$530 to remove a stripped bolt

How about a repair shop dropping a fuel tank to replace the fuel pump and needing to get rid of "contaminated" fuel... they charged my poor Sis, ten dollars a gallon to dispose of it properly... what?

 

Dealerships make their money on brake jobs and oil changes and air filters. There are a few talented guys out there that work at them, but for the most part they're interested in hiring the cheapest labor that can make them the most money on simple work. Three (and the only three) experiences I've had with dealerships in the past 9 years are

1. Brought my 2nd gen for a leaf spring recall and they put in the bolt in the wrong way so it dug into the leaf spring hanger and didn't even put a nut on the front bushing bolt on the other side.




2. Family friend brought their early 2000's Mazda B2000 pickup to a Mazda dealership when it stopped running while on the freeway. Dealer "diag'd" and quoted them $1600 to replace the fuel pump. They couldn't afford it and brought it to me - replaced the fuel pump, didn't start. F*cking timing belt visibly broken when peeking in the timing cover.

3. Same family recently brought their 2012-13 Chrysler minivan to the Dodge dealership when it had a check engine light. Ended up being multiple cylinder misfire. They charged them $2k for a complete set of spark plugs, wires, and ignition coils. Wanted them to come back for $4k more in fuel injector work. Brought it to me, dead cylinder diagnosed in 20 min with a rented cylinder pressure tester from a parts store.

Besides the sprinkling of very skilled guys among thousands of dealerships, taking a vehicle (especially an older one) for anything other than warranty repairs is like going to Costco's Eye Center to get cataract surgery - would you expect that to go well?

If you can't do the work yourself, my advice is start a "Looking for an honest mechanic" thread in the regional sections here, or open up a google search for independent mechanics in your area, look at the reviews in detail and call or visit the shop and get a feel for them and compare. Huge difference between someone whose livelyhood is associated with a shop's reputation and maybe even has his name on the front of it and a dealership. Look up South Main Auto in upstate NY on Youtube to see more on how good (bad) dealerships are.

/rant

 

OP got fleeced and he's proud of it lol

 

So is that WHY some dealerships will NOT get you a quote unless you 1st pay them the bogus diagnostic fee to take a look at it first