LOL @ Ford Dealer

[Taylor]

They offered to replace and install my alternator... for $621.

 

Instead, I bought a new alternator on Amazon for $115 and will install it myself. 

[katie]

Fix or repair daily

[Tank]

Found on road dead

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Typical. They don't call them stealerships for nothing. I use an independent mechanic for everything except recalls and extended warranty items (for the stuff I can't do myself, or choose not to). For instance, the water pump on my Saturn Outlook went out, found out that GM had extended the warranty on that part to 10 years/120,000 miles because of a lot of failures. Let a local Chevrolet dealership replace it for free.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Kenny]

Fart On Rod's Dad

Fly On Real Ducks

Fording Ohio River Dry

Flipping Off Ranger Dan

Falling Off Rocks, Danger

Friends Of Rodney Dangerfield

Fly Octopi, Ride Dolphins

This is fun.

But seriously, fixing your own car is fun, and cheaper than those scam artist mechanics want you to think.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I had a '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the power lock went out on the driver's door. Dealership wanted $125 for the part, $450 for the repair. I bought a used actuator on eBay for $25, took me about half an hour to install it, and it was still on the vehicle and functioning when I sold it.

 

BTW, Rock Auto is a great place to buy parts.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan

[maximus p]

****ed Over Rebuilt Dodge

****ed (First) On Race Day

Flip Over, Read Directions

[notherhalo]

me and my pop rolled our '23 Model T into Galpin Ford when they had the "cash for clunkers" rebate, they laughed but were unsure if it actually qualified

[Brandon]

Reminds me my Audi is due for it's 55k service. They want $755 or $855 to look at some things, change the oil, replace the spark plugs, and drive it around.

 

I do have to lol at myself though. The plastic clip for my visor broke and I paid them $90 to replace it and $200 and something to replace the center console latch.

 

Pretty comical.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Typical. They don't call them stealerships for nothing. I use an independent mechanic for everything except recalls and extended warranty items (for the stuff I can't do myself, or choose not to). For instance, the water pump on my Saturn Outlook went out, found out that GM had extended the warranty on that part to 10 years/120,000 miles because of a lot of failures. Let a local Chevrolet dealership replace it for free.

Hey VegasHaloFan, you ever have leaking issues with your Outlook?  Maybe not since you probably get less rain (I'm outside of Portland, OR), but I have water coming out of my third row seat belt piller opening and sometimes out of the AC overhead vent behind the drivers seat.  I've had it into the dealer previously while still under warranty but now I'm out of warranty.

[CaliAngel]

But seriously, fixing your own car is fun, and cheaper than those scam artist mechanics want you to think.

 

 

Working on cars sucks if you don't have the right tools, and newer cars are getting increasingly difficult to repair on ones own.

 

Add things like getting dirty, dinging up knuckles, squeezing parts in and out of the engine compartment, and the frustration with stuff not fitting quite right when you put it back together and honestly it's hard to blame some mechanics for charging so much. Some easy things are worth doing yourself, an alternator for example is a pretty basic replacement. Replacing brake pads or spark plugs, generally not too difficult, but sometimes even I'm okay with paying to have them replace things because I don't have the time and don't want to deal with the headache.

 

Also, from personal experience, Auto Parts stores give the wrong parts/non-working parts all the time. You get home to put the part on, then its back to the Auto Part store you go. I went through 2 master cylinders one time due to defects and leaks. You wait a day or two for a part, it doesn't work, then you gotta wait a day or two to get another one. So it can be pretty frustrating, but after all is said and done for me I have peace of mind that I know I did it right and I'm glad I could finish the job myself. But not everybody is so lucky.

 

They want $755 or $855 to look at some things, change the oil, replace the spark plugs, and drive it around.

 

The plastic clip for my visor broke and I paid them $90 to replace it and $200 and something to replace the center console latch.

 

Haha yup. This is where they make their money, just like with Taylor. Almost $300 to replace maybe $50 in plastic parts.

