How some Auto Shops make MONEY!!
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- Опубликовано: 18 дек 2017
- A family friend asked me for a second opinion on an estimate that she got from a local auto repair shop to fix a leaky washer tank on her 2009 Honda CRV.
Let's do some research, call up the shop, and get some more details...
YOU BE THE JUDGE!
Enjoy!
Ivan 
Развлечения
This is why I started learning how to fix my own cars. It was to hard to find a fair repairman.
same here.
Same here, since I was 19.
#MeToo
Learned that lesson on a 91 F150 with a leak in the rear brakes. Local shop wanted over $1000 to replace everything in the rear system. Being 19 and broke, I decided to double check that work...found that they never even inspected the thing...tires were still rusted to the drums. Final conclusion: a $3 brake line had a pin hole from chafing.
When I was 20 my responsibilities were to take my parents cars in for inspection. I was taken advantage of non stop at the Buick dealership often waiting 7 hours in a cold dirty waiting room.
Guess how many GM cars I have bought in the last 35 years! Let those lying pocket stuffing service advisors rot in hell !
Well his aged Aunt is hardly going to do her own oil changes is she?
i have a pigs heart valve installed on my ticker. part was $8,600.00 i told the surgeon i could get the part for $1.69/lb at the butcher shop. He wasn't amused. No sense of humor i guess.
I feel so fortunate that I can do virtually all repairs myself. I learned long ago that shops cannot be trusted until they demonstrate they are honest. I like that you are willing to confront the bad shop!
This is the sad reality of the auto repair business. Hard to find honest, decent people to work on your vehicle and the mere fact the you are exposing this shows integrity and sincerity. Kudoos to you sir.
For those folks who have elderly parents plz visit them periodically and do some inspections (even visually, based on your skill level accordingly) to their cars/ utilities.
Good job IVAN!
Happy holidays everyone!
If it was me I would have charged her the $3 it cost for the grommet. If she was regular customer no charge at all.
Mr. T. If you do that you will make more money in long term
@@supercalcium Yeah, exactly. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Worst case it's an hour labor to get access to grommet, maybe just charge her that and give her the grommet and diagnosis free. Give her something! If she walks happy, she might tell one or two. If she feels dissatisfied, she might tell ten. And one of those ten might make a youtube video hahaha!
I was at Mel Clayton Ford in 1990's, and markup was a real moneymaker.
I went in for parts on a project I had torn down and Chuck the manager was giving instructions to one of the parts clerks. He says while pointing at the list, "Cost plus 100, cost plus 200, cost plus 300". So I asked the gal after he walked away, what was that about, she said "It's markup".
I found Mel Clayton was cooking the books on the service department as well, and Ford sent a rep to the dealer. He says, "Congratulations, you guys are number one in the nation.........on warranty claims and I am here to audit you".
I quit a few weeks later and went to Oregon, I discovered Mel Clayton Ford in Santa Barbara had closed down soon after I left.
No wonder customers are scared to have repairs done, markup is at least 100% here in town and I have seen 1000% on some items.
When I do repairs I ask the customer to get what is needed in parts, that way they know how much it really costs, and I don't have to drive 30 miles to town every day.
If a mechanic is honest, there is no need to advertise, word will spread.
If a mechanic or a shop is not honest, they must advertise, and still, word will spread.
A good mechanic needs to make money.
A thieve dressed as a mechanic need to be exposed.
These companies need to be held responsible! I absolutely loved this video! This is the reason why I have done my own repairs for years! I don’t trust anyone to repair my projects, unless it’s something I know I don’t have the correct tools to do the job correctly. Even then, I am still VERY skeptical on who I go to. Thanks for the video. “Keep the shops HONEST”!
100%!
you can rent almost any tool these days
I'm a one man operation, actually my wife is the glue of the whole thing. More often than not this is the storyline I hear, this the latest one. 02 Lincoln Towncar with an overheat condition, initially they did lower intake gaskets and changed the fan, still overheats so now they do the head gaskets and say that its also causing a misfire and change all the coils, still overheats and has a shake now, so they avoid the overheat and install new lower control arms, 2 weeks later the shake is back and it never stopped overheating, final diag before getting to me is that the heads and block are warped along with a bent chassis. Total so far is $3200 minus what they wanna charge for a new engine and chassis work, customer didn't want to let me know the cost. I have the car for my diag at 1 hour $100 because I had to travel to them. I found that the connector for the fan was burnt also burning the fan module, and that they didn't replace the nylock nuts on the balljoints so upper and lower balljoints were completely trashed along with the knuckle from all the erratic movement. A little research and I found a TSB for the fan control wire coming loose at the PCM causing resistance hence the burnt connector. I repleced the wire from the PCM to connector and replaced the fan, with the diag for a total of $200. I"m still waiting for the balljoints but it's sad to say they caused more expense and problems than fixes. I truly hate that we have to share a title with these scumbags, the car hasn't overheated since and the shake will be gone once I get it back for a total of $500. This one gained me a large amount of work cuz apparently this customer and his friends all used this shop. I appreciate you Ivan, Eric O, Keith, Paul and all you honest tradesmen that show the truth about us. Thanks
Great story, Allen. $3200 is a HUGE mistake if it doesn't fix the problem. That is why a proper diagnosis is crucial. In your case it sounds like incompetence or lack of caring or both are to blame for the rip-off. Sounds like you got a customer for life :)
Holy Cow! I'm glad you and Eric O. are keeping people honest, and doing honest work for customers. Good grief.
