Beware..A Must Read for Car Owners..!!

Hey guys, i don't know if yall have knowledge of this..but i'm gonna tell you something that i'm hit with EVERYDAY.

A week ago i got a job at Autozone (yay....).. Good, fun job..i like it, especially helping out people that aren't that knowledgeable. For the past 5 days..i've gotten 8 people that come into the store..and want us to price them some minor parts, like pads, fuel filter, pcv valve, air filter, intake sensors (maf's) rear shoes, drums, etc etc etc. Basically the simple things that go wrong-or need to be done to preserve the life of the car..and owner..lol..

Now, why you ask...? EVERY person i've had, has gotten OUTRAGEOUS prices, and estimates from "THE DEALER".... Ford, toyota, chevy...YOU NAME IT.. I'll give you 2 examples right now..

#1.. Today, this really polite man comes in, and says he wants to know in what ball park the 4 filter change will be, for his 02 ford suv. This consists of a pcv valve, air filter, fuel filter, and oil filter... EASILY it was under $40..... He tells me that the ford dealer wanted to charge him $550 for the parts/install....... I then told him the truth, that basically dealers want to F*CK YOU...period. He agreed, lol..he bought everything and he's gonna install them, done..

#2.. Last night i get this young kid..like maybe 19 or so, and he wanted new front pads for his toyota camry (late 90's i believe)... I get him his pads...ring him up..done... TODAY, he comes in for a refund.. He tells me that his sisters camry DIDN'T need ned front pads, and explained to me that his sister went to the toyota dealer and they told her that her front pads had 10% life to them, and that she HAD TO CHANGE THEM.... They gave her a quote of $360....TO CHANGE THE FRONT PADS.... This kid told me her pads weren't even 10% worn. I told him of the story above, and we both did one of those i-yi-yi moments..lol..

That was just 2 examples, i've had a pregnant women come in to get an air filter...i rang her up, went outside, installed it..she tipped me $5...!.?.!..? I told her thanks (hey i needed coffee and a donut $..lol) and that i was more then happy to help her. She then tells me that she save a bunch of $$$ by coming here. I asked why..? She told me her dealer wanted $45 to change the filter.....

People, be warned, these company's try and F*CK you every way they can. PEACE..

Anyone that didn't already know what you've posted about here, deserves to lose their money at a dealership.

I've never paid dealer labor rate, in fact, I've got more stuff done free, out of warranty, at dealers than what I've paid for.....gotta know how to handle them ;)

No shit, dealer rates are unreal. OEM stuff is so expensive, and most aftermarket stuff is made to meet and/or exceed OEM specs anyway.

I've never had any problems


Oh wait, that's because i work for a dealer and do all the work myself..hehe....


The way the service shop is run that i work at is not like the experiences you've heard about, not all dealers try to "fuck you." Sure some probably do, but most of the one's i know aren't like that.

Agreed, although I don't trust the VIP's and Autozone's of the world much more either. It's really sort of a toss up -- bring it to the dealership = pay more, but you know it's got a better shot at being done right. Bring it to an autoparts place = less expensive, but not necessarily the same level of expertise. For instance: Being the procrastinator that I am, I was busy mid December getting my car inspected (and with a 10 year old car, even one in as great a shape as mine, every inspection is still usually a minor pain at the least) and VIP wouldn't pass it with the muffler setup I have on. Now this setup was PROFESSIONALLY installed by Meineke, and I had already gone through an inspection with it the previous year, getting a compliment on the quality job from the inspecting mechanic... at a VIP! At any rate, my dad insisted on making sure my car was good to go for the Winter and whatnot, and he urged me to bring it to the dealership to have the necessary work done (he was paying, so I wasn't going to argue.) At any rate, $900 later and I was ready to go. :eek7: Two-thirds of that was due to replacing a couple seals, and a necessary tune-up (I was a good bit past my 120,000 mark) and I wasn't going to leave it to VIP to handle it. Why wasn't I going to trust VIP to it? Well, they had INSISTED that my brakes were "fine," despite the fact that A. My ABS light had been on for over half a year, and B. I knew that wasn't kosher :icon16: Three mechanics there told me it was "not a problem" in effect treating me like I didn't know what I was talking about. Well guess what? The Honda dealership had no problems locating the shot ABS sensor in the passenger side rear wheel. Not a cheap repair, but important nonetheless. And sure enough, problem fixed. This isn't a shot at the autoparts stores of the world -- I've saved tons of money getting stuff done through these places before... when it was an obvious, less specialized problem.

