just for shits and giggles - lets take a poll on service charges

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by la_scanner

diesel put into car. replaced plugs with cheapy autolite. even though car ran fine my grandma didn't want her warrant to be void. understandable.

Now that the dealer knows that diesel was put in the car and the owner will pay $130 for new plugs expect more money making ideas from the dealer.should be something like a full replacement of all blinker fluid next.
Still dont know how some one puts diesel into their car as the gas nozzle for diesel gas wont fit a gasoline powered car.
PS. Did a bit of research and it seems some stations that dont service big trucks do indeed use the same size pump nozzle for diesel and regular gas.

[la_scanner]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Now that the dealer knows that diesel was put in the car and the owner will pay $130 for new plugs expect more money making ideas from the dealer.should be something like a full replacement of all blinker fluid next.
Still dont know how some one puts diesel into their car as the gas nozzle for diesel gas wont fit a gasoline powered car.
PS. Did a bit of research and it seems some stations that dont service big trucks do indeed use the same size pump nozzle for diesel and regular gas.

dealer has no idea that diesel was put in there. and yes, nozzle fits. only difference is that it has a green handle. at least this is how its set up at the one of the chevron gas stations in the city of la verne,ca.

[Yaris Hilton]

I once got "gassed" with diesel at a station near Atlanta that had three grades of gasoline and Diesel in the same pump with the same nozzle! Perhaps I operated it incorrectly, but I sure thought I'd selected regular (the button for which was green, as was the Diesel.) I was mad enough about it to call the Bureau of Weights and Measures, which tested the octane of the fuel and found it as labeled. What they didn't test was whether diesel came out of that pump when regular was selected.

[dallas]

The part I like is "re-set computer" must be to justify the spark plug labour, I dont recall needing to re-set the computer to change plugs. The invoice should have said " change plugs re-set cash register".

[Shroomster]

it's called flat rate. the shop charges a flat rate per hour; no if's and's or but's. could the shop have eaten the charge yes. would that have made a better impression on the customer and all of you? yes. would the customer return? yes. it's just what makes the world go around, economics, competition.


Besides, La_scanner I'd really think it'd best if you could move on from recycling the same thread over and over again, please :)?

[ChinoCharles]

Originally Posted by YarisSedan

You go to the doctor and he spends like what 5 seconds looking at you. And if you didnt have insurance im sure it would be well over 100 dollars. And even if you do have insurance its still atleast 10-25 dollars.

I'm only playing devil's advocate, but med school is a little different from basic automotive mechanics.

There is no excuse for a $65 spark plug change. If the dealership wasn't a ripoff, people like me would go. I don't want to change my own oil, but at the same time I'm not going to pay 300% of what it costs me at home. I'd gladly pay a premium, but where do you draw the line?

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

There is no excuse for a $65 spark plug change. If the dealership wasn't a ripoff, people like me would go. I don't want to change my own oil, but at the same time I'm not going to pay 300% of what it costs me at home. I'd gladly pay a premium, but where do you draw the line?

Agreed,if the dealer was more reasonable pricewise i'd be there for all my maintenance as well.but $130 for a sparkplug change when it can be done for under $10 by yourself is the main reason most people avoid dealers for mechanical repairs.Too bad because in these days where dealers are going out of business in droves it could be a different story if when cars arent selling they could rely on their garage and mechanics to keep the ship afloat.

[auxmike]

What kinda plugs would you put in your car for under $10?? Autolites?
When I'm due, I'm going OEM.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by auxmike

What kinda plugs would you put in your car for under $10?? Autolites?
When I'm due, I'm going OEM.

OEM's eh? go to the first post in this thread and see what you will pay for OEM's,Do yourself a favor and go to Advance Auto and pick up some NGK's for $1.99 Should last around 50k miles
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...=0&pageSize=20

[auxmike]

But does'nt this engine require irridium plugs?

[Spades]

well, the main differance between normal, platinum, and iridium plugs, is how long they will last. most spark plugs will work in any car well as long as the gap and firing temperature are somewhat the same as the stock ones. a standard cheap-o spark plug will not last near as long as a quality platinum plug...some junky plugs will only make it to 10k or 20k miles before they start causing missfires, where as a platinum plug of decent quality normally makes it 100k+ miles.


and in regards to if shops charge to much to fix your car...if its such a rip off do it yourself. I have worked in shops for years...you are paying for experience and a warranty. if its easy work, do it yourself and take the risk of breaking things then bringing it to the shop to fix what you screwed up.

i have sliced my fingers open many times before, and if i can i will stitch, glue, or tape the wound closed and hope for the best. if its really bad i will have to go to the hospital to have then stitch it closed. they ussually charge $500 just to have it looked at and a quick stitch up job...taking them less than an hour for the whole process.

