ayoung101

so i need a new muffler, cat back, pipe+muffler+pipe. i lack the time, energy, and motivation to do it myself, so i call my parts guy at home (i'm at college) at the local dealership and they quote me at $150-$190 (depending on what brackets i need). so, out the door price, at the MOST expensive (if i need ALL new brackets), including labor and tax and parts, i'd have to pay $190. i call the dealership near my college, and they say the same thing. so i head on down to this new dealership that i've never been to and have them pop it up on the lift, check out what exactly i need, and then let me know the total price, and then i was PLANNING on having them do it right then and there. TWO HOURS LATER i was pissed it was taking so long for them to come to talk with me so i get up and head to the shop (they absolutely REFUSED to let me into the shop to watch my truck)(i specifically asked to be allowed to go back with my truck). as i head into the shop, the guy is walking towards the waiting room with my ticket in hand. he sits me down, and says "parts+labor+tax will be about $315". i start laughing and ask if he's joking. he says no. i ask if that includes a new cat converter as well. he says no. i start raising my voice in front of other customers. he tries to weasel his way out of the situation. i start yelling "YOUR guy told me on the PHONE that it COULDN'T be more than $190 and now you're telling me $315? YOU'RE TRYING TO SCREW ME!" then, he has the nerve to say "well, if you ask me sir, that's pretty cheap!" i yell some more (i made a pretty big scene) and finally yelled "WHERE'S MY TRUCK? GIVE ME THE KEYS NOW!" they pointed and i stormed out.

lesson to be learned: AVOID THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IN GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN.

alltheway

Ahh another awful story of dealerships....at least it wasn't a used car dealership!

CLin9383

so did you pay the 315 or 190? or didnt pay at all??

lee

my buddy was told an oil change on his mercury cougar would be 23 bucks at the dealer.. when he brought it in, he reminded them of that $23 price. when they were done, he got a bill for $45.

when he asked why it was double the price, they gave him some BS about using a 'blaster' to clean the area up. the hell is a blaster?? he asked. no real answer. he raised his voice, spoke to the shop manager, head parts guy and finally the owner came over to talk to him.

he got it for free and the owner apologized and came just short of admitting he'd never heard of a blaster.

ayoung101

i was pissed it was gonna cost me up to $190! there's no friggin WAY i was gonna pay the $315! i walked on out of there after making a scene. i think it'd be funny if they lost some other customers because of it. there were a couple of older ladies that were right there when it happened.

i know i can do it myself for like $50 total, but i just don't have the time.

lee

sucks man. hopefully you can find a more honest dealer.

try a smaller shop.. my mechanic (guy ive gone to since i was 16 -- im 22 now, my dad's been going to him forever) has a small shop down an alley at the moment... and hes the most honest guy and tries to save you money anytime he can.

MTL_4runner

Blaster = device used by dealerships to suck money out of your wallet
Sounds like he was trying to get $22 for pressure washing a spot in the engine.

The dealerships never cease to amaze me with the stupidity that comes out of their mouth. I mean really, how stupid do they think the public are....the internet has done quite a bit to level the playing field (thank god). Now there are some good guys working at these places (we have a few on this board....too bad they are so far away from me) and when you find a good one, stick to him like glue, but it seems the vast majority are thieves for the most part. I have had many dealers try to cheat me or pull a fast one and they get pissed when you call them on it. I have even had them do malicious things to my 4runner after the fact so now I do all my own maintenance period. Yes, I used to be a mechanic so I did know what I was doing but I would like to be able to just pay someone else to do it so I don't have to. Unfortunately I spend more time undoing their mistakes and dealing with ripoffs than I do just doing the work myself. Sucks but that's life.

914runner

Dealers can never cease to amaze me with their stupidity lol. I have kinda made friends with a guy at the dealer I go to for stuff and he seems to be fairly honest though.

ayoung101

i've got 2 places at home that i KNOW won't do me wrong. (one is actually the toyota dealership by me. they actually give us really good deals on stuff because we give them so much business). i do most stuff myself as well. but $150 for the hassle of old rusty exhaust work is worth it to me.

Fink

I'm so glad that I've gotten to know all the guys at my dealer...they are really honest and great guys to work with, I usually go to them first to try and bring them some business since they're so awesome about giving me a break on the prices. I usually get labor at $60/hr. versus $75...of course there are local places that only charge $50 but the dealer does much better work.