My mom gets ripped off all the time at the shop she uses too. I always tell her to call me first if she needs work done on her car, but she never does and it drives me crazy. Some shops are such shit.
LOL now this lady calls me every time a shop recommends her a service, and I tell her "just say no"!
Hello Ivan, another good video, Thanks. I am very Lucky, I have a shop in my little town, to say he is fair and honest is an understatement. He would have charged nothing for that diag. and prob. replaced the gromet and charged 50 bucks for the whole thing. That is why he has been there for 40 years.
Great job. The industry needs more honest people like you. Keep up the great work you do.
I just found your channel today and I have to say, you are awesome! My father passed away 1 year ago, next week, and he was the best mechanic I have ever personally known. What you do, how you do it, reminds me of him so much. Thank you for making me smile at the memory of my father, but really, thank you for posting this video, because yes, some shops take advantage of trusting, unknowing customers, and that is just sad.
You are terrific and you explain everything so well, in terms that can be understood by a layman, such as myself (trying hard not to admit that I am plain old ignorant lol); your channel is amazing. I loved your CVT core disassemble and diagnosis edition and was wondering if you could perhaps give me your thoughts on a 2016 Nissan Sentra with 78000 miles, that the CVT was missing and skipping, even at 65 mph, going up hills, and I finally had to leave it in a parking lot because even revving it up, the car was just not moving more than maybe 5 mph. Someone told me it could be the Mass Air Flow sensor, but after watching several of your videos, and others; I am afraid I might have that situation you had where you took apart the core and the belt was all chewed up, the elements were everywhere, and you troubleshot it down to the root cause of just poor design of the pully, or at least poor material. I'd love to know what your thoughts are, even with the extremely small amount of information I can provide. Oh, and if you haven't already guessed, although my father was an amazing mechanic, I am less than ignorant when it comes to cars.
Thank you for the great service you provide all of us newbs, and sharing your knowledge and obvious expertise. I hope to receive a response, but if you're not able, I understand you must be very busy. Thanks again; sincerely, Tony in San Antonio, TX.
Hi Tony, thank you so much for the kind words! Sorry to hear about your Nissan CVT. Definitely not the Mass Air Flow sensor haha...did you check the transmission fluid level? Take care!
My mother 76 years old had issues with her garage door opener. She didn't call me she called a garage door repair company. He charged her $800.00 to repair her opener! A new one with all the goodies $350.00 the company was called out on taking advantage of an older lady. Such B.S these people are the ones making a mechanic shop or any other business a bad name. Cool video Ivan! Merry Christmas!
without knowing exactly what they replaced and did, it's hard to judge that being an unfair price.
garage doors are a "tough situation", many times the opener issue occurs because of door hardware failure, misadjustment and lack of lubrication. replacing old opener means new sensors at door bottom/new wire, changing hanger bars, adding braces. add in lube and adjustment unless it's serviced annually. if you just ram an opener in, you'll likely end up on a call-back.
quite often there's broken or stretched springs, which makes the door very heavy and eats the opener gears. all the other parts add up fast if they're bad, much of them time whole door replacement is only a few hundred more!
This is happening everywhere in the world. We recently had a customer who got ripped off by another shop with a $2700 bill for what we quoted just around $1200. Plus in my experience here in New Zealand I have always found Honda genuine parts to be cheaper if not reasonably price than after market or recycled parts. :)
Go get them Kid. He just pissed his pants when you mentioned All Data. Great video Professor.
I’m a full time fleet Mechanic and I hear this stuff all the time and it piss me off to know end😡😡😡😡😡😡.... Thank You for calling that Shop👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Wow, do they work in slowmotion?
I think this money includes a trip to the Bahamas.😎😎
1 way
WOW .. holy markup! That was crazy. It pays for people to research parts and labor!
We get that alot around here in MA from what my customers tell me. Anything from lawn equipment to cars is the same deal - even more so with lawn equipment. One of my customers had a 2 year old Stihl weedwacker, and the dealer was trying to sell him another unit for $500! All it needed was a simple 1 minute carb adjustment! Craziness! He was fuming mad, and I don't blame him one bit. Sounded like the shop was so afraid of getting busted by the EPA, that they just flat refused to make the thing run right. Never heard of a shop getting fined for adjusting a carburetor ...
