Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire $54.95 to change brake light bulb!

Had the oil changed on my Frontier the other day. The stealership texts me saying that my driver side brake light is out and that they could replace it for $54.95...........had to pass on that deal. Stopped by O'Reillys bought 2 for $8. Dropped the tail gate, took out 2 bolts, removed the tail light assembly, replaced bulb. Took all of 5 minutes. Makes me wonder how many would have them do it?

Add on sales, it's a thing.

Women. And millenials.

Shop rate is probably 125 dollars or a bit more.


You think they should do it for free?

Stealerships have been doing that for as long as I can remember. That said, they do have their purpose. I call the parts dept anytime I need a part number to cross reference and buy somewhere else.

Sheesh.

Yep, they hand the keys to the Walmart service department and go shopping. Have no idea what goes in their vehicle, what kind of filter or even if the oil and filter were changed. With my state truck I caught different dealers and oil change places doing things like just getting the oil over the add mark, missing grease fittings, just outright lying. No telling what viscosity or brand of oil comes out of those bulk tanks. Only the cheapest no name filters or a name you've never heard of.

buys boots from Cabela's , wears them for a hunt then returns them.....bob

If you didnt know about, a least thank em for not letting you get a ticket or a trip to the judge to prove repair.
Gawd imagine a tail light being a gateway for Porky’s brother the sheriff to bust out the rest of your lights. 💀

But…I bet someone like partsman would take a bite on something like that. And people who over use the ignore feature. 😱

This - along with 1/4 hour minimum charge - yeah, 54 bucks makes sense. Not for me but how they got to the number.

JIm: That's rather steep for oil changing, greasing, light bulb replacement. Our JiffyLube was using work release prisoners and they actually were the best at getting things right. The minimum wage per hour oil changers were screw ups.

Be thankful you’re able to do it yourself. Many can’t so have to pay.

Another question is who goes to a dealer for an oil change? I don’t do it myself anymore, but I sure as Hell don’t let a dealership anywhere near my vehicle except at gunpoint.

They got the number from the flat rate book.

Fortunately, due to some will power and acquired skills, we have never been subject to dealer shop charges or even most mechanic services. But, that world is real - the businesses exist to make the profit, and to maximize that when they can.

If you don't need or care for caviar - don't buy it. If you can't shine your shoes or don't wish to do so, wear them scruffy or pay someone to shine them. But, why knock the guy who has formed the business to do what others will not or cannot?

I think capitalism is in there somewhere.

The Ford 460 gas engine in the F-350 I just bought got a Walmart oil change before I picked it up in Cincinnati- - - - -15.6 quarts of the wrong oil! That's what a Powerstroke Diesel gets for the same year and chassis. Then they checked and adjusted the tire pressure- - - - -34 PSI in tires designed for 60.

2 yrs ago Jeep wanted $600 to change a headlight bulb.

Appreciate the heads up on the bulb being out but damn, $50 for a 5 minute repair is more like $600/hr..........

......as far as being sympathetic and making excuses for a car dealership - well, that's just not going to happen.

Then don't biotch about $50 aspirin in a hospital?

Our Toyota Highlanders have adaptive headlights that swivel to look around corners at night. VERY nice feature, but it means that only the dealer can replace headlight bulbs (fortunately they're LED) and I'm told it runs upwards of $500. For one.

Have you stopped to take a look at what the labor rate is? Most shops around here are north of $150 these days. The shop I run is $180. Chit isnt cheap anymore