So proud of myself - changed car battery (2009, auto, brakes)
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I will say, though, that you should never go back to a garage that tries to charge you fifty bucks to install a new battery. It's like charging you fifty buck to pump gas into your tank.
Seriously, if they want you to pay anything more than about ten dollars you're getting ripped off.
Congratulations! As others have said, there is a lot you can do that is very basic that will save a fair amount of money if you are in the habit of having a garage do every little thing.
Air filters and cabin filters should be next...I once overheard a dealership wanting to charge $50 to change an air and cabin filter....on top of the $30 for the filters themselves.
Flushing fluids and possibly the oil change might be a little advanced at your stage, but by all means I would get a Haynes manual and look the steps over. Then ask your mechanic friend to walk you through it the first time if it would make it easier. It can be done!!
At the very least, a manual will help you to be better informed when you go into a shop. If you have just a little idea of what they need to do it can save you some money, and if you can talk some of the talk, they are less likely to try and pull one over on you.
I always feel great when I can save some money doing things myself, congrats on the replacement. Next time go to a parts store like autozone or advanced auto; they will install the battery you purchase from them for free. I do most of the work on my vehicle but when someone else will do the grunt work for me for free I let them.
They are specific to your car, easy to understand and illustrated. Just reading the right section will tell you if you can handle the work yourself or if you need to take the car to a shop.
I don't normally post in this forum, but thought I'd post today because I felt such pride!
While waiting to hear back from the woman, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I went to Costco, bought the battery, and replaced it myself.
It was surprisingly easy and only took 5 minutes. I'm disgusted that all these years I've been paying $50-60 for my car shop to do it when they told me it was due for replacement.
From now on I'll just say, "No thank you," buy a battery and do it myself!
How much did it cost for you to buy the new battery?
Was that $50 paid to the garage the cost of installation + the new battery?
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