[jabcam]

My car was setting a check engine light. Took it to they to check it out. They told me the car was out of warranty and that they where going to have authorize a $150.00 dollar charge. Later to find out this is minimum they are going to charge you no matter what they find. They pulled the repair history on the car so they where a where of the previous repair made to the car and that these repair could have caused the check engine light. They called me and said the car was done so i asked what they found. They said it had to do with the exhaust work being done on the car and i said that Mataga had just worked on the car. They said i could take the bill to them and TRY to get them to reimburse the charge. They seem only interested in making money and not helping the customer. My cars will not be going there any more and the new car we are shopping for will not be bought from them. BUYER BEWARE. $150.00 dollars seems like a lot to plug in 2 components. They did not give me the opportunity to take the car back to Mataga so they could rectify the problem with the car. Chase Chevrolet just billed me.

[Gunkk]

Wait...

So if you knew that Mataga (buick/gmc dealer?) had just worked on the car, why didn't you call them first?

[Lostx403]

Seems like your own fault OP.

[avalonandl]

You can take your car to ANY major parts store and read the code for FREE.....then you can decide what to do.....

You want fries with that car repair ????

[I`m Batman]

This post so is hard to read... But I agree with others, could've just done a little more research/troubleshooting first then take it back or the original people that caused the problem.

[MrChrisLS3]

Guess you won't be buying that new car anywhere if this is your basis. Everyone is going to charge the diagnostic. First the scan for codes and then scan the systems while the car is running. Then they go through the trouble shooting protocol according to what the scans show. The service advisor and the technicians do this job for their livelihood.

You can't be saying you expect them to do this for free, do you? Would you do your job for free?

And yes, take that bill back to the shop where the work was originally done. As said by others, I don't understand why you wouldn't have taken it back to them in the first place.

They didn't give you bad service, they were just doing their jobs.

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

Guess you won't be buying that new car anywhere if this is your basis. Everyone is going to charge the diagnostic. First the scan for codes and then scan the systems while the car is running. Then they go through the trouble shooting protocol according to what the scans show. The service advisor and the technicians do this job for their livelihood.

You can't be saying you expect them to do this for free, do you? Would you do your job for free?

And yes, take that bill back to the shop where the work was originally done. As said by others, I don't understand why you wouldn't have taken it back to them in the first place.

They didn't give you bad service, they were just doing their jobs.

Doing their jobs, yes. $150 is an unacceptable ripoff for plugging in a computer. That’s a $25-50 job max.

Dealers are all rip off artists. The whole “labor by the book” thing is a total joke because they will always charge you the max hour rate for 5 minutes of actual work.

Screw that.

[Whocares05050]

Originally Posted by Petrol Head

Doing their jobs, yes. $150 is an unacceptable ripoff for plugging in a computer. That’s a $25-50 job max.

Dealers are all rip off artists. The whole “labor by the book” thing is a total joke because they will always charge you the max hour rate for 5 minutes of actual work.

Screw that.

Guess you have never owned or operated a business. You have overhead, labor cost, material, rent, insurance, liability, etc. Like someone else said, dont like it? Go to autozone.

In my business I charge a flat 75 per hour per man. If i am there 1 hr or 5 minutes, I am still getting my 75 dollars. We are nit charities, we are here to make money.

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by Whocares05050

Guess you have never owned or operated a business. You have overhead, labor cost, material, rent, insurance, liability, etc. Like someone else said, dont like it? Go to autozone.

In my business I charge a flat 75 per hour per man. If i am there 1 hr or 5 minutes, I am still getting my 75 dollars. We are nit charities, we are here to make money.

And that’s exactly why people don’t trust mechanics. You and people like you give them a bad name. Hope you’re proud. I’m sure you are. Giving me the middle finger through your computer screen right now aren’t you? Yeah, I know your type.

There’s no reason on earth to charge $75 to run a diagnostic. No you’re not a charity. But plugging a chord into a computer is not an engine rebuild.

That’s a $25.00-$50 job at most. I’ll always tell people that when they ask me. And tell them not to go to a mechanic who’s charging more.

I have no problem arguing with a mechanic to lower their price on jobs I know take no time and are so simple a literal monkey can do it.

[LT4Greg]

Sounds like someone thinks that mechanics should give their services for free or at minimum wage rates!

[Paulie-G]

I had a Harvard attorney charge me 480. per hour. 20 minutes into the second hour I was charged another 480.
You paid a lot less for your lesson.
If you don't know how to do the work, you need to find a guy who you trust.
Good luck and no, I don't have any trust in any attorneys.

[Petrol Head]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

Sounds like someone thinks that mechanics should give their services for free or at minimum wage rates!

For some things, yes, absolutely. Some jobs on a car are minimum wage jobs and should be charged accordingly. 5 minutes is 5 minutes, not an hour. You don’t deserve an hour of pay for 5 minutes of work. End of argument.

[I`m Batman]

Beggars can't be choosers. Otherwise do it yourself.

[BlackbeastSS2]

It’s just basically the shop rate and that’s a pretty standard rate. Your car is a 2016, now if your car was new, under warranty, and you where a repeat customer the story would be different.