Great video Ivan. We need more people like you in the world! Keep 'em honest!
You and your family have a Merry Christmas. :)
Our shop would have replaced the grommet for 3 bucks with no labor charge. This is downright rotten.
Your shop must have a lot of loyal customers! Keep setting the good example!
Many are lifetime customers. We frequently do small things for free. The customer remembers that and comes back for the bigger jobs. They spread the word to other people. So in the end you do get paid for those small free jobs. It pays to be fair.
Absolutely. Same way I treat my customers as well :)
James Last that’s the best way to do business, me and the guys at my shop are as upfront and honest about everything and we play the long game to earn lifetime customers
This is absolutely ridiculous!!! I look at labor rate online and book time. I cut the rate in half present to my customers. They keep coming back to me as they like my prices! I always tell customer if they want used part or new part. I often research, print it off show them. Shows honesty and respect.
Ya when you work for free of course people will come back. Making 1/2 the money... lol DUH they are coming back.
Matt Lane but I make twice the amount with all my jobs.and don't forget I have second job at audio shop. I make $200 a day doing speakers, subwoofers etc.
You do not make twice an amount when charging 50% of market time. Not to mention you just admitted its a SIDE JOB these people are doing this for a LIVING... not money on the side... and yet again, you lack the costs... its just pointless to try to explain costs of having a building insurances etc to you people.
Matt Lane whatever. I'll leave the argument to yourself. I'm outta here!
Thank you Ivan for taking care of your friend. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Wish more mechanics was as humble and honest like you great job
What I would love to see is you replacing the gromet without cuts to show us how long it really takes to replace it !
I am planning on doing EXACTLY THAT in a follow up vid right before New Years :)
Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics A live stream of you doing the repair would be even better. Chris
I'm not a huge fan, live stream quality are generally bad, except if you have the good equipment and Internet Speed.
Yeaa id like to see that as well.....
Yeaaa... lets see that. Ivan
decades ago I developed front end shaking on my rally Volvo,so took it to "GOODYEAR" franchise
-where "their EXPERTS" wanted to replace entire MANUAL rack and pinion assembly ,alighnment
and new tyres plus balancing -about $500 to $600 job !
-another outfit wanted $450- but not new tyres (!!)
-I found $12 for new rubber bushings on steering rod FIXED problem-plus 1 hr using crude DIY tools
-and NONE of "expert" required parts required
Dont worry, the tires would have come later. I learned that the scammers usually "fix" the most expensive stuff first, which of course usually doesnt fix the problem, so the customer becomes a regular in the shop for a while. For the scammer it's a low risk high reward tactic which is why so many shops do it. If the customer bites, and most do, they fall into a dependency trap. Theyre basically pressured to throw more good money after the initial big pile of bad money. Im sure many people smell the scam but dont have the time or cojones to do anything about it.
Thank you Ivan!
You bring integrity to the industry!
The world needs more people like you.
This is why I enjoy this channel: great know-how, interesting stories, and basic human decency. Keep up the good work. :)
Great video Ivan. This story should be brought to the attention of a local Ithaca television station. It would make a good story. I checked my parts supplier for the Dorman tank and their list price was $90. I guess we could go on and on about the greed and incompetence of auto repair facilities and dealers.
This is why I work on my own vehicles and do my own home repairs .
Bold move. Calling the shop on the carpet.
Making them accountable .... love it.
Ivan, you are a great guy. This is precisely why I do my own work, when ever possible.
This might be a more extreme example but sadly lots of shops charge well over the "book rate" for labor hours and have massive markup on parts. It's funny to get an estimate and then ask if you can supply the parts and they'll all say no and make a bunch of excuses. A friend got 3 independent shop estimates and one dealer estimate for a radiator replacement. All 3 shops wanted 3 to 5 times the actual street retail price for the radiator, same brand even in one case, and around double the alldata hours. The dealer quoted nearly double the price their own parts counter would sell the radiator for retail. When asked why they said " because you get a 90 day warranty if we install it." It's just sad. It's kind of like going to a hospital ER without insurance. You'll pay $2000+ for a small finger cut with all sorts of inflated or even made up charges.
Caveat emptor, "Buyer beware"...with all purchases.
Your questioning was polite and reasonable and I understand why you saw a red flag. Ultimately, looking at the details in hindsight as a former shop owner I gotta say I'm with Keith on this. My shop spanned a time from pre to post computers, I had to trust my suppliers. I didn't have time to price shop every part however I did an occasional comparison to keep my vendors honest.
I do see shops who are literally robbing customers. I'm a volunteer tech and fix cars for people who are indigent. It makes my blood boil when shops and dealers throw the parts cannon at a car bc they can't (or won't take the time to) make a diag.
We just received a donated Pacifica bc a shop charged the customer $2000+ for "tune up", coils etc and ultimately told them they had to go to the dealer bc they couldn't fix it. The dealer quoted $2500 for a new computer and that's when the owner gave it to our Car Care Ministey. Literally I diagnosed and repaired the car in a few hours. It was a vacuum leak causing a lean code.
