Are you feekin' kidding me?. I want to spin a wrench in your world.

Had the same experience on the ex's Solstice....under warranty. Charged her 250 for an estimate.....1200 to r&r the rear end oil and replace a timing solenoid. 'Special' LSD rear end oil was 55/qt. Solenoid was 225.00

I did both in under an hour, parts and fluid cost me 1/10 of the estimate.

The dealer is good for warranty work....screw them for everything else.

well, you are paying for the diagnostic tool and other things

you are also "paying by the procedure" as with modern medicine, so ask if they used an "incorrect billing code"

and, that means you are -- one hopes -- paying a set amount if they spent 15 hours doing it but maybe not

but most book time includes going out to the parking lot, getting a beer, having lunch, rolling a doobie, kicking back and enjoying life, then finishing up your car

you are just lucky it wasn't a mustang...

I can assure you if I took my truck for the #3 glow plug and the code came back.
I would be paying for extra labor to find the fault in the harness, etc.

I called and asked the charge for replacing the part, not diagnosing the system.

I think some shops get nervous when the customer understands the projects and what is involved to complete the repairs. It's like you know a 'secret language'.

I was asking the service dept manager which cylinder was #3. He didn't know.


KT

Most Kragen/O'Reilly/Autozone/ etc, etc shops will code a check engine light for free.


OBD2 wizardry is not that mystical if you buy an $80 basic reader.
I opted for a better tool that reads all the sensors in real time and not only spits out any codes but displays the definitions.

I have three vehicles that use it and I have already used it on my buddies Boxster to track down a faulty O2 sensor.


If the dealership would have charged me $200 ( a fair price ) I would have given them the work.


KT

No doubt the dealers are not the most cost friendly, but seriously, for every job that you can make an extra half hour on, there are 5 jobs that can and will eat your lunch .