Oil Pressure Sender (The shop made me laugh.)

[38kronik00]

Ok, so as we know, the oil pressure sender going bad and pegging the needle is anything but uncommon. We also know that it is readily accessible and a VERY easy procedure especially if done with an oil change. Now, assuming that this is the correct part# (1S6772) from RockAuto is $31.79. Not an expensive part nor a difficult job. So why is then, that when I was at Midas getting an oil change (currently don't have my tools and jack/stands and what not or that would have been done myself) they told me it would cost $192.00 to replace it? I literally coughed/laughed when he said that number to me. I'm still slightly in disbelief. So, I politely paid for my oil change and departed without questioning them on it. Needless to say I will not be having them or anyone else doing this for me. Just need to wait and get my tools.

So yeah, don't go to Midas to have that done. That's insane.

[Jrs3800]

I have laughed at them too... And Firestone.. I had just put struts on my car, drove to firestone( .20 miles from my house ) and said " I want an alignment "

The took my car back and then proceeded to come out and talk to me... they said " Your struts need to be replaced "

I said " Do you realize that the factory struts on that GM car would be black no matter if its a LeSabre, Olds 88 or a Bonneville? I'm here for an alignment, you're telling me my brand new Blue Monroe Matic Plus Struts are shot.... I just installed them this morning and need the alignment reset... Pull my car off the lift and give me the keys...

I drove across the street to Goodyear, The guy says I saw you leave Firestone and drive over here, what gives? I told him and he laughed.. I got luck and the guy was between appointments so he pulled my car in and set the alignment, he came back and said " good choice on the struts " Best part was after he aligned it, it drove straight as an arrow..

Gotta love some of the insane charges they try to trump up...lol

[nos4blood70]

Wow! What a mark up. 600% of the cost of the part for what adds 5 minutes to an oil change.

[xxdabroxx]

I took my truck to get it looked at by the tire shop that I bough my tires at. I had previously lifted and aligned the truck myself on turn tables with an old style bubble camber/caster gauge (a set of tires previous to these ones) but my tires were wearing funny and the wheel would get a weird shake at certain speeds. So I looked at it a bit with two of the techs. One tried to sell me ball joints while the other corrected him and said that they were fine. Then they decided it must be the alignment so I obliged and let them align it on their fancy machine. I think they moved a couple of things a degree or two, but said it was within specs how I dropped it off. Took it home and jacked up the front and my right front wheel hub was shot. You could see about a quarter inch of movement at the perimeter of the tire. Note that these guys had my tires on and off multiple times trying to get my tires to balance right and didn't notice the play.

Bought a new hub, dropped it in and all is well again.

[CMNTMXR57]

The Chrysler dealer, when we were doing one of the 72 oil consumption tests on the RGC to prove it was burning oil (I have to have them change the oil and then monitor it every 1,000 miles thereafter through to the next oil change) "recommended" that I do a TB cleaning and they would offer me their one-time awesome price of $120.

I kindly told the service writer that I was a GM tech, and that I find it hard to believe that the TB got that dirty in a week as I just cleaned that last Saturday. He turned and I never saw him the rest of the time I was there. So he knew I caught him in a lie trying to sell some B.S. service the van didn't need. Needless to say, I found another Chrysler dealer after that episode.

[RJolly87]

What is the 'book' time for replacing the sender? That may be the driver here, but for something so easy, I doubt it is listed as 2 hours.

[haro1225]

The shops also get deals on the parts and mark them way up as well. Often times I'll get asked at work what "walk in" prices are on stuff. I was on the phone with a shop the other day and they were looking for a radiator and I hear their customer ask how much it is in the background as I'm looking it up and I give them their price (I think it was $125 on a $150 rad) and as soon as I told them that they told the customer $300! Not saying all shops are like that but it does happen.

[KM AXer]

Bad shops come in all flavors. Depends entirely on who runs them, and who works for the owner.

We were having continuous electrical problems with our '93 AWD Astro when it was about 4 years old. It had been in and out of local Chevy dealer a couple of times for a "weak fusible link". They'd fix that, and a week or two or three later, more trouble. One day the starter just clicked, and the battery was good, so I installed a brand new one (not a reman) from the local FLAPS. Started great for several days, then back to the SOS. I went along with the tow back to the dealership.

They had an open lift, so the Astro was pushed right in for diagnosis. Within 10 minutes, the "mechanic" came out, handed a sheet to the service writer, and said: "Star-taire...." I objected, considering that I had just installed the brand new starter a couple of days earlier, but the "mechanic" and the service rep insisted that non-GM starters could be bad from the get-go. They offered to give it back to me so I could return it, after installing a genuine part for a "deal" at 4 X what I had paid for the one I had put on. We needed the van. I said fine, how long? They had the starter in stock, so just an hour or a little more. I went across the street for an Arby's.