The parts were under $50!
I always enjoy your videos, thank you.
Joe Mikos
What rewards you dont get here for being a servant to mankind, will be reaped in the after life.
Joe, I am pleased to hear of a Ministry like yours, helping others....May God Bless and Keep all of you.
Refried Beans Thank you very much my friend. I fight pain from cancer everyday but still feel blessed. I know how difficult it is for people who don't have the means to keep their car running yet need to get to appointments, work etc. It's a blessing to be a part of helping them doing what I love and have done for decades.
Merry Christmas, your comment means a lot and lifted my spirits.
joel mccoin Thanks so much Joel! Your comment lifted my spirits at a time when they needed to be lifted. My wife and I don't have a home but friends allow us to stay with them for now. For several year my cancer meds cost $240 per day. We lost most of what we had but are a close loving family. I have 4 great kids and get to help people make it to med appointments, work etc.
I work on these cars and have the opportunity to rest when I'm tired.
It's perfect, I am blessed and hopeful things will get better.
Take care
Mikos...you are freaking cool!!! But a lot of us watch this and think we can fix it with a new grommet or tube of silicon and avoid any shop because we feel we will get ripped off. However, Joe, I hereby state you are a better man then I, and you sir, deserve a HIGH PLACE IN HEAVEN!
Glad you're there to help your friend. Good job sir!!
That was awesome Sir 👍!
I like how you called them out on BS! LoL
Good job exposing the greed. You could tell that guy was squirming.
Thank you for the video. Brother. I am an independent mobile master tech and see this all too often. Your video helps the public and exposes those wrong doers that ruin the perception of the field I love.
"mobile" aka no building to pay for, no insurances, no employees...
Matt Lane exactly!! I do have a shop but have a good partner running it. I'm a silent partner. So no headaches but all the spiffs. Lol
Well done! Your a hero for posting this.
I love these sorts of videos that expose the crooks/incompetents. Thanks Ivan.
Hey Ivan,
Don't excuse yourself for the rant, $420 for replacing a $35 washer fluidtank is way out of whack. Good job in calling them out on that. Merry christmas!
Well, it's really $225 for the labor. The rest of it was for the plastic tank and other bullshit. So maybe they could've quoted $250 if they weren't trying to rip her off for the tank? I guess the old saying of get at least three bids on a job before you sign anything apply here. Only real way of dealing with this is ti find someone else that can do it for cheaper. That someone else may have to be you.
My mother took her car to a shop in saranac lake ny where ahe lives this fall. Shes is clueless about automobiles. She wanted to make sure car was ok for winter. Its a 2013 suzuki i believe. They told her her tire are fine but she needs struts in the front. She said ok. They put them in amd charged her almost 1400 dollars for the repair parts and labor. She paid them then 3 or 4 days later she was driving 55 down the highway and her tire blew. She took a pic of the tire and sent it to me. It was severly work down to the steel bands on the inside so they must not have aligned it right afterward and sent her on her way. She could have been killed. She posted pics of the bill and the tire on facbook calling out the shop. The next day the shop called her and apoligized amd gave her 2 free tires. Big deal right. I wish i was closer so i could maintain her car for her but since my father passed she has no choice but to rely on the shops up there
2013 Suzuki needs new struts? That's a red flag right there. My 2002 Suzuki still has the original struts and I take it off-roading lol!
Dylan Kinch many dishonor and greedy people out there.
Yea kinda fishy a ivan. Like i said im over 4 hours from her so i wasnt there this is all just what she told me after ward. I did see the bill and the photos though. When she told me they charged her 1400 dollars to put 2 struts in her car i could not believe it. Like u said 2013 most likly did not need struts to begin with. Not to mention she says ever since then her abs light has been on as well. To bad really. This vid was great ivan. I would have wanted to jump through the phone. Way to keep your cool. U and eric o both set a great example bro.
what shop is this? I have family in SL, wouldn't want them going there. You can PM me the name if you prefer.
The. Name of the shop was twin ds
Great job, Ivan! Love your work.
Awesome for someone to "out" places that rip people off, it take advantage of them. Again, that's why I love this channel and it's awesome that your shop is just over the mountain from us.
This is the reality of shops every day! This really hurts indie techs, especially mobile guys, if they are being fair. Having to fight everyday to prove yourself sucks due to the crooks in this field!
My record so far is a tow in from another shop, 2005 ford F250 diesel, other shop towed it as a crank no start, towing was $440 (customer told me it was 6 miles), and $1060 for labor + $264 for a IPR valve. it did it again the next day, i towed it next, come to find out, it was a leaking oil seal in a injector....... $1,764 for a part he didn't need, i keep their receipt on our wall of shame in our waiting area.
I guess your shop never ever ever ever made a mistake ever rofl.
