Stealerships

[bae146]

Normally  I dont take any of my vehicles in to a dealer for any maintenance, but I had some warrenty issues that needeed to be delt with as my vehicle warrenty was about to expire, so off to a jeep dealership I go.  I asked them to do a 50 point inspection which I was happy to pay them for as I wanted them to look the vehicle over, as the warrenty was about to expire.  The only thing they found was the rear brake pads needed replacement.  So I ask the question "how much"?  Well you see Doug that will be 500.00 to do the rear brakes.  I just about fainted, they had my rear wheels off, to swap out the pads they needed to do was, undo one bolt per side.  How do they sleep at night?  Needless to say I declined to have the work done.  Did it myself in my garage for 67.00, and 1/2 hour of my time.  Now I remember why my vehicles will rarely grace the doors of a stealership.  If there is a job I don't/ cant do I will take it to an independant shop and have it done there.

[Vinman]

Normally  I dont take any of my vehicles in to a dealer for any maintenance, but I had some warrenty issues that needeed to be delt with as my vehicle warrenty was about to expire, so off to a jeep dealership I go.  I asked them to do a 50 point inspection which I was happy to pay them for as I wanted them to look the vehicle over, as the warrenty was about to expire.  The only thing they found was the rear brake pads needed replacement.  So I ask the question "how much"?  Well you see Doug that will be 500.00 to do the rear brakes.  I just about fainted, they had my rear wheels off, to swap out the pads they needed to do was, undo one bolt per side.  How do they sleep at night?  Needless to say I declined to have the work done.  Did it myself in my garage for 67.00, and 1/2 hour of my time.  Now I remember why my vehicles will rarely grace the doors of a stealership.  If there is a job I don't/ cant do I will take it to an independant shop and have it done there.

I kind of chuckle every time I hear about someone taking their vehicle into a dealership for these warranty-about-to-expire inspections.
Of course the dealer with find next to nothing wrong with it, why should they? If they do, it's a warranty repair and if they don't "find" anything wrong and YOUR warranty coverage expires, guess who has to pay for the repairs? in sure ain't the manufacturer.

IMHO, have the same inspection done at a reputable, non-manfacturer affiliated repair shop and they will gladly tell you what needs repairing and then take it back to the dealer for the repairs under warranty.

Vince

[bae146]

I kind of chuckle every time I hear about someone taking their vehicle into a dealership for these warranty-about-to-expire inspections.
Of course the dealer with find next to nothing wrong with it, why should they? If they do, it's a warranty repair and if they don't "find" anything wrong and YOUR warranty coverage expires, guess who has to pay for the repairs? in sure ain't the manufacturer.

IMHO, have the same inspection done at a reputable, non-manfacturer affiliated repair shop and they will gladly tell you what needs repairing and then take it back to the dealer for the repairs under warranty.

Vince

I kind of figured that, but because they were doing some warrenty stuff that was pusing the envelope I wanted to throw them some cash.....  but I also know know that this is not a dealership that is customer oriented.  They are only in it for a quick buck, not a long term relationship, where they will have a happy customer.

[JackstandJohnny]

someetimes i wonder why people don't just goto modern or national...... at least they knwo jeeps, and they know this is a tight knit community, and if they do a number on your vehicle it WILL be brought up in the cirlces that fuel their businesses................ if you are set on paying and want 'honest quality workmanship' goto reputable offroad shop........ or Eric at Big 4 motors
or Jay at Chanda.


 hoestly, most of this stuff you should be learning to fix on your own if you plan on wheeling anyways.......

[bae146]

someetimes i wonder why people don't just goto modern or national...... at least they knwo jeeps, and they know this is a tight knit community, and if they do a number on your vehicle it WILL be brought up in the cirlces that fuel their businesses................ if you are set on paying and want 'honest quality workmanship' goto reputable offroad shop........ or Eric at Big 4 motors
or Jay at Chanda.


 hoestly, most of this stuff you should be learning to fix on your own if you plan on wheeling anyways.......

Guys I do fix everything on my jeep now as I am fairly mecahnicly inclined.  Somedays though I am not interested in fixing my jeep and would rather let someone else do it.  The only reason it went in as there was warrenty work to be done and this was a test of that dealership to see what they were all about.  I just was astonished at how bad they were willing to rip me off for a simple change of brake pads....  That is all.  The guys on this board that know me know I am more than capable of doing anything short of  a transmission rebuild....    Nope it was not courtesy or big four, it was another dealer in the south as the previous owner had the jeep serviced there and all its service hstory was at that dealership. 

[BlackYJ]

Remember, these are the outfits that charge $400.00 plus tax for a hub/unit bearing that you can get for somewhere from $70 to $225 depending on where you shop and what you think the quality is.

