[maxpower_hd]

I should come to expect this by now but every once in a while I get aggravated enough that I find it necessary to vent when it comes to dealers ripping off, or trying to rip off people they think are easy targets.

A guy I work with is 67 and getting ready to retire. He brought his Toyota Camry to the dealer for a PM. They suggested he get an inspection sticker soon since it was ready to expire. Fair enough. They started giving it a quick once over and told him he had a plate light out and it would need to be repaired to pass the safety inspection. They went on to explain that his particular make and model required an hour of labor to access the light. Apparently they have to remove an access panel inside the trunk to get to it and it can be quite involved. They told him it would be $96 to replace it including the price of parts. He told them he would deal with it another time and declined there kind offer to tuck it up his arse.

A day or so later he brought it to an inspection station for the sticker and sure enough they noticed the plate light and gave him the option of having them replace it or him doing it himself. He had them do it and braced himself for the hefty bill since it was so hard to do. Much to his surprise, they charged him $2.97 for the bulb and nothing for the labor since it took all of two minutes to do. Just one more example of dealers trying to take advantage of someone who they think is vulnerable.

Not only was the dealer ready to take him to the cleaners for their work, they had to make up stories to try to scare him out of doing it himself. I'm glad he had enough sense to not listen to them. I can just imaging how often they get away with it. I know they have to make their money but at $90-$100 per hour do they really have to make **** up? It just pisses me off.

OK. Rant done.

Thanks for listening...............err...............reading.

[SPORSTERBOY]

A DEALER TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A CUSTOMER, NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING I ALWAYS OPT OUT TO TRYING TO F IT UP MYSELF FIRST THEN TAKE IT IN I'M TO THE POINT NOW THAT IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE A PAIN IN THE BUTT, I MUCH RATHER PAY THE COST THAN THE AGERVATION, ESPECIALLY WHEN I'M DEALING WITH THE OL'LADYS CAR, IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME WORDS, YOU BETTER NOT F IT UP!

[SK]

I'd refer the dealer to the Better Business Bureau ASAP or better yet, the bureau of the state govt that handles auto repair shops. I worked for the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR..cool acronym, eh?) in California while going to school years ago in Sacramento. A complaint like that would send an undercover BAR vehicle doctered up over there with some old lady driving it to see what they'd do. Major fine if they tried to pull a stunt like that. The BAR hit Sears automotive shops statewide for millions in a statewide sting operation around 1990..something like 80% of their shops were doing unneeded work.

[ringo912]

Well ya know Toyota's motto..."Oh what a feeling". yeah right between the cheeks.

[maxpower_hd]

SPORTSTERBOY, I understand that some people are either not capable or not willing to perform work and will pay someone to do it. But what you pay should be commensurate with the task. This is the same dealer that wanted $1000 to change front brake pads and rotors and rear pads on the same car. He had an independent shop do it instead. It was $161 in parts and two hours labor. I guess Toyota charges around $650/hr for their "Toyota certified Technicians".

SK, That's a good idea. I may just look into that since this was the second time they tried to get this one person. In Toyota's defense, he has gone to other dealers and has received fair treatment so it could just be this one dealer or chain of dealers owned by the same entity.

Peace

[Art_NJr]

Unless I need a part quick that's not available anywhere else, I NEVER go to a dealer for anything & wouldn't even consider having service work done @ one - bikes, pickup or van.

Here's a classic example - I heard the left front wheel bearing start to sing on my '98 Dodge 4X4 & since the dealer I bought it from is fairly close, I called the parts dept. just to see what inner & outer bearings cost. Oh no - can't buy the bearings - the hub assembly is a sealed unit & you have to buy the whole thing - for $850. Yeah - I might have been born @ night, but it wasn't last night.

Got a big 3-jaw puller & had to buy a special impact socket for the king nut, but if you can bolt it together you can also take it apart, so I did - ain't but 4 bolts. Cleaned the bearings up so I could read the numbers stamped on 'em & called a place like Bearings, Inc. in the Yellow Pages. Yep, we've got those bearings in stock - $13 for one & $15 for the other - want me to put 'em in a box with your name on it? Yep, I'll come down & get 'em. Took a whole day start to finish, but including the cost of the puller & socket, I spent about $100, not $850 & now I've got the tools to do it again for about $30.

For things you don't have the tools or know-how to do, ask around for an independent shop - the best ones don't advertise 'cause they don't need to. I'll give you an example of that too - there's a little NAPA store in the small town nearby & I ducked in one day for a couple items. Chatting with another customer I mentioned a part I needed to make but didn't have the machine tools for. The lady who runs the store overheard our conversation & said, "My husband can do that." She told me where they live & it's not 5 minutes from my house - I've been past their place 1000 times.

But you'd never pay any attention to it - just a house with dark brown wood siding & a garage with the same. The garage is bigger than most, but there's no sign & you'd never know what's going on inside. I walked in & about dropped my teeth - lathe, milling machine, sheet metal brakes, horizontal & vertical band-saws, 4 welding setups & more Snap-On toolboxes than I've ever seen in one place in my life !! Turns out the fella is a retired NASCAR fabricator - he doesn't buy parts, he makes them. Does mostly street rods now, but he'll make whatever you want & we've made some parts for a Land-Speed-Record Sportster right there. He's the best welder I've ever seen too - computer-operated robots aren't that good.

And @ another indy shop I met a guy with 40+ years H-D experience who is also a mechanical engineer. Has a shop way out in the country @ the end of a dirt/gravel road - you'd never find it on your own & again, there's no sign indicating that it even exists. But now I know where it is & for just about anything I need done to the bikes that I can't do myself, that's where I go. The shop I was in sends their major engine work to him & I found out that area H-D dealers send him Ironhead work too - 'cause they know he forgot more about Ironheads than they'll ever know.

And one thing ticks me off about that, which I've also seen @ a little shop out in Colorado - the dealers don't tell the customer they sent the bike out & they just tack on a profit for themselves. You get the bike back, it runs great & you think the dealer is great - but they didn't do the work. And if you had known about the indy shop, you could have gone there yourself & saved a ton of $$$.

But again, you often won't find these guys in the Yellow Pages. However, other local people know who they are, so just ask where they go when they need something fixed. All over the country are little shops like that & there might be one close by that you never paid any attention to. I know the former NASCAR guy won't advertise 'cause he's got all he can handle as it is, just by word-of-mouth.

You will always get better quality work for substantially less $$$ @ a good indy shop - just have to find out where they are.