Did I get taken?

marc wrote:
> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the

Now see if the dealer will offer you more than $1500 for it. If so,
take it.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/1997/che...15/prices.html

marc wrote:
>
> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
> the Chevrolet dealer nearby. I know dealers are expensive, but this
> was quite a bit more than I expected. Best as I can explain it, not
> being a mechanic and knowing next to nothing about cars the power
> steering hose burst...

Are you absolutely sure that it wasn't just a broken belt? The *******s are
all crooks.

--
Cheers,
Bev
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
Some mornings it's just not worth chewing through the straps.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 16:32:51 -0700, The Real Bev
> wrote:

>marc wrote:
>>
>> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
>> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
>> the Chevrolet dealer nearby. I know dealers are expensive, but this
>> was quite a bit more than I expected. Best as I can explain it, not
>> being a mechanic and knowing next to nothing about cars the power
>> steering hose burst...
>
>Are you absolutely sure that it wasn't just a broken belt? The *******s are
>all crooks.

Indeed many are, and from my own personal experience, they're not
going to like the fact that they're working on an 8 year-old car.

It wouldn't surprise me if mechanics get kickbacks from salesmen if
they can turn a minor repair into a trade-in for a new car.

"marc" > wrote in message
news:vvgeb11nrj923buu86b8div4oru8r21i74@usenet...
> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
> the Chevrolet dealer nearby. I know dealers are expensive, but this
> was quite a bit more than I expected. Best as I can explain it, not
> being a mechanic and knowing next to nothing about cars the power
> steering hose burst, the thing that it hooks into had some major
> damage, the part that was damaged is not removable, the entire
> gear/pinion/whatever had to be replaced. Bottom line, it had to be
> ordered from Jacksonville (I'm in south Florida), it cost almost $800,
> labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
> to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I
> didn't want to spend so much on an old car I don't plan to keep more
> than a year or two longer, but without this repair it was undriveable.
> I know small mechanics are cheaper, but would this repair have been
> that much cheaper? More than $100-200 cheaper?
>
> Also the dealer didn't offer a reconditioned part to make it come out
> cheaper, but the fact that they had to get the part all the way from
> Jacksonville means it must not be that easy to get, whether you're
> dealer or independent mechanic?



In my opinion, you were taken advantage of. I would *think* that this
shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars at an independent
mechanic...

http://www.autozone.com lists a power steering pump for a 97 Cavalier for
$49.99 with a $10 core charge. A mechanic will get that part for about 15%
less than that, then he will add about 50-75% of the cost back on to it.
Then add, oh, maybe $50 an hour labor. I would guess 3 or 4 hours.

I would definitely find a mechanic...

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 23:39:07 GMT, "C. Massey" >
wrote:

>
>"marc" > wrote in message
>news:vvgeb11nrj923buu86b8div4oru8r21i74@usenet. ..
>> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
>> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
>> the Chevrolet dealer nearby. I know dealers are expensive, but this
>> was quite a bit more than I expected. Best as I can explain it, not
>> being a mechanic and knowing next to nothing about cars the power
>> steering hose burst, the thing that it hooks into had some major
>> damage, the part that was damaged is not removable, the entire
>> gear/pinion/whatever had to be replaced. Bottom line, it had to be
>> ordered from Jacksonville (I'm in south Florida), it cost almost $800,
>> labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
>> to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I
>> didn't want to spend so much on an old car I don't plan to keep more
>> than a year or two longer, but without this repair it was undriveable.
>> I know small mechanics are cheaper, but would this repair have been
>> that much cheaper? More than $100-200 cheaper?
>>
>> Also the dealer didn't offer a reconditioned part to make it come out
>> cheaper, but the fact that they had to get the part all the way from
>> Jacksonville means it must not be that easy to get, whether you're
>> dealer or independent mechanic?
>
>
>
>In my opinion, you were taken advantage of. I would *think* that this
>shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars at an independent
>mechanic...
>
>http://www.autozone.com lists a power steering pump for a 97 Cavalier for
>$49.99 with a $10 core charge. A mechanic will get that part for about 15%
>less than that, then he will add about 50-75% of the cost back on to it.
>Then add, oh, maybe $50 an hour labor. I would guess 3 or 4 hours.
>
>I would definitely find a mechanic...
>

Rack and pinion from the same source: 217.99 plus $43 core charge

C. Massey wrote:
> http://www.autozone.com lists a power steering pump for a 97 Cavalier for
> $49.99 with a $10 core charge. A mechanic will get that part for about 15%
> less than that, then he will add about 50-75% of the cost back on to it.
> Then add, oh, maybe $50 an hour labor. I would guess 3 or 4 hours.
>
> I would definitely find a mechanic...

how much does a RACK cost to change? they redid the alignment, which
wouldnt be touched if it was just a pump.

