Profit without Principles causes Poverty

Message 956 of 3817

I'm not sure where to post this, but I'll try here.

Pulling out of my garage the other day, I smashed my driver side mirror. My husband jerry-rigged it so that I can see out of it. I called NISSAN to see when I could bring in the car and how much it would cost. Here is the breakdown:

Housing $204
MIrror 20
Painting 85
Labor Depends.

So my side MIRROR, the arm of which, by the way is still intact and in working order, can cost anywhere from $300 - 500 dollars. My MIRROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If that isn't rape, I don't know what is. This is why people do not bring their cars to dealers for repairs. They have us coming and going.

If all this disregard for the public with only regard for the profit would stop, maybe we could all afford to live in our beautiful country again. We need to take this country back!

posted by crestofwaves

Replies 11 - 20 of 30

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I have always worked on cars, from minor stuff to ground up restos.

That was when you could work on them.

Things have changed a bit over the years and anymore i don't bother.

But if I was in NJ, I would sure fix Cresto's car. The hard part would be the blending in of the color. The cans of paint you get from the dealer that are supposed to match sometimes don't and then you have to deal with the clear coat.

posted by pancho3
5 months ago

I sometimes think that the dealers intentionally price themselves out of the repair market because they don't want to be bothered with your car once they sell it to you. (Which is a disservice to the buyer)

posted by Pluto50
5 months ago

Most of the dealers that I am familiar with out here don't have collision repair facilities and farm it out to local body shops.

But they will sell the factory parts at a great cost.

posted by pancho3
5 months ago

The biggest cost of anything is labor. Your looking at an end product for the housing and mirror. There's a labor cost in that amount, not just profit for the evil auto dealers.

Do you have an occupational school nearby that teaches auto repair? They usually charge only for parts, not labor.

I used to work on my VW Bug. It was pretty easy. Horrifically dirty, but easy. Now I have a Toyota and my mechanic went to school with my daughter. I rest easy.

posted by PicaRosa
5 months ago

Heck, i think most schools have eliminated auto shop as well as metal shop wood shop and home ec. classes.

posted by pancho3
5 months ago

There's an occupational center near me that has an auto shop and the local community college has an auto shop as well. High schools are another story. I don't think they teach shop anymore either.

posted by PicaRosa
5 months ago

Come to think of it, a state prison near here has an auto shop for the prisoners.

But our schools can't afford one.

Go figure?

posted by pancho3
5 months ago

Not in all areas, Pancho...many states have technical schools as an alternative to college and they still have auto shops. I remember having some skin tags removed years ago and it cost my insurance carrier over $800 for the dermatologist to snip off 7 or 8 pieces of skin with a pair of scissors in less than 15 minutes. I've come to the conclusion that I can do the same thing myself with an ice cub and some sharp scissors. The question is what to do about pricing. Do we have the government dictate what a company can charge for their parts and services or do we let the free market control it? We've all seen the price of electronics drop dramatically over the years due to competition and technological advances...would controlling pricing stifle innovation like that? I don't have any answers but I do fret over the price of things too.