So I get to the Hyundai dealership expecting to pay $240 for the timing
belt replacement and then they pull back the other curtain.

"Hey while we're in there we might as well replace the p/s and alt
belts for $40."

Sure that sounds reasonable.

"And since we'll have the water pump in our hands when we do the timing
belt we should change that as well for only $190"!

$190?

I was aware that replacing the water pump was not an uncommon thing
when doing the belt, but $190?  I talked her down to $150 but still, an
hour of labour to change it?  Does that seem right?

It's a bit of a shock to be told one price on the phone $240, then find
out it's more like $430.  Bit of bait and switch?  I politely told her
that they should really tell people on the phone all of this until
waiting til you're standing there.

Anyways, she called me and said that the water bottle looked fine so I
declined to have it replaced as it's not my car anyway and I wasn't
authorized to spend that much.

Did I make a bad decision?  Should I have gotten it replaced?

Chris

Despite Canadian currency being worth less ($1CAD=0.85c US right now),
vehicle prices are inflated a bit up there. It's actually cheaper to get
   an equivalent new car in the US! Canadians pay a lot more taxes so I
think that makes up the bulk of the price differences.

Robert Cohen said:  "Very interesting.  I think $600 USD is s.o.p. in the
Atlanta area."......

Actually, I'm not surprised.  A lot of dealers like to put on "standard"
prices, I suspect at least in part so they can post them on a sign.  Most of
the time, they are inflated.

Most of the area dealers in the big city near me do this, including a Kia
dealer whose standard price for the services listed by this Canadian
individual was $1200 for my Sedona.  Another out-of-the-area dealer quoted
me $850, then told me why.

I fully believe that the work mentioned for a 4-cylinder engine is not worth
one dime more than he paid.  Spark plugs are EXTREMELY easy to get to in
most of them, the air filter is always easy, and the timing belt is usually
very easy to access.

A V6 is a completely different baby, with three spark plugs in the back of
the engine, a timing belt that gumby usually couldn't access in a tight
engine compartment and more.

That alone may be reason to consider a 4 over a 6.

Tom Wenndt

Good luck importing it. You can't simply drive it across the border and
register it in the US.

Yes, that's often the case, but it's not a given.

Having worked at a new car dealership, the Service Dept. is an
excellent profit center.  It's not unusual to have the Service Writer,
Service Advisor, or Service Manager pitch you a number of things that
need to be done, whether or not this is the case.  In some situations,
it's not totally unlike sitting in front of the F & I Manager when
you're closing the deal on your new car purchase, and he or she is
pitching you dealer packs or an extended warranty.

Yes, there are honest dealers with honest Service Departments, along
with honest independents, but it's certainly "Caveat Emptor" most of
the time.  I really feel sorry for those who either haven't worked on
their cars before or don't have any mechanical aptitude, as quite
often, they are taken advantage of.  A perfect example is with my Dodge
Grand Caravan.  The starter died: the quote for replacement including
installation was over $325 at the local Dodge dealer.  I bought the
same Nippondenso gear-reduction OEM starter at an Advance Auto Parts
store, and with a 1/2 hour of labor for installation, the job was done.
Total cost: $74.  I don't mind anyone earning an honest wage, but
sometimes auto repair charges are totally out of bounds.

In my experience, the best dealer from a service perspective, both cost
and quality of work, did not use the Flat Rate Manual.  Rather, they
simply charged for the actual time for a specific job - not preset
rates.  Because of this, one mechanic could only bill out 8 hours of
work per day, rather than what typically occurs in the industry.  And,
surprisingly, this was with a European car dealship with very
reasonable hourly rates.