Car repairs suck
Ah, sweet victory.
So my truck is acting weird; coolant leaking, the "low coolant" light is coming on. So I take it into the place that fixed my truck in May, because I'm thinking that possibly the same thing has gone wrong again (water pump).
So the guy tells me that it's my heater core, the thing that makes your heater work. According to his calculations, it's going to be $600. Yeah, $600. I sit there in amazement, with a funny look on my face, for like 15 seconds. He then shows me how he came up with this price, and I nicely ask for a phone book.
I flip thru the book, find a listing of Chevrolet dealers, and call two of them. The first one tells me it will be $300, and the second one tells me between $3-350, but not more than that, and that's parts and labor.
So I hang the phone up, the service guy was walking around the office doing paperwork, but I'm sure he was listening to my conversations. So I tell him that I'm going to take my truck to the dealer, and he asks how much they quoted me. I tell him and he adamantly says "that just can't be right. If they change that price once you get there, just call me and I'll tow you for free." I reply,"well, I did ask him and he did say parts and labor would be $300, they do them everyday. Even if, after I get there, if they told me it's going to cost me $400, it would still save me $200 instead of you doing the same job. I understand that you have a formula for procedures, but I can't refute a dealer telling me how much the job will be."
I'm now kicking myself because I had my water pump replaced by these people, as well as my battery, and I'm wondering if I got screwed over on that.
On a sidenote, I need to open up a service shop, or become a mechanic. The "place" charges $90/hr for labor. Now, I understand that aggregately that includes all the hydraulic lifts, tools, and years of expertise, but some procedures don't warrant $90/hr of work, like anything on my truck. Man, I wonder how many females this place bilks out of money everyday.
So my truck is acting weird; coolant leaking, the "low coolant" light is coming on. So I take it into the place that fixed my truck in May, because I'm thinking that possibly the same thing has gone wrong again (water pump).
So the guy tells me that it's my heater core, the thing that makes your heater work. According to his calculations, it's going to be $600. Yeah, $600. I sit there in amazement, with a funny look on my face, for like 15 seconds. He then shows me how he came up with this price, and I nicely ask for a phone book.
I flip thru the book, find a listing of Chevrolet dealers, and call two of them. The first one tells me it will be $300, and the second one tells me between $3-350, but not more than that, and that's parts and labor.
So I hang the phone up, the service guy was walking around the office doing paperwork, but I'm sure he was listening to my conversations. So I tell him that I'm going to take my truck to the dealer, and he asks how much they quoted me. I tell him and he adamantly says "that just can't be right. If they change that price once you get there, just call me and I'll tow you for free." I reply,"well, I did ask him and he did say parts and labor would be $300, they do them everyday. Even if, after I get there, if they told me it's going to cost me $400, it would still save me $200 instead of you doing the same job. I understand that you have a formula for procedures, but I can't refute a dealer telling me how much the job will be."
I'm now kicking myself because I had my water pump replaced by these people, as well as my battery, and I'm wondering if I got screwed over on that.
On a sidenote, I need to open up a service shop, or become a mechanic. The "place" charges $90/hr for labor. Now, I understand that aggregately that includes all the hydraulic lifts, tools, and years of expertise, but some procedures don't warrant $90/hr of work, like anything on my truck. Man, I wonder how many females this place bilks out of money everyday.