Couple of years ago I went to a Vette show at D&M which I think was held in early spring. I remember walking in and around their complex and being struck at how high their prices seemed. There were also things that I saw being done on vehicles that I don't explicitly remember but do recall mentally that I never wanted to bring my Vette there for service nor would I want to buy a car from them.

Again I have never had any service actually done there nor have I actually bought anything there but there were things that gave me pause. While I do the majority of the maintenance and restoration work on my various cars there are times when due to time restraints that I might want to farm a job out which is why I keep my eyes open for possible "good guys". But I too would like to see a breakdown on what they did. It also would be great to see the old parts as well. If you can it is always best to view work being done to your car. When I have tires installed/balanced I stand their and watch them and if need be question them. Never understood these folks who go sit in the waiting room watching the boob tube. Ever notice you can't see the shop from there? They may protest and not like it but I insist or I tell them I'll leave and they always allow it.

BTW - not all car dealers are bad guys. My dad owned a large dealership for a long time 50's-70's and always lived by the Golden Rule. Every customer had his home phone and many a time he personally went to help someone in the middle of the night including a few who had bought their next car from someone else because they saved $50. When asked why they didn't call that dealer the answer was --"well it's 2 in the morning and their not open but I got your #"!

My favorite was the customer who bought a stripper -- dickered like a mad man -- bought an aftermarket radio he installed himself -- car wouldn't start -- calls up Sunday evening screaming and swearing so loud about this piece of crap he had been sold at the old man that I could hear it across the room --but doesn't mention the radio install. After politely going through a few things to try the old man puts on his overcoat and drives 40 miles leaving Sun. dinner on the table. I'm ten at the time so I go along for the ride. I'll never forget the problem -- the idiot had forgotten to reconnect the battery cables. He then tried to claim that they must of not been tighten very well when the car was prepped for delivery. The old man adroitly asked if it might not have happened when this shiny new radio he had noticed was installed and the guy said "oh yeah -- it must have been the rotten radio guys." Unfortunately he forgot to hide the empty radio box and soldering iron that was still sitting on top of his garage garbage can. The old man didn't say anything and just smiled. The next two cars the guy bought he didn't dicker much and always bought a radio

Like the chicken and the egg I sometimes wonder which came first -- the jerk dealer or the jerk customer.

 

Thanks a bunch!!


Havent seen Sonny in a while. Its a 408 CID, about 480 RWHP,N/A. We did the fab work, cant take credit for the motor. He's into road racing and hi speed runs. I believe hes been 175+ already. They didnt want him going any faster because he didnt have a full cage.

 

Two things struck me about this post: well maybe three.

1. I don't see many from this person.

2. I, too, go looking for what I consider to be "good shops" before the time comes for repairs. And, I've also found some supposed "Corvette" shops that I wouldn't take anything to, esp. a Corvette. And some are close by...

3. The telling of the dealership story is unusual to hear today, but I've got a more recent one. My good friend has a neighbor across the street who is easily in his 50s and took over the Honda dealership a couple decades ago from his father. My friend always buys his four door sedans there (just so you know it's not the fancy, or expensive Hondas). So, we're not talking huge profits or markups.

Every time the car needs service or even bringing the new car home, the dealer/owner drives my friend's car in to the shop, or brings the new car home. Either way, he leaves his car for my friend. And this is recent history, but has been going on for easily, 15 years.

Yes, there are good new car dealers out there, but not many. That's why Sewell in Dallas (and probably some others) gets such high praise. I've been there; I know them firsthand.

 

CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE!!! READ IT, LIVE IT!!!

 

[QUOTE=neat]They are wrong. If they refuse to work with you, make them sign something [QUOTE]


Dealers are too smart for that. they know better than to sign anything.

 

I have been following this thread. I am very interested in how the work by D&M turned out.

I am hoping you will be driving your Vette for the Labor Day weekend!

 

Ok, no I didn't give up, but yes, we gave in and just went to D&M 'cuz summer is almost over and we want to drive the dang thing until the end of fall... And, since I'm a Mom, kid is back to school, plus I work full time yadayada don't check Corvette Forum like I should!! I will become a diehard soon, believe me - I took her out for a drive last night and it was SWEET!! Here's what they did, btw, bill was 3993.04. OUCH!!!
lube, oil filter serve
diagnose engine miss and check for computer codes, write up labor
power wash and degrease motor and compartment
replace bad distributor assemby and clear codes
install new water pump
replace air filter
replace all spark plugs
replace fuel filter
replace both front bank o2 exhaust sensors
evac a/c system
replace bad a/c hose assembly
recharge a/c system fully and blow oof debri from front side of a/c condenser and moses?? can't read the writing
relace leaking vacuum valve
replace batter terminal bolt ends, bad egr valve, bad pcv valve and hose
change trans oil and filter

so, did we get screwed again? the guy was really nice and he didn't seem slimy like the guys at CC (crappy corvettes).

