Repair Prices Fair? Or should I move?

Louis,

They must be quoting more than a simple tune up. What parts are they changing for that price? Although the price is high, without knowing what all was included (plugs, wires, air filter, PCV, fuel filter, throttle body cleaning?) it's hard to say exactly how much higher.

I did all of the above as well as the transmission filter & fluid and the front and rear brakes on my son's 1996 SL1 for less than they are asking for the tune up alone!

Learn to do the tune up yourself. Replacing the plugs and wires requires very few tools and about 10-15 minutes time. It really does not get easier than the 1.9L Saturn engine. As to the alternator, the labor is much too high. If you can't do it yourself, find an independent mechanic that has done a lot of work on Saturns and knows what they are doing. Others here in the group who have had this done can give you a range on what they paid.

Bob

That's WAY too expensive. Send me email. I'm in Westchester and can suggest a cheaper alternative.

Cheers,

I have an older saturn (96) and yes, for a complete tune up...I think it was at the 30,000 mile mark and it was $300.00. I thought that was a rip off at the time as well until we got our new Chevy.

Well lets see:

Plugs (Bosch Platinum) $5 Plug Wires NAPA Lifetime $42 Air Cleaner $11 PCV Valve $4.50 serpentine Belt NAPA Lifetime $11

5 Quarts of Oil Mobile at NAPA $ 5 NAPA Gold Oil Filter $8

Total $86 plus 8% Tax $92.90

Took me around 1 hour in my back yard to do the whole job.

I have no idea what the dealer prices are for the same items but they have a hug mark up. You could have done the job yourself and saved.

Elector

$5 a pair.

At 30K miles you wont need "Spark Plugs". IIRC Saturn puts double platinums in from the factory (at least now they do). You can get a good

80K out of those. (Replacing them with P.O.S. Bosch plugs would be a mistake! AC Delco or Autolite "platinums" are the only way to go.) Spark plug wires could even still be good at 30k. If replacing the wires you would need to invest in a "Digital Volt Ohm Meter" to check the wires resistance. About 90% of the time I get a set there is at least one bad wire which would ruin the ignition system if it were used... I go usually go 40k on wires and 80k on platinum plugs. (unless its a coil on plug or coil over plug design.) At 30k miles one would be well due for a new Fuel Filter as well. Serpentine belts vary, I dont know what the life span is for them on a 96 Saturn (150k miles on GM cars now I think). It shouldn't be replaced just because the tech says it has "some cracks". It takes so many cracks per inch to be ruled bad. If it has chunks out of it on the notched side or is showing nylon on the back side then yeah its due. If the car has conventional coolant in the system it would be due for a change every 30k miles.

The going rate at decent shops seem to be around a dollar a minute. Some dealerships get nuts and the rates seem to total $3 dollars a minute... Who was making a FAQ's again? We should have a step by step page on tune ups for this group or at least some sort of price guide so people dont get burnt.