Most Of Us Get Robbed For Our Lack Of Knowledge In Daily Affairs And Needs. 12/05/08

(copyrighted)

Mechanic shops are VERY good examples.

I always say,

"I am thankful to God who has given me the same intelligent (if not more) as the next person he/she created. Therefore, there is nothing someone else can do that I can't. However, I choose the things that I want to do; because, TIME is precious."

I learned a little about how to work on vehicles engines, transmissions and bodies so that I would not get robbed. However, when I speak with mechanic shops, I act as if I am the most ignorant person on earth, just to hear how far a shop is going to push me. Then, I write about that shop or business.
Also, allow me to state the fact that I am a fast driver, but a safe and all around careful one. As I approach to enter a vehicle, I glance at the tires for air pressure, and look on the ground under the vehicle for any signs of leaks. YOU MUST DO that if you care for your vehicle and your money. It takes less than a minute to bend and look beneath the vehicle and go around it and check all four tires. Also, while driving, I constantly check my oil pressure gauge as well as, the temperature gauge. These simple checks, WILL save you thousands of dollars. I promise.

I am certain you have heard about "second opinions". It is true that sometimes when you may be stranded and have to tow your vehicle to a shop, you may FEEL you may not have an opportunity for a "second opinion." WRONG. If you can't move your vehicle from one shop to another using your towing membership (which should be free) then accept to get robbed. Spending $50 to $100 per year, joining an auto club membership is worth every penny spent when you are stranded on the side of the road. There are AT LEAST three (3) reasons for getting a membership.

1. By the time a shop tows your vehicle to its location, it is already charging you a lot more than an auto club one-year membership fees.

2. If the shop doesn't charge you for towing, ONLY BECAUSE you approved the shop to do the repairs, it already has its hands in your pocket and will charge you more for parts and labor to compensate for the towing charge. That's ONLY IF the shop doesn't charge you for the towing separately.

3. Roadside assistance membership will at minimum give you three (3) free towing, while shop towing is more expensive and one time only.

4. With this economy everyone is hurting, so are the shops. They will find a sucker and here we go. So, it is best to join auto club and get a "second opinion."

Now, let's not forget the fact that some shops don't really replace parts as they claim. I'll talk about this also. But let's see how much your vehicle parts actually cost.

I buy my vehicles parts from a certified ON-LINE dealer at a massive discount and so can you. I took one of my many vehicles to two shops to get labor pricing. I was told, " We can't accept your part because of warrantee issues." I insisted, forget about parts warrantee just tells me about your labor cost. I faced refusal. I said, "okay" and I asked, "How much would you charge for the parts?" I was given PART price of OVER 5.5 times higher than what I paid on-line. By the way, this is a separate fact from what you will read in the "Dealership" section below. Then, I drove to the next shop until I found one that was honest and at least gave me a reasonable price for the parts or would accept my parts.

What can you do to learn if a shop is honest?

1. When a shop says, "You need a part" and gives you a price for PART, instead of immediately approving the repair say, "Okay, I will let you know in a few hours or tomorrow." Then, call a few parts stores around you or get on-line and check the price for the part (thanks to the power of fingers and the internet). If you find lower priced parts (which I am certain you will), then call a couple of mechanical shops in your area and ask how much they charge for the same parts and labor. Some will tell you, "We have to see the vehicle before we can give an estimate." You insist, by saying, "My vehicle was checked by a mechanic; however, he is out on emergency." (The mechanic is temporarily out of his mind for giving you such a high price) "and I need my vehicle. He told me what is wrong and I can give you the vehicle information so that you can look up the parts and labor in your catalog." If the repair shop still does not want to give you some idea, without seeing the vehicle then, say thanks and hang up, and call the next shop.

2. When you finally get answers from a couple of shops then, call the shop your vehicle is located and share your findings and negotiate. If the shop does not want to compromise, that is fine. Do NOT tell the shop you want the vehicle removed; just call your auto club, show up to this shop and have it removed. I came to the realization that if you give a shop an advance notice, something UNEXPECTED may go wrong with your vehicle. Believe me I am VERY seasoned and do NOT trust most of the mechanics; because, I have seen what they can do (especially to ladies). I have a long list of these situations.
One important thing you should ALSO know.

The article is much longer and cannot fit on this site. The remaining detailed portion of this article can be found on the Author's own site.

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REPLACING PARTS
SOME shops have the tendency of telling customers that they replaced a part when in actuality they did NOT. It happened even recently on my Porsche Cayenne. So, do not be shy to ask the shop to give your old part and show you the new part on the vehicle.

A trick I use.
Since I generally know what part needs to be replaced, I put a small special marking on the part, before it is taken to the shop (knowing more than one language helps). The special marking I use is generally a letter in a different language. I do not place the marking on the most visible area of the part, but somewhere that I still can see without it being noticeable to others. You will be surprised how many dishonest shops you will find this way.

