My rant...I think car dealers are the opposite of lawyers, they are great until you need them.
Now that the temps are rising we've noticed that our CRV keeps heating up whenever we stop for any length of time, which is unavoidable in traffic on our ride home. Figuring as usual it was something in the electronics, which I can be a nightnmare to track down on the never cars I decided to take it to the dealer to have it checked out. Turns out it was just the electric cooling fans that were shot. The AC has not worked properly for some time so that fan may have dies long ago while the cooling fan next to it probably just dies or quit some time over the winter.
Here's my gripe, they want $1550 + tax to replace two small fans bolted to the radiator!!! They told me the fans run about $400 each and they have to order the fan, shroud, etc all separate and so on.
Instinctively I told them to hold off while I think about it. Turns out I can find the same fans, shrouds, parts, etc included for about $49-$75 each (depending on brand) from numerous online part stores.
Seriously, they want to charge me $800 + another $700 in labor for a job I can do myself for about $131 (Parts + expedited shipping). They still nailed me for $180 just for looking at the damn thing!!!
I've observed markups and overpriced parts at dealers before but this is freaking insane. Despite being only assembled in the US, I love my Honda, at 310K miles with less than $1K in repairs (excluding normal wear items such as brakes and tires) over it's lifespan it has been the best car I've ever had, but the markup on OEM parts and labor is unfreaking believable.
Lucky this is something I can fix myself. They have really screwed us over. They make cars overly complex so they can in turn overcharge for parts and labor because they know the majority of people can't begin to repair them themselves, esp today's generations.
I'm working hard to keep my Chevy Pickup running as long as I can. It has very little electronics, no GPS, tracking beacons, etc. Just very basic fuel injection which caan easily be swapped out for a carb in a pinch.
Glad I came from one of the last generations of people that still don't mind getting dirty and fixing shit themselves....but that is a rant for another time.
Now that the temps are rising we've noticed that our CRV keeps heating up whenever we stop for any length of time, which is unavoidable in traffic on our ride home. Figuring as usual it was something in the electronics, which I can be a nightnmare to track down on the never cars I decided to take it to the dealer to have it checked out. Turns out it was just the electric cooling fans that were shot. The AC has not worked properly for some time so that fan may have dies long ago while the cooling fan next to it probably just dies or quit some time over the winter.
Here's my gripe, they want $1550 + tax to replace two small fans bolted to the radiator!!! They told me the fans run about $400 each and they have to order the fan, shroud, etc all separate and so on.
Instinctively I told them to hold off while I think about it. Turns out I can find the same fans, shrouds, parts, etc included for about $49-$75 each (depending on brand) from numerous online part stores.
Seriously, they want to charge me $800 + another $700 in labor for a job I can do myself for about $131 (Parts + expedited shipping). They still nailed me for $180 just for looking at the damn thing!!!
I've observed markups and overpriced parts at dealers before but this is freaking insane. Despite being only assembled in the US, I love my Honda, at 310K miles with less than $1K in repairs (excluding normal wear items such as brakes and tires) over it's lifespan it has been the best car I've ever had, but the markup on OEM parts and labor is unfreaking believable.
Lucky this is something I can fix myself. They have really screwed us over. They make cars overly complex so they can in turn overcharge for parts and labor because they know the majority of people can't begin to repair them themselves, esp today's generations.
I'm working hard to keep my Chevy Pickup running as long as I can. It has very little electronics, no GPS, tracking beacons, etc. Just very basic fuel injection which caan easily be swapped out for a carb in a pinch.
Glad I came from one of the last generations of people that still don't mind getting dirty and fixing shit themselves....but that is a rant for another time.