VDC Driver and all who helped, thank you. A YT video shows the a/c amp located in one of the rear doors, so it couldn’t have been damaged when the air filter was changed. Social Distancing prevents taking the car to my independent repair shop, but I shall speak to them about costs, for when I can go.
Actually, you can take it to any repair shop. Just wear your mask and stay 6 feet away from the shop folks. After the car is finished, wait one day before picking it up. This works if you have someone else in the house that can provide transportation from and to the shop while your car is there.
I will take the car to my independent shop. I take issue with those who say if the dealer can’t replicate the problem there is nothing more they can do. YouTube is replete with videos where mechanics check cars with problems that can’t be duplicated and, using analyzers, and expertise, figure out what could cause the problem, find and fix it. Back when I had a BMW, it had an intermittent high-speed “stutter” that two BMW dealers “couldn’t duplicate,” and didn’t repair. I found a two-man shop specializing in German cars. They also couldn’t duplicate the problem. But they fixed it. It’s like saying you went to a dr feeling ill and with fever, but your fever was normal at the dr’s office, so he said there’s nothing he can do, and sends you home.
Mechanics work on flat rate and live or die by the clock. Every minute is crucial. That means something when you ask for things to be done a certain way.
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Mechanics will spend a substantial amount of time chasing ghosts for free.
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Mechanics will spend a substantial amount of time chasing ghosts and bill you accordingly.
Which one is your option?
If your independent shop replaces the A/C amplifier based on your suspicion and this problem that you cannot demonstrate continues, will you ask for your $1000 back?
They wouldn’t replace the amp based on my suspicion, they would replace it if they determine it is the problem. In the 20 years I’ve patronized them, they’ve always fixed the problems, the first time. They guarantee their work. If the dealer charge to replace the amp is $1000, based on experience, the shop would probably cost $500.
Yes, they may purchase a used part, the dealer will only use a new computer.
How long will you be without the vehicle?
Option 3–The a/c is repaired. The videos I referred to, where mechanics found the cause of problems others had not, because they couldn’t duplicate it, the successful mechanics didn’t chase “ghosts,” they strong textthoughtstrong text about what could cause such a condition, ran analyses to confirm their theses, and did what was necessary. They were smarter and/or more experienced, and not lazy.
Why are you defending dealers, where parts are priced much higher than at auto supply stores, and labor charges are exorbitant compared to most independents? When the instrument panel gauges on a '94 LS 460 went out; the dealer wanted $1500 for parts and labor. The independent charged me $800, for a newstrong text**** Lexus panel, including labor. Though in this case the parts were new, there are many times when a used or refurbished part is fine, but a dealer won’t install them because it can’t make as much money.
In my experience, repairs have taken longer at the dealer than at this shop.
We have seen many a time, no code can’t fix it. Glad your problem is resolved.
Is there an A/C amplifier available in the aftermarket? I think that you will need to rely on Lexus new for replacement HVAC parts on this vehicle, your mechanic might search for junk yard parts.
True, codes are the easy fix and aren’t always right. In which case, good mechanics rely on experience and/or brain-power and figure out what could be causing the problem. I remember the “old” days, when there weren’t plug-in computer analyzers, or any of the electronic tools common today, and mechanics managed to fix cars using experience, gained from having to figure out solutions.
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Whatever you say, Nevada.
You simply do not understand how business works. You are comparing the cost of dealer parts and service to an independent shop and that is not reasonable at all.
A franchised dealer has countless more expenses to cover than a small independent shop. Those include massively larger mortgage or lease payments, franchise fees, countless service tools which must be purchased by the dealer and or required by the car manufacturer, mandatory technical schooling including travel and meal expenses paid by the dealer, a lot of office staff, a warranty clerk and/or dispatcher, service writers and service manager, and the list goes on ad infinitum…
The same applies to the parts department. They stock countless thousands of dollars worth of parts which may sit for months and years before being sold. They have employees and a parts manager who must be paid along with the usual expenses involved in employment. There’s also the usual; the price the dealer must pay the manufacturer for the part is quite often much higher than the retail price at the local parts house or on the internet. Would you buy something for a 100 bucks and sell it for 75 to be competitive with gag Autozone?
The analogy I like to use is this. Price your lawn being mowed by a professional lawn service compared to the 14 year old kid from next door who may do a perfectly fine job for much less. Not the same price are they? Guess you know why…overhead.
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I understand perfectly how business works. You explain WHY it costs so much more to have work done at a dealer than at an independent, which is why smart people don’t use dealer service except for warranty. The work done is not enhanced at all by waiting rooms with big-screen TVs and “free” coffee (the cost of which, like the over-stuffed chairs and “free” car wash, is a hidden part of the bill). “Service Managers” (i.e. salespeople, a major part of their pay is from commissions ) have never been an advantage for me over speaking directly to an independent’s mechanic or owner. Re your analogy, why pay a lawn service much more than the neighborhood kid, who does just as good a job?