Bottom line -- 90% of the private mechanics out there aren't worth the certifications they carry (in the end they're really doing not so much what's best for you, as much as what's best for their business) but they'll at least treat you like a friend. Dealerships will do the job right, but you had better expect to pay for it, and they aren't always that great at the personal touch. Autoparts places will do the job cheaper, and since the mechanics are usually working for the company, they don't really have their own interests in mind, and they're pretty well versed in automotive maintenance -- providing it's not too much of a specialized job.

I think in the end, it's all a matter of educating yourself on your vehicle, deducing the problem as best you can (perhaps getting a couple different opinions) and then deciding where to have the work done.

sucks. I'm too young to work at autozone (Not 18 yet..)

Dealer price = retail price + 200% + minimum 1 hour labour charge + random surcharge.

Basicly most of them now days make very little money on the sale of new vechiles, so they have to recoup it through service charges, and mark up on used vechiles.

Agreed, dealerships overcharge you a lot. And it's hard to find a good mechanic, that's honest. That's why you should do the work yourself, if you feel comfortable doing it.

Dealer pricing is ridiculous and my local dealer is less than helpful to owners of vehicles imported direct from Japan. Site engineer at the factory where Iwork does all the mechanicals and panel/paint for me,and does it better than dealer.

Meh, I had a Honda dealer treat the rust in my Civic, did a far better job than any other panel beater I've been to AND they even gave the car a good clean inside and out.


All for $250 NZ, sounds like a sweet deal to me. I'd never take a car to a dealer for mechanical work outside the warranty period, though. There's a garage up the road that is top-notch that I prefer to take my cars to if I don't have the time to sort it myself. But for Panel and Paint, I've yet to find anything better than going straight through Honda New Zealand (One panel beater had the nerve to quote $1600 for a new indicator, bumper and headlight + Minor touchups!)

Dealer price = retail price + 200% + minimum 1 hour labour charge + random surcharge.

Basicly most of them now days make very little money on the sale of new vechiles, so they have to recoup it through service charges, and mark up on used vechiles.
:bs: my buddy works for a ford dealership, dealers make 10% on new cars, and "only" 8% on used cars, dont let them fool you into thinking they cut a bunch out and are giving your a good deal, after they cut out the bs and give you the good price is where theire 10% is, if you dont haggle they are grinnen ear to ear when you walk out, they go into their office and call every other dealer in theire dealership to gloat when you leave, the dealership is making good enough money

Yeah dealerships will rape you on prices, But my local autozone is full of asshole employes. I got a 50 doller gift card for Autozone that i need to use.

- Kevin

:bs: my buddy works for a ford dealership, dealers make 10% on new cars, and "only" 8% on used cars, dont let them fool you into thinking they cut a bunch out and are giving your a good deal, after they cut out the bs and give you the good price is where theire 10% is, if you dont haggle they are grinnen ear to ear when you walk out, they go into their office and call every other dealer in theire dealership to gloat when you leave, the dealership is making good enough money
I don't think that you can ever be sure that you got a good price on a car (especially used) until you have driven it into the ground for several years. Due to a lack of information, you have no way of knowing what the car has been through. Really sucks, cars should come with black boxes. :lol:

I don't think that you can ever be sure that you got a good price on a car (especially used) until you have driven it into the ground for several years. Due to a lack of information, you have no way of knowing what the car has been through. Really sucks, cars should come with black boxes. :lol:

You asked for it and you got it. You can get "black boxes" for cars pretty easily now. I hope to god they never become standard. Actually, that's a good topic for off-topic.