I have a better one Pat.  I called about a stock passenger side D30 axle shaft, they want $850 for the shaft, u-joint and stub shaft (comes complete).  You can get a complete set of chromo axles for cheaper than that

[RACKMAN]

Normally  I dont take any of my vehicles in to a dealer for any maintenance, but I had some warrenty issues that needeed to be delt with as my vehicle warrenty was about to expire, so off to a jeep dealership I go.  I asked them to do a 50 point inspection which I was happy to pay them for as I wanted them to look the vehicle over, as the warrenty was about to expire.  The only thing they found was the rear brake pads needed replacement.  So I ask the question "how much"?  Well you see Doug that will be 500.00 to do the rear brakes.  I just about fainted, they had my rear wheels off, to swap out the pads they needed to do was, undo one bolt per side.  How do they sleep at night?  Needless to say I declined to have the work done.  Did it myself in my garage for 67.00, and 1/2 hour of my time.  Now I remember why my vehicles will rarely grace the doors of a stealership.  If there is a job I don't/ cant do I will take it to an independant shop and have it done there.

Why didn't you demand a breakdown of the costs for them doing the rear brakes....It would be interesting to see this on paper....$500.00 for rear brake job.....I can't imagine how this could possibly be explained in any logical way.

RACKMAN

[JackstandJohnny]

Why didn't you demand a breakdown of the costs for them doing the rear brakes....It would be interesting to see this on paper....$500.00 for rear brake job.....I can't imagine how this could possibly be explained in any logical way.

RACKMAN

rear brake job

pads 60$
labour 150$
magical pixie dust to ensure brake pad longetivity and superior stopping power 200$
shop supplies 50$ (cause brake quiet has gone up in price)
old brake pad disposal fee 10$
tax 50$

totalling 500$ 

but  hey your rear brakes will be the BEST on the road.  those pixies possess kickass powers

[BlackYJ]

Why didn't you demand a breakdown of the costs for them doing the rear brakes....It would be interesting to see this on paper....$500.00 for rear brake job.....I can't imagine how this could possibly be explained in any logical way.

RACKMAN

I was quoted $550 to replace the drum brakes on my 1500 Sierra

rear brake job

pads 60$
labour 150$
magical pixie dust to ensure brake pad longetivity and superior stopping power 200$
shop supplies 50$ (cause brake quiet has gone up in price)
old brake pad disposal fee 10$
tax 50$

totalling 500$ 

but  hey your rear brakes will be the BEST on the road.  those pixies possess kickass powers

Don't forget about machining rotors or drums

[bae146]

I love the reply about the pixie dust!!!!!!   

[hps4evr]

thanks johnny for the kind words. i try my best ya know. from my point of view, i dont always know what the warranty situation is on the vehicles i work on. and i could care less. work is work to me. yes warranty work pays less, but for some dumb reason i actually care about the proper condition of the vehicles i work on. i enjoy seeing a vehicle in horrible condition, diagnosing and repairing the problem, and seeing it go in complete perfection. downside is i dont make the most hours in my shop.
rear brake job is only 1.3hours labor
plus rear drums, shoes, spring kit, and possibly wheel cylinders. some techs like to do everything.
im kinda curious of the parts break down as well.

[BlackYJ]

if you are set on paying and want 'honest quality workmanship' goto reputable ........ or Eric at Big 4 motors

I don't know about that one.  Everytime I had Eric work on my Jeep is just stood there for about 4 hours looking over my Jeep at all my different upgrades and then planned them for his Jeep   

[Aspirated]

There is no reason for a technician not recommend the required repairs to a vehicle covered under warranty. if a vehicle needs a warrantiable repair its paid for by the manufacturer. if you bring your JEEP to a chrysler dealership that see's 1-2% of there shop work on JEEP's then yeah.. they wont know what to look for, if you go to a dealership that see's a lot of JEEPS then you'll have better luck. if you got quoted 500 bux for rear brakes i suspect there was more to it then a shoe slam. Your drums were probrably below minimum spec or you had leaking cylinders. Remember, any dealership has to warranty the work on your vehicle, they cant do what you would do in your garage.... The prices at dealerships are extremely expensive. 100-150% markup on parts and door rates creeping up to 130/Hr.

[jeeptastic]

Hi Everyone... I am new to this site and very green to 4X4ing. I was just reading your situation with the "Stealerships" and over the long weekend I blew up my rear differential. The broke down near one of the dodge dealerships so I got it towed there just for a report. The dealership wanted $3000.00 just for parts in my rear differential and that was to replace the stock 373 gear ratio. That is $3000.00 without any labour yet.

I spent some time calling around and I found that the 4X4 shops are so much cheaper. I decided to go with The Gear Center because they were able to get it done quicker and I am getting my Jeep re-geared now both front and back with trac-loc for the same price as the parts at the dealership.

Can anyone tell me if a 410 gear ratio is Good for my jeep tj 4.0 with 33" tires? Will that give me enough power?

[bae146]

4.10 gears with 33's brings your jeep back to stock power levels.  5th gear becoms useable once again.