The ultimate rip-off
02-21-2024, 10:48 AM
#41
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OP said he asked the mechanic how long it would take. There can be a BIG difference between how long it actually takes and the book rate they charge. Then add on for aftermarket parts. 
02-21-2024, 10:51 AM
#42
In the State of Florida, statute 559.905, requires dealer service departments to supply in writing to the vehicle owner a written estimate of repair cost if the total repair will be more than $100. This estimate is to be presented to the owner and their signature required to do the work.
Either the OP has a copy of this paperwork or the dealer is required to maintain the hard copies of this paperwork for seven years. He should ask the dealer to supply him with proof of this having taken place by presenting the necessary copies. If not available, a complaint to the Attorney Generals Office and sending a copy of the complaint to the dealer should lead to a correction.
This law is common to many states and dealers and their employees are generally well versed on the requirements. Unless there is more to the story, it should be an easily litigated item. Options are the afore mentioned Attorney Generals Office, small claims court, Better Business Bureau, local consumer advocates usually tied to local TV stations, etc. No dealer wants involved in a situation where they know they are going to lose. If they have the necessary paperwork, shame on the customer for not reading it.
Either the OP has a copy of this paperwork or the dealer is required to maintain the hard copies of this paperwork for seven years. He should ask the dealer to supply him with proof of this having taken place by presenting the necessary copies. If not available, a complaint to the Attorney Generals Office and sending a copy of the complaint to the dealer should lead to a correction.
This law is common to many states and dealers and their employees are generally well versed on the requirements. Unless there is more to the story, it should be an easily litigated item. Options are the afore mentioned Attorney Generals Office, small claims court, Better Business Bureau, local consumer advocates usually tied to local TV stations, etc. No dealer wants involved in a situation where they know they are going to lose. If they have the necessary paperwork, shame on the customer for not reading it.
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billclerm (02-21-2024),
Car Junkie 24 (02-26-2024),
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RKCRLR (02-21-2024),
and 1 others liked this post.
02-21-2024, 09:50 PM
#43
I am 81 YO and have owned about 200 cars since I was 13. I have dealt with many repair shops and dealers over those years, but today, I got hosed worse than I have ever been ripped off.
I checked with the closet local dealer (who after 3 tries never contacted me to buy a C8, I am now on 2nd C8 and have a deposit in for an E-Ray). They have serviced many of my other cars these past 12 years so felt comfortable when I made an appointment to have my brake pads changed to *my* supplied Power Stop pads. Spoke with the "certified" Corvette mechanic who has been there for many years working on vettes. He quoted approx 2 hrs to replace the pads and add jacking pucks and larger splash guards. All parts to be supplied by me.
When I dropped the car off this morning I told them for 2-3 hrs, I'd wait since round trip to my house was about 2 hrs.anyway. About 2 3/4 hrs later they told me the car was ready. I figured the points for 2 C8s would be sufficient to handle the bill but I about fell out of the chair when they handed me the bill, it was $899. After exchanging many words with management, they reduced the total bill to $799. I gave up fighting as I couldn't win and take my car home, so paid the bill.
Remember those GM points....2 C8s points amount to $304 so my day at the dealer cost me $555 out of pocket for replacing brake pads. When I commented that they would have charged me less to do a full brake job, they just looked at me crazy like and said I was correct.
The dealer that should be avoided by all methods possible is:
Garber Chevrolet
Green Cove Springs, FL
I welcome recommendations for better vette service in the Jacksonville-St Augustine area,
I checked with the closet local dealer (who after 3 tries never contacted me to buy a C8, I am now on 2nd C8 and have a deposit in for an E-Ray). They have serviced many of my other cars these past 12 years so felt comfortable when I made an appointment to have my brake pads changed to *my* supplied Power Stop pads. Spoke with the "certified" Corvette mechanic who has been there for many years working on vettes. He quoted approx 2 hrs to replace the pads and add jacking pucks and larger splash guards. All parts to be supplied by me.
When I dropped the car off this morning I told them for 2-3 hrs, I'd wait since round trip to my house was about 2 hrs.anyway. About 2 3/4 hrs later they told me the car was ready. I figured the points for 2 C8s would be sufficient to handle the bill but I about fell out of the chair when they handed me the bill, it was $899. After exchanging many words with management, they reduced the total bill to $799. I gave up fighting as I couldn't win and take my car home, so paid the bill.
Remember those GM points....2 C8s points amount to $304 so my day at the dealer cost me $555 out of pocket for replacing brake pads. When I commented that they would have charged me less to do a full brake job, they just looked at me crazy like and said I was correct.
The dealer that should be avoided by all methods possible is:
Garber Chevrolet
Green Cove Springs, FL
I welcome recommendations for better vette service in the Jacksonville-St Augustine area,
02-26-2024, 01:13 PM
#45
Racer
Can you post a pic of your receipt/work order? It will show number of hours spent working on it, any shop supplies used (and their cost), etc. Should be pretty easy to figure out where the money went... and obvious if they're charging an insane rate for hours.
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Car Junkie 24 (02-26-2024)
02-27-2024, 11:50 AM
#46
Instructor
Thread Starter
I am the OP for this thread and want to share the resolution with all of you.
