It's not a matter of being "ripped off". It's really more fundamental economics. My time is worth more than the dealer charges for labor. Micro 101.

 

yes but what I have always been told is this..."it doesnt make fiscal sense to pay $X when you can pay $Y somewhere else for the same quality." You go ahead and pay the money your comfortable paying, but no matter how much money I make Ill never throw money away like you.

 

i have a place near me that only fixes audi and Volkswagen. they charge 1/3 the cost of the dealer and can do anything from an oil change to a full rebuild of a car. and most of the time you dont need special tools it just makes it e-z.

 

Its actually more like "getting *** raped" than being "ripped off" if you are willing to pay dealer labor rates. I think the majority is agreed on that.. If you want to talk about fundamental economics, try this... I paid $300 for doing my timing belt mylself.. The dealer was going to charge $1,500. I saved $1,200 in labor/parts... I took that $1,200 savings and invested it... 6 months later I have turned that $1,200 into $3,600.. So taking away 8 hours of my precious time has earned me $2,400. Thats $300 per hour.. What job do you have that pays you enough to consider your time more valueble than what the dealer charges for labor??

Also....
My dad always said something to this effect when there was work that needed to be done at home, but he didnt know how to turn a wrench.

 

yeah I bought my car from a place like that. I walked in one day, took a look at their stock pointed to the silver car, bought the car (after driving and a look over). Handed them a check and bam I get a warranty, tax, tags, and title. It was like walking into a dealership, but without any hassel, the feeling of being a sale or number. I felt at home they were straight forward with me the whole way. In fact since I told them I used to be a tech they offered to take me back and show me anything I wanted on the car with a tech that did all my services. What they would have charged me for 60k audi service, tbelt, water pump, thermostat, cam and crank seals, idler, new tires, alignment, and fluids would have been equal to the local audi dealer doing a tbelt alone. They did all that work to the car before the sale and didnt even bump the price of the car up at all. great place.



this is common with non mechanical people. You cant blame him for not being mech savvy. But its true the money I have saved doing my own work has gotten me a porfolio I can be proud of at 22.[8D]

 

I called my local dealer for a valve cover gasket and he told me $$$$$$$62.00!!

Freaking crazy...

 

I understand there are people that are not mechanicaly inclined.. But to say that it is fundamentaly economical to pay out the nose for something that can be had for much less is wrong.

 

agreed

 

Quack, quack.

If that was supposed to be some sort of little kid pissing contest, I'm not impressed. When I was younger I had a 396 Chevelle that I did all my own work on. I've owned classic Cougars, classic BMWs, a shitload of old Subarus and even an AMX Javellin. Worked on 'em all. Trust me, I've turned far more wrenches in my life than you.

At some point, you just don't have to anymore. Who I pay to do it is irrelvant. It's especially irrelevant in this case, because my B7 is under warranty. It's a perfect arrangement - I drop the car off at the dealership, they give me another one for a day or two, then I go pick it up. And not just for warranty work, either; when I ordered my S4 rear sway bar (which, by the way, was the same price from Audi as from anywhere else) they gave me a loaner while they installed it. I paid for a whole whopping hour's worth of labor. In exchange I got to drive a brand new A6. Works for me.

Audi takes care of my car for 50k miles for free. I won't have it that long, so... I'm not concerned about their labor rates. Simple as that.

Now if you want to gripe about what Porsche charges, I'm in your corner. Seems to me if you're paying 90,000 for a car they could do SOMETHING for free, at least once in a while.