myk

iTrader: (4)

I'd recommend trying to do the work yourself in the future. If "I" can do the work that you're having done, then anyone can. I've saved hundreds if not thousands by switching to Geico, er I mean doing maintenance myself. If you get stuck, you can always ask the forums or just take it in, but you might surprise yourself and save yourself alot of green...

01bird58

iTrader: (9)

Ok, here are the results of the invoice. Hopefully I didn't get hosed that badly. I got a raw deal on the spark plugs at $20 a pop per. The total came to $1,158 but since my parents go to him a lot he told me to give him 1K flat.

Labor
Standard Labor : 3 hrs for replacement of all listed tuneup parts and reset the engine specs. $267
Standard Labor : 1 hr replace drive belts. $89

Parts
BG Intake Induction : Quantity 1, Intake Service : cleans carbon deposits from entire fuel system, intake manifold, fuel injectors, fuel rail/regulator, fuel tank, designed to clean carbon deposits and improve engine performance. $185.71
Replacement AC Delco Spark Plugs : Quantity 8. $158.40
Ignition wire set : Quantity 1. $125.99
Fuel Filter : Quantity 1. $35.44
PCV Valve : Quantity 1. $12
Automotive Micro-v belt : Quantity 1. $89.99
Automotive Micro V belt : Quantity 1. $45.00

Shop Jobs
BG Transmission Service : trans service $150
Install BG Trans Service Additives : service manual trans fluid $150

ItsNotStock

iTrader: (24)

Holy ****. You still had an option to demand your money back and tell him to go **** himself.


1k at a discount?

As others have stated it takes about five minutes to change the belts. Screwed over.

So he took your intake manifold off and scrubbed it? LOL. He basically charged you out the *** for spraying brake cleaner into your throttle and pouring fuel injector cleaner into your tank. Charged you twice the normal amount for a fuel filter. Charged you more than twice the amount for even PREMIUM spark plugs (NGK). Charged you twice the amount for the wires (I picked up Taylor 10.4s for less than what you were charged). And charged you two to three times the normal amount for each belt. SCREWED.

$300 to take a plug out, and refill? (Which he most likely did... If at all you'll never know) Screwed

Seriously man this pisses me off. I feel sorry for you, but you didn't have to ***** to cancel your tune-up. Think of all the parts you could have for $1,000?

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Dude, what the ****!!!!!!!

-Spark plugs cost about $2.00 each. How did that scumbag come up with $158.00???????
-Both belts are around $35.00 (and they last for 80,000 miles)
-Ignition wires cost $36.00 (no need to change them, my factory wires are 11 years old and they're still perfect on my 427ci)
-Fuel filters are like $15.00
-PCV valve...doubt he touched it.
-Tranny fluid...doubt he did anything at all, except maybe top it off.
-1 ****** hour labor to replace the belts...it takes 5 minutes to do both.
-The $185 dollars he says it cost to clean the intake and all the other stuff........is really an $8.00 can of Sea Foam and an $8.00 bottle of fuel treatment.

This really sucks ***. What the name of this shop? What city?

And I bet the car runs the same as it did before. Tune ups on these cars, unless there's something obviously wrong, doesn't do much.

7998

iTrader: (1)

Thats a pure Jip. Seafoam is $8, if you really felt that needed to be done.

WS6 Store MSD 8.5 wires and ngk plugs $68,
See above
$10
$5
A The belts are a little expensive but I could deal with them



Man I feel sorry for ya. That is what shops charge (To people that don't know any bettter). Next time ask first, that is what this place is for. Just think, you couldve got the tune up and a set of Long tubes for that price.
Oh well it's all over but the crying. Better luck next time..

01bird58

iTrader: (9)

Damn, no doubt I went about this all wrong, I should have researched on here first

Next time ill try to knock out some of the work myself or at the very least buy the parts myself and have a shop install them.

Do these prices at least sound comparable to other auto shops.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

i would make fun of you for spending $280 for spark plugs/wires + labor but i know that realizing how badly you got ripped off was punishment enough

TheSilverOne

iTrader: (22)

seriously you own a modified car and can't even do a tune up?

xhk651

omg... i feel so bad for you... the prices listed above that people are showing you are correct..

i promise you that mechanic didnt do anything you cant do yourself..
next time you need something done on your car, PM someone in this thread that has been helping.. im sure no one would mind walking your through step by step.. tell you what tools you need and everything.. i wouldnt mind.. i hate seeing another fbody owner get ripped like that...

i bought good MSD spark plug wires and NGK spark plugs off of here for like 64 bucks shipped.. and yes those are good plugs and wires..

i cant believe this **** man... i am very sorry..