After I started this thread, I used almost verbatim what I wrote here as a review on Google Reviews. It took about a week until the dealership reached out to me. Long story short, we agreed on a satisfactory charge for the work much closer to what it should have been and I told them I would amend the Google review when I see the credit on my charge card
The net message is to NEVER go quietly into the night when you have a "legitimate" bitch. This is when Google can be your friend. I promised them I would share their rape of me with social media. It WORKS!
Once again, thanks to all for the support and suggestions. Thanks even to those that pointed out how stupid I was for accepting the hours and doing the math as opposed to a real $$$$ estimate.
Paul
After I started this thread, I used almost verbatim what I wrote here as a review on Google Reviews. It took about a week until the dealership reached out to me. Long story short, we agreed on a satisfactory charge for the work much closer to what it should have been and I told them I would amend the Google review when I see the credit on my charge card
The net message is to NEVER go quietly into the night when you have a "legitimate" bitch. This is when Google can be your friend. I promised them I would share their rape of me with social media. It WORKS!
Once again, thanks to all for the support and suggestions. Thanks even to those that pointed out how stupid I was for accepting the hours and doing the math as opposed to a real $$$$ estimate.
Paul
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02-27-2024, 01:08 PM
#47
Aren't shops required to advise you of the estimate total cost of any repair job on a vehicle they're fixing to do work on, and, that they get a verbal "OK" from you before starting/commencing on the job? They always do here in Texas.
EDIT: Just read your above post - but I still wonder why they didn't tell you of the $899.00 bill, before working on your car??
What was your out-of-pocket on it?
EDIT: Just read your above post - but I still wonder why they didn't tell you of the $899.00 bill, before working on your car??
What was your out-of-pocket on it?
02-27-2024, 01:20 PM
#48
Melting Slicks
Aren't shops required to advise you of the estimate total cost of any repair job on a vehicle they're fixing to do work on, and, that they get a verbal "OK" from you before starting/commencing on the job? They always do here in Texas.
EDIT: Just read your above post - but I still wonder why they didn't tell you of the $899.00 bill, before working on your car??
What was your out-of-pocket on it?
EDIT: Just read your above post - but I still wonder why they didn't tell you of the $899.00 bill, before working on your car??
What was your out-of-pocket on it?
Absolutely. To avoid confusion and conflicts, I would imagine that every state has a similar provision. For an auto repair, you receive an estimate and sign for the work to be done. If there is an adjustment to the estimate, you give a verbal okay.
02-27-2024, 01:24 PM
#49
Drifting
02-27-2024, 01:52 PM
#50
***
Here's another question, not necessarily for you, but this:
The Corvette technician stated to the OP: 2 hours labor. Now how could they come up with $899.00 or even $799.00?
02-27-2024, 02:00 PM
#51
I believe most dealerships charge book date, not hourly. I ran into this at MM when during PDI while they had the rear off the car to install the high wing I asked them to add the 2 extra qts of transmission fluid for track use. They quoted me book rate ($800ish iirc) which included removal of the back that was already off. They wouldn't budge. I added it myself in 45min via the port behind the rear driver's tire
So even if it took 2.75h, if the book says 5h, that's what you get charged.
So even if it took 2.75h, if the book says 5h, that's what you get charged.
Last edited by rawbar; 02-27-2024 at 02:11 PM.
02-27-2024, 04:30 PM
#53
02-27-2024, 04:31 PM
#54
Melting Slicks
Knowing the hourly rate is of little help to consumers since they don't know how many hours the job actually takes, or the "book rate" that the dealers use to compute the labor charge. If you went to a dealer posting an hourly rate of $195 and you needed a brake job, knowing the hourly rate does little to let you know how much the job will cost. Requiring an estimate in writing before the job is started offers consumers protection.
02-27-2024, 05:16 PM
#55
Knowing the hourly rate is of little help to consumers since they don't know how many hours the job actually takes, or the "book rate" that the dealers use to compute the labor charge. If you went to a dealer posting an hourly rate of $195 and you needed a brake job, knowing the hourly rate does little to let you know how much the job will cost. Requiring an estimate in writing before the job is started offers consumers protection.
Most dealers charge for customer pay work based on one of multiple labor guides such as Motors or Chilton. These books are generally 30% higher in time than the factory warranty manual. There is though not a guarantee that is how they will calculate the time. Dealers often add time for more technical work and diagnostics or charge less time for highly competitive work. This is exactly why you need to look at a dollar amount total repair cost to be treated properly!
02-27-2024, 05:19 PM
#56
Had to look it up. Seemed to recall NH did, but found this. https://knowledge.nhada.com/do-i-hav...rly-labor-rate I was thinking of State Inspection fees which do have to be posted--at least in NH.
02-27-2024, 05:58 PM
#57
Pro
I got a quote from 2 local dealerships to replace 1 pollution control sensor on my 04 Z06. The manifold had to be removed as part of the repair. Both were around $1300.
I got quotes from both dealerships again on 2 separate occasions to make sure there was no mistake. Had a private repair shop replace 2 for $400.
You have to do your homework.
My late father was the general sales manager at a Chev-Olds dealer. Dealerships make most of their money from service- not from car sales.
I got quotes from both dealerships again on 2 separate occasions to make sure there was no mistake. Had a private repair shop replace 2 for $400.
You have to do your homework.
My late father was the general sales manager at a Chev-Olds dealer. Dealerships make most of their money from service- not from car sales.
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