There’s a bit more to it than monetary issues. I can’t tell you how many times a year it happens but it’s in the countless thousands across the country. Dealers will see cars damaged or destroyed by those same independents because of lack of special tools, procedures, or knowledge. Some personal examples…
You’re too high on brakes. I can ge it done cheaper down the street. Fine, have a it. A week later the car is back on the tow truck with the entire right front suspension including a cast iron steering knuckle destroyed while trying to force a self adjusting caliper piston straight into its bore. The cast steering knuckle being bent was amazing and was causing approx. 4 degrees of negative camber.
You’re too high on a CV axle Two weeks later it’s back on a tow truck after the indy shop installed the inner joint 180 degrees out and spent who knows how much time whaling on the drive pin with a hammer. Trashed spider gears, broken ring and pinion gears, and cracked transmission case. Trans is now scrap metal.
You’re too high on a Subaru engine overhaul. A few weeks later indy shop guy comes into the dealer with a Subaru engine block he could not spit apart Why? He did not know about the one hidden bolt.
At that point the block was trashed from hammers, screwdrivers, and chisels. (Even worse, when this thing was puking oil after reassembly the indy guy told the car owner that WE were the ones who did the lower end. Not., We had protected ourselves by having the indy guy sign a repair order stating the block was damaged when brought in. The only thing we did was remove the one bolt and the cases fell apart,.) Engine is now scrap metal.
Indy shop overhauls a Subaru manual trans and botched the repairs due to not realizing the shaft bearing retention pins must be lined up, That locked the transmission up and ruined all of the bearings. She sued the indy shop and won with some technical help from me. And won some punitive damages also because of the indy shop stonewalling her so long.
Customer does want to pay a nominal charge for adjusting the linkage on a manual transmission which is jumping out of gear. A few weeks later Cottmans calls us wanting to pay us to tell them what’s going on., I go over to Cottmans and recognize the nominal charge car. They have his trans on the bench in a thousand pieces and there was nothing wrong with it. They were in panic mode and when I was asked what they should do I simply said “Frankly, I don’t give a dxxx” and left. No idea what happened. I just know that we did not need our fingerprints anywhere hear that pile of formerly good and now pile of parts.
See what I mean? This kind of cxxp happens all the time. The common denominator is they all saved money, huh…
As for Jr. mowing the yard, what happens if there’s a scream and Jr. has mechanically separated a foot from his ankle? Not quite as bad, an ex-boss of mine mowed his yard one weekend and an errant piece of coat hanger wire was thrown up and stabbed him in the shin. This turned out bad because he ended up spending over 3 months on crutches over a piece of wire.
If that happens to Jr. who is not likely going to be bonded and insured guess who possibly gets sued…
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Spoken by, likely, an owner/employee of a dealership. Awful examples you give. None of which I’ve ever experienced. (Though I’m a kind fellow, and would feel sorry for the kid with the hanger, that doesn’t change that he’s a terrific lawn mower.) I’ve been driving for 70 years, have owned more cars than I can remember. Except for warranty work, I’ve always used independent mechanics. Not selected at random, but suggested by friends who used them and/or after I’d met with and evaluated. I noticed that, more often than not, when I brought a car in for warranty work, the “service writer” finds non-warranty problems that “should” be fixed.
Your anecdote is not statistical data. I can counter by telling you about times when a dealership has recommended I not have certain work performed because it would be overly expensive and I could get it done cheaper elsewhere with an aftermarket solution.
You’re not wrong about dealerships, but you’re not entirely right either. Independents can be incompetent or crooked just as dealerships can. In some situations you’ll get better service from the dealership. After all, the dealership will have whatever special tool they need to fix your car. The independent might have it, or he might take your car to the dealership and have them do it, then charge you more.
If you want us to believe that, you should stop casting aspersions on long-standing posters. Just because someone disagrees with you does not mean they’re an evil dealership employee out to distort the facts.
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+1 to Shadowfax’s comments.
I can recall, with my '96 Outback, when it got to ~90k miles, I asked the Service Manager (yes, it was really the manager, not a service writer) how much it would cost to replace the struts on my car.
He gave me a puzzled look and said, “I can’t recall us ever replacing struts on an Outback, but I’ll get you an estimate if you wish. Why do you think you need to replace them?”
I answered that the ride quality didn’t seem as good as it used to be, and after taking a look at my tires, he advised that I replace them before plunging into strut replacement. It turned out that his advice was valid.
That was the same dealership where, when the engine showed signs of the dreaded head gasket problem at ~120k miles, they charged me something on the order of $400 (parts + labor) to replace both of them. I really doubt if any indy mechanics would have done the job for less, and they must have done a decent job because the car went to a young relative about a year later, and she continued to drive it w/o problems for another few years.
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Dealerships vary, the 2 I use are not out of line with local shops.
The shop I used was a convenience as it was across the road from work
Dealers are there for more than warranty work, something they can’t figure our mechanics would send it off to the dealer.