$500+ for 1 hour of labor and a few cents work of dis infectant, thread, and a glorified bandaid. one could argue that i am getting raped...i argue that while it sucks, i am paying someone with YEARS of experience to ensure that i dont end up with a scar, or a infection, loss of movement, or dead from blood loss.

look, everything is a rip off...someone has to get paid. automotive industry is the same. i have worked retail jobs too...they will charge you $100 for a product they bought for $12. get used to it.

and no, that is not the most expensive spark plug replacement i have seen.

[eTiMaGo]

Originally Posted by Spades

well, the main differance between normal, platinum, and iridium plugs, is how long they will last. most spark plugs will work in any car well as long as the gap and firing temperature are somewhat the same as the stock ones. a standard cheap-o spark plug will not last near as long as a quality platinum plug...some junky plugs will only make it to 10k or 20k miles before they start causing missfires, where as a platinum plug of decent quality normally makes it 100k+ miles.


and in regards to if shops charge to much to fix your car...if its such a rip off do it yourself. I have worked in shops for years...you are paying for experience and a warranty. if its easy work, do it yourself and take the risk of breaking things then bringing it to the shop to fix what you screwed up.

i have sliced my fingers open many times before, and if i can i will stitch, glue, or tape the wound closed and hope for the best. if its really bad i will have to go to the hospital to have then stitch it closed. they ussually charge $500 just to have it looked at and a quick stitch up job...taking them less than an hour for the whole process.

$500+ for 1 hour of labor and a few cents work of dis infectant, thread, and a glorified bandaid. one could argue that i am getting raped...i argue that while it sucks, i am paying someone with YEARS of experience to ensure that i dont end up with a scar, or a infection, loss of movement, or dead from blood loss.

look, everything is a rip off...someone has to get paid. automotive industry is the same. i have worked retail jobs too...they will charge you $100 for a product they bought for $12. get used to it.

and no, that is not the most expensive spark plug replacement i have seen.

Well said. In the end you gotta have either skill/knowledge or money for someone else's skill/knowledge, to get something done

[Yaris Hilton]

Changing plugs in these is easy. When my daughter's Echo started setting misfiring codes, I fixed it by putting in a set of ordinary Autolite plugs. (I choked when I saw the prices for platinum and iridium plugs!) The fancy plugs don't affect how the engine runs, they just last a long time. At the time I didn't have any idea I was going to trade the car off soon, but normal plugs will last 30,000 miles or so. They're easy to change, like I said, so very long life plugs aren't a big advantage to me. It's a much bigger PITA to change plugs in the Nissan VG30E in my Villager van, but I put standard Autolites in it, too. Not that big a deal.

[la_scanner]

just want to let everyone know that toyota is waiting on the catalytic converter to arrive. then they will replace. under warranty. everyone's happy again. yay!

-Jameson

[severous01]

hey, i can get NGK's from autozone or o'rileys...and they're only 3 bux each...i have a 10mm socket and a spark plug socket, and an extension and a 3/8" ratchet...anti-seize for 99c when i pick up the plugs...

the car has coil per cylinder so i dont need wires...and there's no coil...or pickup, or distributor, or timing to do...i'm banking for 15 bux.

now, on to the dealership issue. i worked at a shop, it was toyota/gmc. now the shop was busy for the most part, always had cars in there, and the shop rate was 89/hr. with that being sed with 4 mechanics we still lost 75k per week. just the mechanic's shop, not including parts, not including sales, not including paychecks or electric or rent or insurance or porters or anything else..........just maintenance shop.

so i'm on both sides of the table and i'm doing just fine with both of them. i'm toyota certified and i think i can handle a spark plug change. specially when u can do a SBC in a vette in 20 min, or a 5.4l triton piece of crap in about 30....any way i banked on plug/wire changes for the dealership. when they charge 1.5hrs for an plug change and i'm gettin paid 1.5hrs for a 30 min job...i'm happy.

[YarisSedan]

Originally Posted by la_scanner

just want to let everyone know that toyota is waiting on the catalytic converter to arrive. then they will replace. under warranty. everyone's happy again. yay!

-Jameson

Thast the one good thing about california. Since they are super strict on emissions emissions components are always warrentied. I had a honda civic that came into my shop that was a 99 i think that had 94k miles. His car was running a little rough. Turns out there is a extended emissions warrenty on his vehicle. That covers his o2 sensor since the check engine light was on. Also they had to perform a full tune up. new cap rotor wires and plugs. At no charge to customer all under a extended warrenty. The guy was estatic cause he just bought the vehicle a week ago.