In Sal's thread about Corvette's Unlimited charge, I started to post the following, but it got long and I thought it would be best to start another thread. I don't know if it's really deserving of its own thread, and I certainly don't want to start giving all Corvettes Unlimiteds a bad rap if Sal's experience was an isolated incident. Anyway, what follows is what I was going to say in Sal's thread.

Now a question about Corvettes Unlimited. Has anyone else had bad experience with them? Earlier this year, I was interested in getting my distributor checked out (or maybe it was late last year, I'm not sure). A local Corvettes Unlimited is here in Huntsville. I called them up and talked to them a little about the problem, with its hesitations, surges, backfiring, etc. when it's cold. They said the best way to do things was to just bring it in and leave it with them for a day to let them check it out. They said there would be a $70+ charge for checking the car for error codes. :confused: Seventy bucks just to hook their computer reader thingy (the right words escape me right now) up to my car and check for error codes? That takes what, five minutes? Plus the check engine light never comes on (except when my dad and I disconnected the TPS, but that's another story), and I always thought the check engine light is supposed to come on when error codes are present.

So, that sounded like a big wad of :bs to me. I didn't take it to them after all, cuz it sounded like they wanted to clean me out a bit.

Am I right in saying that charge is too high? Has anyone else had bad experiences with them? And, to make it fair, anyone with good experiences feel free to post as well. :) I don't want to give the entire line of shops a bad rap if they're not deserving of it.


[Modified by semvhu, 10:32 AM 5/8/2003]

 

I didn't realize they were a chain.

Most shops I know will usually diagnose for free(depending on what is wrong).

Then you choose to repair or not.

I've been to several places got my free diagnosis and then bought the parts and either fixed it myself or took to someone to get it fixed when I could afford it.

 

I don't THINK it's the same company. I do know they have another shop on Hempstead Turnpike on Long Island, though...

 

Not the same chain? Ah, that's the bad assumption I had then when I read your post. The name "Corvettes Unlimited" does sound like it would be a name any Corvette specialist shop could come up with.

Still, I doubt I ever take my car to the local one. :smash:

 

Greetings fellow Huntsvillian.

THIS SHOP IS IN NO WAY AFFILIATED WITH THE CORVETTES UNLIMITED MENTIONED IN SAL'S POST!!!!!

This is not a chain. It just seems to be a popular name for Corvette shops. Anyway, this is a highly reputable shop and has been in business for a LONG time. Zeke and Barbara Jenkins, the owners, are really great folks and are members of our club. Zeke knows his stuff. He has given many a seminar to dealerships on all things Corvette. They will help you out and steer you straight concerning any problems you might have, and you can be sure they are not trying to screw you out of your money. They have saved many a "unknowledgeable" Corvette owner from throwing away their money at the dealership for unneeded repairs.

Having said that, you can read the codes out of your OBD I car easily using a paper clip. Do a search here and you will find out how to read them. It's a piece of cake. As a side note, AutoZone will read codes free of charge, too. But really, this is only needed if you have an OBD II car, because a scanner is required. And the $70 they quoted you is pretty standard for a service shop to read codes. I think Bill Heard Chevrolet is charging upwards of $100 now. But I bet if you took it to Corvettes Unlimited and they saw that it was OBD I, they would just show you how to do it yourself and wouldn't charge you a thing.

Hope this helps. Send me an IM if you have any more questions. :cheers:

 

Hammer :thumbs:

 

Most shops around Dallas will charge you for a diagnosis session which include pluggng the computer in to read the codes. $70 is about normal.

The only one that does it for free is Autozone, and you get what you pay for with that.

 

Aight!!! Thanks for the posts, guys. I was THINKING it was OBD II, but I may be wrong. '94 LT1. Anyway, that's a little OT. I'll keep that in mind, then, that the local CU is reputable and you and others have had good experience with them. Thanks!

I'm still not taking it to anyone to spend $70 to let them tell me something I already know. :) But if something else comes up, they'll be first on my list of choices then.

Someone tell me where they're located. :smash: :crazy:

 

1994 LT1 is OBD I. Bust out that paperclip!

Corvettes Unlimited
1213 Buford NW
Huntsville, AL

Go North on the Parkway, cross University Dr., next major intersection will be Oakwood Ave., take a right on Oakwood, Buford will be the second street on the right. CU will be on the right, almost at the end of Buford. I'd call them before you go just to make sure the shop will be open. Tell them Jay Boles sent ya!