Automotive Question

[23weeks23]

Long story short, I have a '99 Mitz Galant and today it totally shut down while I was driving. It wouldn't restart so I towed it to Firestone and they said I need a new distributor. With parts, labor, diagnostic tests, and taxes the total came to about $900.00. Does this seem wrong to anybody?

[Houlie24x]

Yeah, very wrong. How much is the part?

[Houlie24x]

Actually, they probably jacked up the price on the part anyways. Which Firestone is this? I'd take the car out of there and take it somewhere else. Tell them something like you don't have the money right now and you will bring it back in a month or so. That way they don't jack you up on diagnostic tests or whatever else they did.

[mothershipconnection]

A quick google check returned results that this part ran somewhere between a little over $200 to $300.

[23weeks23]

They said the part is $600, and diagnostic tests are about $90. I know, I googled it and found prices around $200. This is BS.

[mothershipconnection]

Most places at least will allow you to obtain your own part. Call around to Pep Boys, Auto Zone, and O'reilly.

[Houlie24x]

I wouldn't even let them install the part. Their labor is way too much as well. It is easy enough that it could be installed in 10 min.

[23weeks23]

I called Autozone, and they have a distributor for $283. Then I called Firestone to see if I could bring in the part and they said I couldn't because of warranty issues. I said it comes with a lifetime warranty and they basically had no response other to say they don't install outside parts, it's against their policy. Then I asked why it's so much more expensive than the ones I've been able to find and they said because it's coming straight from the dealer/manufacturer. Is there a difference?

 

I don't think they're trying to rip me off, but it sure feels like it. http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/mad.gif

[cweber39]

There not ripping you off it's just business, they just may cost more than other places. I know for a fact anyways that Firestone marks there stuff up more than other places. Go get an estimate somewhere else go back and tell them. You already towed it there, why pay for it to get towed somewhere else. Your going to end up paying a lot in towing expenses.

 

No there is not a difference really from straight from the manufacture, except that parts straight from the manufacture cost a lot more, so Firestone will need to make their money somehow.

[jwill535]

Labor for that should about 2 hours for that part. I would call around to some local smaller mechanic shops and see what they would charge to do it with you buying the part or if they can get the part cheaper and install it. Other wise buy the part, find one of your friends who has some mechanical skills to put it in, it should take that long and it is pretty easy.

[mothershipconnection]

Like others said, call around. Even with towing, if you could pay $283 plus 2 hours of labor at $50/hr, you're saving $517 - way less than you'd pay to tow it elsewhere. If you have the other mechanic tow it, they'll usually cut you a deal for having the work done there.

 

The difference between a manufacturer part and a quality Autozone part is typically negligible.

[Teatoe993]

As a Store Manager of an auto repair shop, Firestone's estimate looks damn generous. I don't know if your Galant has a 4 or a 6 cylinder motor in it. But most of them have the 6. Assuming that, it looks like they are probably only marking up the part by $50 from their cost. This is extremely generous because list price is $880. Labor-wise they should only be charging you around $90. And I am sure it took a while (possibly a couple hours) to diagnose the problem, and am assuming that they are taking a loss on the labor there.

Do not get a distributor from Clownzone. Excuse me... Autozone. Trust me. There is a reason why the parts are cheap. I don't care what their warranty says. With something as important as an ignition distributor, I wouldn't settle for anything less than Orignal Equipment Manufacturer. Firestone is not out of line with refusing to install an Autozone distributor. They are just trying to cover their rears. If my shop installed a customer supplied distributor from Autozone or Napa, etc.,, I would make sure I had the customer sign a waiver stating that there is no warranty whatsoever.

Car repair isn't cheap. Mechanics need to earn a living too.

[Houlie24x]

It's a 99 Galant so it's not worth sticking $900 into something as simple as a distributor.

 

I highly doubt they stuck a couple hours into diagnosing it. The longest route they could have taken would be to check to see if its getting gas, then check spark. When they found out there was no spark the most logical place to check would be the coil or distributor. That should take under 30 min.

 

My advice would be to call around to some local shops and see what they can do for you. See if you can save yourself some money and go from there. Otherwise have a friend with some automotive experience do it. He/she should have no problem doing it.