Auto repairs! venting!!!

[texaschickmama]

If it's the dealer it is a ripoff. You should take it around to different reputable places and see what they say. If you could buy the parts yourself and get a mechanic that maybe you know that would even be better. I'm sorry for this. I know it is so frusterating to deal with car repairs. Good luck.

 

[bayouchica]

Good luck, like some car repair shops I've seen, when they see a female alone,they'll take advantage of it.
If you do get other opinions,try to bring some one that knows about cars so they don't try to rip you off.

 

[silkiechicken]

Labor is expensive. I have a lexus tech friend who did 3 years of training to get above changing oil, and they have to go through certification programs to be able to work on different part of the cars. Might explain partially why lexus labor is 160 or so an hour... not that the tech gets paid nearly that though. It's so they can put a golf course on the top of their building at people can play in while their car is being fixed.

But I agree, don't take the car to the dealer, labor at a mom and pop shop will cost less and care more about your car as they can't default on the parent company when something goes wrong... they are the parent company.

Plus, educate yourself about cars. That's what I do

 

[DuckLady]

My husband is a mechanic and I read this to him. He said when you ask for estimates, ask "What does the time pay for (tell them the repair needed as told you by the dealership)." They should should ask your make model and year of your car. Then ask "What is your hourly rate?"

Time pay x hourly rate = labor cost. That will give you a ball park of what you will be paying. Some will charge more and some less. But knowing how the repair shops create estimates, it will help you to be knowledgeable and confident when requesting quotes.

The "time pay" refers to the Motor Manual that most repair places refer to when creating an estimate.

Now, this is from me, as far as your rear window, break it accidentally and call a windshield replacement service. They usually will replace it and bill your insurance and the most you will have to pay is the deductible for your car insurance. Sometimes, they will pay your deductible up to a certain amount and if you call the right place, you can get 12 free dinners somewhere.

We have had windows replaced and our insurance has not gone up. The insurance companies expect these things to happen.
About a week after we bought my SUV, I found out the hard way that you can get a 9 foot 11 and a half inch 2x4 in there with the back door shut. However, the 10 foot 2x4 that we bought didn't fit and when we shut the back door it broke the windshield.

 

[joanm]

The dealership is a family owned business and we know the family. My dad knows the service manager and I think he knows better than to sc*** with my dad. Most of my family have been buying our vehicles from them since we could drive. This is my third one I've bought from them.

As far as the part, he told me the entire dash would have to be removed to replace the actuator and that would be a day and a half job. As far as the rear windshield - I called my insurance company and asked if my policy would cover it and she told me no - a damage claim would have to be filed.

The average Joe just can't fix these cars today - it's true they have certified "specialists" so they charge an arm and a leg for labor.

 

[beckt]

The only thing I can say is: have any of you ever removed the dash on an Envoy? If not do not knock the person who is doing the work. I have worked in the car industry for 25 years and seen some of those techs do things to a car that looked impossible. And no the person doing the work does not get even a fraction of the labor charge. Yes some of the dealerships will rip you off but most wont, because they depend on your return visits to stay in business. I don't mean to sound harsh but my hubby has been in the business for 35 years and always said he treats evey vehicle he works on like his own. If it ain't broke he won't fix it. He won't try and sell something if it don't need it.

 

[joanm]

I certanily would never knock the person doing the work – I understood it is a very time consuming repair and thus the high labor charge. I'm just saying that the backyard mechanic (like my dad used to be) cannot work on cars today.

 

[beckt]

Joanm, I know what you are saying, the auto builders are the ones that have made it that way. It is hard for the average "mom & pop" shop to get the training they deed to do aot of the repairs on the newer vehicles. Now the older ones look out. They do a great job. I just wish my hubby would go ito business for himself. But then he would not be able to get the current training he would need to keep up with the ever changing world of automobiles.

 

[luvzmybabz]

I am marries to a mechanic has worked on everything from bugs to semis and let me tell you after the first heater break down in my Durango it was part of the control panel I learned well my hubbiew hates to work on our cars as he does this every day so I was actually going to go to dealership to fix it after price quotes for part in the 175 range and labor 200+ I went looking for the part second hand well found the part for 35$ and it took hubbie all of 10 minutes to put it in.

I have however had a dealership do me VERY right and they in turn had my business as long as I owned that vehicle. Only had 1 key for my expedition tote the note lot had another well I needed a second key the blank was 20 and most wanted 60-80 dollars to program it well I called a dealership on the otherside of town and they explained if I had 2 keys that were already coded for vehicle then they could code the new key for free. You hold the blank in between the 2 coded keys while you put it in ignition and start vehicle and it worked saved my 60 dollars and they got a customer well I have since traded in that car but I tell everyone with a ford to go there!!!

Kasi

 

[Dodgegal79]

Thats exactly why I work on my own vehicles. My hubby was impressed when he met me that I coud. I can do everything from a minor thing like fixing a steering column to rebuild my 440 dodge motor. I don't like owning new vehicles, they is too much to go wrong and part or expensive. I have a variety or old stuff that i drive. And I have to work on my own, my huddy is useless when it comes to cars.