ALSO! i would go back up there with a (i believe 18MM) wrench and take your belt off and then put it back on... practice 2-3 times before you go up there.. it should take you about 5 minutes to do.. if you go slow, or screw up.... and ask him why it took him an hour to do it.. and also ask him to show you each and everything he did with "cleaning your intake"..

if for no other reason, just to know... hell, maybe you can get some money back..
what i would do though, is write down everything he did, and all the parts... go to 2 other shops and ask what they would charge you for doing the work... if its waaaaay under, take some action..


again, sorry man.. REMEMBER you can do all of that yourself with little to no skill.. i could show my girlfriend how to do it all in about 2 minutes..

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

You think you feel bad now. If spent a couple hours with you and we did all of this stuff, you would probably jump off a bridge after you saw how friggin easy all of it is. You would never go to a mechanic for that stuff again. Only thing you can't do is "completely" drain the tranny of fluid without the pump. But really, you do not need to do that for like 50,000 miles.

And, NO, those prices are unbelievable BULLSHIT. AT LEAST around here they are. Shops do not rape people like that. I;'m sure there are some, but I've never seen any. Its a fact shops try to **** people, but they know certain people they can't ****. If my sister took my car in for work, she'll get a much larger bill then I would for the same work.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

So damn true. DO IT!!!

I know some people don't have the nuts to confront people or just feel uncomfortable, but.....

I would love to see the look in his eyes when you take a belt off and put it back on in literally 2 minutes. He would have NOTHING to say to that. There are NO special adjustments, NO special tools, NO special skill needed. He would have NO excuse.

Then ask why he stole money from you buy charging you $20 per spark plug.

Now, he keeps all of his receipts for everything he bought for your car. Tell him to show you and make sure every part, especially the tranny filter which I doubt he did, and the intake cleaners and gas tank cleaners.

I woudl also ask what plug wires he used and ask for the receipt, I bet they are the $36.00 Advacne Auto ones I've been talking about. They're good, but they're not $125.99.

Do it man. Ask for the damn receipts.......you'll make him turn ****** green........If he was smart he would give you back like $400.......

99345hp

You guys are really giving the OP a hard time about taking care of his car. Doing what he did is better than not doing maint. at all.

To LS6427: I have been working on cars for 10 years, worked at many different shops, and I am yet to see someone drop the pan when doing a tranny service instead of using the machine. It is actually easier on the mechanic to do it with the machine then dropping the pan. If the car owner checks the fluid you would be able to tell all the fluid hasn't been changed by the color.

On the intake cleaning. I have done probably 100's of these and they actually do a very good job of cleaning the intake tract of the engine. The one we used had 3 parts. Clean the throttle body with a spray and a brush. Then you wouuld add a bottle to the fuel tank. The third part would be hooked up to a vacuum line closest to the throttle body. It is a cleaning liquid similar to seafoam. It is added with the engine running at 1500-2000 rpm through a variable rate flow valve.

The tranny service and intake cleaning are services that the parts and labor are included in one price. Him charging an hour to change the belts seems like a lot, but that is probably what mitchell, snap-on, etc. labor estimator told him to charge. Its all flat rate and that is how a shop knows how much to charge you. Sometimes it takes a shorter time to do the job, but there are times where you loose your *** on doing it flat rate.

xhk651

id do it in a heart beat.. there is nothing negative that can come from it... only positive, you make him feel like an ***... you get your money back.. etc...

honestly man.. the belt is SOOOOOOO easy.. my tensioner was screwed up a while back and i kept throwing belts at WOT... i could put a new belt on in about 30 seconds... just practice a few times before you go up there...

and hell, if you want... go buy some good plugs from autozone or something along with some of the other parts he purchased, buy top dollar stuff so he cant say his is any better...
ask for the receipt from the parts he bought... compare the two...
after you are done.. take them back to the store with your receipt and get your money back..

and if its too out of line.. go talk to someone about it.. i dont know how you would handle that part, but it would be WELL worth it to maybe get 200 bucks back or something...



