Car dealership repair is such a ripoff

[GREENBACK]

I know the title is hardly a revelation but a couple of weeks ago I called a GM dealer to inquire about a sideview mirror replacement for one I broke on my truck while driving through some woods. They quoted me a price of $281 including labor I politely declined. I went online and found an aftermarket mirror for $50 It took about 45 minutes to replace and I had never done this before on this particular vehicle so I had to work my way around a few things. A skilled technician with the proper tools could have done this in a third of the time I'm sure. If I had taken this job to them it would have been practically all profit for them even including labor and
I doubt they'd even spend $50 for the mirror.

It amazes me what they charge for the simplest of jobs. Dealerships aren't worth going to unless it's warranty work. You have to wonder why they're in financial troubles with the repair prices they charge. Plenty of people go to them even with the escalated bills. Some repairs have to be done by them but I sure look for other alternatives first.

[faithman1012005@yahoo.com]

I was going to say the $281 for the mirror I'm sure is the full retail as well on their wholesale price. It definately pays off to put the extra effort in and just fix it yourself if it is within your means to do so!

[disneysteve]

To be fair, you really can't compare taking your car to a factory-trained mechanic with doing the work yourself. Of course it will be cheaper to do it yourself. I'd be curious to know what a non-dealership mechanic would charge for the same job. How much would it be at Pep Boys or at your neighborhood independent mechanic? That's what you should be comparing.

Another thing to consider is convenience. If I take my car in for service, the dealership gives me a free loaner. If I take it anywhere else, I need to pay for a rental car, so I have to factor that into the cost. Plus, the dealership has the loaners right on sight. It only takes a few minutes to drop off my car and drive away in the loaner. At another mechanic, I'd have to set up the rental separately and schedule in the added time to get the rental car.

[EEinNJ]

It's caveat emptor with dealer or anyone else's service. A car salesman admitted to me once that they make a lot more money on service than they do selling cars. Both my local Ford and Mazda dealer have tried to upsell me on maintenance that was supposedly recommended, but when I checked the owners manual, it was not. I've had the same issue with big chains and independants. Now I get comparative estimates up front.
That said, Ford is trying harder to be competitive with discounts and rebates on service work.

[Scanner]

I agree on the Upselling.

My wife got upsold on "Extra Maintenance" when we brought our Toyota Matrix in for it's first service - ending up costing us $90 for what should have just been a simple oil change. When their customer service called and asked if I was satisified, I said, "No, I was had."

"Oh gee sir, I am sorry you feel that way."

I just use an independent mechanic now.

IT's funny - it used to be the other way around - the independent mechanics were to not be trusted. Now. . .I don't trust car dealerships at all, other than if it's on the manufacturer's dime.

[boosami]

I know the title is hardly a revelation but a couple of weeks ago I called a GM dealer to inquire about a sideview mirror replacement for one I broke on my truck while driving through some woods. They quoted me a price of $281 including labor I politely declined. I went online and found an aftermarket mirror for $50 It took about 45 minutes to replace and I had never done this before on this particular vehicle so I had to work my way around a few things.

I replaced a side mirror on my friend's VW a few weeks ago. Same deal--dealership wanted $300+ dollars to fix it. Got an OEM replacement for $30 and took me about a half hour to put it on.

[GREENBACK]

To be fair, you really can't compare taking your car to a factory-trained mechanic with doing the work yourself. Of course it will be cheaper to do it yourself. I'd be curious to know what a non-dealership mechanic would charge for the same job. How much would it be at Pep Boys or at your neighborhood independent mechanic? That's what you should be comparing.

It's interesting you mentioned that. I called a couple of independents and they recommended the dealership to get the original equipment replacement. They didn't recommend the aftermarket part. I'm completely satisfied and can't tell the difference. The mirror appears solid and the electronics work fine. I could have kept calling around I suppose but I was at the "I'll just do it myself" point. I guess in all fairness the independents aren't that great a bargain but they still beat dealerships by a country mile.

If you look at the average newer vehicle nowadays it's blantantly obvious that the design of these vehicles is such that you have to take them in to a dealership or a skilled and well equipped mechanic for many things that that used to be doable at home or by a mechanic who didn't own the latest gadgetry desined for simple jobs. An example is the inner door panel. On most vehicles this takes a special tool to remove that your dealer just happens to have but you can't buy. You used to be able to remove these with a screwdriver. There are many other examples.

[Goldy1]

I did the same thing to my car years ago;replaced side view mirror with an authentic good shape used one bough ton e bay. My hubbie is a handy with carpentry type stuff but not a mechanic, but this did not entail getting under the hood so to speak.

[faithman1012005@yahoo.com]

"nowadays it's blantantly obvious that the design of these vehicles is such that you have to take them in to a dealership or a skilled and well equipped mechanic"

I totally agree and it's ridiculous. I just went to change my spark plugs and a local firestone said it'd be almost $200! They make my car now where you have to take apart the fuel injection system just to get to the plugs! It's just not as easy as it used to be.

I say we start our own company and build a vehicle that the average do it your selfer can repair once again lol

[GREENBACK]

I totally agree and it's ridiculous. I just went to change my spark plugs and a local firestone said it'd be almost $200! They make my car now where you have to take apart the fuel injection system just to get to the plugs! It's just not as easy as it used to be.

I say we start our own company and build a vehicle that the average do it your selfer can repair once again lol

I bought my first car in the early 80's for $800. I remember being able to tune it and do practically all the maintenance and many repairs. I replaced brakes, rebuilt carbs, installed an earbusting stereo system....etc,etc.. and did it all in the driveway with no special tools. A lot of These things are impossible today for numerous reasons, including the EPA, but I really believe a lot of the design elements in today's vehicles are based on getting you back into the dealership so they can use their special tools to work on their proprietary design. Even the independents have to pay a good sum to get the software and hardware to figure out what the "idiot light" is saying and they now pass that on to the consumer.

Vehicles are certainly more efficient and longer lasting nowadays but some things should have remained the same. If they could somehow build a car that the average "joe" could work on I just might buy it. The bootomline(no pun intended) is that they don't want the shadetree mechanic working on vehicles anymore and they know many people will just go to the dealership and pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for things I remember doing in the backyard.

[disneysteve]

I'm not so sure it is a conspiracy. I just think cars have gotten increasingly complex, loaded with computer processors, sensors and such. You can't fix them with a screwdriver and adjustable wrench anymore.

For relatively little, you can buy a device to do the diagnostic test and tell you what is wrong, but it will probably be something that you can't repair on your own.

[GREENBACK]

I'm not so sure it is a conspiracy. I just think cars have gotten increasingly complex, loaded with computer processors, sensors and such. You can't fix them with a screwdriver and adjustable wrench anymore.

I don't consider it a conspiracy. I'm not even neccesarily talking about the computer related functions of a modern engine. Things like my aforementioned mirror(I was surprised I was able to do this at home) or installation of audio components and basic things like changing plugs, batteries , and even oil in some cases has gotten fairly challenging, if not impossible for the diy'er. I'm not stuck in the 70's or 80's so I know some of this is neccesary but I have looked at unnecessarily complex design ideas applied to what should have been left alone and my conclusion is that it was at least partially intended to make it beyond the skill of the average buyer.


I don't think it's coincidental that you can't do much with wrenches and screwdivers anymore. If you look closely at your car there certainly are things that shold have been designed to be fixed with wrenches and screwdrivers or in extreme circumstances a "BFH". The BFH is a poor tool for anything computer related

[kork13]

Oh, I don't know.... I've had moderate success with the "BFH" method before. if nothing else, it makes me feel better (even if not the device), which I consider "moderate success" LOL