Even after replacement of sparkplugs, or other small items, I may take one out (generally random or the one which is the hardest to take out) and check to see if the part was actually replaced.
By the way, some of these mechanic shops are nationally owned (although regional). If you need to know which shops to avoid, please feel free to email me and ask about the shop that you are planning to do business with. I will provide the information I have about the shop (when applicable). Again, I am in Georgia so, some of the shops I have experiences with - may not be in your area. However, if they are, I will provide the information, and if someone is worried about defaming, don't worry. I love to be sued.


DEALERSHIPS AND WARRANTEE ISSUES:
Dealerships are ALWAYS the most expensive places when it comes to repairs (parts and labor). Although it should be the other way around; because, the mechanics in dealerships are training to work on specific vehicles (the manufacturer's). Therefore, it should be a lot easier for a mechanic of a manufacturer that is being represented through its dealership to repair your vehicle. However, the mechanic shops of dealerships charge a lot more for parts and labors. It seems that there is no law passed and there is no ethics to stop the dealerships from such abuse of consumers. Yet, let's not forget the dishonesty among dealership mechanic shops. In my opinion they are the most dishonest in diagnosis and charging for parts and labor.
Allow me to give you a few examples.

1. Knowing that my heater blower stopped working on my Mercedes, I took the vehicle to a backyard mechanic that said the blower motor is bad. As a result, I took my vehicle to the manufacturer assigned dealership in my town (Mercedes-Benz of Augusta, GA -only dealer in town). I asked he service advisor to check the problem and see if the blower motor was bad. After paying for the diagnostic labor, I was told verbally that "Yes your blower motor is bad." I was given a price of $726.00 for a blower motor PART that cost me $58.36 for the genuine Bosh blower motor I purchased on-line (this is a separate fact from what you read on the first page about charging over 5.5 times…). However, the shop would NOT put that estimate on their formal "Quote" sheet. The labor for the part was $200.00, which I was okay with. I asked the service advisor how long the repair would take. He stated that since he did not have the part in the parts department, he must order it. He continued by saying, "It will take two days to get the part and two hours to replace it." I told him that I could have the parts here from the Atlanta dealership for him in a matter of a couple of hours. He refused to accept my part and stated that we must order the part ourselves otherwise we cannot warrantee the work. Again, I asked him the same thing I ask all shops (don't worry about the parts warrantee, just give me labor pricing and do the job). As expected, I faced refusal. Since he would not put his prices on a "formal dealership quote", I called him for the next two days to get a formal quote and each time he claimed he faxed or is going to fax. Finally, on the third day (November 21, 2008), I had to call the service manager who faxed me a quote sheet stating, "Parts: 906.43 price valid only through November 30, 2008 and Labor: $235.00" I took the vehicle elsewhere, replaced the blower motor for $100.00 and realized that the issue is some other electrical problem NOT the Blower Motor. What is the summary?

A. I paid for the dealership shop's MIS diagnosis of problem with my money and hours of my time.

B. From one day to the next, not only the parts' prices were raised by over $100.00 but also the labor cost.

C. The price of parts alone was over 12.5 times higher than what I paid for on-line.

What a shame.

2. A few years ago, as a result of rough performance of my 12 cylinders Jaguar, I took it to the closest dealership around me (Columbia, SC). Without going into the details of diagnosis, I was told by the dealership service manager that it will cost me $2, 737.00 to replace some parts; however, "We do not promise this will solve the problem." So I stated, "What you are telling me is that your pro-claimed master mechanic is trying to fix the problem by trial and error at my expense." He stated, "Unfortunately that's how it seems to work now." After paying over $200.00 for its misdiagnosis (I still have the estimate), I had the vehicle towed back home to Augusta, GA area and called a few dealerships around the country until, I found a "TRUE and HONEST" mechanic in the Jaguar dealership of Charleston, SC. This TRUE Master Mechanic (Joe ???) told me that my problem cost $90.00 in parts and 15 minutes in labor, since the right side ignition coil is bad. As a result, I ordered the part from his parts department and spent 15 minutes time to replace the coil upon its arrival. Oh, I forgot to tell you that neither the dealership nor the Jaguar America would repair the vehicle under the warrantee when it was under the manufacturer warrantee.
What is the moral of this story?

A. Again the dealership's MIS diagnosis cost me nearly $250.00 and several hours of my time.

B. The dealership was ready to ROB me for its trial and error repairs which it would have not been clear how much more time and how many more Thousands of Dollars I would have spent for a Ninety Dollar part and 15 minutes worth of work.

C. How deceitful this shop was.

3. During the same time that I was dealing with my Jaguar issue, the Buck Head Land Rover of Atlanta, GA was telling me that it is not uncommon for a Land Rover with 34, 000 miles to have bad cylinder heads (one on each side, which is a major engine defect). The dealership even went further to tell me that the work could not be performed under the manufacturer warrantee. I contacted the Greenville, SC Land Rover Dealership that also affirmed the Land Rover problem and warrantee issues. Mind you that not only I am a good driver, but also, I keep looking at my vehicle performance (gauges and gadgets) and listen to the sounds a vehicle while I am driving it. Meaning, I do preventive checks and that's why, I never get stranded on the side of the road (thank God) other than having more than one blown tire or an accident caused by someone else. Let's not forget how many air suspension bags I had to replace on this vehicle between the 37, 000 miles and thereafter.
Do I need to discuss the moral of this story?

