I'm in the wrong business

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jd99

jd99

Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
764
Location
Ontario, CA United States
Took the Smart Car in for 50k service yesterday. This is just an A-service no plugs, just change the oil, change the air and cabin filters, and lube stuff, and wash the car.

The bill was $196.00 for what a couple three quarts of oil (it can't hold much), oil filter (really tiny one), an air filter, and cabin filter (tiny ones). It must be 400-500% mark up.

They said the brakes were getting low and quoted me a price of $560.00 to change the pads and turn the rotors, and $720.00 if I needed rotors (front only) :eek:, told them I'll do them myself, just ordered pads and 2 brand new rotors it cost $131.00.

Something's not right here.......:mad:

If I didn't have that 100k warranty I'd do the services myself.
Oh.... they also wanted to charge me $140.00 to install a upgrade to the computer. It's a lot of work to plug a cable in to the OBD port and click up grade button on the star box.... :rolleyes:.

Rip Off Dealers.:mad:

OK done ranting....:wink:
 
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I cringe on the way to the dealer every time I take mine in for service so you aren't alone. :frown: Expected when it's a Mercedes dealer that does the work I suppose. :rolleyes:
 
I read that it was a good idea to "diagnose" and bring printouts from the internet showing "customer experiences" with the problem.

So, last time I had a problem (electrical), I did that. There was a guy on line that said his Durango had the same problem, took it to a couple dealers, finally one cleaned the contacts on his "computer" and solved the problem for about $100.

Amazingly, my dealership was able to clean the contacts on the computer and charged me $85, while they handed me a "20% off" on my next visit coupon.
They also GAVE me a loaner car for the day.

A week later I got a phone call asking how I liked my dealership service. I think they are getting "hungrier"!!

FWIW,

Ed
 
Some dealers are definitely much better than others, but with Smart it appears you don't have many dealer options.

VW around me is the same way. They wanted $95 to do an oil change on my GLI. Told me the filter was $40 on it's own. I was able to source filters and a 5+ qt of synthetic myself for about $30 and 1/2 hour in my driveway.
 
jd99 said:
They said the brakes were getting low and quoted me a price of $560.00 to change the pads and turn the rotors, and $720.00 if I needed rotors (front only) :eek:, told them I'll do them myself, just ordered pads and 2 brand new rotors it cost $131.00.

Something's not right here.......:mad:
Click to expand...

Ouch... Thats steep! Last time I was quoted $300 for brakes and turned rotors, and $700 for front bearings. (This wasn't a dealer, though... just a shop that I like).

I got pads and new rotors for $100, and the bearings were $100 each... For for $300 and less than 2 hours work, I saved myself $700. In addition, I'm not a fan of having rotors turned - they are then thinner and more prone to warping and wearing out faster.
 
If you were blond and female you would have been charged more.

I was at doc and my wife took the car in for oil, transmission fluid, filter to a jiffy lube. They hard sold her the air and cabin filters. She said instead of talking to one guy about the service, as usual, three of them were standing very close to her telling her what she "needed". They told her a quote. The final bill was way over the quote. Turns out instead of just checking and filling the transmission fluid they "decided" to flush the system and Installed more expensive filters than what she agreed to. Since they did not print out and give her the original quote I could go back and "speak" to the owner.

Yes they are getting hungrier.
 
Hmmm. My Nissan Altima is about a year old. Ive been taking it to the dealer for service instead of the local jiffy lubes like I used to take my Jeep to. All the services have been about $40. Only had one that was higher. So far have been pleased with them so far.

Joe
 
Ford dealer quoted me $600 to change the plugs in my wifes 04 Expedition. The plugs on the passenger side especially the last two are a B*** as the engine is buried in the fire wall. I am going to change 6 and have someone who has the tools take care of the last 2. I know of people and mechanics who have lifted the body up with lift to work on that engine. I got other estimates from $300 to $600 for the job and don't trust any of them. This engine has the coil on plug ignition and heard to many stories of broken wires messed up "CAPS" and not replacing the last 2 plugs.
 
edstreet said:
Mistake #1, you went to the stealership.
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Unfortunally this thing is still under their warrantry, other wise I would do it myself or take it to an independent shop But finding one to work on a Smart is not easy, they have to have the Star system to deal with the computer.:mad:

Buzzzz4 said:
And that is why my primary transportation is my bike and the bus.
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I have to drive 70 miles every day to work and back too long for a bike and this is Kali we don't have a working public transportation network that will take you where you need to go. If I wanted to go to the beach sure, but nowhere near where I work. I could take the train to LA then I'd still be 15 miles away....:rolleyes:
 
tbroye said:
Ford dealer quoted me $600 to change the plugs in my wifes 04 Expedition. The plugs on the passenger side especially the last two are a B*** as the engine is buried in the fire wall. I am going to change 6 and have someone who has the tools take care of the last 2. I know of people and mechanics who have lifted the body up with lift to work on that engine. I got other estimates from $300 to $600 for the job and don't trust any of them. This engine has the coil on plug ignition and heard to many stories of broken wires messed up "CAPS" and not replacing the last 2 plugs.
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On my Blazer the last two plus are buried, but I just take off the front tire and I can get to it through the wheel well. Might want to give that a shot.
 
jd99 said:
...If I didn't have that 100k warranty I'd do the services myself.
Oh.... they also wanted to charge me $140.00 to install a upgrade to the computer. It's a lot of work to plug a cable in to the OBD port and click up grade button on the star box.... :rolleyes:.

Rip Off Dealers.:mad:

OK done ranting....:wink:
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IIRC, there is a federal law that they cannot require you to have regular maintenance work done in a specific place (i.e. the dealer) unless they are paying for it.
 
The problem with the Smart car is that it is made my Mercedes Benz and, in Dallas at least, they treat you (and charge you) like it is a Mercedes.

By the way depending on how old it is that upgrade to the transmission software is really worth it. Mine has a lot better shifting and gas millage with the upgrade.

Love the "Status Thimble"
 
Hey, it could be worse. You could have a Ford F150 where they used crummy two piece spark plugs that more often than not break when being removed, requiring a special tool to extract the broken part. Plenty of horror stories about people paying $1000+ to have 8 spark plugs changed.

Ed
 
BlackPearl said:
The problem with the Smart car is that it is made my Mercedes Benz and, in Dallas at least, they treat you (and charge you) like it is a Mercedes.

By the way depending on how old it is that upgrade to the transmission software is really worth it. Mine has a lot better shifting and gas millage with the upgrade.

Love the "Status Thimble"
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That was the first time to that dealer, the other one was doing building remodel. I think I already have the upgrade, and they were just trying to sell it to me again. next service will go back to my regular dealer. They do the upgrades for no charge, and don't charge $50.00 to change a lightbulb.
 
I have an F150, so I know the trials of changing the rear plugs...but that's nothing compared to what I had to go through to do my wife's Nissan Murano. You have to take off the entire top half of the engine, plenum, intake, etc... to get at the 3 back ones. That was a very long 4+ hours of tune up that should have taken me 45 minutes.
 
Just curious, Danny. HOW MUCH DID THEY CHARGE YOU FOR THE VASELINE (for when they handed you the bill).....Or, did they not "properly lube" YOU!

THAT'S INSANE PRICING.....Even by California standards!
 
That is another problem with the Expedition. Aluminum heads and spark plugs don't really like each other, need anti seize on the threads. The engine is overhead cam with the plugs on the top of the head and the engine partially under the cowl. Taking the wheel and inner fender panel out won't work, need all kinds of extensions and universals to get at them. It has over 100k so they need to be changed soon. Just got back from a 3000 mile road trip with no problems and no engine miss or throwing a code so they are still good but Ford recommends changing at 100K need to get it smoged so I can register it. If it passes the test I will go a while longer if it doesn't then I will change them. The thing averaged 17.8 mpg on the trip which is excellent for this monster.
 
Paul in OKC said:
And they call them Smart cars?!?
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Smart cars, YES! Smarter than the owners, it seems. My "OLD" 2001 Chebby Pickemup has 300,000 +. It doesn't know what a dealer looks like. I don't trust "hose" oil, I have to see it come out of the bottle. I do my own oil changes and have a private mechanic for the issues I can't settle myself. If you don't KNOW your mechanic then buddy, just "BEND OVER"!!!!!
 
jd99 said:
Took the Smart Car in for 50k service yesterday. This is just an A-service no plugs, just change the oil, change the air and cabin filters, and lube stuff, and wash the car.

