Major Cadillac dealership rip off attempt

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Yesterday my wife's 2001 catera had a burned out passenger side low beam bulb.

I start taking things apart and eventually had to remove the intake air box that holds the air filter. I took out the xenon bulb and today I called the cadillac dealership and those SOBs wanted $358.00 for the bulb which is a german made phillips. I laughed and called them crooks and hung up. Then I called Charleston autoparts and I bought the same OEM bulb for $116.00.

Can you imagine someone going to the dealership and paying $500.00 with installation for a crummy headlamp bulb?
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Wow! What bulb costs $116??

Yea that is expenive, did that include installation however? Even with still expencive!
 
If you can afford a Cadillac, you can afford overpriced parts too!
I know there are several price levels for auto parts.
Chevy parts, Buick parts, and Caddy parts.
Same part, different price depending on which vehicle it goes into.
 
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If you can afford a Cadillac, you can afford overpriced parts too!
I know there are several price levels for auto parts.
Chevy parts, Buick parts, and Caddy parts.
Same part, different price depending on which vehicle it goes into.




How about "if you can afford a cadillac, you should be smart enough to know fools and their money are soon parted"?
 
Quote:


If you can afford a Cadillac, you can afford overpriced parts too!
I know there are several price levels for auto parts.
Chevy parts, Buick parts, and Caddy parts.
Same part, different price depending on which vehicle it goes into.






Parts are priced by part number, not by what make of car they fit.
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The markup on GM parts will vary by dealership. It's wise to call around whenever you need a part. I've found some fairly significant differences between dealers located only a couple miles apart.

Also, let's not forget that Cadillac is a luxury brand and, like nearly every luxury brand, is going to be more expensive to maintain. Cadillac is typically the first brand in GM's lineup to get all the latest high-tech gadgets, which is naturally going to make the car more expensive to service later on.
 
Carmakers have simply found another source of revenue.... make cars with styled headlamps, add a unique "high-tech" bulb, and you're guaranteed high-profit aftermarket sales when the headlamps turn yellow and the bulbs burn out. I yearn for the days of the standard $10 glass headlamp.

Same thing with transmission fluids (i.e., Volvo, Mercedes).
 
Could be worse They sold my elderly neighbor Halogen oil service.I went up there with him to get them to show me where the Halogen oil goes.Long story short after alot of red faced apologies I got his money back.
 
That's just WRONG. You should automatically spend time in jail for taking advantage of old folks.

It's a shame it has to be this way, but they do it on purpose. Cram as much 'technology' in one small space as you can, make it impossible to work on in your own garage, either by the way it's packaged or by the tools required to perform the job...and them make it seem 'exclusive' and charge an arm and a leg for parts AND labor. Cadillac may be the worst, but they're far from being the only guilty party. Lexus and Mercedes are huge offenders in this area. The difference I've personally witnessed between American and overseas luxury marques is the amount of items Mercedes (in particular) will fix at no charge. My friend was notorious for scraping the chin of his C280 on curbs and driveways, and eventually broke a few clips and his entire bumper cover was out of alignment. Park Place Mercedes fixed it at no charge, even though the scrape marks clearly identified it as driver error. I haven't heard of such experiences at Cadillac. They'll nail you for anything.
 
You guys talk as this is a manufacturer based issue. A dealership is an indepedent operation from the manufacturer. And in many or most cases, the same guy who owns the Toyota store also owns the Caddy, Lexus, and Ford dealer down the street. Quit letting your emotions overide the issue.
 
what kind of healight takes a $116 bulb? if that bulb was made out of sterling silver is probably still wouldnt be worth 116. i wouldnt own a car that has such expensive parts. my headlight bulbs cost $4.00 at walmart for a 2 pack and thats the way it should be.
 
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Could be worse They sold my elderly neighbor Halogen oil service.I went up there with him to get them to show me where the Halogen oil goes.Long story short after alot of red faced apologies I got his money back.




A Ford dealer did the same thing to my wife's cousin. They charged him for a 4 wheel alignment on an Expedition with a solid rear axel. I went back there and made them show me how they aligned a rearend located with stamped steel arms.
Another time I needed a caliper seal and a few other small assorted parts for a 67 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow brake caliper. The parts fit in the palm of my hand and cost 211 dollars. If they were Camaro parts they would have cost 6 bucks.
 
"Parts are priced by part number, not by what make of car they fit."

Maybe, maybe not.
My son needed a cam belt for the GM 1.8 4 cyl. engine, I called about the price, couldn't recall the exact model he had so I said Pontiac Sunbird.
When he took it in, they were upset because he had a Buick Skyhawk. Part was $5 higher for the Buick, same engine, and they couldn't explain why.
We didn't got back there again. Bumper to Bumper with a repair shop in back.
 
Honda dealers wanted $28 for a gas cap for my 84 Civic, but a parts store had one that was good quality and fit just right for two bucks. When the car was smogged the mechanic said he noticed the non-original gas cap but understood the problem and ignored it. It sealed the tank and that was good enough. I don't know about other brands but Honda raised the prices for older parts every year.
 
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"Parts are priced by part number, not by what make of car they fit."

Maybe, maybe not.
My son needed a cam belt for the GM 1.8 4 cyl. engine, I called about the price, couldn't recall the exact model he had so I said Pontiac Sunbird.
When he took it in, they were upset because he had a Buick Skyhawk. Part was $5 higher for the Buick, same engine, and they couldn't explain why.
We didn't got back there again. Bumper to Bumper with a repair shop in back.







This was a dealership, or some independent shop?
GM made 2 1.8's in the 80's in the J-body cars, VIN 0 or VIN J. Maybe that was the difference.
 
GM SPO NAO General Motors Service Parts Operation North American.......is the only divison of GM that consistently has turned a profit since some time in the 1970's! G
 
I feel I can hardly expect anyone to believe this story. But it's true.

I called a GM dealership for the price on an O2 sensor for my Metro... $800!!
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I just about fell out of my chair. No, I didn't buy it.

At least my headlights are $15 apiece.
 
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