Woohoo! Got reamed by the stealership!
11-24-2004, 08:10 PM
#1
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Ames, IA
Posts: 311
Woohoo! Got reamed by the stealership!
Lately, I've been having some rough idle issues. People on the org kept telling me it was the coils, but the mechanics told me otherwise. I took the car to a dealer in Ames, Iowa, and he said nothing was wrong and charged me $125. Took it to Midas, they said nothing was wrong, let me go for free. Took it back to Midas later on, and they charged me $60 for a diagnostic check (never could understand why they'd charge so much to plug in a machine they can use more than once into my car, using the power from my battery, not costing them a thing), then they offered to clean the fuel injectors, totalling $112. Then I took it to a dealer in Merrillville, Indiana, and they finally recognized the coils were bad. They changed all six and charged me ~$715. So, in sum:
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
11-24-2004, 08:24 PM
#2
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 405
Sorry to hear that.
Midas charged you, because you aren't paying for the 10 cents worth of power the machine uses but ur paying for:
1) Keeping employees on payroll (4 employees full-time-5-8K a month)
2) Lease on Building (2-4K a month)
3) Owner take home pay (heh, enough hopefully)
4) Cost of machine (1-2K)
5) Any franchise costs,advertising co-op (enough)
6) Oh yah, and other lil expenses.
So you see, to run a business like that costs maybe 10K a month or more before u clear shinizzle.
Anyway, sorry to hear it. 6 new Nissan OEM coils woulda cost $360 on-line, and 1 hour to change (same time as changing spark plugs).
Midas charged you, because you aren't paying for the 10 cents worth of power the machine uses but ur paying for:
1) Keeping employees on payroll (4 employees full-time-5-8K a month)
2) Lease on Building (2-4K a month)
3) Owner take home pay (heh, enough hopefully)
4) Cost of machine (1-2K)
5) Any franchise costs,advertising co-op (enough)
6) Oh yah, and other lil expenses.
So you see, to run a business like that costs maybe 10K a month or more before u clear shinizzle.
Anyway, sorry to hear it. 6 new Nissan OEM coils woulda cost $360 on-line, and 1 hour to change (same time as changing spark plugs).
11-24-2004, 08:24 PM
#3
Originally Posted by SOAD1983
Lately, I've been having some rough idle issues. People on the org kept telling me it was the coils, but the mechanics told me otherwise. I took the car to a dealer in Ames, Iowa, and he said nothing was wrong and charged me $125. Took it to Midas, they said nothing was wrong, let me go for free. Took it back to Midas later on, and they charged me $60 for a diagnostic check (never could understand why they'd charge so much to plug in a machine they can use more than once into my car, using the power from my battery, not costing them a thing), then they offered to clean the fuel injectors, totalling $112. Then I took it to a dealer in Merrillville, Indiana, and they finally recognized the coils were bad. They changed all six and charged me ~$715. So, in sum:
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
11-24-2004, 08:34 PM
#4
Supporting Maxima.org Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Ames, IA
Posts: 311
Yes, some expenses could have easily been avoided. However, some mechanics flat out disagreed with me that it was the coils that were giving me problems. Also, I don't do mechanical work myself. Simple as that. I don't trust myself to do it right, not even a simple oil change. And I'm at school 9 months out of the year, where I have no garage or tools to work with anyway, so I couldn't have done anything about it. I guess this thread is nothing but a chance for me to whine about my own negligence when I could have just told someone to change the coils in the first place. Oh well, live and learn.
11-24-2004, 08:47 PM
#5
just learn your lesson, i went to school 9 months out fo the year and worked a part time job like everyone else. i couldnt spare that 1000$ at all, learned everythign on my own. i am an engineer though so i like to do my own stuff most of the time, but an hour work of work and $300 is a big difference to me from a $1000. sorry to hear about that mean, nobody likes to be gouged like that.
antoher thing id have to say is that mechanics are mechanics, theyre not a final authority on things, theres plenty of incompetentn people who are mechanics.
antoher thing id have to say is that mechanics are mechanics, theyre not a final authority on things, theres plenty of incompetentn people who are mechanics.
11-24-2004, 11:37 PM
#8
Originally Posted by mansurxk
you allowed youreslf to get reamed after people todl you it was the coils, 1000+ members cant be wrong after the same repetitive symptoms. invest in a multimeter, some things are avoidable.
Oh yeah!
11-25-2004, 07:38 AM
#10
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 25
Take a trip to any urban/suburban dealership service centre and have a look around, folks sit happily sipping the 10 cents free coffee waiting for the "shuttle service" to take them to their high paying jobs. They can't trust themselves to follow a few simple steps of service manual procedures to replace a part, but others trust them to be their employees in their own lines of work. All the while their cars are getting worked on for $85/hour in parallel, they like the "professional" look of the service counter and the waiting room so let them be.
On a different note bless those folks, can you imagine the impact to the economy without them? How many jobs will be lost in the auto service industry if everyone work on their own cars? And besides, where are folks like us going to find three year old used car for half the price if not for so many decent folks to take out a loan to buy or lease their new cars.
On a different note bless those folks, can you imagine the impact to the economy without them? How many jobs will be lost in the auto service industry if everyone work on their own cars? And besides, where are folks like us going to find three year old used car for half the price if not for so many decent folks to take out a loan to buy or lease their new cars.
11-25-2004, 07:43 AM
#11
It's chrome alright...
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,009
Originally Posted by SOAD1983
They changed all six and charged me ~$715. So, in sum:
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
715 + 125 + 112 = $952, as well as gas costs to take the car there and back.
Gotta love those '99's!
11-25-2004, 07:46 AM
#12
It's chrome alright...
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,009
Originally Posted by Sitting Duck
All the while their cars are getting worked on for $85/hour in parallel, they like the "professional" look of the service counter and the waiting room so let them be.
2. If I work on on my car during the week then I'm not making money, and it's going to take me 3x longer to do the work my self...
I make more than 85$ / 3 per hour so it makes sense to have someone else do it for me.
11-29-2004, 11:27 PM
#13
Donating Maxima.org Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 405
Originally Posted by 2k2kev
1. I'd rather play with my kids on a saturday than take the time to fix my car.
2. If I work on on my car during the week then I'm not making money, and it's going to take me 3x longer to do the work my self...
I make more than 85$ / 3 per hour so it makes sense to have someone else do it for me.
2. If I work on on my car during the week then I'm not making money, and it's going to take me 3x longer to do the work my self...
I make more than 85$ / 3 per hour so it makes sense to have someone else do it for me.I don't understand if you make $28 per hour...or more than $255 an hour.
All I know is that I make a good amount per hour, and yet...I still feel good "making $85 an hour I woulda spent at the dealership". I mean...spending $255 at a dealer can be pocket-change...but think about all the shiny tools and steak dinners I could buy!
Yumm...beef.
11-30-2004, 09:00 AM
#14
Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 29
Padlock PLEASE!!! This is REALLY, REALLY 
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