> how much does a RACK cost to change? they redid the alignment, which
> wouldnt be touched if it was just a pump.

When the one on my old Escort finally blew (and I mean BLEW, as in fluid
EVERYWHERE), it cost me $450.

"SoCalMike" > wrote in message
...
> C. Massey wrote:
>> http://www.autozone.com lists a power steering pump for a 97 Cavalier for
>> $49.99 with a $10 core charge. A mechanic will get that part for about
>> 15% less than that, then he will add about 50-75% of the cost back on to
>> it. Then add, oh, maybe $50 an hour labor. I would guess 3 or 4 hours.
>>
>> I would definitely find a mechanic...
>
> how much does a RACK cost to change?

<snip>

Well, my wife has the same RACK that she was born with, so it was free.
Pretty frugal, huh? BTW, what does this have to do with cars?

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On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:26:41 GMT, "C. Massey" >
wrote:

>> how much does a RACK cost to change?
>
><snip>
>
>Well, my wife has the same RACK that she was born with,

It just hasn't gone tits up yet!



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--
-john

In order to define poor, we must define good, and good is subjective at best, at times.

C. Massey wrote:
> "marc" > wrote in message
> news:vvgeb11nrj923buu86b8div4oru8r21i74@usenet...
>
>>My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
>>wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
>>the Chevrolet dealer nearby. I know dealers are expensive, but this
>>was quite a bit more than I expected. Best as I can explain it, not
>>being a mechanic and knowing next to nothing about cars the power
>>steering hose burst, the thing that it hooks into had some major
>>damage, the part that was damaged is not removable, the entire
>>gear/pinion/whatever had to be replaced. Bottom line, it had to be
>>ordered from Jacksonville (I'm in south Florida), it cost almost $800,
>>labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
>>to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I
>>didn't want to spend so much on an old car I don't plan to keep more
>>than a year or two longer, but without this repair it was undriveable.
>>I know small mechanics are cheaper, but would this repair have been
>>that much cheaper? More than $100-200 cheaper?
>>
>>Also the dealer didn't offer a reconditioned part to make it come out
>>cheaper, but the fact that they had to get the part all the way from
>>Jacksonville means it must not be that easy to get, whether you're
>>dealer or independent mechanic?
>
>
>
>
> In my opinion, you were taken advantage of. I would *think* that this
> shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred dollars at an independent
> mechanic...
>
> http://www.autozone.com lists a power steering pump for a 97 Cavalier for
> $49.99 with a $10 core charge. A mechanic will get that part for about 15%
> less than that, then he will add about 50-75% of the cost back on to it.
> Then add, oh, maybe $50 an hour labor. I would guess 3 or 4 hours.
>
> I would definitely find a mechanic...
>
>
NEVER, NEVER take your car to the dealer unless NO ONE ELSE can perform
the repair. Basically, the dealer charges at least three times as much
as an independent mechanic ('round these parts, anyways).

Heck, one of the quick lube places here started doing minor repair work
and they were able to fix my water pump for $205 (tax included). I feel
that would have cost at LEAST $600 at the dealer.

The previous two repairs were ones only the dealer could perform (or at
least the indy mechanic I go to said he couldn't perform them because he
didn't have the necessary tools; one was for drilling into a broken bolt
to get it out of the hole). In neither case was the car in the actual
repair area for more than 2 hours. But the car was in the shop for two
days. Six-hundred bucks for each repair because of the ridiculous rate
for labor. I had to rent a car for the second situation, which cost me
another $160.

S.E.N.
When all else fails, get a cousin who took a lot of auto shop and offer
him a case of beer.

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