4. A year later, the same Land Rover was involved in an accident where a drunk and his little Ford was in my lane and heading in my direction. I went off the road not to kill the stupid-idiot. As a result of the repair shop (body shop) error, a vacuum hose on this vehicle was damaged/cut; therefore, the engine was running rough. The Atlanta dealership again suggested an unreasonable price for repairs and stated that the vehicle was not under warrantee. This time, I agreed with the repairs not being under warrantee since the damage was as a result of an accident. After days of wasted time, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and asked a few local shops to place the vehicle on their engine diagnostic machine to check my vacuum line. Of course, since the mechanic shops would not believe me (a non mechanic who did not have his finger nails all greasy and black), so I had to tell them all that my mechanic who is now out-of town visiting his mom, told me to do this. I took the vehicle to three shops and paid $49.00 to $69 for their one-hour diagnostic test. Each shop concluded the same way as the Downtown Atlanta Dealership did in (that I had engine problem). One mechanic shops even screwed up my firing order (order of connections between a distributor cap and sparkplugs-sparkplug wires) so badly that in order for me to drive the vehicle out of that shop, right at the shop's parking lot, I had to correct the firing sequence in front of the shop manager who would not believe how screwed up his mechanics were. I also received estimates of $3, 700.00 to $5, 700.00 from these non-dealer shops). The dealer suggested $7, 800.00 for engine replacement. I finally got tired and on my way home from the last shop, I stopped by one of the Advanced Auto Parts, pick up a $1.50 can of spray and headed home. At home, I used the spray can and less than 5 minutes later found the problem.
Moral of the fact:

A. I used less than half a can of the $1.50 spray can to find the problem and less than $0.30 (30 cents) to change the cut vacuum line, when and where it would have cost me at minimum $3, 700.00 for repairs on MIS diagnosis of MANY shops to include the dealership.

B. Cost me untold number of hours (several days) and so much headache to get MIS diagnosed with so many shops.

C. Spend so much money for the towing to Atlanta and back, and paying several shops for their misdiagnoses and time.

General facts about vehicles.
1. Throughout the short years of my life, I have learned that vehicle reliability is number one to me. As a result, as much as I may love the looks of Jaguar and Land Rovers, I found these two specific vehicles to me the most costly in repairs and the MOST UNRELIABLE. Jaguars after all these years have not been able to figure out their vehicle manufacturing electrical defects which causes engine overheating all the way to exhaust problems.

2. Land Rover: The oldest sports utility vehicle on this planet would not warrantee its product more than 36, 000 miles or 3 years until 2003 or 2004; while Toyota and Lexus the new rivals were warranting their vehicles 60, 000 to 100, 000 miles from the first day they placed their vehicles on the road. Go to the article section of my website to read more.

3. I learned in general that the British built vehicle are the most unreliable and costly. Go to the article section of my website to read more. I had two Land Rovers, two Jaguars and a Royce.

4. Amongst all the vehicles, Go to the article section of my website to read more.

5. As you may have noticed, I do not even include any American vehicles, as I tend to disown them. However, I will give a recent fact about my 2008 Avalanche. I drove off this vehicle with 30 miles out of the local dealership on Washington Road, Augusta, GA, I returned it to the dealership with 3, 000 miles a month and half later complained that the paint was chipping off the edges of the front bumper where it has contact with the fenders. Go to the article section of my website to read more.

6. I do not want to discuss the Ford Corporation, its manufacturing defects and the numerous fraudulent lawsuits filed by Ford Motor Credit against consumers. I had to turn three of these false lawsuits around in favor of my friends and myself. Forget about the deceitful practices of its dealership in Georgia and South Carolina area. Go to the article section of my website to read more.

7. Among American car manufacturers (GM, FORD Chrysler), I have noticed that Chrysler (with all its financial and corporate problems) builds the best and most reliable American brand vehicles. It is the one with best exterior design as well as reliability and repair costs. Go to the article section of my website to read more.

With love and best wishes,

Mike Samadi

Any questions? Go to Q & A of http://www.MasterCreditRepair.net, read and post. Go to the "Comment" page and post your story or comment. Your personal information will remain confidential. Joint my membership club (coming soon).

PMike Samadi had been college professor for years and now continually pursuing motivation speaking. He authored several books and over 45 extensive consumer financial articles. He is widely known as a credit repair expert. He created a website " http://www.MasterCreditRepair.net" to provide knowledge base and experiences needed for you to overcome your financial problems, fix/maintain your credit and save money in all sorts of ways. The site will teach you about money management and stopping scams so that you would not lose time, money nor sleep, etc. For over 14 years he has been assisting consumers with their creditors, merchants and government agencies issues. When people were consumed and troubled by issues for a year or more- he, in a few hours or a day would solve most (if not all) their difficulties. His believes in: "More is Lost by Indecision than by Bad Decision", "Knowledge is wealth", "Ask and you shall receive" among others.

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