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So, for starters, car? year? miles? Bought new or used?
Went back to the dealer where you bought the car?
Warranty? Condition of car(inside and out)? Regular service at the dealer?
Towing fee is where in all these costs?
If all of the above is reasonable, sit down with the service manager and work things out. The costs you list are high; the level of "service/evaluation/diagnosis" is poor.
No towing fee - AAA membership
I took it to an independent shop to have it worked on.
Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,722,327 times
Reputation: 635
Quote:
Originally Posted by HWTechGuy
In my past life (late teens and early 20s), I worked for a few independent mechanics and always referred to dealerships as stealerships. There was a good independent shop right down the road from our old house that we used for years.
Now, both cars go to their respective dealerships. After relocating here five years ago I didn't know what shops were honest and which weren't. Plus, we (my wife) had a practically brand new Honda (dealer demo) that was only a month old which came with an extended warranty and two years of free maintenance (issued by the selling dealer) but the dealer down here honored it which yielded them a paying customer.
Then I ended up buying a Toyota for myself which ended up being the same kind of deal - extended warranty and a period of free maintenance. That one goes to the dealer also. Knock wood, no problems so far with either dealer. In fact, the service has been exceptional and they've generally got decent service specials - so even though I'm paying for service now they haven't done me wrong.
It may be worth giving your local dealer a shot. Check reviews, for some guidance (they aren't infallible). I had a choice between to different dealers, both about the same distance from the house. I went with the one that had better reviews and again, no problems.
Good luck.
Dealerships;
Techs receive training , dealer is paid bonus money based upon happy customers from manufacture, they want to sell you a new car
Private Shops;
Zero if not close to zero training, it is their way or the highway , can they pay for their mistakes? , they work on all makes and master none.
I feel like a sucker now. I admit I don't know a whole lot about cars but didn't think I was totally clueless. Never had an issue with the cooling system before.
"The PCV valve routes this gas back into the combustion system, where it can be burned to minimize pollution and maximize mileage. A faulty PCV valve allows pressure to build up in the crankcase and drives oil out through the seals and gaskets. Replacement of the valve and hose costs an average of $135.78"
A lot of people must be getting scammed then.
Maybe it depends on the car?
UPDATE
Also found this on Google:
The average cost for a PCV Valve Replacement is between $50 and $66. Labor costs are estimated between $44 and $56 while parts are priced between $6 and $10.
Yeah, maybe it does depend on the car. I have never had a car where I replaced the PCV valve which cost more than a few bucks, and a few minutes of time. I recently replaced the PCV valve on my Mitsubishi Montero. The part was about $3, and it took me less than 5 minutes, which included the time to pop the hood, prop it open, pull the hose off, pull the old valve out, put the new one in, put the hose back on, and close the hood.
Yeah, maybe it does depend on the car. I have never had a car where I replaced the PCV valve which cost more than a few bucks, and a few minutes of time. I recently replaced the PVC valve on my Mitsubishi Montero. The part was about $3, and it took me less than 5 minutes, which included the time to pop the hood, prop it open, pull the hose off, pull the old valve out, but the new one in, but the hose back on, and close the hood.
Geez. They want to charge me $70 labor. He said they are replacing the hose as well, if that makes a difference.
Geez. They want to charge me $70 labor. He said they are replacing the hose as well, if that makes a difference.
Well, the hose would add to the cost. Just as an FYI, I went to Repair Pal and looked up the cost to have the PCV valve replaced on my vehicle, and it is listed as $138 to $195! That is crazy!
They had to run tests to determine that was indeed the issue (obviously did not do a good enough job tho). It wasn't the parts but the labor that was sky high.
I guess it is somewhat of a pain in the a** to get to the hose/thermostat so they had to take it apart twice. If they would have replaced the host the first time, I wouldn't have been charged the 250.
Yeah, I just looked at a video, you have to remove the power steering pump and loosen up a bunch of other stuff to get at it so the price probably isn't out of line. When you said you could see where it was leaking I assumed it was in the traditional location on top and easy to get to. It still seems a little high to me, but I'm spoiled by local labor rates that are way under the national average.
I agree that they should have manned up and eaten the labor charge for the hose replacement. Hoses wear out, so even if they'd determined that the housing was bad you'd think they'd at least do a visual inspection while they had it apart. It should have been obvious that there was a problem.
Ok so I was going to follow the advice given and take it to the dealer but the dealer was all booked up today.
I went ahead and took it back to the shop that replaced the thermostat. They took a look and said it was a bad PCV valve. Apparently, there was damaged due to the coolant splattering when the car overheated. They asked for 130 to replace that.
The part will not be in until tomorrow but they said the car would be safe to drive in the meantime. I would just have to watch when stopped at the lights as the car did stall a couple of times.
He is confident that this will be the end of it. I'm still not happy about the extra 250 I was charged. His reasoning was that he could have charged me 800 up front but didn't want them to have to do work that wasn't necessary. I guess I can buy that although I am still not happy about the way the first two trips were handled especially when they were told up front that it was the thermostat AND hose.
Lesson learned: next time I receive a quote, oo back and have them put it in writing so I know everything they plan to do. I assumed they were replacing the hose the first trip but I guess I should have confirmed.
Damn, that is a hell of a lot of money for a PCV valve R&R!
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