- Report: #782866
Complaint Review: Firestone Complete Auto Care - Merritt Island Florida
Reported By:
JEFF -
COCOA, Florida, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Firestone Complete Auto Care
777 E Merritt Island Causeway Merritt Island, 32952 Florida, United States of America
Phone:
321-453-6757
Web:
Categories:
Business Rating:
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Firestone Complete Auto Care Store # 014346 Overcharged an unbelievable amount for parts and labor !!! Merritt Island, Florida
I took in my girlfriends 2005 Chrysler Van because the engine light would come on occasionally. I had the code read at Auto-Zone, and it was an emission system leak..very minor..or a loose gas cap. I was told, at Firestone, that the EGR Valve had to be replaced, and the cost would be $336.00 for parts, labor, and the original diagnosis fee. Leaving for Miami the next day, and in a hurry, we had the work done. After seeing the breakdown of costs, and doing some research about how difficult a job it was...I was astonished to find that the EGR valve retail at Auto-Zone was $ 64.00..but, I was charged, $ 149.15 !! ..and the labor..a job described on the internet as "done in minutes in your own driveway" ...cost $ 159.00 !! The battery terminal had been disconnected to make the repair... from the start to the end...34 minutes !! I feel like someone reached into my pocket and stole my money !!
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Ramjet
Somewhere,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Very common report
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, September 30, 2011
I have read many reports on here exactly like this. Not just car service companies either.
People will have a problem, they will contact a service company of some sort (auto, plumbing, home repair etc.), they agree to have the company perform the repair and THEN they decide to do some research on prices.
Of course they get the component prices from some mass market supply company catering to do-it-yourselfers, have no idea of the brand name of the products, no idea of the quality of the products and have no idea of the brand of the component supplied by the service provider.
They then decide themselves what they think a fair labor charge would be (if they think any labor should be charged at all) based on either no information whatsoever or what some other provider who never saw the problem said it might be, or a world renowned expert 'friend'.
And of course they believe it's an unbelievably easy and simple process to do the repair and can be done in just a few minutes with a screwdriver and hammer.
They get the job done satisfactorily and THEN whine and cry on the internet.
It never ceases to amaze my and I wonder why they didn't get the parts themselves and repair it if it's so cheap and easy.
Having been in service oriented jobs all my working life (electronics of various kinds and computers from mainframes to desktops), these complaints and observations are wrong in so many ways it's not even worth trying to explain it to the complainers. They won't/can't 'get it'.
It's ridiculous.
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
You agreed to it
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, September 30, 2011
You were quoted a certain price and agreed to have them do the work...No RipOff.
Of course it is going to be cheaper to get the part and install it yourself. Your not paying for any overhead such as Insurance, Utilities, Rent or any of the other dozens of other expenses a business has.
I really wonder what you think would be a "fair" price would have been for this repair?
By the way do you take this complaint into other areas. When you pay $30 for a dinner at a restaurant do you complain because you could do it yourself for about $5? Do you complain about that $10 shirt because they only used about $0.50 worth of fabric?
coast
USAIt's called profit
#4Consumer Comment
Thu, September 29, 2011
You are entitled to your opinion that it was expensive and overpriced. You were charged the same amount as the quote; therefore, you were not overcharged or ripped off.
The parts used in the repair may be from a different manufacturer and may be of better quality than what you found available at Auto Zone.
You chose not to buy the part and do the work yourself.
