Update on my repairs!

Brought my car (03 sonata GL V6) to the dealer today to take a look at the
starting problem. Just got a phone call from them telling me Exactly what
Hyundaitech said it was; the fuel pressure regulator. (thanks Hyundaitech!!)
They said it was leaking. Does that contribute to the terrible MPG I been
getting? They suggested to replace the timing belt which I was going to have
them do anyways. I was quoted a month ago that it would cost me 500.00 but
now (same place) said it is 600.00! I was told that I was giving a wrong
price. (that sucks) Also, I was told that I NEED the 60K maintenance
package. Price Quote 875.00!! I simply can't afford that. I told them that
and the service man stated if I don't get it before the 60k (my car is at
59200) that my 100k warranty is completely voided. Therefore, when
Hyundaitech told me not to replace the water pump because its warranted till
100k I will not be covered. What option do I have hear. Again I am in a
financial crisis. I am afraid to let them fix the driver's side fog light
(been out 6 months after I bought the car new) because I was told it is not
covered and they told me that the price is uncertain due to the fact they
don't know if it's just a bulb replacement or a complete wiring problem.
Never mentioned the peeling chrome on the passenger door handle because when
I called about that last year, they told me that the whole door handle would
have to be broken in order for it to be covered. AHHH! the Joy of
maintaining a car. Could not happen at a better time in my life. Happy
Holidays Group!!!
Jeff

 

Get out your owner's manual and make a list of the items needed at 60k. If
there's anything you can do yourself, do it. Anything you could not (or
did not) do, have the dealer or other shop do. If you have another shop
do the work, be sure they use the proper fluids. If you have another shop
do the timing belt, be sure they use a Hyundai belt.

To say that failure to do the 60k voids your warranty is semantically and
legally incorrect. Your warranty covers defects. If a part fails because
you didn't do the required maintenance, that's not a defect. That doesn't
mean that if you failed to change your spark plugs at the proper interval
that the water pump isn't covered. It does mean that if you didn't change
your coolant at the proper interval and your water pump fails because of
that, Hyundai can legitimately not pay for those repairs. In most cases,
even if you didn't change the coolant, they'd cover it anyway. They'd be
most likely to not cover if the dealer found something actually wrong with
the coolant. But even then, it's usually a hard to make case, so Hyundai
often winds up making the repairs anyway. I recently replaced a
transmission under warranty which I believed had the incorrect fluid in
it. The position of the rep was that it wasn't worth the effort of trying
to make a case that he wasn't sure he would win.

The most likely problem with the fog lamp is the bulb, but that's no
longer covered by your warranty.

The paint warranty is for 3 years/36k miles, so that may be why the door
handle isn't covered.

 

I just got the 60k done at a hyundai dealership AND front break pads AND a
timming belt and paid just under $600. shop around at different dealers,
one wanted to charge me 875 for just the 60, but they did all this extra
stuff that was not needed.

 

I dropped the car off today at 10:30 they took it in at 11:00 ( I saw them
drive it in the bay as I got a ride home) I got a phone call for the service
dept at 1:00pm telling me my car is all done. It took them 2 hours to
replace the fuel regulator and the timing? I thought it would be longer. As
I was going to pick up the car, I was wondering well maybe the bill would be
lower. Yah right! I got there and the total was 730.00! I could not
understand the itemization of the bill. It says 85/per hour labor and 94.00
for timing belt and enviromental disposal 10.00and shop misc 10.00. Well
94.00+20=114. 2 hours at a rate of 85.00 is 170. So, 170+114= 284+(17.04
Tax)= 304.04. what am I missing here? I ask the lady who rang me up she
could not help me. I went back to the service area to find a mechcanic but
noone was around. Where is the extra 428.96 factored in the bill? it seems
as though 5 hours of laor have been added. Is this normal? Is it a flat rate
reguardless if theit paid at 85/hour? Are they suppose to add the time it
took to replace the fuel regulator under warrenty?
----- Original Message -----
From: "illusion123a" <>
Newsgroups: alt.autos.hyundai
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: Update on my repairs!

 

There is a job rate book that says how many hour/min a repair should take.
They bill off that. Also the $85 hour is per tech....So if they had 2 on the
car it's $170 hr..etc...

 

Labor hours are not based on actual time. Each job has a labor time
associated with it. This prevents you from paying more for a repair by a
slow technician and less for a repair by a faster (and presumably more
experienced) technician. From the business perspective, the technicians
usually are paid based on the billed hours, thus giving them an incentive
to work quickly and get more work done, increasing profits. If the
technicians were paid hourly, they'd get the same amount of money for a
work day no matter how much actual work they did.

If you look at your invoice, it will probably state the number of hours
or
the specific labor charge for the timing belt. If you just have the
labor
charge, you can probably figure out the labor hours charged by dividing
by
the $85.

 

Also, I'm confused about why you were quoted $600 and the bill is $730.
You should probably examine your invoice carefully and pick out exactly
which charges are for which items.

 

It sounds like your dealer is using the standard FUD sales technique on
you. FUD = Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

Find a good independent who specializes in asian cars and get only those
things done which the manual requires. Almost ever car dealer inflates
the to-do list for routine service intervals in order to put more money
in their pockets and take it from yours.

Few people realize that new car sales is no where most car dealers make
their profits. The profit is all made in the service and used car
departments. New car sales only real role is to prime the pump for the
other activities.

Know this and protect yourself, and never trust the b*******. Sad, but
good advice!

John

 

Sounds typical. The now-common flat rate systems almost always screws
the customer. Very few experienced techs use anything close to the
amount of time the book says a job should take.

Two hours is plenty of time for an experienced and properly equipped
tech to change a timing belt. Chaning the fuel pressure regulator
should be 15 minutes or less.

John