I've never heard him talk about working on state-owned vehicles, but he does state inspections on (privately-owned) vehicles.
Wow, blown away at Acura dealership service price
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
What makes you think the technicians get more of that hourly charge ? Go to any new-car dealer today and check out the service waiting area. Big TVs, couches, relaxing lighting, free snacks, free water and soda and coffee. I mean, yeah, those cut into the owner's profit, but it's a sacrifice they make...
No he whines about the system and how useless it is, since many shops will just slap a sticker on a vehicle, which defeats the whole purpose of the inspection system. Typical government though, where they are more concerned about your sign having the correct font than vehicles actually being legally inspected.And people say NY is too expensive to run a profitable business
He complains about it all the time, and it's getting old IMO
He whines about the People's Republic of NY, yet he takes on state vehicle work
Same happens in MA where certain people will "know a guy" who can get their rusted POS to pass.
It was a 1986, in a Town & Country (K Car) wagon.
Had the belt replaced @90K as a preventative measure.
Ended up having it redone about 2K later, this time at a Chrysler dealer after it died on the interstate.
Independent mechanic put the wrong belt in it.
They do better than you think....most of the guys I know are over 100K/yr.
In your area
Honestly, if a mechanic makes $30-35/hour or $63-73k/year, they'll live just fine here. Add in overtime, if applicable, and a spouse that works, they'll be okay.That stuff is ridiculously cheap in comparison to the diagnostic tools, facilities, inventory and most importantly labor.
I don't think that is what he was referring to when he made his comment. I doubt that Eric would work on any vehicles that he wasn't getting paid immediately for after the work was done. That is not good business practice.
Both engines available in a 1997 Cavalier had a chain.
I had quotes from $585 to $1300 on my timing belt and water pump on my Fiat 500.
My daughter doesn’t have a license (or car) yet, but rides to school with her older brother. She often has to wait for him to come out, so she inquired about getting a key for the ‘03 CRV. I said sure, but it’s probably $100-150. Eyes got big. I then explained that another key fob for her mothers car was probably $300. Eyes got huge. Then I said that to get a key for my 20 year old Camry was like $2.
“How is new better????”
I think my diabolical plan to poison her mind against new cars is working…
$15 w/ transponder chip and $50 programming fee at Batteries+
Hope she doesn't come here and read that !! 
Good, it’d teach her to not blindly trust anyone.$15 w/ transponder chip and $50 programming fee at Batteries+
I haven’t gotten around to getting a third key for this vehicle (fourth? forget how many we have), I just remember looking into it and realizing it wasn’t going to be cheap.
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I think out west you have tons of Japanese indie garages. I would highly recommend seeking one out.
I bought a used 2006 Lexus, dealer gets $1,800 for the timing belt job. Went to a specialist and they quoted me $750, then said oh sorry, we meant $900 (I wanted to do the 180k mile job, not the 90k job, even though my car was 86k at the time). They gave me all the old parts back, me wanting to see the timing belt itself which looked brand new, and when all was said and done, there was no trace of any work other than some pink fluid splashed on the belly pans. Can you imagine a dealer doing this job under the flat rate system? I've watched the YouTube and someday I want to do it myself, just have nightmares of spinning cams that I forgot to lock down....
When I got the car the dealer gave me a free multipoint stating $6,700 of work was needed. That was 6 1/2 years ago and I've done $0 of that work. The indie garage said here's what you need to do: $0
Think about this one. How easy is it, to replace a serpentine belt that costs $20-$40 online? Now, how much does the dealer charge? Say $260. Is there any value whatsoever, with the $260 spent at the dealer, vs. the $40 at home with 20 minutes of one's own time? Not really. But the dealer has a staff, facility, insurance, medical, taxes, and an exorbitant margin. I avoid dealers like the plague, again, other than the BMW state inspection, because it's cheaper than a private garage. Used to get a loaner too, but no longer since 2020...now it's just the fancy water and snacks and getting to see the 160k cars I can't afford (they had a M4 CSL and M8 drop top that I sat in last week).
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Actually we did batteries + and it was $160 for a GM SUV. This was deleting both keys and fobs, adding the one we had back in, and adding their aftermarket ones.$15 w/ transponder chip and $50 programming fee at Batteries+
Here's the difference. When we found that our son had placed the other fob inside a Mr Potato Head? Batteries + said they would redo the job adding the 3rd key/fob back. It is "not" free to them, the software is licensed and they have to pay every time they use it. But they were willing to do it free and thought it was funny, and also glad we found it. What dealer cares about our feelings haha
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
Huge lesson learned. I will start another post on how this dealership found me, I didn't find them.
When I picked up the car yesterday, the $1890 was not an "all in" price. They added another $120 in other fees and taxes. Funny as I know they do these jobs often, and could have easily quoted an all-in price, but that would have been over $2k. Probably a number they don't want to speak out loud.
They have a sales "stand" next to the service stand. An older couple were looking for the car, and the salesman was giving the big hard sell sales pitch. I interrupted him and shared my thoughts of the dealership with the older couple, and closed with I think they can easily find another dealership that has processes that don't exploit a customer's expectation of a reasonable, non exploitive transaction. The couple looked shocked.
I haven't lost my cool in this century, almost nothing bothers me. More went on at the dealership yesterday, about all the things the car needed like a air filter (I replaced it less than 3k miles ago), brake fluid flush, blah blah blah. A salesman chased me down in the parking lot and said the GM wanted to speak with me and make it "right". I said I will make it right with a full review on the internet, along with prices from their competition within 50 miles. My guess is this place has "good" reviews, because when the get caught exploiting a customer, they make the customer "whole", thus avoiding a accurate review. The service manager called me after I left, I suspect they are worried about the analytical review I will compose. People need to know that one expects to pay a premium for a Acura, Lexus, etc service. But not to the point of being exploited.
I stopped in the Hinda dealer less than four miles from this Acura dealership. They said they would have done the job out the door at $1100, before any coupons on the service that I may be able to find online.
When I picked up the car yesterday, the $1890 was not an "all in" price. They added another $120 in other fees and taxes. Funny as I know they do these jobs often, and could have easily quoted an all-in price, but that would have been over $2k. Probably a number they don't want to speak out loud.
They have a sales "stand" next to the service stand. An older couple were looking for the car, and the salesman was giving the big hard sell sales pitch. I interrupted him and shared my thoughts of the dealership with the older couple, and closed with I think they can easily find another dealership that has processes that don't exploit a customer's expectation of a reasonable, non exploitive transaction. The couple looked shocked.
I haven't lost my cool in this century, almost nothing bothers me. More went on at the dealership yesterday, about all the things the car needed like a air filter (I replaced it less than 3k miles ago), brake fluid flush, blah blah blah. A salesman chased me down in the parking lot and said the GM wanted to speak with me and make it "right". I said I will make it right with a full review on the internet, along with prices from their competition within 50 miles. My guess is this place has "good" reviews, because when the get caught exploiting a customer, they make the customer "whole", thus avoiding a accurate review. The service manager called me after I left, I suspect they are worried about the analytical review I will compose. People need to know that one expects to pay a premium for a Acura, Lexus, etc service. But not to the point of being exploited.
I stopped in the Hinda dealer less than four miles from this Acura dealership. They said they would have done the job out the door at $1100, before any coupons on the service that I may be able to find online.