Vehicle diagnostic checks

[runkpanole]

I took my newly paid off car in to the dealership (yes, I know this the LR and people pay straight cash). It was clearly an electrical issue and I thought it was the starter. Turns out it was just the battery. It ended up costing me $250 for a new battery. $55 of that was for a half hour diagnosis. Used to be they would waive the fee if you got it fixed there. No longer. So where do you go that doesn’t charge a ridiculous fee?

 

[fsu1jreed]

Advanced Auto

 

[cmanole]

Discount Auto etc...

 

[noleclone2]

Discount Napa O’reilly Advanced Auto Parts. They will also install a battery for free typically.

 

[DFSNOLE]

Is yours one of those cars which requires an hour of disassembling all kinds of crap before you can get to the battery? The auto makers make nothing easy anymore.

 

[runkpanole]

Is yours one of those cars which requires an hour of disassembling all kinds of crap before you can get to the battery? The auto makers make nothing easy anymore.

The battery is easy to get to. It was initially diagnosed at Autozone as a likely starter issue. Otherwise I would have done the battery myself. The headlights on the other hand require the dadgum wheel well or front bumper to be removed.

 

[ohio#1nolefan]

I just got a battery from Advance and they installed it for free.
Here's a tip if going to Advance to buy anything- buy it online for in-store pickup and use the coupon code readily available online. It's usually 20-30% off and they always have one. I saved like $40 on my battery.

 

[F4Gary]

What kind of car?

 

[runkpanole]

Chevy Malibu

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Chevy Malibu

But you’ve got the pink slip baby.

 

[runkpanole]

But you’ve got the pink slip baby.

Indeed. She has been pretty reliable. Just minor issues really.

 

[F4Gary]

But you’ve got the pink slip baby.

That was a Ford.

 

[wbnolefan2]

But you’ve got the pink slip baby.

When I take mine in for service I like to wander the lot and check out the new vehicles. I love telling the pesky salesmen that my payment is ZERO dollars per month. They can't compete with that.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

That was a Ford.

And daddy.

 

[FreeFlyNole]

Yea, almost all auto part stores will run the basic diagnostic for free. That is crazy they charged you $55 for basically nothing. I would have thrown a hissy fit.

 

[funksouljon]

Yea, almost all auto part stores will run the basic diagnostic for free. That is crazy they charged you $55 for basically nothing. I would have thrown a hissy fit.

Same here.


$195 - for a Malibu battery plus a $55 fee. Must be one hell of a battery. Mine run close to $190, but for a Malibu!

Did they at least whisper sweet nothings to you? I guess its an example of even if the issue is simple, but when you don't know how fix it, you have to pay.

 

[F4Gary]

Same here.


$195 - for a Malibu battery plus a $55 fee. Must be one hell of a battery. Mine run close to $190, but for a Malibu!

Did they at least whisper sweet nothings to you? I guess its an example of even if the issue is simple, but when you don't know how fix it, you have to pay.

Actually, yes. For a Malibu with the stop/start feature, it's a $200 battery at AutoZone. For an older Malibu, it's around $169. I just looked it up.

 

[runkpanole]

Same here.


$195 - for a Malibu battery plus a $55 fee. Must be one hell of a battery. Mine run close to $190, but for a Malibu!

Did they at least whisper sweet nothings to you? I guess its an example of even if the issue is simple, but when you don't know how fix it, you have to pay.

Nope. Even left the trash in the car rather than washing it like they are supposed to. I know how to fix the battery, it was the starter I was worried about. The crazy thing is, the Malibu is an LS. Nothing but a regular radio, no back up camera or anything like that.

 

[LT4PLY]

You can get an ELM bluetooth OBD2 reader off Amazon for under 15 bucks. Link it to your phone and get all the codes you need, plus get to all the data from the computer you may not have available to you on the dash.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

It's a Chevy Malibu!

 

[funksouljon]

It's a Chevy Malibu!

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Haha, oh Mahk. For those who don't know, they had 5 or so of these. All freaking funny.

Just watched the Discover card. Dying...