The bill was $196.00 for what a couple three quarts of oil (it can't hold much), oil filter (really tiny one), an air filter, and cabin filter (tiny ones). It must be 400-500% mark up.
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My wife's toy car is a Smart Passion Cabrio. It's a 2009, but we put it up for a couple years because our kids were born and it seemed that we were always SUVing it.

A few weeks ago, I woke it up. Even though it only has a few thousand miles on the odometer, it hadn't been driven in a while, so I changed the oil. That is to say that I took it to one of the quicky oil change places and had them do it. I simply didn't have the time that day to do it myself.

I had to walk them through how to access the engine and explain to them which oil filters can be used, but they did a perfectly acceptable job of changing the oil. The bill came to about $75. I'll make time to do it myself from now on.

The following info may prove helpful to you in the future:

The car will take about 3.5 quarts of oil.
Oil filter is Mobil 1 M1-108, Purolator PureOne Premium Plus PL14612, STP S6607, Fram PH6607 or TG6607, et al
Air filter is Fram CA10604
Cabin air filter - Fram FreshBreeze CF10132

joefyffe said:
Smart cars, YES! Smarter than the owners, it seems. My "OLD" 2001 Chebby Pickemup has 300,000 +. It doesn't know what a dealer looks like. I don't trust "hose" oil, I have to see it come out of the bottle.
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Smart cars use full synthetic oil, so it's not 'hose oil'. Also, since the engine is immediately behind the driver's seat, it's not so difficult to verify what oil is going in, if you don't feel like stepping out of the car.

Still, your point is made. Paying someone to do an oil change is a waste of money. It's a stupid easy job and those guys that work for Spiffy Lube or even do oil changes at the dealer do not have some massive amount of technical oil changing skill that requires paying them to do the job. They're just quick and you don't have to go to the store to buy oil and filter.
 
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It appears what you save in gas in these smart cars you more than make up for in routine service charges.
I have a 2006 Chevy Suburban. If I can't find a coupon for oil and filter change for one of the quickie places for less than $20, I change it myself.
 
Monty said:
It appears what you save in gas in these smart cars you more than make up for in routine service charges.
I have a 2006 Chevy Suburban. If I can't find a coupon for oil and filter change for one of the quickie places for less than $20, I change it myself.
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Yea but do you go 10k miles between oil changes, I know on my truck I don't, but the Smart service is at 10k.

And normally the cost isn't that high this was a dealer I never used before and won't again.
 
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Going 10K between oil changes might be the manufacturer's specs, but it is engine suicide. Just because the mfger recommends 10K, that doesn't mean that they have the materials to back that up. An engine is an engine-they all use similar metals. I have 173,000 on a V-6 Hyundai, certainly no high class ride, and it runs extremely well-knock on wood. Oil and filter changes, almost always done by myself, every 4200 on average. Oil and filters are extremely cheap insurance.
 
RogerH said:
Going 10K between oil changes might be the manufacturer's specs, but it is engine suicide. Just because the mfger recommends 10K, that doesn't mean that they have the materials to back that up. An engine is an engine-they all use similar metals. I have 173,000 on a V-6 Hyundai, certainly no high class ride, and it runs extremely well-knock on wood. Oil and filter changes, almost always done by myself, every 4200 on average. Oil and filters are extremely cheap insurance.
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It's synthetic not dino oil
 
Let me play devil's advocate here, as this is what I do for a living.

Synthetic oil runs a bare minimum of $8.00 a quart. Oil filter about $10.00 and Cabin Filter about $15.00. So roughly you have $50.00 in parts and an hour labor at probably $100.00 an hour, for a total of $150.00. Seems about spot on for what they charged you.

As for the updated computer, yes it does just plug in, hit a couple buttons, and voila you're done. But do you realize how much that piece of equipment costs them to just do that? I have well over $150,000 in tools and testers. Most people don't see the big picture, they just get mad when it takes you 10 minutes to do something that you charge $100.00 for.

And if it was easy, evreybody would be doing it.
 
A filter kit for my car runs about $45, that's aftermarket. The oil itself, synthetic, is around $35-40. I just looked it up. That's $80 in parts.

Yea I do go 10k between changes but I can in my car. The cars previously mentioned I would never consider doing 10k.
 
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