On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 4:58 PM, mrejh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Today, I visited a dealership for my transmission service due to > fluid seepage around the pan. The price quoted was competitive with > other dealerships and service centers. No problem for this issue as > my experience at this dealership has always been very good. > > However, the dealership service department recommended the following: > > throttle body service $193.00 > tune-up with platinum plugs $149.95 > power flush injectors $232.00 >
Typical rip-off dealership stuff. Typical cost of replacement sparkplugs is ~$4.00 each. It's an easy job anyone can do on an Intrepid in an hour. Do the math. Throttle body service: price a can of Gumout and a bag of rags if you don't have any lying around. The job takes 20 minutes. Do the math. You're power flushing your injectors every time you put the fuel system additive in (and you're probably doing it more often than necessary, by the way.) > > I was not expecting the above recommendations since I am not > experiencing any noticable problems with the performance of the car. > Therefore I declined the recommendations. > You're on the ball. > > My car is a 2000 Intrepid with a 2.7 engine and only 41,877 miles. > Every other fill-up I add a bottle of fuel injector cleaner to the > gas tank. In addition, the owners manual indicates a tune-up at > 100,000 miles and no mention of the other items the dealership > mentioned. > Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. > I hate to say it, but once the car is out of warranty, the financial reason to keep using a dealership service department on all but the most complex of electronic repairs is practically nil. Most car dealers subsidize their money losing new car sales department with exorbitant prices for vehicle service. Find a good independent ASE certified mechanic. His hourly labor rates might not differ a lot, but if he's honest and reputable, he won't try to take you to the cleaners like these guys do. Dealerships get away with this crap because so many people with 8-year-old cars keep coming back because they're unwilling to search for a good independent mechanic. If you comparison shopped the transmission job, you're okay. Just politely decline the rest of it, and look for another mechanic now, before you need him. Regardless of mileage, an 8-year-old car will start needing work done before long because components (especially rubber ones) begin to deteriorate due to age. -- --Geoff Cell: (313)506-7295 Sterling Heights CERT '04 Grand Cherokee | '05 Town & Country http://www.moparmailinglist.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
