Sounds like they shifted some of the exhaust cost over to the plugs. Otherwise, not bad.

 

They are shafting you on the plugs and wires.
$500 is extreme. It should be less than half of that.

 

They haven't done the plugs yet so I'm going to tell them not to do it. They did give me a nice loaner (Buick), which they didn't have to do. They are trying to make up costs somewhere.

 

Congrats on holding your ground. Also, I'd still question/clarify the transfer case bolts; as Tainter said elsewhere, bolts don't go bad, they simply loosen up or fall out. My guess is that they are tightening them (or installing a few that fell out?). In which case it's likely to be all labor (and is still high at $80 to tighten up a few bolts). Still, you want to clarify exactly what they are doing for that $80.

"Trying to make up costs somewhere" is a nice way of saying "trying to rip you off". A legitimate dealer already has a profit margin built into their shop rates without having to claim work that is not legitimate.

You are the second female that has posted recently (on another Hummer forum) about a dealer trying to rip them off with wildly inflated repair costs, and even blatant lies (the previous one I'm thinking of was worse; she was told that only the dealer could change a timing chain because they had a patent on it!). If I remember correctly, her initial "diagnosis" and estimate of $4000 dropped dramatically to $800 (and completely changed; no timing chain problem at all; the rattle was from her brakes) after she came online and asked a few questions of forum members, and then challenged the dealer with her newfound knowledge. Props to you (and her) for doing this, but damn-it, you shouldn't have to, and stories like this just really **** me off. I have a wife and 2 daughters (along with a son) and I shouldn't have to worry about unscrupulous dealers or mechanics trying to rip them off to the tune of thousands of dollars. It's bull**** and gives good mechanics/dealerships a bad name.

Sorry for the rant; I'll step down from my soapbox now.

 

Even though I tried and negotiated, they still ripped me off. I was almost in tears at the dealer because I ended up paying $2489 and I honestly thought I negotiated. I don't know what I could have done different. My husband travels 3 out of 4 weeks a month and I have to do this stuff on my own (he doesn't know much about cars anyway).

I want to say - right away, Mike is a nice guy. He happened to be up front in the service area turning in paperwork and I asked him if he could help me understand from a mechanic's side (even though he works on H1's). He got the mechanic who worked on my car, he was an older guy and very nice as well. BUT...Here's the breakdown:
Transfercase mount nuts MISSING $69 Labor (they must have given me the parts free)
Right Side Cat Converter Parts $1001, Labor $356 = $1357
Spark Plugs and wires: Parts: $238, Labor $289 = $528!!
Perform Recall $0
Brakes: Parts $105, Labor $180 = $285
Throttle Body Service (I didn't even approve this): Parts $33, Labor $107 = $140
GRAND TOTAL: $2489!!
I thought I could do something better with my tax refund this year! I was upset because I thought I was getting both parts of the Cat Converter, not just the right bank. If the other goes bad, I'm screwed because I will have to pay the labor again. Even though I feel like I tried, I still ended up losing. I told them that people on Hummer Forum had given me advice on this issue and I felt informed. They told me their manager would be in on Monday and I could talk to him. I'm so attached to my H3, so I'm happy I have it back, but I feel let down again and I hope this is the end of the problems. My husband is not so positive, he thinks it's not worth it. I understand because he has to worry about my car breaking down when he's out of town. His FJ has 140,000 miles and has not had one problem, so it's hard to argue (but my H3 is better).

 

If nothing else I would complain enough to get the Throttle Body Service (I didn't even approve this): Parts $33, Labor $107 = $140 refunded. With all the work they did this should have been a freebie. Also, you didn't consent to this work. Take the $140 and have a spa day and claim a moral victory!!

 

I agree. You didn't know about nor approve that work; they shouldn't have done it.

The plugs and plug wires are ridiculous too, but there's probably not much you can do about that now. Nearly $300 just in labor for that... Does that include the guy's lunch hour? And $240 for the parts? That's $30 per cylinder; what a crock.

Call around a few places (both dealerships and independent shops; don't have to be local) to get quotes for just the plugs & plug wires, and use that as ammunition to get some recompense. If nothing else, it may help to get you the throttle body service refunded.

Good luck. On the plus side, your H3 is running good again, so...

 

I need your help again guys! I just got the P0420 Code and the dealer wants 1400 to fix. Why wouldn't they fix this 8 months ago when they fixed the P0430 code and I asked them to? Please any advice.

 

8 months ago, you replaced one Cat (bank 2, right side). Now the other is going bad (bank 1, left side).