99345hp

You were asking why they tested the front O2 sensors? I would have checked all four myself. There are a lot of codes that can be thrown that dont exactly point to the sensor at fault. That is mostly on the front O2s that you have to worry about that though. A front O2 sensor not switching can be caused by many things. If you had a code for a front O2 would you be pissed that they tested for a vaccum leak? bad MAF sensor? bad plugs? anything like that can cause the front O2s to not switch properly.

Cry0

Its more them diagnosing what i knew was wrong and spitting it back to me, then charging for that and not applying any of the diagnosis towards the labor cost of the actual repair. I could care less if they charged me for a diagnosis then threw a little extra ontop of that for the repair. Im mad about asking them how much it would cost to fix it and then having them go re-read the error code to me at a 85$ charge and then tell me it will be an extra 75$+ part to have it fixed. If the code was for either cats or o2 i could have just given them the part and 75$ int he first place to blindly fix it and save $85. And if that didnt fix it then it would be the cats going out in which case i would haev just replaced an already old o2 which i would have needed to replace anyways and then i could just get Gm to fix the cats for free under warranty.

Not to mention all i wanted to know was how much it would cost to fix the o2, they were busy and i was trying to just get my car dropped off there so they could get back to me since i was going out of town for the day anyways. I go traped into a diagnosis fee i didnt ask for that was more expensive than the repair itself.

fccs

iTrader: (26)

WHAT THE **** lol $300 for 02s???

Cry0

Not trying to offend any mechanics by complaining here, i just got the run around hard when i first got this car and was new to dealing with mechanics. My first car i had in highschool miraculously had no problems aside from ac going out. This is the first car iv had that i have really had to deal with mechanics and the first ones i had to work with screwed me but i was in a bad situation with a car not starting and no other way to get to work.

Black01M6SS

iTrader: (3)

Easy there, most of the time it isn't the mechanic that makes the rules at the shop. I just recently quit my job as a Ford Tech. The only way I could manipulate the cost of a repair was by saying labor over lapped. Example changing plugs and wires. We would look on alldata for the labor times. If it was 1 hour for the plugs and 1 hours for the wires I would usually charge 1.5 hours to do the work. But if you were a friend I might forget about the labor for changing the plug wires and just charge an hour for changing the plugs and do the wires for free since I had to disconnect them anyway. On the other hand if the person was an *** I might just "forget" that the labor over lapped.

Any car that we worked on got a 1 hour diag fee applied the second we pulled the car in the shop. The only time the customer didn't get charged the fee is when the customer signed a waver saying that we would swap his supplied part and we would not warranty the part or labor if it didn't fix anything.

In your case I don't feel you should have been charged for diag as long as they let you know that they would not warrant the repair without a diag fee.

Cry0

Heh no the first time it was a shop ran/owned by the head mechanic there. My car had a problem that some 6 months later was diagnosed and fixed as a overheating resistor ( i think) and an electrical problem in the ignition. The problem started up the security system and shut off fuel to the engine. They assumed it was fuel pump, charged me 1,000$ and the problem started again a month later, they then said it was a busted computer, charged me another 700$ ontop of the fuel pump and replaced that. The car didnt start 10 mins after leaving the shop when i went to get gas and they insisted the computer was burned out anyways. They then replaced the mechanical ignition and got a new key. They also did not ever re-program the computer and left me with an SeS light on that they said they would call me about fixing when they go the software. (6 months later no call.)

**** started up again and i took it to an electrical repair specialist that found the problem which has seemingly fixed the problem.

My biggest problem is 100% the fact that the camaro is my only car so when anything happens to it i get stuck paying out the nose to fix it so i can get to work. Hard to shop around for a better deal when your car is dead and you need to get to work to pay for the repair =/

LoudmouthWS6

iTrader: (3)

i changed my o2's without lifting it at all just crawled under the car on the ground, dont get me wrong it would have been easier with a lift or jack but didnt have one at the time and didnt feel like using the car jack that came with it, but as far the charge that is just how things works sometimes, i had to pay for a master and slave changed that the guy promised woluld fix the problem ended up a pilot barring in the tranny that another guy found. Just part of working with mechanics, all you can do is find one that wont rip you

SIC LSX

iTrader: (10)

just pay for a tune and get the rears tuned out

The broke down the costs
74$ labor = free do it your self its super easy
86$ for diagnosis = free auto zone and other parts stores
140$ for the o2 sensor = I paid about that much for 2 of them. But why buy rear when you can just tune them out

69LT1Bird

iTrader: (1)

From what you have typed in this thread, you did not ask the right question to the service writer. You asked how much to fix to O2 sensor, you should have asked how much labor to replace the O2 sensor. There is a big difference, fixing the problem right the first time so you, the customer, does not come back if your diagnosis does not fix the problem. That involves the technician diagnosing the problem themselves and then providing the estimate for repairs. Customer pay labor should be .4 hrs for the O2 sensor (.3 warranty), it looks like the shop is at $86 per hour labor by the diagnostic time so the labor should have only been $34.40. Ask the right questions, it sounds easy but it happens all the time. You should here what some customers say it wrong with their cars, you could write a book.

ZFan88

iTrader: (4)

Don't pay stupid mechanic fees. You're in the bay, check out norcal-ls1 as we're locals and can help out..

landonew

yea, something sounds slighlty fishy about this story. Why would you LEAVE your car somewhere to get a "quote" only. Seems like that is something you could get over the phone. My bet would be that you just didn't understand what the agreement was.

Anyhow, If what you say is true then i would simply not have paid for the diagnostic fee. The law on the subject is pretty simple... you don't have to pay for an unrequested/unauthorized service.

Would you pay somebody twenty bucks if they just snuck over and mowed it one sunday while you were at church??? No, you would say thank you and GET THE **** OFF my property.

2001BlkWS6

I had mine go out yesterday. The exact one you had go out actually. $80 for a bosch from autozone and had a muffler shop put it in for little to nothing.

NHRAMAN

iTrader: (1)

Shops should charge for their time...$86 is a little high though....

NateLS1

iTrader: (4)

I dont understand why you left the car there if you just wanted a quote. If you wanted them to look at the car and then give you a quote for the repair, they need to get paid for that.

A code doesnt always say what is definitely wrong. It points in the right direction. What if there was just corrosion in the connector preventing an accurate reading?

bww3588

iTrader: (49)

bingo....i cant count how many times someone has come to me telling me their car is losing power, it must be the spark plugs, can you change plugs? yes i can, but is that the only reason its losing power? what if i charge them to change plugs then it dont fix it and they are pissed at me? now this wouldnt be such a problem for me, because i would tell them straight up, i did what you told me, now eat ****.

if i were to do this in a shop i ran as a business, i would lose a customer. losing customers will not make money.