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL!! The car drives beautifully now and we can punch it and it works!!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend ALL!!

Signing off - thefixmom

 

That's IT!!! There's the problem----they blew off moses!! j/k

I'll leave it to others to comment on the costs associated with what they did. If the car is really, really "fixed", that's worth something.

However, my initial take on it is, that was awfully expensive for what was done.

I'd like to see edc and racerX comment tho.

 

Aren't you interested in my comments, also?

 

no, not really. after they blew moses, I lost all intrest.

I agree with Bill, I think the price vs. work wasn't a good ratio.

But, if it's running, that helps.

For what it's worth, I would have charged about $2200 or so. I think there was a lot of labour being double billed.

 

I hope you at least got a kiss.

That is an interesting "up sell" technique. Yes, ma'am, we have this beautiful Corvette for $XX,XXX.XX. OH! You want to DRIVE it? To make it run right is a $3993.04 option.

RACE ON!!!

 

I knew that was going to happen. Just like I said in my earlier post. They are all rip off joints..... EVERY CORVETTE SHOP IN THE CHICAGO LAND AREA INCLUDING THE SUBURBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you are driving the car so you are happy.

 

Maam, all's well, that ends well.But why is my opinion of car dealerships(everywhere,not just chi-town) getting lower and lower?

 

What was the labor on the water pump and what was the labor on the distributor? The water pump should be included in the dist job because it must be removed to remove the dist. I'd like to see the break down, they probably billed you the full labor for the dist + full labor for the water pump... but I can't say for sure without knowing labor hours or a break down of each along with what D&M charges for labor/hr

Also I am curious to know what they charged you for the oil change? normally I charge $55 even with mobil 1 but I know most shops get about $65-up

Thats my .02 for what it's worth.. hope you guys can make it to one of the gatherings I just got back from downers grove's vette night good turn out lots of forum members....
-=Rick

 

It pays my salary! Damn if only there were jobs like that in the auto repair industry.

 

$50 lube, oil filter serve
$160 diagnose engine miss and check for computer codes
$60 power wash and degrease motor and compartment
$800 replace bad distributor assemby and clear codes
$150 install new water pump, labor included in dist work
$50 replace air filter
$120 replace all spark plugs
$50 replace fuel filter
$150 replace both front bank o2 exhaust sensors
$40 evac a/c system
$180 replace bad a/c hose assembly
$80 recharge a/c system fully and blow oof debri from front side of a/c
$400 condenser and Hoses?? can't read the writing
$40 relace leaking vacuum valve
$300 replace batter terminal bolt ends, bad egr valve, bad pcv valve and hose
$100 change trans oil and filter

=$2700

That's my wild guess at parts and labor cost on the above...

3993.04. OUCH!!!



$1293.04 for Moses. How does it do on the water crossings?

 

And then, there's "shop materials", "hazmat", "rags", "profit", "overhead", "lights", "donuts", "Mr. Clean", "Lysol Toilet Cleaner", etc.

OH, OH, the biggy, the real biggy! Tax.

 

You're too 'spensive....

 

Sometimes, upselling is misinterpreted. To some extent, the law requires that they bring any issues to the owner's attention.

And I suspect that people that go to Jiffy Lube NEVER pop their own hood, and they probably would never change the hoses, belts, ball joints, brakes, etc, if the oil change shop didn't recommend it.

When to replace a wear part is often a judgement call, and obviously at the very least they'll be overzealous, and at worst, replacing crap (or at least charging for it) when it doesn't need replacing at all.

 

My comment on this situation is: No Comment!

I do not know the particular automobile. I do not know the troubleshooting that was done to track down the particular problems. Just because a scan tool points to a particular area, does not mean every part in that area is defective. The troubleshooting for the problems that are not related to the scan tool can take even a very good technician a large amount of time. In today's auto repair industry, time = money! Someone has to pay the bill. You get one guess!

After being involved in the repair industry for over 36 years, I am still learning every day. I have seen some unusual symptoms.

The important points are these:

The car runs properly.
There is a warranty in place for the repairs.
The customer is happy.

We will probably never know the complete story of what happened before and immediately after the sale.

There was a great deal of advice offered in this thread. This is what makes this forum the great place it is.