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Dealer Rant

B

Blueruck

Full Member
Joined
May 17, 2002
Messages
2,368
Being a good AV owner - I went to get my oil changed and after 23K miles decided to get my fuel filter changed.

On the way tot he dealer I stop ab pick up my oil, oil fileter and fule filter - I got tired of paying $7.50 a quart for mobile one at the dealer.

All the work is done in 40 minutes - not bad

I get the bill - oil chnage and lube cost $11.20 - not bad

I look at the cost of the fuel filter chnage an it is $47 - dang - I asked questions and they say it was 30 minutes of labor and that is their charge.

I would have done it myself, except the last time I changed a fuel filter on my car I leaked gas since it was under pressure. (I should have asked for advice on the board :0:). Not wanting to repeat this, I figured a 10 min job by the dealer and a couple of bucks.

I might have bought my AV from this dealer - but that is the last time this Chevy Dealer north of Denver will get my business.

If they didn't want me to bring in my own parts then don't tell me it is OK, then rip me off to make the same profit margin as if I had bought all of my parts from you.

OK I am much better now :)
 
Sorry to hear about the dealer puttin' the lube to you!

Does anybody else know how to change the fuel filter, where its located, and all that good stuff? I think this is a good oportunity for a little education.
 
I know the fuel filter is located on the driver side on the inside of the frame. :)
 
I just had mine replaced by Jiffy Lube. I thought is was kinda high, but it wasn't anywhere near $47.00. When I get home next week, I will check the receipt and let you know.
 
IMHO - it seems a bit over the top to complain about spending 50 dollars on service to keep your AV in good condition When they cost over 35 grand and people speed hundreds if not thousands on mods. I am a tech and I do this work for a living and let me tell you its not all as easy as most people think. Sometimes peoples attitudes about their being RIPPED-OFF makes me a little :D:
 
In a follow up let me say that the prices you mentioned seemed fair and about the nation average going rate. Please no one take offense to my post if you can do the work yourself more power to ya, just keep track of time spent driving over to get your parts how much they cost and how time you spend doing the work and take what you make and hour and with all that factored in take another look. AMEN
 
TexAVfan said:
IMHO - it seems a bit over the top to complain about spending 50 dollars on service to keep your AV in good condition When they cost over 35 grand and people speed hundreds if not thousands on mods. I am a tech and I do this work for a living and let me tell you its not all as easy as most people think. Sometimes peoples attitudes about their being RIPPED-OFF makes me a little ?:D:
Click to expand...

RJLACK - I have no problem spending $'s to keep my AV in good condition. I do this without thought. However, everyone likes to pay a fair price and not feel like they were taken advantgae of. I looked at my ticket and the same tech that did my oil change did the fuel filter. - so they didn't have extra efforts to lift my truck.

I am knocking the dealership for their pricing methods and not the tech who did the work. I have been under my truck and it is one bolt holding the fuel filter and two nuts on the fuel filter.

Since you are in this business can you give us some insight about changing the fuel fileter and dealing with the pressure in the line so we don't spray gas all over our beloved AV's?

Thanks for sharing your opinion and knowledge
 
Boy I like digging up old threads.  >:D  Just needed to depress the schrader valve on the fuel rail lust under the dust cover on the passenger side to relieve the pressure. Tomorrow I will be changing mine because I never did and it clogged on me 20 miles from my house and I had to tow it home.  :E:  :E:  $127 later for a $15 part I should have done last year.  :beating:
 
If you pull the fuel relay and start your truck and let it idle until it dies you can also clear the pressure from the system without dousing anything with gas.

I learned that trick for my Caprice. Takes just a few seconds to burn off that gas and you will have no pressure on the lines when done. Maybe a little residual gas in the line.

Or you could run a line from your shrader valve to a small container and save the gas to be reused later.
 
That a good one thanks. So I replaced mine this morning and not much gas dripped out the engine side, so I knew I was on the right track replacing the filter. It started rough but eventually ran smooth once the air bleed out. Took 3 trips to completely purge it. Is there a faster way to bleed it like maybe using the schrader valve?
 
If you want make your fuel filter change out in less than 5 minutes with no spillage and better filtration put one of these Perma-cool filters on in place of the stock one. You will need a couple of adapter fittings that tie into the factory fuel lines with no cutting.. see links


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prm-81794

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rus-644120
 
Just my $.02 about the labor charge for the fuel filter. They are charging what their labor guide says the job should take. 1/2 hour. At $94 an hour that is $47. The techs train and buy the expensive tools to allow them to beat the book and that is the smart thing to do. They should not be penalized for being fast and thorough. The training is not cheap, ASE testing is not cheap and the tools-likely Snap-On-are definitely not cheap. I want a tech that knows what he is doing with the right tools to do the job.  :B:
 
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