1100.00 for labor for an IPR?
Thank you for your honesty That's why I watch your videos
My father in law took his kia Sedona to a local shop he had cel on with 4 codes one said o2 and the shop told him it would cost $600 to $700 to fix his van. I googled the codes and looked online and found that the air intake hose would crack allowing more air in. I checked his and sure enough the bottom was split. I ordered the $29 air intake hose and replaced it. Cleared his codes and cel never came back on. I've since been watching Scannerdanner videos religiously to understand more in depth how to use my scanner how to read the data pids how to use my wave forms. How to identify pull up pull down design. How to identify ground side power side switches. How to read wiring diagrams and how to identify vacuum leaks with water. And so forth and so on. I watch you Keith, Eric o, etcg and am learning tremendously from all of you. Thank you for all that you do and thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and work with us. I don't want to be a parts changer. I want to understand the problem and correctly identify it. As always liked this video and every other video that I watch from you guys!
Excellent. More vids like this please. These types of vids could be a new format for you.
Good for you Ivan! You would think that an experienced shop would question that estimate as soon as they saw it. At the least, before they gave your friend that estimate, they should have stopped and seen for themselves that something did not seem right. At that point, they should have tracked down the justification for those prices, and got to the bottom of the price-gouging and taken corrective action on the estimate. I wouldn't trust that shop anymore after that. They demonstrated they have non-thinking, uncaring bozos working there. Unfortunately, I find that to be the case all over the automotive repair industry... even at the dealers. People tend to think of the dealers as "the experts", and they should be - but I find that to simply not be true. It's very difficult to find an automotive shop/dealer you can trust, and won't rip you off!
I just stumbled on this video, I watch almost all your videos, this is crazy, glad you caught them and saved your friend some $$$$ and let them know what a ripoff they are, shops like this make customers not trust anyone. Who can blame them, best just to do good work and charge fair prices, everyone is better off in the long run.
Had you not called, they would have charged your sister all that money for such little work. I am 49 years old and have worked on cars since I was 8 years old. This is why I like your channel. I think you have a great attitude and have compassion for people. My wife often tells me that I don't charge people enough, but shops like that make us all look like crooks.Keep up the great work and attitude.
Kudos for that Ivan. Well done. Unfurtunately all shops near my house are like that, wait... No... They wouldn't call back.. They wouldn't even pick up the phone LOL
I have been this business all my Life and my father was in business he taught me don't be greedy plan and simple what goes around comes around how can you put a Price on Your reputation ?
SuperJoes70 So true
SuperJoes70
Big salute to your old man! I once refunded my customer $100 because the abs sensor fault was caused solely by a broken wire, which was due to a previously lousy body work. I sent the new sensor back to Rock Auto.
Ivan, I enjoyed the video. I understand like so many others why your upset. It's sad they would charge $75.00 to point a leak which is in plain view. And to over charge the other items to a regular customer. You were very polite with gentlemen, and as you I was surprise that he called back in 5 minutes. I hope you have checked out if it is ok to show the dealers name and address? I did notice that you were very fair with the gentlemen, giving him the chance to look up the prices you found, which he agreed to lower the part price. The dealership is either greedy or in money trouble. Ask Mr. O or Eric the Car guy about showing the dealers name and address to be safe. Take care.
Mike Bell Why cant he show the shops name? Theres no laws being broken because youre publizing a place of business. Even if you talk bad about them, thats nothing punishable by law. If it was, google reviews would be out of business. I rate poor companies by name all the time. If youre a deceitful business you deserve to have your bad reputation put out there.
Mike Bell get your facts right when giving people advice Dealership = Workshop
I watch a lot of your videos (and a subscriber), this is the most satisfying! God Bless! I love them all though!
Ivan, you're a good man. God Bless. ( just happened to come across this video again and watched . Had to comment a second time)
This is why I have my own shop. I understand repair shops are in business to make money but come on 200% markup? no wonder Amazon is able to get into the automotive market
The more honest the shop, the more work and return customers they will have. It’s that easy, I have referred dozens of people to a mechanic in Belleville mich, hes good, timely, may be a few bucks more but you do pay for quality work, and that ok!
Great to know there are honest folks like you and Eric O. out there!
You nailed them. I'm a new subscriber. Thanks man.
Welcome!
The question I've always had is how can people like that sleep at night. I worked in some shops and I saw dishonesty, fraud, theft, sloppy poor quality work that would lower vehicle and engine life, unbelievable greed, and just an overall standard practice of ripping people off.
I couldn't do it, and I couldn't take it, which is why I am not in that line of work anymore.
The other problem is that most consumers HAVE been ripped off and cheated, either once, or more than once. So they have come to see it as the NORM. This hurts the honest shops and honest technicians more than anything else. Overcoming the perception of the industry and trying to provide honest high quality competent work at reasonable prices gets to be difficult. But yes, if you can make it over the hump in the early years until you build a clientele that understands you are being honest can eventually result in a successful business, at least in my opinion.
