Problems with Car Repairs:
Few complaints about car repairs justify hiring a lawyer; we are not seeking such cases by publishing this page. But, we offer these suggestions for saving money on car repairs.
Getting the Problem Diagnosed for Free:
Most car dealers and repair shops charge a high fee--such as $90--in Las Vegas for diagnosing a problem. This fee is applied to the repair bill if you have the repair done there, but otherwise you are simply out the fee. To make matters worse, now most repair shops are charging a 12-15% "shop fee" on top of all work, including the $90 diagnosis fee. Many problems with modern cars are diagnosed within a couple of minutes using the car's own onboard computer system. Smog station operators can give you this diagnosis in a couple of minutes and many operators will do so for a small tip. But places like Checker Auto and other auto supply chains will often clip a diagnosis computer to your car outside their store and give you the diagnosis for free. For example, I recently had a check engine light come on. The free diagnosis was "replace No. 1 spark plug." It so happened that this was an easy do it yourself repair. I had the tools and the spark plug cost a buck or two. In contrast, the dealer wanted $90 to diagnose the problem and told me that it usually costs about $300 for a check engine light repair. My son had a check engine light come on and the auto supply store computer told him to replace the gas cap. He did and the problem disappeared.
Avoiding the $12 Oil Change:
Today no shop can make money doing a $12 oil change. In my experience the mechanic in such a shop will be under a lot of pressure not to loose the shop money and will try very hard to sell you on some other service. This doesn't mean that a shop charging $35 for an oil change won't try to sell you on an unneeded service. But the $12 oil change is just going to be a lot of stomach acid.
The Fuel Injector Cleaning Fee Rip-off:
It might seem like $59.95 for clean fuel injectors is a good deal. Agree to this service and you will find that the mechanic throws some fluid into your gas tank. You are probably getting these additives for free in your brand name gasoline.
The Difference Between What the Owner's Manual and Dealer Recommend:
Your car is designed by engineers who take pride in making it low maintenance. The dealer's service department often puts out a more expensive maintenance schedule. Trust the service interval recommendations in your owner's manual. Be skeptical about the dealer's recommended service schedule. On some newer cars the owner's manual has no recommended service intervals. Instead, a dashboard light (often in the shape of a wrench) comes on with a letter code. Your owner's manual will tell you what service is called for by the letter code. You won't go wrong having the mininum service called for by the car's computer and owner's manual.
When to Use and When to Avoid the Dealer's Service Department:
Although the dealer is generally more expensive than a service place that works on any car, there is a big advantage in using mechanics who only work on one brand of car. I generally give my repair work to the dealer unless it is something very simple like tire replacement which is usually a lot cheaper at Discount Tires.
Using the Internet to Fix Your Car:
If you are at all mechanically inclined you can often use the internet to see if there is an easy repair. For example, one day the tailgate on my Chevy Silverado pick-up wouldn't come down: the latch just didn't work. A quick internet search revealed that this was usually caused by a cheap plastic connector breaking. I was able to go to an auto parts store and buy a package of several different connectors (also used for door as well as tailgate latches) and find one that solved my problem. I can only imagine that the dealer would have charged hundreds of dollars to fix the problem.
Installing your own Parts:
If you've ever worked on cars or with your hands it's easy to put in your own engine air filter or cabin air filter. I noticed that a dealer had a sign offering to install a new cabin air filter for $98. I asked the clerk how hard it was install to it myself. He said it was easy. The dealer parts department wanted $50 for the cabin air filter. JC Whitney, a long-time mail order house for car parts, wanted $23 for the cabin air filter. There isn't much you can do yourself on modern cars, but sometimes you can put the part in yourself as conveniently as waiting around for the dealer to do it and you save quite a few bucks. On the other hand, engine compartments are getting tighter and tighter and I have to admit that the twelve buck Fram air filter I put in my wife's MDX didn't look as high quality as the Honda filter I took out.