Sorry about your experience man,

Fink

ayoung101

eh, it's not that big of deal. it's fun to yell at strangers in public from time to time. and it's not like they actually screwed me. they just TRIED to. they didn't realize that i had my own automotive knowledge and that it isn't possible to screw me on something simple like that. i mean, jeeze, if i was dishonest and had no morals or conscience, i'd probably try to do the same thing! haha

midiwall

Are you SURE that the $190 quote was meant to include labor? $190 would probably be about the parts cost from Toyota for OEM parts.

And it's a pretty strict insurance requirement to NOT let anyone into a shop area except for employees. If an inspector were to come around and you were out there, they could lose their insurance on the spot.


Why not skip Toyota in doing this and go with a Jardine, Maganaflow, Dynomax, etc system? For the same amount of $$ you could pick up performance and sound.

ayoung101

yep, i made perfectly clear that i was asking if the 190 INCLUDED labor, and both places said yes. didn't know about the insurance thing. it's practically expected back at my home shop for me to go with my truck! as for aftermarket exhaust, i asked about it on YT and never got a clear answer for what i should go with, so i gave up and decided to just get ANY one of them.

mt_goat

That's why we call them stealers. Good work on letting them have it. I usually stand just outside the bay door so they can't say I'm in the shop but I can still keep an eye on them.

98 Joes

I had my muffler + tailpipe replaced at the dealer also. It came to something around $150. They did a really nice job on it. So nice that as I was driving home I thought, HMM, it sure is a lot quieter in here now. That was because the mechanic cleaned out the $4 in quarters I had in the coin holder slots on the console. I'm just waiting to go back for something and I'll have them write it up on the work order that 'tips aren't included in the price of repairs.' I figured it wasn't worth making a scene over 4 bucks.

midiwall

So were you looking for the TRD exhaust or just replacing the stock system? The TRD is (said to be) made by Jardine.


Regarding opinions, you'll get as many as there are folks here. There's no "right" answer - 99% of the free-flow exhausts are good from the technical aspect of increasing flow out the back. The major decision is about the sound. As you saw from your other thread, there are some sound bites here, but those can really vary in quality and (in my opinion) don't give you a good enough listen to what it will really sound like. Exhausts are a lot about the low-end, and a built-in condenser mic on a camera isn't going to be able to capture the rumble that turns most people on.


Personally, I bucked the system and got something that I don't think anyone else has (Allied Meanstreak). But, I did that only after getting the shop to promise that if I didn't like it, he'd cut it off, refund my money and install something I provided for free.

I didn't have to take him up on that.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Getting to know your local dealer on a first name basis, a salesperson (Shawn Simpson), the parts guy (Jason Terry) and the service manager (Paul Hardin) is a must IMO. Takes a little extra time and some brown nosing, but worth the effort IMO in the long run. For a muffler problem you would have probably been better off going to a muffler shop and getting a custom job w/ a lifetime warranty and the sound you want.

My dealer Tuscaloosa Toyota has been nothing but top notch since I have been using them and living in Tuscaloosa.

Good luck!

mike_d

yeah, i never try to get to the shop by going through the door from the customer area. i always go outside and then come in through the bay door. the mechanics don't care, it's just the managers that worry about liability and such. and if i'm ever told to leave i go outside and come back in 5 minutes later. they usually get tired of correcting me after a while. i'm a pita when i have to let someone else touch my truck.

anthraciterunner

Yeah, talk about stealers (not all cases), I lock everything up now. One time I went to the stealer, someone actually had the nerve to go into my glovebox and took out my sunglasses. When I got my car back, they were laying on the seat. He probably got scared to actually take them...or he forgot to. seriously :wtf:

jimrockford

I just got back from the dealer. I bought a keyless entry remote transmitter "at cost" since I just bought a 1998 4Runner from them. It cost me $68. I could have got it brand new off the Internet for $62.

They offered to program it for me for $40. I asked the parts guy if he knew what was involved in programming a remote. He didn't. I explained that you turn on the key, press the reset button on the alarm unit, and then press a key on the remote. I asked him if he thought that was worth $40. He said, "probably not". I told him I agreed.