Is my dealer full of BS?

Ok so as some of you may have seen, I've put a few threads up regarding my U-joints, and one about Carrier Bearing... So today I went into the dealer to ask some questions regarding my problem, and I left VERY unhappy. First of all, I went and checked on the price of a new Carrier Bearing... Well after having to explain to the PARTS MANAGER what it was, she finds the part and tells me that it's $227 and some change... TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A BEARING?!??! (FYI: Rock Auto has them for $42). Needless to say, I won't be going with the factory replacement this go round. Next, I went to the maintenance dept to ask about putting it on. Rather than getting an explanation of how bad it is to install, i get told that "90% of the time when someone brings a vehicle in for a bad carrier bearing, we end up having to replace THE ENTIRE REAR END" WHAT?!??! How does it go from a $40 part on the driveshaft to fixing the entire rear end.... I mean, I understand that the two are connected but I'm feeling a little trickery going on here. I think this guy saw a young man who he thinks knows nothing about vehicles, which made him see dollar signs... Little does he know, I am actually somewhat handy when it comes to doing my own maintenance. Opinions?

 

Another reason to stay the fuck away from them. They are fishing.

 

Don't call em stealerships for nothing.

 

BBBOOOOOOOOMMMMM! ^^^ Nailed it!

 

This is why I don't even trust them to change my GD oil! Have had too many mishaps over the years, either sleazy mechanics trying to make $$$, or shoddy/careless work that results in bigger problems.

 

I didn't even have to read your post to know that the dealer is full of BS. Seriously though, never trust those guys...

 

Did they also tell you if the U joint goes, you need an entire drive shaft assembly? I asked when i had my highlander driveshaft start banging the floorboards and was told they were not user fixable on the highlander (welded in at factory). I asked if the Tacoma was the same, "Yup!" , he showed me on the parts list that the U joint was not available but the parts breakdown showed clips. LOL, I said they might not sell the U joint but it was readily available. I also inquired if Toyota was rebranding ford escapes, they couldn't see the humor in that. 2 weeks later, i traded the old highlander in on my new Tacoma and never looked back.

I probably could have taken it to a driveshaft shop and got the u joints replaced but with the anti-lock brake system acting up, the exhaust due for full replacement and rust breaking out all over, time to throw in the towel on the 10 year old highlander.

 

First, the Rock Auto Dorman brand bearings are complete shit. I found OEM for around $150 from Camelback Toyota (search for them, they are a vendor on here and great to deal with) and the same $40 Dorman bearing you're looking at on Rock Auto. The Dorman bearing has a great warranty but after I smoked 2 of them with under 1,000 miles on each one, it wasn't worth it. Rock Auto warrantied both bearings (Rock Auto's customer service was great through the whole process) but the labor for me to install each one wasn't worth what I saved. My third bearing was an OEM.

A lot of dealerships will not swap u-joints or the carrier bearing. They aren't driveline shops and it's easier for them to swap the entire drive line than it is for them to press out u-joints. Labor is more predictable with the whole drive shaft replacement. That is not uncommon, lots of dealerships would have quoted that job the same way. If you just need the carrier swapped or a u-joint replaced, take the truck to a specialty shop.