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It is insane what some charge for this.
If your vehicle is newer then a flush might be OK. But do they change the transmission filter and clean the pan for that price?
On older cars - only get the gravity drain with new filter/gasket.
Yes, this topic has been debated endlessly here.
If one likes the machines to change transmission fluid then go for it.
My vehicles are older and no machine transmission fluid for me.
Nope this was just for a transmission fluid flush, no filter change.
YouTube is your friend for this and many other car maintenance things.
Just bring up the video, then you can decide whether to tackle it yourself or leave it to the pros.
You'd be surprised how easy some of this stuff is and you can save a lot of money.
Yeah - I have watched hours of youtube car repair videos which has increased my knowledge big time over the years.
It has stopped me from buying certain models too. If getting a serpitne belt off is a huge task, I will usually just pass on that car or if things like a water pump requires playing with the timing chain like on Nissan 3.5L , I will usually avoid that engine too.
Heck yeah... It's seems a lot of modern cars have purposeful "hard to repair this vehicle" engineering. I always research the ease of repair for any car I purchase, too.
Firestone charges $100 just to read codes, although they waive the fee if repairs are done.
Even though they are being replaced by Smartphone apps, OBD II Scan Tools are no longer a luxury to own, like they were in the past. A few years ago I bought an Innova 3100 OBDII scan tool at Walmart for about $80. It reads engine codes, ABS, emission status, & does system voltage test. There's a few more expensive ones (but still affordable) that can do both OBDI & II, read transmission codes, SRS (Airbag), & live data.
Pat Goss & Scotty Kilmer are kings. Pat Goss is the only reason I watch Motorweek. I didn't even knew Cabin Air Filters existed.
he told me the front brake pads were barely legal and needed replacement.
I thanked him and said I would take it to my own regular (independent) mechanic. I did so, and he called to tell me that the pads were still at 40% and didn't need anything.
Also, front and rear brake pads rarely wear at the same rate. But even if only the front pads need replacing, or only the rear pads, they will try to get you to replace pads on both axles.
All of them, not just Dodge dealerships.
Lastly, not only will a dealership sometimes try to tell you that they have to remove Part X to get to Part Y -- thereby dramatically increasing the time and labor charges -- but if something goes wrong with Part X, something they caused, THEN they will tell you they did NOT remove it to get to Y, in fact they never touched it, so they can't be responsible for damaging X, or for anything else that happened when that bad or damaged Part X failed. There is a long story that explains how I know that, which I will not go into right now, but I should have taken them to small-claims court. Too late now -- that dealership went out of business shortly afterward.
Hey, who was the woman actor who was accepting an award like an Emmy or so, yet she said she'd rather know how to fix her car or do an oil change or so? Was it Gwynneth Paltrow or so?
I go to the stealership when it's warranty or recall related.
Don't get me wrong, a lot of the independent shops are clueless and/or crooks as well, but finding a good & reliable one is worth its weight in gold. My entire family and virtually all of our respective friends, clients, and associates also have their work done at the place we were fortunate to have discovered.
I work part-time for an auto parts store, so I get to see many shops, and interact with shop owners on a daily basis.
In my experience, they're a LOT really bad, or untrustworthy shops out there. And a few REALLY good ones that are honest.
They'll buy the cheapest parts (mostly house brand stuff), or want them at the lowest price possible without getting the store in trouble.
I've seen some of the repair bills on customers cars, and a part such as a serpentine that a shop will buy for say $15, they will charge the customer $60 for it!!
Or a water pump that the shop will get from us for only $40, the shop charges $200 for the part to the customer! I mean the mark up is incredible! This why I don't like most shops because they DO overcharge people, not only for the parts, but the labor work as well.
My recommendation for anyone taking your vehicle into a shop is ask the shop what kind of parts are they using such as brands, and where are they buying the parts from. Also I say if you can and you have the time, is just buy the parts yourself at a local parts store if you know what you need, or off Rockauto as you will save a ton of money by doing so.
The only issue is buying your own parts, is that usually the job won't be warranted. So it's risky.
I have a hunch this has been said since the very first repair shop opened.
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