 

But Audi's unlike Fords are tough to work on, and they're not cheap. I don't doubt the spark plugs are in an inconvenient spot, the oil and "look at some things" is all "peace of mind" bologna they'll overview for pretty much pure profit. I have a coworker who has dropped $2000 on parts and labor every couple months for his Audi and is finally getting rid of it because it's literally a money pit for him. He knows nothing about cars and has no tools and is pretty much at their mercy.

 

Tried to warn him but he wanted that Audi!

[arch stanton]

I had a 2001 A6. Most comfortable seat I've ever driven in. Overall very nice car but it is truly a bottomless money pit. 

 

Currently have a company provided Expedition. No worries. 

[nate]

Fixing old cars is fun.  Fixing new cars is a total bitch.

 

On my old Accord, I had to change the starter.  In order to do it you had to take off the intake manifold.  It is a three hour job by a pro, closer to 6 hours for a schmuck like me.  I ended up paying the 600 dollars to replace a 100 dollar part.

[Pbonetheman]

My dodge ram failed a smog test because I put headers on it in 2002. One place wanted 350 to take off headers and replace with stock manifolds. Other place wanted 1000 for the same thing. Talk about discrepancy. I ended up needing only a sticker with the CARB number on it to prove it was approved by the air resource board.

Another time I called a mechanic and told him over the phone the general symptoms and he said it was the fuel pump, which on my truck is connected to the fuel filter and is a pain to change. I asked if he wanted to look at it first and he was adamant it being the fuel pump and it would cost me 500. I took it over to another shop and they identified the problem as a bad ECU chip. They were real good and told me I would have to go to the dealership because it dealt with programming the engine. If I had went with the first guy I would still be trying to identify the issue. Ahole!

[Brandon]

Working on cars sucks if you don't have the right tools, and newer cars are getting increasingly difficult to repair on ones own.

 

Add things like getting dirty, dinging up knuckles, squeezing parts in and out of the engine compartment, and the frustration with stuff not fitting quite right when you put it back together and honestly it's hard to blame some mechanics for charging so much. Some easy things are worth doing yourself, an alternator for example is a pretty basic replacement. Replacing brake pads or spark plugs, generally not too difficult, but sometimes even I'm okay with paying to have them replace things because I don't have the time and don't want to deal with the headache.

 

Also, from personal experience, Auto Parts stores give the wrong parts/non-working parts all the time. You get home to put the part on, then its back to the Auto Part store you go. I went through 2 master cylinders one time due to defects and leaks. You wait a day or two for a part, it doesn't work, then you gotta wait a day or two to get another one. So it can be pretty frustrating, but after all is said and done for me I have peace of mind that I know I did it right and I'm glad I could finish the job myself. But not everybody is so lucky.

 

 

Haha yup. This is where they make their money, just like with Taylor. Almost $300 to replace maybe $50 in plastic parts.

 

But Audi's unlike Fords are tough to work on, and they're not cheap. I don't doubt the spark plugs are in an inconvenient spot, the oil and "look at some things" is all "peace of mind" bologna they'll overview for pretty much pure profit. I have a coworker who has dropped $2000 on parts and labor every couple months for his Audi and is finally getting rid of it because it's literally a money pit for him. He knows nothing about cars and has no tools and is pretty much at their mercy.

 

Tried to warn him but he wanted that Audi!

 

 

Pretty much. I have the printout somewhere with everything they want to do and it's mostly checking things (which means they find issues and it costs more). I think it was ~$200 in parts and the rest was labor......I think those dudes make $80 an hour to check blinker lights, among other things.

 

I'm up in the air with the car and kind of over having nice cars and associated costs....although it seems to mostly be these German cars. One of my business partners is a former master mechanic at Fletcher-Jones and wants to/can work on my car as he has everything, down to checking electronics. But I also ran into a family friend that runs the auction and he is looking at getting rid of the car. I paid cash and got a great deal so the depreciation isn't too bad.

