Action: Car was repaired for a fair price

In January, while wintering in Palm Harbor, I experienced a problem with my 1996 Cadillac; the car simply would not shift into third or fourth gear. I telephoned my Cincinnati mechanic, who has maintained my vehicles for many years, and he told me it appeared to be an electrical failure and should not require extensive repairs.

I took the car to a Cadillac dealership on Jan. 17 and informed the assistant manager of my mechanic's opinion. He called me back that same day to say that the cause of my transaxle failure had not yet been determined, but that an oil leak had been noticed and needed repair.

I told him my car had never leaked oil and that I was, at that time, looking at my parking space under the carport; there was no indication of an oil leak. I just wanted my transaxle repaired.

The essence of my problem is the cost of the repair, $3,184.63. The dealership maintains it overhauled the transmission, but the only parts replaced were the shift solenoids and gasket/seals. It may have disassembled and reassembled the transmission -- was this even necessary? -- but I certainly do not consider that an overhaul.

I was told the transmission had to be disassembled to replace a "damaged input shaft scarf seal," but the dealership cannot explain how the scarf seal could have been damaged. The failure of an electrical shift solenoid is a sudden electrical event, very similar to a light bulb burning out, and I can't imagine a link between the two.

The parts cost $481.16, and the labor charges were $2,510 for 26 hours at approximately $96 an hour. According to the Mitchell's Mechanical Labor Estimating Guide, the time needed to replace these shift solenoids is about 11.7 hours of labor, including removal and installation of the transaxle and diagnostic time. In other words, I was overcharged 14.3 hours at $96 an hour, or $1,372.80.

If the "overhaul" disassemble/reassemble was necessary, the guide estimates the time at 17.1 hours, for a probable overcharge of 8.9 hours, or $854.40. In either event, I have been overcharged, and I don't like it.

Secondly, there is the issue of the supposed oil leak. I was told that to repair it while the transaxle was being repaired would cost $1,700, or, if later, $2,500. Since I knew the car had never leaked oil during my ownership, I declined the repair. The assistant service manager informed me that I could lose all my oil in a few minutes and ruin the engine. Again, I delined the repair. Bill Wuest

Response: We ran your complaint past Richard Trenk, an automotive expert we occasionally consult, who in turn consulted the Cadillac car division in Detroit as well as various area Cadillac agents.

Trenk, retired service manager for various car manufacturers, automotive engineering instructor and arbitrator for Florida's Lemon Law Program, said the consensus was that your problem was easily diagnosed as being at minimum a failure of an internal solenoid inside the transmission assembly. To replace this solenoid requires a major disassembly of the gearbox, which is similar to the amount of disassembly required to perform a normal overhaul job.

Once the gearbox is apart, Trenk said the mechanic would be in the position to clearly observe that the input shaft scarf seals had been blown out (a result of the solenoid failing first). The leaking scarf seal, the oil leak you mention, is an internal event and therefore nothing that would leave evidence on your floor.

As for replacing only the damaged parts, Trenk said that if an inspection of other internal parts, such as clutch packs, revealed no wear of importance, the mechanic was acting properly and economically by reusing and not replacing them.

With regard to your main problem, the apparent overcharge for labor, Trenk said his Motors' manual, a publication similar to Mitchell's, had a serious error in the Cadillac transmission section and all dealers were aware of this.

A correction supplement was recently issued to all Motors' customers revising the time allotment for repair. Today the flat rate manual section on your model allows 23.8 hours to remove, replace and recondition the transmission.

While you were charged for 26 hours, higher than the projected time of 23.8 hours, Trenk said there may have been some diagnostic time involved that was not shown on the work order.

Trenk said it is no secret that flat rate times are higher than an experienced mechanic would actually require to perform a certain job.

However, customers must keep in the mind the years of training and experience they have, as well as the cost of the test equipment, shop tools and other expenses -- in other words, the cost of doing business.

Trenk said he felt you were honestly treated and the car properly repaired. If there was any failure, he said it was the dealership's inability to explain things clearly, which left you thinking you were cheated.

- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

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