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Joined: Jul 2004
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OP
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Hi guys! It's been a while since I've posted here. I just spent 650 bucks  at a Shell station for a tune-up and an oil change. Since when did standard maintenance cost this much? I almost died when the guy called me up with the cost. Well, ever since I had the work done, the check engine light has been on. The car seems to run okay. I've had just about everything you can possibly imagine done to this car and I barely drive it. It only has 37,000 miles on it (98 Contour SE). At 17,000 miles, it had a cracked head gasket. The brakes have been replaced. New spark plugs with the tune-up from a few weeks ago. And the list goes on. My question is this, and it's a common one. I KNOW that I need to get the codes read, but is there another place besides Autozone that will do it for free? There doesn't seem to be one close to me here in Maryland. The guy at the Shell station said he'd charge 160 bucks  to hook it up to their machine. Talk about excessive. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Paula
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 669
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
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I hope the guy at shell kissed you before they screwed you like that. I would have refused to pay that crazyness. However, if you didn't ask for an upfront estimate, you got a double lube job..
1999 Mystique Sport 2nd owner bought it in Sept 03
120000km 4 door, leather, loaded pics on cardomain, coatsy
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,714
Scourge of the Master Debaters
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Scourge of the Master Debaters
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,714 |
Originally posted by paulab12:
Since when did standard maintenance cost this much?
It doesn't. Take your car somewhere else and never go back to this place again. Even my local stealership charges only $40 to read a code. If you can't find any Autozone in the area try some other car parts stores, like Advance, Checker (Kragen), etc. Call before you stop in and ask if they can scan codes. The Advance my girlfriend's brother works at has recently started a tool loan program, so I would think they would have a code scanner available.
Last edited by hetfield; 05/12/05 02:56 PM.
Beer is my Gatorade.
Hooray Beer.
'98 "Sport" Pacific Green
'98 E0 SVT Silver Frost
Pictures
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 21,197
I have no life
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I have no life
Joined: May 2000
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I'm guessing Paula is a woman and got taken advantage of! Why did you feel the need to give your car a tune up at 37k!!!  Plugs and wires are about $80 if you get OEM and a set of Autolites. I wouldn't even change them until 70k if they aren't giving you any issues. Sounds like you were almost hunting to get hosed.
-'96 SE MTX 3L
-'98 SVT 1,173 of 6,535
-'05 Mazda 6s, loaded, g/f's ride
-Need a 96-00 manual on CD? PM or email me
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 139
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
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Where in MD are ya? I'm sure if you check over in the Capital Area CEG section someone there could probably direct you to an AutoZone or Advance Auto near you. Why stealerships charge anything to check codes is beyond me as with a code reader it takes all of 30 seconds to do the job if that. But yeah I have to agree that $650 sounds awfully pricey for a basic tune-up, but then again I usually do most of my own work too so I don't know what a lot of places charge these days.
Ben
*now* '00 CSVT T-red/tan #1684/2150
*sold* '92 Galant VR-4 #580/1000
*sold* '93 FD3S TT
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,788
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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That was expensive! 
Try posting in the Capital CEG section, one of those guys may have the scanner and will read the codes for you.
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 937
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
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For 160$, buy your own scanner.
Can you list what all they did for that cost?
Even though you have low miles you have age.
Goto just about any parts store and loan a tool or buy one.
Odds are if you can't feel a change then it's something that the car has adjusted to already. So it could be the VCT or a bad O2 sensor or maybe the timing was not done right with the cams. or maybe the oil stick is not in tight, or maybe it's just a gas lid open circuit and so on a so forth blah blah...
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Joined: Jun 2000
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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$650 for a tune-up? Ouch.
Doug
2006 Mercury Milan V6 Premier Dark Blue Pearl
Former owner of a 2000 SVT Contour
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
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Posts: 8 |
Hi guys!
Thanks for all of your posts. Yes, I am a female--ha--so I am a walking target for any 'stealership' or gas station. They must think I'm really stupid. I forgot to include that I had the fuel injectors cleaned too. But still, does that really constitute such a high cost? I did contact customer service at Shell and the actual manager of the station really got upset. He's quite rude. Shell customer service called a FORD dealership to see what they would have charged for the same work and it would have been $40 dollars cheaper (whooptie-do..). Honestly, I don't know who I can trust now and I'm frightened to drive the car because of the check engine light. I do understand that the car has age, but it is driven on a daily basis. It gets an oil change and routine tune-ups, so the CEL, to me, is baffling. Also, the car passed emissions a few months ago. I'm beginning to think that if you are a single woman it is nearly impossible to be treated fairly at the dealership or gas station. I have a scan of the actual SHELL bill if there's some way to post it, please advise. Thanks again for all of your help.
Kind regards,
Paula
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 10,015
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Nov 2000
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Frist go to AutoZone and have them READ THE CODE and GET THE ACTUAL CODE NUMBER not their hairbrained assessment from the number. Get the code number/s, they'll be Pxxxx numbers, then post them here to find out what the ECU is upset about. My thought is that the assclown at the garage unplugged something and forgot to reconnect it.  Until you tellus the codes we're totally clueless as to the cause for your CEL.
2000 SVT Turbo 295hp/269ftlb@12psi
#1 for Bendix Brakes Kits!
Knuckles rebuilt w/new bearings $55
AUSSIE ENDLINKS $70
Gutted pre-cats $80/set
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine!
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