You do have a point - extended warranty outfits are usually crooks but if you saw - like I did - what kind of fast ones shops try to pull on them… like a subaru stealer who forgot to put oil in the engine and attempted to get it covered as “mechanical failure”. Or firestone outfit that didn’t have a scanner to reset mb service light and just cut the oil sensor harness off. Or another firestone that installed a wrong filter so oil leaked out and then screamed at me that his “catalog says it’s the right one”. Or numerous fraud stealers who used aluminum oxide pads to clean cylinder heads of infamous fraud 3.8 masterpieces and yelled that it had nothing to do with the fact that the engine locked up within minutes…
I’m sure there are all kinds of inspectors but you might learn that inspectors don’t determine what’s covered and what’s not - they just report what they see, and in my practice, only one warranty outfit (geico) attempted to influence my judgement, and it was the last time I worked for them.
It was so stressful to work with crooked shops that I eventually quit the field and utilized my other area of expertise as a Software Engineer.
And, BTW, $144/hr IS a rip-off. I remember $39…
Absolutely! I don’t let them screw me. What a bummer…
This is an old myth - recommendations, repeat business, etc. When there is no choice, pissed customers just keep rotating between them hoping that the next one is better.
Some years ago I was caring for an elderly relative, paperwork, doctor appts, etc. Ring on finger got too tight and ring needed to be removed. Took to physician, who said take patient to ER. At ER they asked if they could use ring removal as a training aid to show a new doctor how to do it. OK. So an experienced doctor showed a new doctor how to remove a ring using a gadget no more complicated than a manually operated can opener., took 5 minutes. Bill arrives. $800. Patient had Medicare, so consulted them. Medicare informed hospital payment is $80 for that job, not $800. So if you feel you are being overcharged for professional services, one option, seek group support.
How to deal with them is a different topic. The fact that in today’s America “business” and “scam” are synonyms is the main issue at hand.
Wishful thinking… In some other universe, your Utopian ideas might work but not in this one.
You may have a lot lower standard of “honest”.
A few years ago, my mother-in-law (she lives in another state so I couldn’t get it fixed) took her Scion to a shop because of one dead cylinder. They replaced spark plugs that did not fix the problem and recommended $3,500 worth of “repairs” when it needed a $50 ignition coil. When I got involved - unfortunately remotely - they justified replacement of struts and other totally unrelated and perfectly functional stuff by mileage. They “HONESTLY” believed they were honest with an old lady who didn’t know anything about cars.
Oh, did I say that they charged her $288 for spark plugs and “inspection”. No kidding!
This topic is part of the plot for season 11 of the tv show Curb Your Enthusiasm. The comedic element is that folks believe the pro’s are cheating them by charging too much, inflating what needs to be done, so they figure out a way to reduce the cost: hiring a “house-husband” to bully the professional to do the repair the cheaper way. Doesn’t end well … lol … One car owner’s mechanic is told to just “turn off the CEL” instead of repairing the transmission. A day or too later, car won’t start, and all the dashboard lights turn on and start flashing at the same time.
I have had enough. nofyfb_189405 just went on the “ignore” list.
@nofyfb_180405 Just the fact that you say OK4450 may have a low standard of honesty is just one more reason to put you on the ignore list .
And I can remember gas was 29.9 cents a gallon, oil change $10, and minimum wage was like $3 an hour. So what’s you point? The of everything has gone up since 1965, including labor.
I don’t expect $39 but rest assured - $144/hr IS a rip-off for a wrencher.
Nonsense. In my area, southern New Jersey, the standard rate for dealership shops or decent independents is $205.00 per hour. And MY rate as a financial consultant is $350 per hour.
Quite reasonable. Most shops won’t even open the hood for less than $150. Standard diagnostic charge for an engine performance problem is anywhere from $140-$200.
Yet you feel justified in charging for your time and expertise?
If it’s wide-spread, it doesn’t mean it’s not ridiculous.
I was buying an oil filter for my Toyota the other day and overheard a conversation between the parts guy and the customer who needed a key for his - apparently very old - car. The parts guy said: “just a few months ago, we charged $4 for this key (that’s why I assume it’s a VERY old car), now we charge $34”. What has changed - does the stealer pay that guy 8+ times of what he paid a few months ago? Did the blank price jumped 8+ times? Neither. It’s just pure greed - they rip you off for the same reason dog licks his balls - because they can.
What’s amazing is that people who are abused defend their abusers. It’s called “Stockholm Syndrome”. Another thing that puzzles me is that people are too lazy to do it themselves instead of paying exuberant amounts to somebody who may - or may not - be marginally more qualified. I mean I understand when a “doctor” pays somebody else to wrench - they get money out others’ suffering, same goes for lawyers - they also manipulate others’ freedom and ultimately life. But “normal” people, middle class…
I don’t consider myself poor, and I work from my home office but I don’t find it disgraceful and I’ll be damned before I let anybody touch any of my vehicles regardless of money - that act NEVER goes unpunished.
This is for you @nofyfb_180405
I can make a lot more money in the hour it would take me to do an oil change than I’d save by doing it myself.
If that’s the case AND you don’t care if somebody screws up your vehicle, go right ahead.
In all my life, I had my cars touched by somebody else three times, and every time it was a screw up so - like I said - it’s not just money.
Have you noticed how pissed the “mechanics” were when I dared to tell reasonable people that they (reasonable people) don’t have to depend on them (“mechanics”)? What better proof can there be that I am 100% right?
My own experience w/pros differs from yours apparently. I’ve found them to do a pretty good job for the most part. On the times they haven’t done a good job, it is b/c I didn’t obtain a personal recommendation from a trusted friend having experience with the quality of their services.
The only auto-mechanic who failed to live up to my expectations was a Calif emissions tester. No personal recommendation. One of the reasons I used his shop for that testing service w/out recommendation, a 2 foot x 2 foot sign on the wall in bold letters saying “Second Test Is Always Free!”. When my first test failed & I asked for my free second test, he refused, saying the second test would cost the same as the first, another $65. I pointed to the sign on the wall which said the 2nd test is free. His response, he angrily ripped the sign off the wall and threw it in the garbage can … lol … as you might expect that shop lost my business.
No need to reply to nofyfb as he has a 2 week time out .
Ditto to your idea