I recently had to replace the starter at a dealership (with OEM) and was billed $489, $309 for the starter (since I previously had an aftermarket starter, I did not get the core refund which was apparently "$60") and $180 for labor. I was also charged $978 for a clutch job awhile back. The people there are really friendly, but I'm starting to think that they're a little shady.
The mechanic also screwed up the alarm, a Clifford Intelliguard 9000, when he did the clutch job, and now the lights start blinking whenever I'm driving anywhere (well at first it shut off the alternator, then after 400 feet of pushing the car and a $70 tow job which they admittedly picked up, he "fixed" it to its current state).

What's the consensus, should I seek service work elsewhere?

Thanks,
Nathan

P.S. I have only had the car for a few months, I did not put the alarm or aftermarket starter on it.

um...

1. never go to a god damn stealership

2. find a mechanic that knows what he is doing...you dont want to be towing your car and pushing it all the time due to faulty wiring or whatever...

3. next time come to the org for parts (under the 4th gen classified), find a junkyard near you, go to autozone near you (they have aftermarket starters for 100 bucks..i knwo cause i had to replace one like 6 months ago)

4. try and get a refund for anything that you can...978$ for a clutch job is insane...$309 for a starter is insane and 180 labor i would just kill them all other at the damn stealership...

5. honestly FIND a different place to do install on your parts, or do it yourself if you can. There is a how to's section on the forum to virtually do anything that you need/want to your car..if you cant..just post and ask us..you will get a response for sure.

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU OUT.

P.S. SHould a car MECHANIC be fixing ELECTRICAL components on your car?

Never go to dealership unless you have a warranty!! There prices are insane, you could do the clutch for a bit more than half of what you have paid there and etc.

.........d.e.a.l.e.r.........
You answered your own question... The dealership is a joke

thats what u get for going to the dealer.... you could have done it urself in about 30 minutes for less than half of what u payed....

Sheisty!
Haven't heard that one in a while.
(Sheist = **** in German)

you learned the hard way, should have just checked in from time to time here.

I'm going to school and at this point looking around for a reputable shop (and dealing with one if something goes wrong) would be a huge hassle.

But I didn't think it was quite so necessary.

Next time, however, I will do some shopping before giving anyone the go-ahead.

I suppose I should call an alarm/ICE shop to check out the alarm?

Oh, and it's scheisse, btw, not sheist. Sheisty is... well I'm not sure where it comes from, but it's not directly related to a German word. =)

I also do not have much in the way of tools (or ROOM for tools), so installing it myself will be much easier said than done. I don't even have a jackstand...

Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated.

buy a jackstand :-D

all dealerships are sheisters

true, does anyone know a good mechanic in Indianapolis area?