Yeah, that was a little shady. I'm glad you called them out. I think the lady needs to change shops. Wow, Dorman costs more than the dealer price? Isn't that crazy? Cчастливого Рождества Ivan and Amanda.
Have seen it. The honda part is so cheap they probably just buy the OEM and re-badge (really did I just say that??) the OEM to say DORMAN. There has to be a breaking point right??? and up the price
Edit: Im the king of edit! Happy and safe holidays to everyone on this channel.
If your not on this channel then......??? Well Happy holidays as well!!
Thank you Ivan, much respect
Just like all the other commenters, I fix my own cars, and work on friend's and family's cars. Seen and heard to many stories (and videos now) of people getting ripped off. Half the time, I go out with my friends to the part stores and have them buy the parts, we go fix the car (usually with me doing the work but showing them what I do), and on the test drive, they buy me lunch. I do this as a hobby and don't charge for my labor unless someone really insists on paying me (usually that money goes towards new tools and consumables).
Good on you, Ivan, for letting us see how questionable shops really are. We need more mechanics like you in the world.
I am glad you cannot take my temperature!!! I had a similar incident happen to an elderly sister at church. 2005 Malibu ecotech. Service estimate was $827.00. I Bought OEM parts and did more to her car for $121.00 in parts. Firestone She called me up after I fixed it and told me that it ran like a scalded cat. She was doing 70 mph in a 45 zone and didn’t realize it. This is why I learned and help family and friends. My labor is better and free. I am meticulous and do it right. Good Video.
must be nice to have enough $$$$$$ to work for free always.... I do enough "free/dirt-cheap" as is
Hi Ivan,this might be an idea for a new series,get your viewers to send you estimates,and you check it out and ring them up like this video.
I've been fortunate the last 20 years to have an honest mechanic for a neighbor.
He did good work and was a good friend, and tested everyone right.
Don't live near him now, but have since found another mechanic who also does right by us.
Local service shop face my daughter an estimate of almost 3,000$ for repairs, but this guy said he could do it for less than 1,500$.
Good ones are out there
good job ,, happy, merry christmass to you and yours and a prosperous new year,
thanks joe
I know,, so think about it, in signing off, troll a la a la la la along
but merry christmass to you and yours
Wow that's steep for just a simple washer bottle. There's a line between trying to make money and just plain scamming people. Pretty obvious which side of the line that shop fell on. Me personally I don't see a lot of inflated prices like that, mostly what I see is work that wasn't preformed or preformed improperly and up-selling work they don't need.
(story time!) *lady comes to me asking if I can do a tune up to her 03 ford excursion*
Lady- Hi I just had my tires re-balanced and rotated as well as an oil change at this one shop, they told me that I needed tune-up
Me- *looks at truck* what kind of tune-up?
Lady- they said I needed new spark plugs and wires due to the miles(150k) but I was looking for a second opinion because something doesn't seem right.
Me- I'm glad you did because this truck has a turbo diesel in it, never had spark plugs to begin with. Do me a favor and don't go back to that shop again.
hahaha GOOD ONE!
onex696 like wow if its a 350 yes it has a power stroke engine, even i know that, and you can get the 250 with the power stroke too but the 350 comes stock with the power stroke.
onex696 or the excursion, they do also come with the gas engine too.
Those Excursions came with the 5.4 liter V-8 and the 6.8 liter V-10. Those could have spark plugs. Since this one was an '03, it could have either the 7.3 liter diesel or the 6.0 liter diesel. It depends if it was built before or after December, '02. The F-250 and F-350 had the same engine options. However, since you ascertained it has a diesel, no, it can't have spark plugs.
that should have been the 75$ diagnostic fee and that is it....this lady is a repeat customer and they can always make it up later. ..i do that for my good repeat customers all the time. ...i have a small handyman business on top of my regular 8-5 job...good repeat customers pays off better than gouging someone.
Thanks to these vids, I now know to spot scalpers. Thanks Ivan 😗
God bless you brother. Keep holdin it down because money isn't everything. Respect and integrity will always hold more weight when all the money is gone. Take care.
That's verging on criminal! Bloody conmen!
Don't worry Ivan, they're everywhere, we even have them here in Australia! Just recently I took my Wife's 40 series Camry in for a wheel alignment & they drove it in(I informed them we'd literally just bought it & it drove horrible) didn't even put it on the hoist! Came out shortly after with a quote for around $1000 to 'fix' the front end!!!
Long story short, I had it out with not only the seller, but also the mechanic who did the 'roadworthy' & decided to buy all relevant parts & fix it myself only to find out upon jacking it up & ripping the wheels off that everything was already BRAND SPANKING NEW!!! I'm talking new arms, bushes, struts, ball joints & tie rod ends! EVERYTHING. These pricks need to be 'set up' with hidden cameras & exposed to the world!
