Car Repairs - Take it to the Dealer!
For the past 3 years, I've been living by the thinking that you don't want to go to the dealer's shop for car repairs because they're too expensive. Find a local mechanic and stick with them, after awhile they'll even give you the heads up for potential problems in the future. But here I'll give you a reason why I will be using my local Saturn dealership exclusively from now on with my 97 Saturn.
This past weekend, while on a business trip, I notice a clicking/rumbling noise coming from my engine. No big deal, I thought, I'll just take it in and they can tighten up a pulley or something.
I took it into my local Bob Sumerel shop yesterday (a car shop chain mostly around Cincinnati) to have them diagnose the problem. After having it all day, and finally calling them back to check on my car about 4:30, I was informed that my timing chain tensioner was worn out and would need to be replaced. All in all it would set me back $800-900 and would need the car until Friday. (YIKES!!!)
I never take decisions lightly when the bill gets that high, so I called up Saturn, told them the problem, and got a quote from them. For the same procedure, they'd charge $650 and it would take about half a day. Ok, now we're getting somewhere, cheaper and the mechanics work with Saturns day in and out so they'll know the exact parts better and probably work quicker. I called up Bob Sumerel and told them I'd be picking up my car, and I then took it to Saturn and left it overnight.
This morning I get a call from the Saturn "face-man" telling me that the timing chain and tensioner were fine, it was actually the serpentine belt tensioner going bad. New serpentine tensioner and belt would run $255. Great! Sounds a lot better than $900.
I drove to Saturn to take a look and talk with the actual mechanic, and quickly found out the tensioner wasn't bad at all, the problem was the serpentine belt was the wrong size which caused the tensioner to hit, which was causing the noise. All I need now is a new serpentine belt. $65. I was out of there an hour later with a final bill just over $70, and the sound was gone.
What makes this story even worse, is that Bob Sumerel is the place that replaced my belt and one pulley last fall, so they put the wrong size belt on.
Now I'm not sure if it's just my car that has more specialized parts than most, but from now on I'm going to saturn for my maintenance for these 2 reasons.
1) The mechanics know saturn engines inside and out
2) They will always have the right size parts to put on
Getting the belt replaced by Bob Sumerel back in Oct saved me $30 from getting it replaced at Saturn. However it cost me about $140 yesterday/today fixing their mistake. (I also had a $68 "diagnosis" fee at Bob Sumerel)
The real question I wonder about is this. Had I given Bob Sumerel the ok to fix my timing chain, would they have eventually noticed that it wasn't the problem, put the correct sized belt on, and saved me $850? I think not, what's more likely is I'd be out a car this week and be out $1000 come Friday.
I guess the moral is go to the dealership, especially when core parts of the engine start wearing down (my car is 8 years old). But if you still don't want to let the dealer handle your maintenance, at least get a few opinions before letting your loacl mechanic you nuts on your car.
Please check out blog postings here and here which update what Bob Sumerel did to rectify my horrible experience.
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This blog is an update to two previous blogs, found here and here. I received a check in the mail from Bob Sumerel the other day. The check covered a refund for both the diagnosis fee and the charge for the work I had done ... Read
A week and a half ago, I wrote about an experience I had at a local auto shop and how I decided I would take my car to the dealer for repairs from now on. You can read about my whole adventure here. I finally ... Read
Year after year, conversation after conversation, I'm simply amazed at how many people don't follow this simple rule of shopping. If what you are buying will depreciate over time, then you shouldn't pay interest on it. Read
I think I would go back to Bob and tell him what happened and see if he can't help you out. He ought to at least refund your diagnosis fee!
JLP
I have sent them an email to their corporate site asking for a refund on the diagnosis as well as some concession for putting the wrong size belt on last fall, although I didn't specify an amount I wanted for the belt. Have not received a reply yet, but will certainly post a followup blog to give the update.
-Nathan
Well, that sort of incompetence is totally uncalled for! If it is a reputable company, they will make it right. If they don't I would broadcast their incompetency so that the whole world can hear! LOL!
JLP
As the owner of a shop, I have mixed feelings about this article. I don't know anything about Bob Sumeral, but I know how I run my shop:
1)I personally would not have charged you for a misdiagnosed timing belt tensioner upon discovering that the serpentine belt was at fault.
2) I would have gladly refunded your diagnostic charge had the same situation happened in my shop. Diagnostics are free in my shop with a repair anyway, even if the diagnostic charge is a lot more than the cost of the repair. ($59.95 diagnostic + $0 loose spark plug cable = $0 repair bill)
3)Dealership service departments vary in honesty and expertise just as much as independent shops do. I was stuck in Arizona with my 1993 Saturn SL2 once, almost 10 years ago. It took three days and $1200 to get the fuel pump replaced at the dealership. In retrospect, it should have been closer to $700, but I paid what they wanted just to get my car back and get home to California. They were either totally incompetent and used way too much labor to diagnose and replace the pump, or they just plain overcharged me.
A local Chevrolet dealer's mechanic decided to take my acquaintance's perfect '64 Impala show car for a joyride and got sideswiped. The dealership offered my acquaintance the services for free, but he had to take them to court to get reimbursement for the $9,000 damage to his car. They refused to pay for it because their workorder says they don't accept responsibility for "theft or damage". This is another dealership with less than adequate morals.
I'm not trying to say that all dealerships are bad, just that they aren't all good, either. They have the same types of managers, directors, supervisors, and mechanics that an independent shop has. You would be getting just as good service from an independent you trust that always uses OEM parts.
Andrew,
I certainly see your point. I guess my thinking is that all else being equal, I can at least count on the dealership mechanics to know my car and put the right sized part on, and I likely wouldn't have been waiting all morning for them to get the part shipped to the store.
I certainly don't mean to say that all independant shops are dirty, in fact Bob Sumerel has done everything I asked (and offered to do more) to win me back as a customer. Bob Sumerel has a very good reputation around here, I think my instance was definitely the exception rather than the rule.
The joyriding instance you pointed out is unbelievable!!! Luckily my car wouldn't be much fun to joyride in! :-)
-Nathan
