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Guide to Car Repair and Maintenance |
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Page 6 of 8
Mr. Thrifty Principle # 5: Call an auto parts store before you visit a mechanic to check part and labor prices and learn the basic lingo
A few months ago, Mr. Thrifty’s car wouldn’t start. Mr. Thrifty suspected it could be the battery, and called the local auto parts store (http://www.autozone.com/ or http://www.advancedautoparts.com/) to get their advice. Mr. Thrifty learned that the problem could be either the battery or the alternator. (An alternator is the belt-driven doohickey that provides electricity for your accessories and charges your battery while you drive.) According to AutoZone, a new battery should cost around $60.00 and an alternator was $189.00. Mr. Thrifty also asked how long it should take a licensed mechanic to install an alternator: about 30-60 minutes according to the sales representative. After jumpstarting the car and bringing it in to his mechanic, Mr. Thrifty was able to tell the mechanic with authority, “It could be either the battery or the alternator, can you check it out?” The mechanic looked shocked, because Mr. Thrifty had never sounded anywhere near intelligent in any previous conversations about car repair. The mechanic quickly recovered from his shock, and said, “Sure thing, we’ll check it out and get back to you.”
Later, the mechanic called back and said that in fact the alternator was bad and that it was going to be an expensive car repair. “That’ll cost you a total of $500.00: $300.00 for the alternator and $200.00 for two hours labor.” When Mr. Thrifty informed the mechanic that he could pick up an alternator at AutoZone for $189.00 and that he thought that typical labor was about ½ hour. After some himming and hawing around, the mechanic finally responded by lowering the price down to $350.00, a $150.00 savings for just 1 phone call. It pays to do a little homework!
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Car Repair