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my grandmothers car craps out the other day and we need to boost it to get it home...My grandmother doesn't speak the greatest english and I can't convince her to bring it to the mechanic I normally go to or let me do the work, she is deadset on taking it were my dad used to go (which is a place I hate cause they're pieces of sh*t)
Anyways, long-story short, we take the car this shop...they test the alternator and it's bad, and say that they should do the battery under warranty as well.
Bill comes out as $50 to test the alternator (which took less then 5 minutes)
$30 labour to change the battery (which the cables needed to be unhooked already to do the alternator)
$130 to change the alternator (1.5 hours labour on a 3100 olds achieva)
and $221 for the alternator
total bill $431 including tax.
I'm pissed because A) I feel that they should not have charged for the alternator test if the shop is doing the work...I think that's total b.s and I'm pretty sure most parts stores even do the damn test for free...and honestly...50$ for 5 minutes when this is a repeat customer and your getting the business? I had a big argument over that one...
B) $30 labour to change the battery? Again given the circumstances? I think that's total B.S...the only thing that had to be done was one bolt to take out the tie down...I understand this charge if someone comes in off the street and just needs a battery done...but again, 30$ for a less than 5 minute job when you are already doing work related to that on the car??...Another argument...
C)...if it takes you 1.5 hours to do an alternator on an Achieva I personally think you shouldn't have your mechanics license...but shop rates, shop rate...I'm not pissed about the $130...I feel it's high, but borderline reasonable I guess.
D) cost of the alternator is the cost of the alternator I suppose...Haven't exactly priced it out elsewhere, so can't be really mad at that. I was figuring on around 150-200$ for the alternator
If it were up to me, I already said I never wanted to step foot in that sh*thole again...My dad is out of the city on a business trip at the moment so he wasn't around to give the OK to my grandmother, so it's damn near impossible to convince her to go elsewhere (especially because she doesn't understand anything about these things)
I don't know, am I over-reacting over $80 or do you guys think that's not shady for a shop to charge people like that??
I ended up leaving afterwards in the camaro pretty pissed... my finger accidentally slipped and kinda hit the line-lock
Anyways, long-story short, we take the car this shop...they test the alternator and it's bad, and say that they should do the battery under warranty as well.
Bill comes out as $50 to test the alternator (which took less then 5 minutes)
$30 labour to change the battery (which the cables needed to be unhooked already to do the alternator)
$130 to change the alternator (1.5 hours labour on a 3100 olds achieva)
and $221 for the alternator
total bill $431 including tax.
I'm pissed because A) I feel that they should not have charged for the alternator test if the shop is doing the work...I think that's total b.s and I'm pretty sure most parts stores even do the damn test for free...and honestly...50$ for 5 minutes when this is a repeat customer and your getting the business? I had a big argument over that one...
B) $30 labour to change the battery? Again given the circumstances? I think that's total B.S...the only thing that had to be done was one bolt to take out the tie down...I understand this charge if someone comes in off the street and just needs a battery done...but again, 30$ for a less than 5 minute job when you are already doing work related to that on the car??...Another argument...
C)...if it takes you 1.5 hours to do an alternator on an Achieva I personally think you shouldn't have your mechanics license...but shop rates, shop rate...I'm not pissed about the $130...I feel it's high, but borderline reasonable I guess.
D) cost of the alternator is the cost of the alternator I suppose...Haven't exactly priced it out elsewhere, so can't be really mad at that. I was figuring on around 150-200$ for the alternator
If it were up to me, I already said I never wanted to step foot in that sh*thole again...My dad is out of the city on a business trip at the moment so he wasn't around to give the OK to my grandmother, so it's damn near impossible to convince her to go elsewhere (especially because she doesn't understand anything about these things)
I don't know, am I over-reacting over $80 or do you guys think that's not shady for a shop to charge people like that??
I ended up leaving afterwards in the camaro pretty pissed... my finger accidentally slipped and kinda hit the line-lock
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