Mechanic shop overcharging

[POJ 1]

just tell 10 of your friends to avoid him

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[Mike Pfeifer]

I also suggest that you play it safe and go easy on the car until you have a custom tune done. You can also double check the work he did against the instruction manual and/or various pics and videos on the internet to at least see if you can find peace of mind in the quality of the install.

We all get hit like this on occasion, although it seems like it’s happening, more and more these days. Heck, it just happened to my wife and I last week, when we went to a brand name dealership to have two new 21” P Zero tires on her car and get an alignment. we even had an appointment and sat in the waiting room for 3.5 hours to have the work done. At the end of the waiting period, the Service Writer tells us the car was ready and we’re good to go. We pay the bill and as soon as we started the car to prepare to leave the dealership, we checked the tire pressures on the dash and they were all over the place, when they should have been at 32 psi all the way around. Too much focus on making money (and a lot of it) instead of ensuring the work has been done properly. See pic of actual tire pressures here.

I’m surprised it would be 32 all the way around, most European performance cars and SUVs have much higher pressures in the rear. The couple of psi different left to right could be from different temps, that’s easy to do on a simple road test.

 

[shogun32]

was quoted $2240 for a whipple install on my 2021 mustang gt w

I realize Fresno isn't the arse hole of Cali but that seems reasonable to me. What is that 15 hours?

Maybe the 450 is also compensating for fuel system mods that he didn't realize also need done?

 

[Grimreaper]

I was quoted $2240 for a whipple install on my 2021 mustang gt which was a couple hundred more then shops a little further from me but decided on this shop since it is only 50 mins from me. Shop owner told me that the est is on the high side just incase any hiccups occur. I drop off the car a couple days later he says that he’s gonna have to charge more because the kit has a fuel pump and that they didn’t notice til mid install. Now he’s wanting an additional $450. Is there anything I can do here.

Wouldn't this qualify as a "hiccup"? Sounds like they over shot on pricing, what consumed that extra they charged for just in case?

The car will know no difference in the fuel pump if driven normally (Camry likes,). Fuel tank really needs to be sub 1/4 tank to avoid making a mess on basket removal. Very easy install though. Whipple instructions or YouTube.

 

[NGOT8R]

I’m surprised it would be 32 all the way around, most European performance cars and SUVs have much higher pressures in the rear. The couple of psi different left to right could be from different temps, that’s easy to do on a simple road test.

Yep, it says 32 psi front/rear right on the door sticker. Maserati has also gotten slick in that the dealer now has to reset the service light/oil light on the dash. It can‘t be reset by toggling through the steering wheel buttons like the Mustang can.

I refused to let us fall victim to that crap, so I bought an OBDStar X200 Pro2 device to take care of resets on my end whenever I perform maintenance on the car at home.

I knew I had to find a way to take the dealer out of the loop whenever possible, after they quoted us $564 for a spark plug change at 16K miles. When I asked why the price was so ridiculously high, the service writer told me it was because their plugs have Maserati on them (true story). I told them no thanks and bought the same NGK iridium spark plugs at AutoZone for $138 and changed them myself.

 

[5.0_Lojos]

I wouldn’t say you’re screwed. You’d be screwed if you blew it up.

I mean you have the funds to buy the kit right? A good install is worth every penny. Imagine if you low balled someone and they did a crap job and it blew up.

Never skimp on your mechanic, lawyer or tax person. I’d even put barber in there too lol

Nah bro Hair grows back (Barber emphasis ).... My dilemma in all this is wouldn't the Shop know up front what the kit entails? Or are they also new at this which increases the doubt and ultimately the integrity of this place

 

[ORRadtech]

I knew I had to find a way to take the dealer out of the loop whenever possible, after they quoted us $564 for a spark plug change at 16K miles. When I asked why the price was so ridiculously high, the service writer told me it was because their plugs have Maserati on them (true story). I told them no thanks and bought the same NGK iridium spark plugs at AutoZone for $138 and changed them myself.

Now I'm curious. Why change at 16k? Is that a Maserati thing? Also, what would you have considered a fair price to change them? And, finally, how long did it take you?
Not trying to be argumentative, I avoid dealers whenever possible too.

 

[2morrow]

Nah bro Hair grows back (Barber emphasis ).... My dilemma in all this is wouldn't the Shop know up front what the kit entails? Or are they also new at this which increases the doubt and ultimately the integrity of this place

Yes a well experienced shop would know this install inside and out. However not many shops specialize in this type of install.

The ones that do, DO NOT ARGUE with their price structure.

I’ve seen performance shops royally F this up too.

 

[NGOT8R]

Now I'm curious. Why change at 16k? Is that a Maserati thing? Also, what would you have considered a fair price to change them? And, finally, how long did it take you?
Not trying to be argumentative, I avoid dealers whenever possible too.

I don’t know why they suggested changing them when we took the car in for the 16K service. All I can suspect is, it was an attempt to hustle us, that didn’t work.

The plugs that I took out were still in great shape. I would not have considered paying them any amount to do a plug install. It’s so hard to trust shops to do anything right for me, after having been burned enough times. I know there are good shops and honest people out there, but for every one good one, it seems there are five shady ones.
It took me about 30 minutes to change the plugs.

 

[2morrow]

@Tv559

I realize Fresno isn't the arse hole of Cali but that seems reasonable to me. What is that 15 hours?

OP, you F’ed up.

Whipple is in Fresno. You shoulda had them install it.

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

@Tv559



OP, you F’ed up.

Whipple is in Fresno. You shoulda had them install it.

lol they don’t do installs I asked them.

also I was quoted by a well known performance shop that has done ton of these for a little under 2k on my Mach 1. So the estimate he got by this rookie shop is a little higher.

 

[2morrow]

lol they don’t do installs I asked them.

also I was quoted by a well known performance shop that has done ton of these for a little under 2k on my Mach 1. So the estimate he got by this rookie shop is a little higher.

That must be a new thing because I thought whipple will supported the whole community

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

That must be a new thing because I thought whipple will supported the whole community

here is their email response on this topic back in 2023.

Might be able it’s worth the ask but seems like usually they don’t.

“Our facility is mainly used for just R&D and all bays are full at the moment. Where are you located? I can possible refer you to one of our dealers/installers.”

 

[2morrow]

here is their email response on this topic back in 2023.

Might be able it’s worth the ask but seems like usually they don’t.

“Our facility is mainly used for just R&D and all bays are full at the moment. Where are you located? I can possible refer you to one of our dealers/installers.”

Gotcha.

By Whipple Will, I meant their employee (may have left), not Whipple will support…

I’m watching the F1 race and not paying attention to syntax lol

 

[illtal]

I was quoted $2240 for a whipple install on my 2021 mustang gt which was a couple hundred more then shops a little further from me but decided on this shop since it is only 50 mins from me. Shop owner told me that the est is on the high side just incase any hiccups occur. I drop off the car a couple days later he says that he’s gonna have to charge more because the kit has a fuel pump and that they didn’t notice til mid install. Now he’s wanting an additional $450. Is there anything I can do here.

you can install a fuel pump yourself.

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