PS!!!!! i just thought of something.. stop about half a mile down the road from where he works.. pull over, turn your car off... take the belt off and throw it in the passenger seat... WITH YOUR BELT OFF YOUR CAR WILL OVERHEAT WITHIN A FEW MINUTES SO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CLOSE TO HIS SHOP...
go up to him and tell him you think he put the belt on wrong cause it keeps throwing the belt or something... hand him the belt and ask him to put it on again... tell him you need it on right then... STAND THERE AND WATCH HIM... he will do it in about 2 minutes because he wont want to spend a lot of time because he wont be getting paid for it (he is fixing something he messed up)..
if he wont do it without charging you, grab your wrench IN FRONT OF HIM and put it on real quick..
hes either gonna see you change it in 2 minutes, or you are going to see him do it... either way, you made your point...
ask him why he charged you for an hour or whatever of work for that..


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE OP!!!! do something of what we are telling you.. the guy needs to see that EVERYTHING he does isnt always going to pass..

let us know what you do!!!

xhk651

we are just trying to help him throw it back in the shops face that they ripped him..

as for that, it may be true... BUT! if it only takes them 2 minutes (which it did)
they should adjust to that instead of ripping someone off.. thats just courtesy to keep a customer happy..

01bird58

iTrader: (9)

Holy crap, I can't check in on this thread anymore, I am starting to feel sick.
The saddest part is I know 10,000 times more about performance exhausts, heads, cams, tires, wheels, clutches and tons of other aftermarket crap. All my years on LS1tech and I have never researched what a basic tune up entails.

I am an accountant with no tools or access to a car lift, plus its 0 degrees out, I have no garage space to work in and this is my DD so the work would have to get done ASAP. But with each passing post it seems there is absolutely no reason I shouldn't have done some or all of this work myself. I had no idea how easy some of this work was. And like I said before, at the very least I should have bought my own parts. Thanks for offering me help for next time.

Im not gona throw any of this back in his face. I could never bring myself to do it.

Aslo, you keep referring to me as an "OP", does that mean amateur or sucker? (which would be fitting)

Now continue bashing me

xhk651

haha.. i hear ya man... it really does suck...
im in the same boat you are with no garage or anything.. but you are a member of ls1tech.. and there are MANY nice people on this board... im sure you could find someone in your area.. within 30 minutes, that has a garage and tools.. im sure they would help you for like a pack of beer or dinner or something..
i would **help** do the work for free.. and if i did it all, i would charge about 30 bucks.. but im too far away...

as far as you being able to do some of it... you could have bought a belt and a 18mm wrench and did that in front of autozone in about 5 minutes... hell someone there probably would do it for free (at mine they do)..
at LEAST buy your own parts next time...

you can ALWAYS come on here and ask what you need for a tune up.. sure you may get a few smart *** comments.. but someone will help you out...
and then just look for someone on here that has a garage..
make a thread saying "need someone near "your location here"" and ask if you give them something in return if you could borrow their garage for an hour or 2... thats all the time it would take..

99345hp

Im not bashing you, I think I am the only one trying to support you. Everyone has a point in their argument, but that is how the automotive repair business works. Most just dont understand. If a shop was to charge you exactly the amount of time it took to fix your car I think it would end up costing people more in the long run.

If you look at where you work and the markup on everything that is sold there, you might be suprised how much it is. Retail stores markup is HUGE!!! You are probably looking at 200 to 300% markup on the items sold. How is that any different then what the repair place is doing? They have to make a living too.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

You cannot do a PROPER tranny tune up without changing the filter. He was supposed to get a new filter. You probably don;'t rip people off and do change ALL the fluid, but this mechanic most likely did absolutely nothing to that tranny. How do you manage to change the filter without removing the pan? You don't change your oil without changing the filter, same with a tranny.

This is the point we're making. He got ripped off hard core. Top end cleaners and gas tank treatment will cost less than $20.00, Sea Foam. It takes 15 minutes to do a top end clean with Sea Foam using the brake booster line. THATS IT!

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

OP...original poster. YOU.

We're not bashing you. What I think we've done is show you how to save about $900 next time you need to do all of that. There's probably a F-Body club near you. If so, you will meet tons of guys that would love to do all that for you for $100.00. Or maybe some wings and a couple pitchers of beer at Hooters. I would actually come over and do it for free if you lived near me, just to show a fellow F-Body owner how to do it for next time. I would demand the beer at Hooters though.

I think that mechanic would give you some money back if you approached him.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

01bird58 ,

Honestly, does the car run any better?