befast

Hi All,

Just a quick question. My alternator is being replaced by the dealer, and they are suggesting to also replace the alternator belt. The alternator and its labor will be covered by my extended warranty. The belt is not. Given that they are replacing the alternator anyway, do they have any basis to charge extra labor to replace the belt? It seems to me that if you replace the alt, installing a belt is just part of that process.

Also... I posted here about a "jealous kick" to my car. The drama continues! Things have been a comedy of errors since then. Will update soon.

-- be fast!

carlo$

they are trying to nail you! but i guess you have to byte the bullet, unless you want to change the belt yourself. how much do they want for labor? not to mention the expense of the belt. it would be a lot cheaper if you buy your own belt and install it yourself.

Ubermensch

There is only one drive belt which also runs the alternator. As you pointed out, it's necessary to remove the belt to swap the alternator. They're shafting you. Worst case scenario bring the belt and drop it in. It takes about 2 minutes max.

Tippy

Unless the alternator locked up causing the belt to be tossed off, more than likely ok with the old IMO.

befast

To humor everyone, let me give some more context to this:

My car dies, sadly on a Friday, and with my regular guy not being in on a weekend, I decided to take it to the dealer. I knew it would be more expensive, but I figured it's alright since I have a comprehensive extended warranty ($100 deductible). Boy 'o boy....

When they get to the car on Monday, I explain what happened. Essentially car's battery charge went south, wouldn't start without a jump, and the battery wouldn't charge wouldn't go up when car's running. Me and my bro immediately thought it *might* be the alternator, especially since the battery was only 2 months old.

I explained this to the dealer, and kept asking about the alternator. They just concluded it was a bad battery. I paid 150 for diagonstic and install, and 200 for the battery. Ripoff already, but what could I do. I drove home that night, and the car died again, same way.

Next day, I had the car towed back to the dealer where they finally came up with the alternator needing replacement. My warranty will cover everything but 100 bucks and the battery. They offered to change the alternator belt for 40 + 70 bucks labor. I knew this was way to expensive for that, so I said given that you let me drive out of here yesterday with the wrong diagnosis (even though I specifically asked for the alternator), you should take care of the labor and I will pay for the part. So they call me back in the evening and start running down the totals: 40 bucks for part, 70 for labor (less 10% for VIP discount, wtf!!!), etc etc.

From my point of view, if this was done right in the first place, I should pay $100 deductible on the diagonstic/labor/part for the alternator, 200 for battery. What do you guys think? As for this alternator belt, what should I say? I would have said "no way" if they were going to charge me.

slaaw

There's no way you should be paying labor for installing the belt since it must come off for an alternator replacement anyway. If you buy a new belt from them, then all you should be paying for is the cost of the belt itself and not the labor to intall it since that is covered by your warranty. The fact that you would buy the belt from them should be some incentive for them to not try to charge you for the labor since there is some profit for them in the sale of the belt, or like an earlier posted said, bring in a new one and have them re[place it in lieu of the old belt.

I can't believe what some shops try to get away with!

Ray S

They are screwing you IMHO. You should pay for the belt only.

Wellardmac

Ditto!

I'd be tempt to buy a new belt and not even give them the joy of purchasing a new belt from them.

UCrazyKid

How much did they charge for the Vaseline?

Wellardmac

I'd be questioning the logic of how the can charge you extra labor for a part that they already have to remove and replace as part of the initial job. If they cannot justify it, then you should be telling them that you'll be taking your business elsewhere.

redridge

rip offs... $70 charge for just because they got away with it before

rbjbbb

What about the $200 battery misdiagnosed. They should also buy that back from you, especially if yours was only 2 months old.
scam, scam, scam - all the way. Go to the Mgr with this BS.
RB

dresler

the misdiagnosis is unforgivable. It is trivial to check if the alternator is working or not. Asshats.

CosmosC4S

You should go see the General Manager and slam some desks. Be a redneck for once.

K996

$200 for a battery?!?!
They should be keel-hauled for that alone! Holy crap.

Like Wellardmac said: THEY ALREADY HAVE TO REMOVE THE BELT TO REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR. There is NO/ZERO/ZILCH extra labor required when they reinstall.

Honestly at that point I'd just tell them to put the old one back on, order a new one from Suncoast or somewhere else and replace it yourself. All you need is a large socket wrench (can't remember the size but it's nothing exotic) and about 10 minutes of your time.

But then again I'm a redneck straight outta Alabama so it would be either that or getting drunk and pissing on the GM's desk.

Guess it just depends on what kind of mood I was in.

-Keith