When I came back, the "mechanic" and the original service writer were out at lunch, but another dude found the paperwork, and said that the van was ready. It was sitting outside. I paid. Before driving away, I looked at the taken-off starter in the box on the back floor. It was a brand-new Delco unit. Brand new. I went back inside with the box, explained the day's history, and asked "What starter is installed on the truck, if it has been repaired?" Back into the shop drove (starting perfectly) the Astro, and me with it. When it was up and locked on the lift, I went under and got a look. It was.... Unmistakably, the starter which I had installed myself, complete with the reflective holographic sticker from the FLAPS supplier.

Hmmm. I refrained from swearing. Barely. I got a pow-wow with both the service manager, and the general manager of the dealership within 5 minutes. They had reversed the charges on my CC, and offered to "make things right" by putting on the GM starter at No Charge. Of course I agreed to that, and asked for the parts-store unit back as well. They said OK, but I never got it.

All was well for a week, so I prepped the van to tow my Colt on a borrowed Trailex to Topeka. The trip went fine, until I was on the Interstate return leg between the Solo Nationals and Kansas City, when the voltmeter took a dive into an obvious discharge area. I pulled off on the shoulder, and opened the hood. Nothing unusual, and the problematic fusible link was still solid. For some reason, a virtual bucket of water hit me and woke me up to other possibilities. I crawled underneath for a look. It was immediately obvious that the main ground wire was very corroded where it bolted directly to the block. I got out my tool box, took out the bolt, and filed/sanded/cleaned the connector and the spot where it attached. The van started right up, but was still reading lower than normal voltage.

I swapped out the alternator in the parking lot of a parts store. From the front. While the engine was still hot. Supposed to be done from the doghouse side, optimally when cool. Full voltage/charging restored. I figured that the bad ground was the source of every single problem I'd had with the electrics in that van up to that point: Three fusible links. Starter. Alternator. I was pissed about all the money I had spent on "expert" repairs... They got me one more time at that place, for a final electrical problem, when the van had turned into a brick for my wife (oh, joy...). Turns out that a spot at an electrical junction had gone bad. I asked to see what had been done for the $160 they charged. They had jumpered a 6" wire around the problem spot. That was it. A 6" wire, connected to a different terminal on the engine side firewall, right in front of the driver.

That was also the last time I set foot on that property. For the past 15+ years I have been using the GMC/Buick dealer a couple of doors down for OEM parts, and occasionally, service. They are not perfect, but better.

Still, I do ALL of my own work on my cars now, unless it is absolutely beyond my skills. Then I call on friends who work at the GM Tech Center, or the Milford PG for advice/help.

[Jfridge92]

My wife had a coupon for an oil change at National Tire and Battery, so I went with her to it. This is on her Malibu, and the guy starts talking to her while I stand beside her to get it put into the system. He starts saying that she needs "special premium oil" and that the coupon she has won't apply to it. He said it would be $90 for an oil and filter change. I told him he was smoking something. We left and went to autozoo, and I snagged some Vavoline semi-synthetic and a good filter for like $27 bucks on sale. People really do try to rip you off, especially since they probably would have charged her $90 and thrown regular dino oil in it.

[Bumzag]

National automotive repair chains are JUST like franchises such as Best Buy. At BB, they sell HDMI cables for 100 that do the EXACT same thing as a $5 cable from Amazon. I have two friends who are both managers at two separate Monro's. They do work for me for at least 1/4 what it'd cost officially. I had a power steering pump replaced for $100 (part excluded) because I didn't have the tools to do it. That's why I'm trying to teach myself to do basic repairs so I can't get ripped off, mechanics friends or not.

Also, pro-tip, don't get your computer repaired at GeekSquad. Their mark-up on repairs are INSANE. I worked there for 2 years.

[xxdabroxx]

The shops also get deals on the parts and mark them way up as well. Often times I'll get asked at work what "walk in" prices are on stuff. I was on the phone with a shop the other day and they were looking for a radiator and I hear their customer ask how much it is in the background as I'm looking it up and I give them their price (I think it was $125 on a $150 rad) and as soon as I told them that they told the customer $300! Not saying all shops are like that but it does happen.

I used to work in a Kragen Auto store and there was a commercial department in the back. Shops would call for parts, wanting the cheap ass reman parts most often and would ask for the list price to go with them. They would turn a $75 reman CV axle into a $300 CV axle. Absolutely insane, if you are going to a small shop for work, you are much better off buying parts yourself unless they are going to cut you a deal and give you their price. They buy the same thing you can and mark it up a couple hundred percent and sell it to you.

[CMNTMXR57]

Oh the stories I could tell of how we manipulated the Reynolds and Reynolds system...

The difference is, majority of our work was warranty pay, which means it was on GM's dime. Not a customer. So it was VERY easy to do "things" of questionable morality.

[xxdabroxx]

My dad ended up with a Corvette engine from around the 01-03 era that way. The techs at the dealership my step mom worked at were trying to hang onto an engine by forgetting to send it back to GM. They knew it was a lifter making noise or something like that so they avoided sending the core back. This cost the company money and the office manager, my step mom, got pissed. So she sold it to my dad for like 200 bucks to get even with them for screwing around.

