are they all rip-offs?
I had to take our Kia Sorento to the dealer a couple of days ago to get a "check engine" light checked out. When it came on, we also got the "ESC Off" light coming one (which has something to do with Electronic Stability Control or something and the cruise control also quit working. We still had a few thousand miles under bumper-to-bumper warranty, so I thought I would try the dealer. They said it would be $41 to do a diagnostic if it turned out it wasn't warranty.
So we get the dealer in a timely fashion and they take the vehicle to the service bay and also offer to perform a "free" 27 point vehicle inspection.
An hour and half later, I get the results: The "check engine" light came on due to a bad brake switch (which apparently also took out cruise control) and we had no brake lights either. The switch was replaced under warranty. However, this would have been a $250 cost if it was not warranty.
Their 27 point inspection found the following:
1. Front tire wear abnormal. Recommend four wheel alignment ($90) and tire balance and rotation ($20).
2. Rear wind shield wiper blade needs replacement ($30).
3. Cabin air filters need replacement ($100). The service manager brought these filters to me and they definately needed replacement.
I wasn't too upset with recommendation Number 1 - that's probably true because it's been about 12,000 miles since the tires were rotated and the vehicle (56,000 miles) has never been aligned - and I didn't think the prices were too bad, but I elected not to do that at the dealer but I will get that done locally where I bought the tires (rotate/balance is free there).
2. OMG - $30 for a windshield wiper. It probably does need replacing - but I can get the wiper from Autozone for half that for a really good wiper - a cheap one for $5.
3. This was the big one- $100 for two cabin air filters! Holy cow. I ended up getting Wix filters from Oreilly for $24.
Why don't dealer service departments try to be a little for competitive? I would have probably gone with the wiper and cabin air filters if they had been closer to a reasonable cost.
I ran this by a girl at work and asked "What would you do?". She said (she is a single mother), "Well, I guess I would have had them do it all, because I don't know how or what to do otherwise?" Is this not taking advantage of some people?
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I'll carry on.
Take care.
I had to take our Kia Sorento to the dealer a couple of days ago to get a "check engine" light checked out. When it came on, we also got the "ESC Off" light coming one (which has something to do with Electronic Stability Control or something and the cruise control also quit working. We still had a few thousand miles under bumper-to-bumper warranty, so I thought I would try the dealer. They said it would be $41 to do a diagnostic if it turned out it wasn't warranty.
So we get the dealer in a timely fashion and they take the vehicle to the service bay and also offer to perform a "free" 27 point vehicle inspection.
An hour and half later, I get the results: The "check engine" light came on due to a bad brake switch (which apparently also took out cruise control) and we had no brake lights either. The switch was replaced under warranty. However, this would have been a $250 cost if it was not warranty.
Their 27 point inspection found the following:
1. Front tire wear abnormal. Recommend four wheel alignment ($90) and tire balance and rotation ($20).
2. Rear wind shield wiper blade needs replacement ($30).
3. Cabin air filters need replacement ($100). The service manager brought these filters to me and they definately needed replacement.
I wasn't too upset with recommendation Number 1 - that's probably true because it's been about 12,000 miles since the tires were rotated and the vehicle (56,000 miles) has never been aligned - and I didn't think the prices were too bad, but I elected not to do that at the dealer but I will get that done locally where I bought the tires (rotate/balance is free there).
2. OMG - $30 for a windshield wiper. It probably does need replacing - but I can get the wiper from Autozone for half that for a really good wiper - a cheap one for $5.
3. This was the big one- $100 for two cabin air filters! Holy cow. I ended up getting Wix filters from Oreilly for $24.
Why don't dealer service departments try to be a little for competitive? I would have probably gone with the wiper and cabin air filters if they had been closer to a reasonable cost.
I ran this by a girl at work and asked "What would you do?". She said (she is a single mother), "Well, I guess I would have had them do it all, because I don't know how or what to do otherwise?" Is this not taking advantage of some people?
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I'll carry on.
Take care.