meta

I have a question.

My friend has a '95 Maxima his check engine light came on, he took it to Bob Rohrman Nissan dealership in Wheeling, IL. They told him his coolant sensor needed to be replaced and they want to charge him $200 for it. Well I found a Coolant Temperature Sensor on CarParts.com for $21. The dealership told him they are charging him $160 for labor and $30 for parts. They told him it will take them 2 hours to replace the part. Since they don't have the part they charged him $75 for the diagnostic.

1. How long would it take to replace Coolant Temperature Sensor?
2. Are they allowed to charge him for the diagnostic if he said he wants to fix it, but it's not his fault they don't have the part?

Thanks.

sinewave

Meta, you should have checked here before he brought it to the dealer. The posts at the top of the page tell you how to get the ECU codes and what they mean. Since he has already received the service, I don't see how he can now dispute the charge.

From the diagram in the FSM, it looks like it's a 10-minute job. Send me an e-mail to tkvezina@winkinc.com and I will send you the pages you need in JPG format.

meta

He didn't fix his car yet, he just ordered the part, and they charged him $75 for the diagnostic. They also told him that if he comes back to fix it, they will refund that $75. But I am still don't know how long does it take to replace the part.

TTT

sinewave

My point is that the diagnostic WAS the service. As I indicated, 10 minutes.

Nealoc187

iTrader: (23)

I had my engine coolant temp sensor replaced a while back. I was getting other work done at the time too (tranny rebuild). I think the sensor and labor for it came to like $60 or $70.

meta

Thanks.

Does somebody know how long it would take to replace the part?

iansw

iTrader: (7)

Like he said above:

10 minutes!

meta

Thanks. How can I prove to the dealership that it takes 10 minutes instead of 2 hours?

sinewave

Don't even bother to try. The dealer goes by a standard labor book and already knows that the numbers are greatly inflated. You will NEVER get them to reduce the number in the book. The only way to beat them is to find an independant mechanic or do it yourself.

I interviewed a dealership mechanic a few years ago that wanted to break into the drafting field. He was very proud of the fact that he regularly booked 22-25 hours a day!

meta

Thanks for your help.

I know that I will never ever ever buy a car from a Bob Rohrman dealership, even though I was planning on getting a 2002 Maxima.

sinewave

The trouble is, all dealerships (and most repair shops) go by the same book. Dealers have to do what they can to cover their high overhead. Parts and repairs are where they can make a lot of money.

That's why I do most of my own repairs. I use independant mechanics for more difficult jobs but I still use the dealership's factory-trained mechanics on critical, hard to diagnose problems. But it doesn't make sense to pay for a portion of a $100,000 diagnostic machine just to replace something simple.