You asked for it and you got it. You can get "black boxes" for cars pretty easily now. I hope to god they never become standard. Actually, that's a good topic for off-topic.
its pretty standard in chevys, and all companys like jd byrider put them into every vehical that goes their way

:bs: my buddy works for a ford dealership, dealers make 10% on new cars, and "only" 8% on used cars, ........



I think what you mean to say is your "buddies" commision is 8% on used cars, and 10% on new cars, or prehaps his dealer only makes a net profit of 8-10% after he's paid out commission and covered his over heads.

A dealer selling a used car for only 8% above what he paid for it would go out of business very quickly.

I think what you mean to say is your "buddies" commision is 8% on used cars, and 10% on new cars, or prehaps his dealer only makes a net profit of 8-10% after he's paid out commission and covered his over heads.

A dealer selling a used car for only 8% above what he paid for it would go out of business very quickly. true they charge almost 50% the amount it was traded/auctioned for.

which is why the kelly blue book was invented. to keep you from getting fucked by dealers and other sellers. Wait the kbb can fuck you too. lol!

surcharges, doc. fees, is a bunch of crap.

yes, i ment my buddie the car salesmen;s commision is 8 or 10%, the dealers is about another 35 to 40 (depending on new or used, and if its a mustang or escort)

which is why the kelly blue book was invented. to keep you from getting fucked by dealers and other sellers. Wait the kbb can fuck you too. lol!.

KBB is not the industry standard. NADA is. but on older vehicles,usually past 10 years or so. book doesnt mean anything. its mainly for late modl stuff

surcharges, doc. fees, is a bunch of crap.
Surcharges......yes DOC fee..... NO. the Doc fee is another stupid state tax. as if excise and tags and other taxes arent enough.

^yes i knew already. kbb is just something like a guide too keepyou from getting raped too hard/often/much.

Prices aren't that different anyway. just for those people who don't know what model to look for. An ex: i could get a 1998 eclipse GSX for 8,500. so why would a seller charge 8,500 for an GS? So he could scam car model idiots.

Any time in my life I HAD to go to the dealer for something my independent mechanic or I couldn't do it was "watch out" time. I had my 96 El Dorado at a dealer for a pretty minor thing- only 2nd dealer visit since 1998. Well of course they recommended that the the Northstar's head gaskets be replaced for about $5000 due to about a square inch of coolant seepage between the head and block! My mechanic said every car with an aluminum engine has that and it's probably a lifetime accumulation-93,000 miles.

I could buy a whole used Northstar for $2000 locally or a factory new one for $7000 so why would I let the friggin dealer do that?

They charged double on an air filter that I could buy at a retail auto parts store when I was in for fuel system cleaning.

DEALERShttp://members.aol.com/browrob549/sigs/sigs009.gif

good point. don't void your warranty if you have one. you are a dumb ass if you do and get mad when something goes wrong and get mad at the dealer cause there charging to much. But I hope this doesn't start a flamed thread, but I dont like car salesman either.
here is what I did today...I called 3 times (talked to 3 different salesmans) about a 2001 eclipse gt 5speed with 45k miles. the first one quoted me 17k, second quoted me 12k and the third 14.5k. Hmmmmm. what is the deal wiht that. Are they trying to rip me off or what? i asked each about lowering the price a little (they can't but the manager can) and they all said "I tried already but this is as low as my manager will let me....so why don't you come on in and see if we can get you financed?" I smell a big fat commission in somebodies wallet! Not off me they won't

call back, ask for manager, tell him youve called 3 times, and gotten three different answers, ask him for his best deal, dont tell him your best deal untill he gives you yours, management usually makes so much they dont get commision, tell him you smell a rat and want to know what you can get

The best thing anyone can do if their car has no warranty is to ask friends and relatives what independent garage they use. http://www.animationlibrary.com/Animation11/Transportation/Cars/59_chevy_passes.gif