Why so much?? Am I living in the 70s?

I took my 04 Durango in for a 30,000mi service. The maint.log recommends several items of which I can do myself - such as oil change/filter, front and rear diff. fluid, and air filter. I had my local NAPA shop do the following: spark plug replacement(check first), PVC, tire rotation, and tranny fluid change + the two filters that go with it. They are quite good and very tech. savy.

They had some difficulty with the transmission in that it triggered a code on the engine and the check engine light came on. Then it was stuck in 1 gear. They got the right software and reprogrammed and all is good.

When they told me I can come and pick it up (which they had all day) they told me the bill - after waking up in the local ER after passing out my wife told me it is $495.36. I have to pick it up in about 2 hours. How can preventive maintenance cost this? I also have a 93 Dodge Dakota, and it costs me about $80.00/yr (max) for me to do most of the tune-up.

Can I dispute this bill? I don't know if I am that naive or this is something that is common in today's large vehicles.

Leo

Reply to
lcarr
Loading thread data ...

You gave us no idea of what was on the bill, so it is impossible to say what you were charged for.

Sure you can dispute it...feel free.

Reply to
John S.

I seriously doubt that it needed spark plugs at 30k miles! Damn near everything goes 80k to 100k now for a service interval regarding the spark plugs and other ignition related parts.

It would have set a missfire code if it did need plugs...

I smell a skunk!

Reply to
anumber1

Those trucks have regular plugs that need to be changed at 30,000

Reply to
jfrancis311

Labor is $100+ per hour. Parts and fluids perhaps $100.

Reply to
« Paul »

Why in the world wouldn't you get an estimate before they did the work?

I never understood why people with some skill wouldn't do basic crap such as PVC, air filters, or rotating tires.

Reply to
Larry Bud

For what they did, sounds about right. Figure they worked on it probably 4 hrs at $75/hr - $300. Probably $25-$30 in haz disposal fees(oil, filters, etc). Parts will be $100-$150 at marked up rates(plugs, filters). Throw in some tax, and it's not inconcievable to reach $500.

None of this is something you could not have done yourself and saved yourself $400. I dont' know why/how they would have screwed up the tranny doing a flush/change. They may have started it while it was empty on fluid and caused it to set a flag.

JW

Reply to
cyberzl1

Unless that's one of the cars that are a right pain in the, er, tailpipe to service, that sounds high to me. If you need a factual basis for formally disputing the claim, check in a flat-rate book.

If they are "very tech. savvy" why did their work result in throwing a trouble code and then getting your transmission electronically stuck in first gear? One hypothesis on the cost is that they fixed their screw-ups while the clock was running...

Having vented a bit, let's see what you need to look at when doing your homework: parts and labor. Even seemingly simple vehicles can have hidden gotchas that make certain items of routine service a pain (those "five minutes of work -- but an hour to mine down to it and reassemble everything afterwards" scenarios we all know and love), so maybe tht would help legitimize the bill, especially around the transmission. Where are those filters? Are any adjustments indicated? If this is a

4WD, did they also have to do similar things to the transfer case?

Since you seem to know your way around an engine compartment a bit, just stare at it and visualize doing each task -- see if something strikes you, with common sense, as being a lot harder than one might expect.

Modern cars can also harbor shockingly expensive versions of functionally familiar parts, so checking the bona fides of the invoice and (if applicable) preparing a solid dispute would involve pricing everything they replaced.

This of course assumes they presented you with at least a somewhat detailed invoice, as most places will do these days. If they just said "bend ze knees -- five hundred dollars, please," that itself would make me go "hmm."

Best of luck,

--Joe

Reply to
Ad absurdum per aspera

Hell, just cost me $430 to replace a VSS on a Ford Escort (took them FIVE and a HALF hours to get the damn thing out and they had to practically destroy the old one to do it).

What IDIOT came up with the idea to put it somewhere where it's next to impossible to get out if/when it breaks (if not from access problems, from heat/corrosion/rust/etc)?

Reply to
Stephan Mynarkiewicz

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.