I was driving to a doctors appointment the other day and the voltage indicator light came on. I could smell what I thought was burning plastic. Came back after the appointment and my car wouldn't start. At first there was no power but after like 15 mins or so I could turn the key to "on" and the radio, a/c, and windows worked. We took it in and they replaced the battery, alternator, and the harness part that melted. They also said they replaced the battery and alternator because it shorted....To me that doesnt make sense because I could use the radio and everything else. I also feel like we got ripped off because they would do a $1100 job over a $100 job because they are snakes. Below is a picture of what melted..What do yall think?

 

Where's the pic? Not that anyone will see anything other than melted wires. How could anyone possibly test your battery and your alternator from their computer desk? The fact is, you always have a right to a second opinion. If you choose not to and/or there are time constraints then you are at the mercy of them and whatever they tell or show you. It always pays to have a relationship with the facility you get your car repaired at. If you don't trust them, THEN you allow them to do the work, the fault is your own. This applies to ANY service industry. If you believe you got ripped, there's nobody else that can vaildate that fact other than you or someone local.

On a side note, all you need is a very fine sliver of continuity to make ignition switch functions operate. More to carry a load. The switch functions mean very little. But I will tell you this...if my alternator failed and melted some wires, I would put a battery in it.

 

Not a helpful response whatsoever
Dropbox - photo.JPG - Simplify your life

 

Because you didn't get the answer you wanted?

What exactly do you think they over repaired? I see melted wires at the alternator. From what you stated in your first post I think they probably did it right.

 

Nice edit and cute smiley face

 

Hey, I can change my mind if I want to

 

so look at your invoice and then tell us the brake down how much was the battery the alt then labor for both and there wire repair what is the labor rate?

 

I think you brought the car in with a mess of a problem, and they repaired it for you. It was up to you to get an estimate before they started work, and you could have had the vehicle towed elsewhere if you disagreed with the estimate.

Obviously, you paid mostly labor. A really good battery for the Aspen is around $120. A reman alternator can be found on rockauto.com for around $130 plus shipping. A dealer is going to make profit on items sold (as you would expect), so I'm sure you paid more for both items. They're probably using MOPAR/OEM parts, which will be more than aftermarket reman stuff.

It's hard to tell if you got ripped off, because you didn't tell us anything about the actual bill -- number of hours, what they charged for parts, etc. If your tone with the dealer was anything like how you're treating people trying to help you in this thread, then they probably came up with a number and added 30% because you ticked them off.

In any case, dealer service is expensive. I just got my rotors turned, new spark plugs, and new brake fluid and spent nearly $500. Good, cheap, fast...pick two. Sounds like they got you on the road and corrected the problem, so cheap wasn't in the equation.