The problem I have in my business is people come in and tell you they can do the job as well as you can and they can buy the parts cheaper than you can buy them if I wasn’t going to make a profit in the parts Nor wasn’t going to make the profit in any kind of labor at all I would have to turn my job into a hobby because it just wouldn’t pay the bills. But you’re right inflating the price is extremely expensive that isn’t fair either.
that's because your job involves bids...
That is why I do the work myself. Great video!
thanks for helping folks
Good for you Ivan. Guys like this give hard working honest mechanics like us a bad name. That quote is outrageous. I would have replaced the bad grommet and charged her a half hour labor plus the cost of the part, and I don't mark up parts. I'm not in the parts biz, so I don't try to make a profit off of parts. I would much rather have a happy customer that will return and tell all of there friends where they got there work done then to gouge her for all I can...You go boy....
That's the right way to keep customers!
That is why I have so much respect for people like you and Eric O. You guys have the same work ethic that I do, The right way to do business and treat your customers. Keep up the great work and the video's After 30 years in this business you young guys are still teaching this old dog...lol
I agree with Snake Skin Productions no gouging here I do my best to have happy customers.
EXCELLENT video. You chased down all the facts. Thanks!
Thank god for wrecking yards! Good video Ivan.
Definitely, does not pass the reasonable test! Someone had a boat payment to make and wanted to fleece an elderly lady. The shop deserves what it gets for these ridiculous practices!
That's ridiculous it takes 5 mins to pull the grommet out. No need to remove the whole tank as the OE reservoir canes in 2 piece. This is the type of work I do for free for my returning clients.
Ivan's new sign-out, "thanks for watching and keep it fair" 👌
Good thing for honest techs like you and Eric O.
This stuff is really upsetting. My mother went in for tires because mounting and balancing isn't something I can do at home. They told her she needed a power steering flush or she wouldn't make it home. She called me and I said I'd flush it at home and didn't believe it could be that bad because I meticulously maintain her car. She told them she declined and that is take care of it and the guy, quite rudely, told her they have a $5000 dollar machine that's needed to do a power steering flush.. WTF.
TOO FUNNY! This same shop also did a P/S fluid flush on the same car just before the washer fluid leak! Fluid looked a bit dirty to me haha
Matt Mitchell ummm no, all you have to do is suck the fluid out of the reservoir, put the front of the vehicle on jack stands, with the engine off steering wheel unlocked turn it to each lock a couple of times, suck that fluid out of the reservoir, maybe for 3 seconds have the pump run for, suck that fluid out of the reservoir, put fresh fluid into the reservoir, let it go down, add a little more, start vehicle for a couple of seconds or until the fluid fills the system, add to cold line, start vehicle and bleed the system, and there u have it, a ps system flushed and bled.
Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics haha Ivan
Call SMA for a estimate
Eric or Matt would probably do the labor for free.
We don’t work for free body.
You were calm and diplomatic about it. Way awesome. I took a Dodge Grand Caravan in this winter. Normally I just do the work myself, but 20 below I'll hire someone verses laying on cold concrete. But this van I had just picked up seemed to have rear suspension issues, I noticed cupping of tires. Usually that points to shocks. So my wife goes down to have this shop look at it. This garage quoted me nearly a grand to replace two shocks, two unneeded sway links and a rear break job. So I get the call and I come down to look at this stuff myself. Yup, sure the tires are cupped and the shocks are bad. I grab a link and I look at the mechanic and I show him these links are perfectly fine, then on to the brakes, they took were just great. The guy I bought the van from just replaced them. He didnt really know what to say. He just said it was standard practice since the shocks were worn. I just told him replace my shocks, and tires so we can be on our way or I'll simply go to another shop. The bill was still over $350, but I got a really nice tire upgrade. I don't think they thought I would be smart enough to see a difference, let alone my wife knowing. This stuff happens all the time. I am a computer engineer, it's in our trade too. Short term gains for long term pain isnt worth it in my book.
Hi Ivan your channel is very helpful bro . I learn alot I am from Trinidad and Tobago. Keep it up. Listen to this song..The cars "just what I needed".
yeah keep them honest by pulling them up in their overcharging/estimates, well done ivan..2.3hours labour, wow even i can do that faster as a diy and have taken fender plastic linings off a few cars maybe 5 cars..$420 american dollars to supply+fit a washer bottle is well a RIP OFF no matter how one tries to justify it.
The shop I work at charges 200% on parts. If they think they might lose the sale. They cut the labor end with a 50 dollar rebate.
Our labor rate is 124.00 an hour. I see 33% of that.
Your 100% right. It’s not fair to the customer or the technician. And that is why there is such a shortage of good techs.
so your seeing like $41... you likely cost 60-70$ to have on the books... so just to have you... its $65 of that 124, that gives the shop $59 to work with... of course your just the tech right... you aint answering the phones, you aint paying the bills... so please to tell me how it aint fair. They likely make $15/H off you.
