few questions and offered some possible causes… one of these of course was a failing fuel pump. I even specifically looked up a fuel pump because having parts experience, I knew they were expensive and I wanted to prepare her for this scenario; $359.99 for an Airtex pump from AutoZone. I would have been happy to perform the repair myself; however I am 8 hours away and now must rely on the kindness of strangers.

So without my knowledge, she took it to a shop that quoted $1,000 to perform the repair :ohmy: I am glad I found out before they got too deep into the repair. I told her to call the shop and stop whatever they were doing. I even said that we’ll pay them to stop where they are at and we’ll even pay for the diagnostic. So, we stopped them $170 into the project… a small price to pay.

It took me about 2 minutes to find many ASE certified mechanics on criagslist and called a few. I told them about what happened and they were sympathetic to our situation. Many of them offered to perform the repair for $500 to $600 dollars (part included)… which is commensurate with the 2.4 hour book time to perform the repair.

In summary, a shop that charges an innocent woman and a mother of 5 year old triplets who knows nothing about cars $1,000 to do a fuel pump is criminal. They even played it up like it was a “pain in the ass” and was a “2 man job.” They even acted like they were doing her a favor by saving her $200. I was so angry that it took a couple of tasty adult beverages to get back to my calm and collected self. We have now found a good mechanic who agreed to do the pump for $600 (part included) who could perform a same day repair, which I believe is reasonable. I’m not trying to be a cheapskate and do not mind paying the man for his time and expertise. At least it saved a working family of being robbed $400.

I think a good video for Eric would be “How not to get ripped off.” It could include strategies such as:

• pay for a professional ASE certified diagnostic
• see how much the part is from local part stores (not from the dealer)
• look up the book time for the repair.
• call several shops for estimates of the repair (and play ‘one against the other’)
• ask what the shop charges for labor per hour. crunch the numbers for what the repair should cost per the book time, and see if what you come up with differs from what you are quoted for the repair.
• tell each shop you call the lowest price you’ve been quoted, and why they are over charging you.
• once you do find a honest shop/mechanic, always go to this person/shop in the future.
• be sure to spread the word about the good and bad shops to your friends and family. this will help ensure that the good shops get good business and the bad shops don’t.

Topic

[Bluesnut]

You have a lot to learn about the field. The price quoted was up front so no one is being ripped off. You’re comparing a shop’s price to someone you dredged off of Craigslist.

You’re also assuming that ASE is a sign of honesty and competency and that is quite often not the case. An ASE cert only means that someone got enough answers correct on a multiple choice test. Many years ago I passed one of my ASE tests with something like a 90 percentile and I knew almost zero about the subject when I walked into the testing room.

If this auto school you’re attending is UTI or something like that then odds are there are many things they won’t be teaching you.

[Bruce]

I would recommend you not put the airtex pump in, we have had the most trouble out of that brand in the past. Also a dealer part in most cases is going to cost more than from the parts store. Also shops are in the business to make money so they are going to mark the part up to make money on it.

And in my experience fuel pumps are a 2 man job for a lot of people.

ASE does not mean the mechanic knows what he is doing. ASE is a gimmick.

[Bruce]

[quote=”Wrench Turner” post=55989]
I think a good video for Eric would be “How not to get ripped off.” It could include strategies such as:

• pay for a professional ASE certified diagnostic

ASE is a gimmick

• see how much the part is from local part stores (not from the dealer)

Shops have to mark up parts to make money. You can provide your own parts but dont expect the shop to warranty the labor if the part fails later

• look up the book time for the repair.

Book time is not always right

• call several shops for estimates of the repair
• ask what the shop charges for labor per hour. crunch the numbers for what the repair should cost per the book time, and see if what you come up with differs from what you are quoted for the repair.
• tell each shop you call the lowest price you’ve been quoted, and why they are over charging you.
• once you do find a honest shop/mechanic, always go to this person/shop in the future.

Yes

• be sure to spread the word about the good and bad shops to your friends and family. this will help ensure that the good shops get good business and the bad shops don’t.

Yes, but make sure you know what your talking about before you bad mouth a shop. Sometimes things dont go the way they are supposed to. Sometimes you get into something and bolts break or you find another bad part or parts while doing the repairs.

[/quote]

[dave]

bluesnut and superman both make good points. it is this type of perspective that i need in order to cope with the situation and make it through the day without having to drink beer first thing in the morning.

in retrospect, i think i should put my ethics to the side and start overcharging people for services and justifying it by telling myself “it’s quoted up front so it’s ok,” “myself or the business is just trying to make money,” or “you get what you pay for.” :side:

[Bruce]

I am not saying that dealer was trying to rip you off. What is their labor rate? At $100/hr labor charge would be $300, 2.4hrs plus .5 or so for diagnostic. OnDemand shows dealer list on that pump to be about $450, but sometimes it is wrong.

[dave]

I will even drop some names here:

The $1,000 fuel pump was the product of Raben.
http://www.rabentire.com/

For half price, it was done by Car-X.
http://www.carx.com/Evansville/

Both facilities are located in Evansville, IN.

[Steve]

$1,000 for that repair (with the part being $360) does seem high to me but then again I live in a rural area where most prices are cheaper than in the urban areas. I would think $600 or $700 would really be more reasonable. Sometimes a small shop will give a better deal due to lower work volume and lower overhead costs.

[Author]

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