 

The car is fantastic, but once you hit 50-75k miles it's rough where I'm starting to hit. Little things start costing a lot and things like a cv boot and power steering pump aren't plesant. Can't say I will stay away from Audi though, just have to consider the costs when you buy it....like considering gas and insurance when you auto upgrade.

[mrwicked]

get an R8 next time. those are sexy.

but kind of boring to drive.

 

[Brandon]

I was looking at the Grimace Purple Daewoo

 

More cup holders than the Peugeot.

[Tank]

get an R8 next time. those are sexy.

but kind of boring to drive.

 

 

i would love to be that bored.

[katie]

Iron Man approves.

[mp170.6]

Typical. They don't call them stealerships for nothing. I use an independent mechanic for everything except recalls and extended warranty items (for the stuff I can't do myself, or choose not to). For instance, the water pump on my Saturn Outlook went out, found out that GM had extended the warranty on that part to 10 years/120,000 miles because of a lot of failures. Let a local Chevrolet dealership replace it for free.

 

What's the long-term outlook for Saturn parts availability? 

 

I'm probably rubbing salt in an open wound here, but that seems like a nightmare to me. 

[mp170.6]

They offered to replace and install my alternator... for $621.

 

Instead, I bought a new alternator on Amazon for $115 and will install it myself. 

 

I can't believe how often the alternators fail on GM and Ford vehicles. 

 

Never had this happen to a Toyota. 

[mp170.6]

Working on cars sucks if you don't have the right tools, and newer cars are getting increasingly difficult to repair on ones own.

 

Add things like getting dirty, dinging up knuckles, squeezing parts in and out of the engine compartment, and the frustration with stuff not fitting quite right when you put it back together and honestly it's hard to blame some mechanics for charging so much. Some easy things are worth doing yourself, an alternator for example is a pretty basic replacement. Replacing brake pads or spark plugs, generally not too difficult, but sometimes even I'm okay with paying to have them replace things because I don't have the time and don't want to deal with the headache.

 

Also, from personal experience, Auto Parts stores give the wrong parts/non-working parts all the time. You get home to put the part on, then its back to the Auto Part store you go. I went through 2 master cylinders one time due to defects and leaks. You wait a day or two for a part, it doesn't work, then you gotta wait a day or two to get another one. So it can be pretty frustrating, but after all is said and done for me I have peace of mind that I know I did it right and I'm glad I could finish the job myself. But not everybody is so lucky.

 

Yep...  I'm to the point where features and comfort take a back seat to proven reliability.  I'd much rather dislike the interior than be stuck with a shop queen. 

 

Rockauto.com is quickly becoming my preferred parts source.  On some items, they are cheaper than Amazon. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Hey VegasHaloFan, you ever have leaking issues with your Outlook?  Maybe not since you probably get less rain (I'm outside of Portland, OR), but I have water coming out of my third row seat belt piller opening and sometimes out of the AC overhead vent behind the drivers seat.  I've had it into the dealer previously while still under warranty but now I'm out of warranty.

 

Had an issue with a leaking sunroof, if that is what you mean. Because of the lack of rain here, I didn't find it until I ran the vehicle through a car wash about six weeks after I bought it. Had water running into the vehicle through the overhead console and down the A pillar on the passenger side. Same Chevy dealer cleared a blockage in the passenger side drain tube, no problems since. The issue with the third row probably has to do with the seal around the stationary roof glass above the second row passenger seat. You can reseal it with silicone sealant (get black so that it matches the seal that is already there). The A/C overhead vent leak, probably a leak in the same seal. Doubt that it is the front sunroof with a leak that far back. Another possibility for the one in the far back is a leak around the seals for the roof rack. They sometimes fail and let water in.

 

Here is the URL of the Outlook forum I frequent. They have been a lot of help.

 

http://www.saturnoutlookforum.net/index.php

Edited October 17, 2013 by Vegas Halo Fan

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Awesome.  Thanks!