The parts probably cost the dealer maybe $50. So they made $323 ?? Did the air filter really need to be changed ? Why did they replace the PCV valve ?

 

Speaking of lubrication... Geeze dude...you got screwed.

The one (well two, actually) positive is that you learned a great lesson. Dont ever go back there and come here for the tips on how to do your own PM.

Is this how dealers manage to stay in business? This is not just taking advantage of someone...it is flat out unethical. Total labor for all you had done was around 1.2 hours. Parts...maybe $65. So they charged you almost $300 an hour? Just ridiculous.

A few years back, I took my wife's new (as in 250 mile old) van in to change the factory motor oil out (we always do this in new cars). It was February, 10 degrees out and my garage floor was about 0...so I bit the bullet and did the rapid lube. I was watching them and midway through, the guy came out and told me that the air filter was shot and he told me I "absolutely had to change it". He coulf knock it out for $35. I asked him to turn the key on and look at the mileage and let me know what he thought...he did not come back to waiting area.

About 15 mins later, I was just about to head out and another guy came intot he office and spoke to the lady sitting next to me...the owner of a Volva wagon. He held a brand new air filer (with an orange lip (Fram perhaps)) and her old filer with a black lip. He informed her that the color was an indicator that her filter was way past expiration and needed to be changed ASAP. Of course, just $35...for a $6 filter. She nodded ok...and off they went.

I waled into the office and asked for the manager. I told him that they can either hand me and this lady whom I didnt know our kesy with a $0 balance and walk out and never come back...or we would be back with whichever local news team showed up first. I informed him they are thieves and got caugth twice flat out swindlgin folks. Once...I was just pissed. After two times...I realized they do it to everyone and if they get 50%...what the heck...they make an extra $20-50 each oil change.

We were handed our keys and told to have a nice day. Everything on the house.

This was a Jiffy Lube BTW.

 

I got burned once by Jiffy Lube. I had a 1995 Buick Electra (Grandmother gave it to us) and to Jiffy Lube for a simple oil change. Well, when they were finished they forgot to put the oil cap back on the car. My husband took a look under the hood when he got home and discovered oil all over the hood and noticed the cap gone. I immediately called and they said they didn't have it but could sell me a new one! Right! Needless to say, I have never taken my cars to Jiffy Lube again. That was the only and last time they will sucker me.

I know we can save money by doing the maintenance ourselves, but I do not have the time or the ramps that it takes to do so. I don't mind paying my Ford dealership to do the work for me. I look at this way, if they screw up they will be held accountable for it.
I think if you find a dealership that you can trust and get to know the folks working there, they will look out for you. I know mine does.

 

I knew a guy that managed a jiffy lube.
It was a commission type job for the lube guys.
The more tranny flushes, batteries, wiper blades
and filters you sold, the more $$ you took home.
It was and still is a racket....
It puts the stealership racket to shame.
Black filter sealing foam indicates that the filter is bad?
Thats a new one.

 

makes the overpriced stealerships not seem so bad as long as you got enough to pay them. at least they can be held more accountable (in most cases) if there is an error.

*speaking of the do-it-yourself manuals.... i just picked up the Chilton Mustang manual the last time i visited moss muscle. i was told that the Haynes had several inaccuracies. not sure on this but just a heads up for those who were planning on picking one of these manuals up themselves. good purchase... its not very in-depth on the step-by-step details but its still pretty clear and straight forward.

 

What they did would have cost you about $50 in material plus about 30-40 minutes of your time. As far as tools, a simple ratchet set, a pair of ramps, a drain pan and funnel plus a filter wrench (roughly $100) and you're in business. But as far as lubing those hinges, OMG, I'd have kicked someone in the ***** for even implying they were charging me for that.

 

The parts may have just cost the dealer 50$, but they had to pay the technician(or to a lesser extent the lube boy/girl), support staff(the person or people that wash cars that come in for service), insurance, taxes, other bills, and the cost of all the specialty tools that are needed to work on factory specific vehicles(not to mention the ford VCM/VMM system, at our dealership we all have to buy our own laptops for that, but we have the vcm's and a vmm provided, each costs around 3000$ each). There is a ton of overhead in an automotive dealership. It costs money to do business. 300 seems a little high, but that is the price of owning a car. If your hot water tank in your home blew up and the guy doing the repair charged you 1000$ and it took him 2 hours to do, and the hot water heater only cost him 250$ to aquire, im sure you wouldn't be complaining, just happy that your hot water heater got fixed. That is the problem with the automotive industry; everyone wants something for free. There is a "sure i can do that" attitude, and yes you can, but you're paying someone to do it. There are also benefits of bringing your vehicle in for service at the dealer. I'm a technician at one, and if i have to do services, which isnt too often, I will look for known problems with certain vehicles, like the TSB's for the tinging noise in the radio stack, or the seperator plate noise at 2000 rpm, or the harsh shifting/grinding problem into 2 and 3.

And having said that, it does seem a little odd that they replaced your PCV valve considering they are supposed to have a 150000kM life.

If you do start doing your own oil changes, use the Ford racing FL-820 or the regular FL-820S. I found a site online with some guy that has nothing better to do that compare oil filters, and his tests seem pretty concrete.http://home.mindspring.com/~ed_white/id7.html

 

Time out! The cost of doing business can easily (EASILY) be covered at $100 per hour labor rates. Going by book rates, this job should have taken less than an hour, but lets call it an even hour for their benefit of the doubt. Essentailly, the dealer charged him 3x the book rate. Why? Because they get away with it misrepresenting what they are providing...bending the truth about mandatory service (if not outright lying) and performing unnecessary maintenance to line their pockets and the customer's expense. If you think this is a "little high" you need to seriously consider your business practices as this is not only a "little high" but unethical.

Wrong again. That would be $375 an hour for the plumber. Maybe my kids should drop out of med school and take up plumbing! Price gouging has no place in our market. Preying upon disasters is not only unethical, but illegal.

No, we want to be treated fairly and pay a fair wage for honest service. I should be able to send my wife into a dealer for an oil change while I am out of town without her coming home with $276 worth of needless services as the service manager convinced her that her car (with 16K miles) would not last the week without them...yes that has happened. That is predatory selling.

People are fed up with the dealer game and their reign is over. This massive collapse of the auto industry may bring about REAL change that is long overdue. Removing the silly negotiated price will be a positive step in the right direction.

I am fortunate thjat I found a local independat mechnaic that works from hsi home full time. Drop off int he morning, pick up in the afternoon. No donuts, no coffee...no free car wash...just honest work for an honest buck. Everything he does is straight book time and I pay him discounted parts + $50 an hour in cash. It is a perfect relationship and both of us shake hands at the end of each transaction.

Each time I leave the dealership...no matter the brand...I feel as if I have been screwed in some manner. Sales, service, warranty work...just a general screwing in all aspects. I am not alone either.

 

How do you classify doctors preying on sick people?

 

My advice would be to find a good shop that you are comfortable with and a mechanic that you trust your car with. Let them do what they do best and you can sleep easy knowing your baby is well maintained at a fair price. There are so many rip-off artists out there and the worsts ones are the dealers. They try to **** you when you buy the car and they keep on ****ing you every time you bring it back. The worst part is the techs are sloppy and rarely take pride in the work. The techs are only outdone by the slimy service reps that try to up-sell parts. Try bringing it in for a warranty issue and they spend half the time looking for ways to get out of it. Screw them and the racket they run. And yes that's how I really feel.