Man Fixes 2010 Camry Hybrid Battery Pack Himself for $10; Toyota Wanted $4,456!
#16
Lexus Fanatic
The $10 is a bit misleading as it seems like it did take him a good amount of time as well, so there are labor costs there. But I guess there's less shock value in that article title.
#18
Lexus Fanatic
#19
#20
Yeah the only way to figure out his cost is for him to tell us how many hours he spent working on that thing and multiply that by how much he makes an hour, I suspect he would not break even had he just buy a new battery from toyota.
#22
Super Moderator
If that guess is correct, and to use your theory of all time having equivalent value, this guy just paid himself $1,114/hr to do the repair, vs. having the dealer do it.
#24
#26
#27
Lexus Fanatic
I agree it is BS that Toyota didn't even try, but most dealers in my experience are this way. If you have an EGR code they won't troubleshoot anything you will get an estimate to replace all EGR components. If one brake line is rusted out they will say you need them all from the engine bay to the back of the car (personal experience).
Dealers charge incredible amounts of $$$$ for simple repairs I don't understand why people even go to them.
Dealers charge incredible amounts of $$$$ for simple repairs I don't understand why people even go to them.
#28
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
Because it's more profitable for them to replace parts than to spend time taking things apart. If someone comes in with a fried ECU, the dealer isn't going to take it apart, find the blown resistors/caps, run to RadioShack for $5 in parts, replace it for you, and charge $30. They're going to replace the whole darn thing regardless of how simple the fix really is. Plus, they're not trained to do something like that so I wouldn't want them hacking up my parts.
#29
Because it's more profitable for them to replace parts than to spend time taking things apart. If someone comes in with a fried ECU, the dealer isn't going to take it apart, find the blown resistors/caps, run to RadioShack for $5 in parts, replace it for you, and charge $30. They're going to replace the whole darn thing regardless of how simple the fix really is. Plus, they're not trained to do something like that so I wouldn't want them hacking up my parts.
#30
Rookie
iTrader: (15)
That is true, if dealerships were electrical repair shops, but they're not. And suppose they do see corrosion on the terminals, then what? They can't replace them because Toyota does not sell individual contacts (can't even find a P/N on them). Sure they can clean them, but what for? That's not their business. The owner of the Camry could have taken his car to a dedicated battery shop for a 2nd opinion.