It's an all aluminum 5.7, I want it in my truck but my dad wont let me have it.

[CMNTMXR57]

We tried that with T56's all the time. Unless you had a B&W (and later Tremec) certified T56 expert, it was R&R, send it back to Warren.

Problem was, the busted ones would sit in the sin bin for a couple months before GM would come claim them. That would lead us to want to take them and resell them to Camaro, T/A and CTS-V owners for a couple hundred and then they would use those as cores or have them rebuilt (there are a couple places around Chicago that do T56 work).

However, the cost on R&R the whole unit though kept them in GM's audit list, and you were sure they would eventually come get them matching them up against warranty claims. If there were a few "missing" it would open up your service/parts department up for audit. You don't want to be audited... Every screw you replace is under the microscope then.

You essentially wanted to fly, but fly just under the radar if you catch my drift.

[KM AXer]

My wife had a coupon for an oil change at National Tire and Battery, so I went with her to it. This is on her Malibu, and the guy starts talking to her while I stand beside her to get it put into the system. He starts saying that she needs "special premium oil" and that the coupon she has won't apply to it. He said it would be $90 for an oil and filter change. I told him he was smoking something. We left and went to autozoo, and I snagged some Vavoline semi-synthetic and a good filter for like $27 bucks on sale. People really do try to rip you off, especially since they probably would have charged her $90 and thrown regular dino oil in it.

Back in the days when some department stores had auto shops...
I took my Grand LeMans in for a coupon oil and filter change to Montgomery Ward. The shop had a glass wall, and my car was on the nearest lift. I did not watch the whole procedure, I was reading a car magazine and distracted. After I'd paid and driven away from the bay door, I got this feeling that I should check the filter, so I pulled over and crawled underneath. Yep. My old filter, the one I had installed when I changed the oil 3K miles ago. I went right back, and insisted that they not only put on a new filter, but that they change the oil again. This time I watched while they did it.

That 301 was a good running engine....

In my part-time job, I drive a company owned Chevy 3500 dually. It is a big corporation, with many locations the truck can be serviced. Last fall it was taken in for an oil change, and I did not drive it for a few days afterwards. As part of a pre-flight, I always check the oil. That time it wasn't nasty, but far from as clean as it should have been, 50 miles after a change. Again, I crawled underneath. They had not changed the filter. Grrrrr. I wondered whether the "mechanic" had skimped for time, didn't have it immediately on hand (and did not want to wait for one to come across the street) , or just kept it for his own vehicle. Last week the truck got another change, before it was due, at my insistence, with a written note to be sure and install a new filter. They did it right at the Cadillac shop. Finally.

[Zeik75]

This kind of crap is exactly why my cars have never been to a shop for anything except tires and alignment. The price is rediculous and 90% of shops don't do it right or try to sell you a bunch of bs! Gotta find those old mom and pop shops for anything quality nowdays.

[Arrowhead]

I can't count how many times I've heard of loose drain plugs falling out a few miles from these quick lube outfits, or........stripped threads in the oil pan ! Neither of which the pimple-faced stoners working there will admit responsibility for. I'm amazed that a portion of them aren't brought to the Emergency Room for injuries caused by customers not in the mood for their attitude !

[RJolly87]

I stick to a tire shop with a mechanic on duty for everything I don't want to do myself. There is rapport, and they are generally pretty straight shooters, desk guys and service guys alike, although, admittedly, after 2 heater core replacements, half of the screws are missing for the glovebox in the PA.

I made the mistake of getting the newest set of tires at Wally World, simply put, nobody really cares about what they do over there. Car was sent back in the bay 3 times on that trip between over tightened lug nuts and not facing the right side of the tires out (mismatched). I thought I was saving money, but in the end, I wish I had just gone back to the same old spot.

[rustyroger]

Putting a mark-up on parts is standard practice.
Repair shops are businesses, not charities. They have to make profits to pay rent, wage bills and other overheads. But reputable shops manage to make enough to stay in business by charging fair prices, mostly to customers who understand that quality has to be paid for.
But many people think cheaper is better, or big chains have motivated well trained techs working there. And there are shops that will try to screw every penny out of customers they can.
Over time I learned who are reputable tradesmen where I live, so if I have a problem I don't know how to deal with I know who to go to. In my turn, I have my share of them who turn to me when their cars have problems.

Roger.

[CMNTMXR57]

Trust me, you DON'T want to hear stories of customer cheapness...

Ya gotta remember, 99.9% of the people owning/driving automobiles don't give a chit! To them it's just another appliance. Does it work? Yes. Does it need to be repaired? Yes. So how much is this gonna cost me...

Much like a fridge or washer and dryer. Which I will admit, when one of those break, I too try and fix it for the absolute cheapest because... I don't give a chit, it's an appliance! But I'm sure there is some guy out there who is a washing machine fanatic who is rolling his eyes at me because of my cheapness.