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I respectfully disagree with some of the complaints here. Dealerships have rent, utilities, and trained staff to pay for. A $60 diagnostic fee is actually pretty reasonable for professional service. You're paying for expertise, not just parts.

The thing that really gets me is when they charge for 'inspection' of things that should be obvious. Like they inspect the brake pads and charge $30 for telling me the pads are worn. Just tell me during the regular service, don't make it a separate charge.

Yeah, the variance between dealers is insane. You'd think the same manufacturer would have standardized pricing, but apparently not. I'm starting to think we need more transparency in how these charges are calculated.

Has anyone else noticed that the OEM charges vary so much between different dealerships of the same brand? I called three different Toyota dealers in my area and got three completely different quotes for the same service. It's crazy.

The battery replacement markup is absolutely wild too. $80 core charge, $120 labor, and the battery itself is another $200 when you can get the same battery online for $80 total. That's a 300% markup at least.

The connectors and wire harnesses are another one. They want to charge labor for just unplugging something and plugging something else in. It's ridiculous. That shouldn't even count as 'work' in my opinion.

I had a dealer try to charge me $85 for a 'system diagnostic update' that was just a software patch. It literally downloaded and installed automatically. I refused to pay and they eventually waived it. Always stand your ground with these charges.