repair ripoff?

Lots of women take out the trash, mow the lawn, or clean the garage - or shovel or snowblow the driveway & sidewalk, etc. - or at least alternate those jobs w/their husbands. I don't personally know of any who fix the sink, but they're capable of calling a plumber if the other half isn't getting it done in a timely fashion!

OTOH, I also know of pathetic (IMO) women: one of whom had an apple for her lunch's dessert at work one day instead of the orange she'd really wanted, because... her husband "didn't have time to peel an orange this morning"; he also gases up her car, etc., etc. How these women would ever survive day-to-day life should something happen to their spouses, I don't know...

Cathy

Makes sense to me; add the labor to the cost of the part(s), tax if applicable, & that should add up to what your bill was. If not, then question the service dep't.

Cathy

It was only taken in for an annoying noise. Anyway, I guess it all depends on how we were raised.

So you were raised to look down at women?

You being a nurse should understand that we men get to die before the women. IMHO it is VERY important to make sure your woman can live perfectly well without you....and that includes knowing how to deal with car dealer service departments.

And I am a guy but, I am no genius when it comes to cars either. Now, I know when the service department waives the '$400 25,000 Mile Service' flyer in my face telling me I need to replace everything short of the engine, I know that's a load of crap.

I would hope most women realize it's a load of crap but sadly, I have seen a lot say 'go for it..' because they appear to not know any better. Service guy says they need it, they think they need it.

I don't doubt some of it I need or want... but usually not at the exact moment the service department recommends it. They'd have you replacing water pumps, radiators, and doing fluid/fuel line flushes every visit if they thought they could get away with it.

Long story short, yes.. I think men and women should be well armed before dealing with their local service department.

A visit to your owners manual before going in for service is a good idea.

Dealers really load you up with stuff that I personally feel is way too much and Toyota agrees.

Do what Toyota says and your car will last a LONG time (coming from a driver of a '92 Corolla Wagon with 210,000 miles...)

Wonders will never cease! I'm agreeing with Scott for maybe the second time this year! He's quite right about teaching wives to become smart widows. Too many women lose their husbands and then have to figure out how to balance the checkbook and a hundred other things that their husbands always took care of. The wise husband educates his wife (without telling her the reason) to become a sole survivor when he's gone.

BTW, I think Cathy is a teacher, not a nurse....that's Natalie.

I'd have to agree. But... The OEM cats are a lot better than most aftermarket brands.. But I agree.. Not $1700 worth.. Good grief...

I've had them done at muffler shops a lot cheaper than that. Under $200 with labor.. But... the last one I bought for my 1989 accord proved to be a piece of junk overall. I actually got a worse NOX score on the new cat, that I did on the old one that was over 15 years old. I think it was a "maremont" brand..

A lot better cat.. But for what I think is an inflated price if they want $1700.. Thats sick... I wouldn't buy one either at that rate. But if the one you have is passing, thats the bottom line.. I'm sure brands probably vary. But some are junk. They all claim they pass the required specs, but when I see a brand new cat blow a worse NOX score than one over

15 years old, with no other engine mods, that @#$A% ain't right.. I had to resort to other measures to get it to pass. IE: retarded the timing. The new one blew a slightly lower HC score, but was fairly useless at NOX reduction. MK

I agree with wives learning to do the things traditionally done by men. But it works both ways. All adults should know how to do laundry, cook, clean, pay bills, change tires and do other simple repairs, make repairs around the house, etc., regardless of who normally does them in a particular house.

Jefff

I truly appreciate it when men act as gentlemen. OTOH, I also don't want to be seen as a "dumb broad" who can't - or shouldn't - do many things, some of which may be formerly seen as "taking care of the little lady" stuff, under my own power.

Cathy

"mack" ..

"Truckdude" >

Likewise, men should be taught basic domestic survival. When I first joined the Air Force, I can't tell you how many young guys had no clue of how to do their own laundry, cook, etc. Ridiculous!

I think he means Truck, who is also a nurse :-)

Natalie

I *think* he's coming at it from a slightly different angle: being the ultimate gentleman sort of thing. But there's such a thing as carrying that way too far - to a woman's detriment.

Yeah, me too. ;-)

Yeah, see my post about the woman who wouldn't (couldn't?? - I hope it isn't

*that* bad!) even peel her own orange for her lunch... never put gas into her own car... her husband does it *all*. And she isn't the only woman I know of who's in that sort of situation. Holy crow. At least they seem to be vastly outnumbered by the more independently functional women. ;-)

Yeah, I am & she is; but Truckdude is a nurse.

Cathy

Yep. There were some guys in my dorm (it was co-ed) whose mothers had given them lessons before sending them off to college, & then there were others who were pretty much at a loss in the laundry room & needed on-the-spot training. Most men/husbands I know share in the cooking, laundry, cleaning, & I know one husband who frequently does the ironing.

Yep.

Cathy

Right on target, as usual. Yes, I was most certainly raised to look down at women.

No disagreement there. My wife wasn't helpless before I came along and won't be if I'm gone first. That said, while I am still around and able bodied, I don't sit on my ass and send her off to take care of car repairs.

"Cathy F." ...

I met hubby when I was 27, married him at 29, so I'd been taking care of myself for 9 years before he was in my life. His parents are Polish immigrants, where farm folk do everything, so he was very domestically hip (five kids with two multi-job parents made it absolutely necessary!)

We try to teach our kids as much about life as possible.

Natalie

Scott was addressing me and he is correct. (hey, it can happen!) Maybe I should change my posting name to "Truckdude, RN"

I'm not sure what the prevailing labor rates are where you live, but my guess is that the labor should be about 1.5 hours at the most to replace the front pipe. The front pipe has a flex joint that makes it more expensive, and it is made of stainless steel, but I don't think it should cost a thousand dollars.

The good news is that you now have a lifetime warranty on that part and the labor associated with installing it, so keep your receipt!!!

"Truckdude" ...

, "Truckdude"

LOL

Natalie

From the Nissan NG "Factory recommended services" thread:

"OK here is a real dumb question and I am even embarassed to ask.

My wife has a 2002 Nissan Altima and over the years we received post cards from Nissan a few times to have the car taken to any dealer and perform some specific services or part replacement (recall parts). I gave it to my wife and she handles it.

I was talking to her the other day and just realized she "handled" it by tossing them into the trash can! She thought those were just "ads"!!!

Now, I don't exactly remember what these entails but I remember getting about three of those cards. Is there a way to check online what factory recall service or parts were issued for a specific vehicle model?

Also, assume that we get find this information, can you still have them remedied after so long? When the vehicle warranty is completely expired?

I hope none of them is extremely critical safety related items. Why she would toss them away I don't understand. WOMEN!!!"

Scott, you guys need to invite this guy along when you go for your pedicures and bikini waxing. ;-)