OT: Credit Card charge

Don't say "fix it" without knowing how much it will cost. Bob

Did they give you an itemized bill? If not, why not?

Jeff

2.00 BEARING/CHASSIS GRS 6.98 2.00 INNER TIE RODS 404.84 GS FOUR WHEEL COMPUTER ALIGNMENT 79.95

The Atlanta Better Business Bureau rates this business A+ in spite of numerous complaints.

Without knowing the make, model, year and any special suspension options; it's hard to know what it should cost for parts. NAPA shows some tie rods being well over $300 each... others are 1/10 that much.

Yeah SHUT UP.

You walked into a business that you have done business with in the past.

They did diagnostic work, showed you what they thought the problem was.

You said "Fix It" which is a verbal contract that tells them to do whatever needs to be done to repair the problem.

You didn't ask "What will this cost?" Or say "Give me an estimate"

Now you are complaining that you didn't do YOU'RE part when you took the car in.

Sort of like saying that it was the hookers fault that you got the clap....

Doesn't sound too bad to me. I paid more than that for similar work just last month, and that was with a 20% discount on the parts price because I knew the owner's BIL. Labor was at the posted rate per hour and book hours and exactly as the estimate.

So, let's review:

You took your car in for repair, you were shown the problem, you DID NOT ASK for a price, then you directed them to commence work in spite of having NO CLUE how much it was going to cost.

Then, when the car got home and you found that YOU had screwed up, you tried to put the blame on THEM. Furthermore, unless you're leaving something out, you didn't try let them make things good, you just went straight to your credit card company to try to get out of paying what you owed.

Unless you're prepared to pay up to the full value of the car when it was new to get it back, NEVER, EVER, tell a mechanic to "fix it" without getting an estimate. Say "how much is it going to be" or "is this work worth doing" or "I only have $500 bucks to spend on this" or some other cost-limiting thing like that.

What really bothers me about your post isn't the first part -- it's the second to last paragraph. You screwed up, by entering into a contract without knowing the cost. Then, instead of taking responsibility for your debt, you not only tried to get out of it, but (unless you left something out of your story), you did it in a sneaky, underhanded way. Instead of giving the shop a chance to at least explain the charges, if not a chance to make things good, you went to your credit card company first to have them reverse the charges.

So yes, I do have two suggestions:

In the future, be less trusting in your own uninformed optimism. And when you screw up on the first suggestion, be more responsible for your own mistakes.

Does your daytime job sometimes involve accepting /rejecting collective bargaining agreements with public employees in Wisconsin ?

Nope, that's the one. Get a written estimate, with explicit instructions that if the expected bill is higher, that they call you and get your approval before they do anything.

Geez! Isn't that just common sense? I knew that when I got my first car, at about age 18!

Good Luck! Rich

Fuck, man! When I needed to do the front end on my '75 Plymouth Gran Fury, tie rods were about fifteen bucks and I swapped them out myself. My neighbor and I R&R'd an A-arm bushing with hand tools; I did have to pay some shop about another fifteen bucks to loosen one of the tie rod ends and swap it out.

But that was back in the days before the eco-freaks practically made it illegal to do your own work, and the car makers made it virtually impossible.

Cheers! Rich

So how does 6.98 404.84 + 79.95 --------

add up to ALMOST NINE HUNDRED BUCKS??????????

Did you have unionized math teachers?

Thanks, Rich

That's parts plus part of the labor. If you had read the post, you'd see that labor was a hair more than parts.

What he said. Absolutely. Without fail.

-- The more passions and desires one has, the more ways one has of being happy. -- Charlotte-Catherine

so, the business treated you well, charged you a fair price, did the job promptly and correctly, and you want to cheat them out of their payment. Explain why?

Heh, not a lot of love from this group, eh?? LOL!!!

And, indeed, it does seem you sort of set yourself up, but that still doesn't give an asshole the right to rip you off, as the others here seem to think -- IF it was a ripoff.

It would help the discussion to say what transpired between you and the garage after you got the bill.

But what I would do is this:

Go to another place and just ask their charge for the exact same fix, since you now know what the fix is. There's a book that actually lists the labor time for each repair, that most use for estimates.

Or, go to an autoparts store and see what the stuff cost -- and often these guys can also ballpark an installation time. They may have the labor book, as well. Find out what other places charge for alignment, or if all 4 wheels really need to be aligned -- I thought it was for just the front....

Go to rec.autos.tech, or some other source to see what discounts mechanics get from retail price. Then assess how unreasonable the bill is. From your other post, $6.98 for effingGRS (grease?) seems a li'l nitpicky....

If you feel you really have been ripped off, and no remedy is forthcoming, rent the biggest U-haul truck there is, and back it in to each of their lift bay overhead doors -- after midnight, of course. Make sure you buy the Uhaul truck insurance.

Then go to the place, and marvel out loud: Goddamm, those crushed doors look like they'll be even more expensive to fix than my tie rods...... Mebbe offer to "fix them".....

or

What do they say the parts are worth?

Might be a fair price might not be..........

The alignment price looks good.

My guess is it's not a chevy. Thank You, Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

Yeah, about what I paid recently.

What is the retail price of the parts?

How many hours of labor are on there, at what rate, and for what are they allocated? That's not clear from the bill exerpt. How about posting a link to a scan of the bill with your address blanked out? The 2.00 are hours ??

Maybe 4.5 hours total at $96.83/hour shop rate?

Mine too.

No, you get a barrel of rotting shrimp. Let them rot a day or so, then pump them in the key drop hole drop late on a Friday night, let them sit all weekend.... Summertime. They ~Might~ be able to salvage the building.

Everybody jumps all over the OP, for not getting an estimate. That was HIS mistake.

The shop, on the other hand took advantage of him and SCREWED him over HARD.

Taking the side of the shop is like supporting muggers, because someone went into the park late at night. They should not have gone into the park, even though they had a situation that forced them to. But that does not mean that you should SUPPORT the muggers and rapists, just because someone was out after dark.

Tie rods should go for about $30 each, unless they are really odd, or for some reason extra expensive.

In December I replaced my Honda's timing belt to save $600. The special tools would have cost $300 if I couldn't machine them and the time totalled about a full day, much of it removing and replacing barely accessible / rusted bolts holding other parts. The high-temp silicone valve cover gasket sealer alone cost $18.

jsw