Online auto repair storiesOnline auto repair as related to fixing your own car can be found on my do it yourself auto repair tips page. For professional information on diy car repair and a 3 minute how to video visit my page about
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This is an example of how things can go wrong when you take your vehicle in for service. There are lessons to be learned from this next auto repair case study. Every one can save money on auto repairs. I have been providing technical support for about 4 years. My first success story came just few weeks into the project. A Doctor had taken her infinity Qx in for a specific problem being an intermittent lack of power and rough running engine. She contacted me through my online auto repair web site. The dealership had charged two hours of check out time and said they had isolated the problem. The service adviser called the doctor and stated the cars problem was in the ignition system and that the distributor needed replacement along with the spark plugs and ignition wires. The repairs totaled out to be around $800.00. The doctor approved the auto repairs and the vehicle was completed the same day. When the customer was headed home the vehicle started acting up the same exact way as before the completed repairs. The vehicle owner returned to the dealer and left the vehicle a second time. This time the dealer had the vehicle for 3 days before calling the customer with a new estimate. The report from the dealer was that the fuel system was now the cause of the vehicles problems.
What I didn’t like about this story was first they said it was the ignition system and replaced just about all the components in that system. And now they change the story and say the fuel system is the cause and want to replace almost all the parts in the fuel delivery system.
In fact if an auto repair shop gives you a list of parts they want to replace to solve a single problem this should raise a red flag. Also note that when the manufacturer is paying for the repairs under warranty the standard rule is one part per complaint. In this case the dealer was pulling out their car parts shot gun and replacing a total of six different components. The vehicle owner and me went through the standard online auto repair procedure emailing back and forth several times and then she asked me to call the dealer. Would the dealer work with me?
I spoke with the service adviser and explained who I was and about my online auto repair web site. I explained to the service adviser how the customer’s money was completely wasted on the first $800.00 repair and the parts replaced at that time were not properly diagnosed. Then we started discussing the new estimate and I questioned why it needed 3 separate fuel system components. How did they know it needed a fuel pressure regulator? The adviser stated the fuel pressure regulator was needed to address a low fuel pressure condition. Then I asked why is the fuel pump in need of replacement. The adviser stated the same reason that the fuel pressure was low. A quick lesson for you is that the fuel pump is mounted in the fuel tank and provides fuel pressure to the fuel rail, the fuel pressure regulator and then the fuel injectors so if the pump is not providing pressure, the other components cannot be tested. I explained this to the service writer.
He said he couldn’t do that. So I spoke the service manager and explained to him about my online auto repair web site. He was fascinated by my web site Idea and agreed that the dealership did not handle the diagnosis properly but he was not in the business of giving money back. I then spoke to the service director and went through all the details of the poorly diagnosed Infinity.
After reviewing the case they decided to refund the labor and diagnosis from the first repair and install the fuel pump at no additional labor charge. The owner was just paying for parts. We approved the fuel pump and fuel filter replacement but not the fuel pressure regulator. The vehicle was fixed and a fuel pressure reading confirmed good fuel pressure at the injectors and no additional repairs needed. The customer was charged for parts only. The parts total from the two repairs was $900.00. The labor charge for the two auto repairs would have totaled $1400.00 to the vehicle owner but was not charged as per our negotiations. The owner was very happy about the problem being repaired and saving the $1400.00. I was glad I could help but I wasn’t happy because the vehicle only needed a fuel filter and fuel pump replaced to fix the problem. The suv got a distributor, ignition wires, and platinum spark plugs that it didn’t need. I did not get involved soon enough to prevent this from happening. This first success was a sure sign that I wasn’t wasting my time with the online auto repair program. People can save money on auto repairs. Give this car problems page a
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The dealer provided an estimate for a fuel pump, fuel filter and fuel pressure regulator totaling $1500.00. This is actually when the customer contacted me at my online auto repair web site. I then reviewed the case. 
