It is very possible that something that AAMCO did in the diagnostic test fucked things up. I don't typically trust car mechanic chains...AAMCO, Tire Kingdom, Just Brakes, Meineke, etc., they're usually all total shysters. $650 to replace an alternator and a battery? Uh...no. The parts themselves aren't that expensive, and the labour to replace a simple alternator and battery DEFINITELY does not cost that much.
Personally, I'd take it to an authorized VW mechanic. Doesn't matter if it's at a dealership or a private mechanic. S/he just has to know what s/he is doing.
You're not from around here, are you.montecristoJanuary 22 2008, 06:54:43 UTC
I could see parts and labor for alternator and battery replacement going $650 easily out here. California is full of people with more money than sense and very little mechanical aptitude. Hell, I know lots of guys who will call a mechanic to change a flat tire. Sad, really.
Re: You're not from around here, are you.spacecowgirlJanuary 22 2008, 09:36:55 UTC
:-/ Wow. That is sad. Even I know how to change my own tire and I'm a girly girl. But I did live in California for a time, it was only six months though. I didn't have a car there when I did, and it was almost ten years ago, so...
But, yeah, it's $300 here, tops. I live in Florida, and yes, near the tourists, but just like everyone who really lives and works in a touristy area, mechanics have a nose for who is and isn't a tourist. They know that you'll just go down the road if they try to take you for a ride - and that you'll remember that they did.
Re: You're not from around here, are you.montecristoJanuary 22 2008, 18:34:10 UTC
If the AAMCO down the street is full of Jags and BMWs getting serviced you know that you are not going pay a reasonable price to get your VW worked on. I try to give my daughters a working knowledge of how the car works and how to manage its maintenance and repair. The world is full of unscrupulous people who will gouge a customer if they think she can be bamboozled about what is wrong with her car or what is necessary to fix it. In many places there is a kind of sexist discrimination where some bad apple mechanics will assume that women are less knowledgeable about automobile issues. In California though, we don't have as much of that kind of sexism: they assume ignorance on the part of either sex and are very frequently not wrong.
Re: You're not from around here, are you.ingenuemuseJanuary 22 2008, 20:32:49 UTC
bah! it cost us more like 300.00-- they are full of shit. Besides it was my idea to get their free diagnostic, which was a mistake b/c it came back to us running WORSE. =(
Re: You're not from around here, are you.montecristoJanuary 22 2008, 21:43:20 UTC
Yes, I know that you can find more reasonable prices if you look. Many people are not savvy enough to look. So what happened? What is the difference in the behavior before you had the diagnostic done and afterward?
Personally, I'd take it to an authorized VW mechanic. Doesn't matter if it's at a dealership or a private mechanic. S/he just has to know what s/he is doing.
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But, yeah, it's $300 here, tops. I live in Florida, and yes, near the tourists, but just like everyone who really lives and works in a touristy area, mechanics have a nose for who is and isn't a tourist. They know that you'll just go down the road if they try to take you for a ride - and that you'll remember that they did.
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