Originally Posted By: The Critic
A few of my good friends have me handle their car maintenance because they are not interested in dealing with it. This is fine with me since I find working on cars occasionally to be fun. Most of my friends drive very nice cars for college students, but this does not mean they give their cars the TLC they deserve. So every time I am asked to take care of some routine maintenance, it is not uncommon for me to find additional repairs and maintenance needed-- which is how this situation developed.
One of my friends has a 2006 Prius with 85,000 miles. In the past, I have done some work to the car, which included arranging for new tires, alignment and a few oil changes. This time, he called me and told me it needed an oil change, but to also take care of anything else that was needed because we are about to graduate and he trusted my opinion over the dealer's.
So, I looked over his car. When I was all done, this is what I ended up doing:
- Engine Oil and Filter Change
- Drain and Refill Transaxle Fluid
- Clean and Adjust Rear Drum Brakes
- Replace Engine Air Filter
- Replace Cabin Air Filter
- Replace Engine Drive Belt
- Replace Rear Wiper Insert
- Replace Front Wiper Blade Assemblies
- Front End Alignment
- Replace 12v Auxiliary Battery
- Replace Multi-Function Display (controls radio, HVAC and navigation functions)
- Replace Left Axle Seal
- Replace Engine Water Pump
- Drain and Refill Engine Coolant
- Replace Spark Plugs and PCV Valve
Altogether, the work totaled up to $977.55!
The cost would have been much higher if I had not sourced the Multi-Function Display from LKQ ($465 vs $1500 from dealer) or if I had not caught the water pump and axle seal in time for them to be covered under the certified pre-owned warranty. The water pump and axle seal repairs were $50 each, which was the cost of the deductible.
I think the moral of the story is that if someone asks you to look over their car for potential issues, you can always find something wrong with it if you look hard enough. This was probably my friend's biggest mistake, since he just handed me the keys and told me to fix everything that I felt needed fixing.
However, it goes to show that many people are simply unaware of how many maintenance items exist (as most of the items on the list were maintenance) and that there is a lot more to car maintenance than just oil changes!
So in the end, my friend spent much more than the $40 he planned, but at least everything is now up-to-date.
At a dealership, that would be considered "trying to rip you off" according to some people.