You didn’t take into account that discounts come out of labor. Read my post again. You sound like an owner so you must know you make a ton marking up parts . Any owner will tell you that’s where they make their money.Which buy the way was one of the main points of the video. I’m not just a tech. I’m an L1master tech with my CRT and both my safety and emissions licenses. I have about 100k in tools and I’m the main lead tech in my shop.
I’m one of the top techs in a company that has 9 very busy stores. I I’m worth every penny and more . I take great pride in my work and have a very very low come back rate and a high customer satisfaction rate. That’s not me tooting my own horn that is what the owners have told me . It’s a fact.
Just yesterday the billed hours in our shop was 19, 000. I made 350. So the shop made , after all expenses about 12,000. And that is just one shop. But I , how did you say “ ant” going to argue with you. You are obviously a genius and I’m just a tech the gets payed way more than I should and the shop loses money on me . I’m a charity case that is lucky to make even 20% of the labor.
Idk how your numbers are working out... if your not getting paid book time your getting fucked shop never made 12000 in a day ever. not off 19k billed
Happy New Year!!!
Ivan, I have been in this crazy automotive world since 1977 and I can tell you where these prices come from. There are companies whose soul function is to make unprofitable shops profitable. The first step is to take whatever part you sell and mark it up 125%. All labor operations are also at least doubled if not the same 125% mark-up. I have been to several of these "classes" over the years and they all preach the same game plan. I have adopted some of the mark up strategy to a much lesser degree and I see where that works for me. Your situation is unique in that you do not have the overhead I have. Thanks for the great videos and I will tell you the BMW turbo wastegate/ over-boost sensor linkage adjustment worked like a charm on two cars that the dealer told the customer they needed a $4500 turbo replacement. I made two lifelong customers and want to thank you for the help. John Conley, West Shore Auto Care, Inc.
Give 'em hell Ivan, passing this info onto my sister who lives near Ithica, thanks!!
200 max even with the whole dorman tank, 400 is just too much. although we all know sometimes that .9 turns into 2 or 3 .9, i don't trust alldata's labor rate that's why i use 2 or 3 other labor guides and try and stay in the middle. i look at it like what would i care to pay to have it done. nothing is that cut and dry for me, i'm a broke pup just like most of my customers so i take into account their ability to pay and try to work something out, not just here you go lady take it or leave it. my 2 cents.
This here, is exactly why so many people watch your channel, and seek knowledge, and want to know how to do it themselves.... You just get tired of being robbed, over & over... And half the time, it's not fixed, even after you empty your wallet....
Also, the way many shops (not all, but...) treat women, is really a little sickening.... and the elderly, of both sexes... shameful.
In the back of my mind, I think to myself, these women have boyfriends, brothers, husbands, uncles, nephews, whoever, who will bust them on their ripoff quotes.... but obviously I'm wrong, because they just keep doing it, relentlessly.... Obviously, it's worth it, if they only get challenged on 1 out of 100 quotes... the other 99, hey, no problem, charge 'em!!
Anyways, great video!
Thanks for the down-to-earth comment, Patrick. I personally cannot tolerate unfair treatment of any sort. Might as well share and talk about it!
I love your videos.... Thank you so much.
Yes we need transparency. I am retired and started hanging around the junkyard and also get parts from Rock Auto and Amazon. I love doing $50 4 wheel brake jobs. I am shocked about all the questionable repairs dishonest shops have done for my family over the years. Now at least I can better judge if a shop is trying to rip me off. Maybe the biggest help is your RUclips channel as well as South Main Auto. Thanks for the education and integrity.
I don't think "Olga" (7:02) is gonna be very welcome back at AutoWorks, next time she goes in there lol.
I was thinking of sending her to all the shops in town one by one with the same complaint and get some estimates. Then we can have a good time and weed out the scammers ;)
Well, lucky for her, she's got you now to fix it up right.
Put a body cam on her like the police have & then give it to the TV Stations
Большой привет Ольге.
С Рождеством
И да..нужно быть осторожным....
Позитив в том что профессия автомеханика все-таки не на первом месте по недоверию.(адвокаты намного лучше)
Wow! Way to "call" them out. I applaud you for not going ballistic on that shop.
You should get 1 million likes. Way to go!
This video is exactly why I never let my girlfriends or other female family members to go a shop alone.. I'm not an attorney but i'd think about speaking to one.
Andy Kidwell That's the worst thing you can do!!!! Poor old lady was just ripped off by a mechanic so have her talk to an attorney???? Yea that should go well. $200 an hour for legal expenses (which will undoubtedly be at least 8 hours in billed time) on top of $420 for the repair... All for a $3 grommet. Poor old lady will need a loan so now she has to go talk to a banker. You see where this is going.
Some law firms would do this pro bono if they could find enough people the shop screwed over. Undoubtedly it would be a big pay day.