I think it is time to give it up joe_smoe. Seems as though your argument lacks in several different areas. Ssmythe2013--thank you for the heads up regarding Mountain Home Car Care Center. It is always nice to know what local businesses to stay away from! Winner-SSMYTHE2013!

joe_smoe,

Seems to me that Ssmythe did a very good job at researching the subject, it also seems that Ssmythe explained the situation clearly, stating only what has occurred in his/her particular experience. It's refreshing to see a banter where the writer uses their intelligence, uses complete sentences, and is not filled with abbreviated or made up internet words.

As for the three different levels of pricing, the wonderful thing about having more than one place to shop is being able to price compare, businesses may need to mark up its products in order to stay in business but those mark-ups should be comparable at all businesses within the same area or eventually the business with the highest mark-up will find it hard to keep customers.

Perhaps you lack in business smarts yourself.

I contacted Mountain Home Car Care Center LLC's about a repair a short time ago and was quoted a price for labor and parts. The part price seemed high and I checked the local store and found it at all of them to be 45 to 50 percent lower. I called Mountain Home Car Care Center LLC's back and told them I would supply the part and his response was then the labor rate would go up. Maybe I'm crazy but 80 bucks an hour is already high and he wanted to charge me more. I'm glad I went to another mechanic there is no telling what other repairs they would cause.

Dear Jo_smoe,

Thank you so much for the response, you are right I am good and always striving to get better at English composition (I am assuming that is what you meant by your statement combining words into a sentence). I really appreciate any support a venerated plebian such as yourself can offer. However, your grammar and composition are lackluster and hardly deserve a rejoinder at this point. Indeed it is true, you can make Excel spread sheets say just about anything you want. The first rule of statistics is that stats don't prove anything they only foreshadow expected outcomes given a certain set of conditions. In that sense I don't have to prove anything to you with Excel because stats don't actually prove anything. I am sure if you put your acute mind to work you could come with a set of stats that prove me wrong (oh no!) but could you really discuss them with any amount of clarity and comprehension? I wonder? I already related the methods I used to find what I believe the fair price for changing a timing belt should be for my car's make and model. I used 15 different internet sites, including your own recommendation, while you made three calls to mechanics here in Mountain Home. How does your method provide any more proof than mine? I am not going to supply you with any of my data because you, Joe_smoe, did not have the decorum required for formal argumentation to answer the one question which remains the focal point of my argument. I will repeat my question to you in verbatim in case you missed it last time. So in your infinite wisdom on automotive repairs, Joe_smoe, why would I be charged $147.26 for a timing-belt kit that should never cost more than $95? As previously mentioned, I have already found a mechanic in Mountain Home that will fix my car for $225.00 (without a markup of 91% on parts) compared to Mountain Home Car Care Center LLC's price of $423.33. Putting the statistics aside, it is clear to me now that you do not possess the mental facilities required to engage in an academic conversation about the intricacies of statistical analysis. I already related that I would supply you with quotes from O'rielly's Auto Parts, a copy of the quote for the same parts from Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC, and a copy of the quote I received from an alternative mechanic. It appears you did not heed my advice. Since the Mountain Home News.com banter-box does not allow for the uploading up such documents I will publish them in an article for the Mountain Home Newspaper next week. Again, let us forget prices on everything else barring the price of a timing belt kit. When I make the publication next week you will see in print proof of what I was going to be charged for the timing belt kit, what the timing belt kit actually costs, and what I ended up paying for the timing belt kit. I hope this will succor you doubts that I have no proof of my accusations Jo_smoe. Please don't be offended if I no longer respond to your ill-conceived and poorly written responses as I am growing weary of it. I can't condone bantering back and forth (pun intended) with someone who obviously is not reading my responses in their entirety. Just read the paper next week all of the details will be in there.

Dear Joe_smoe,

I did an adequate amount of research both online and by calling mechanics in my area before making my initial comments (not to mention my visit to a local auto part store). My first suggestion for you Joe_smoe is that you reread my initial comments and take some notes this time around because you obviously did not comprehend it to a degree that would allow you to compose a relevant response. I researched n = 15 different websites including the link you suggested (by the way Joe_smoe your link produced the highest quote I found on the web, which immediately made me question your motives and wonder if you have some affinity or consanguinity to Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC?). The link you suggested also claimed that I should not pay more than $95 dollars for a timing belt kit. So in your infinite wisdom on automotive repairs, Joe_smoe, why would I be charged $147.26 for a timing-belt kit that should never cost more than $95? Either way, it's of no consequence in light of recent developments. However, since you found it necessary to make a slight about my education, experience, and method of investigation I will give you, Joe_smoe, a quick lesson in the research method I employed before making my initial comments. If you understand normal number distributions and statistical dispersions the number of websites I checked (n = 15) is an adequate number of data points for a fairly accurate statistical analysis. I entered the estimates into Microsoft's Excel program, which produced a mean price of $265.00. If you are unaware of statistical lexicons and terminology, Joe_smoe, mean, is a term for average. In this case the mean relates to the average price I should pay for a timing belt replacement including parts and labor. The Excel program also produced a range of $220.00 to $360.00 (if you are uniformed about descriptive statistics, Joe_smoe, range, is a term for the lowest amount to the highest amount in a normal number distribution) Being college educated I did my research and did it well. I found a mechanic in my area that will replace the timing belt in my car for $225.00. This estimate is actually below and outside the interquartile range according to my box-plot analysis. (if you are unfamiliar with the bell-curve and normality in statistics, Joe_smoe, interquartile range is where 50% of the responses should fall on a normal number distribution). If you actually read and comprehended my comments the complaint was concretely with the 91% markup on the parts required to replace my timing belt. In my opinion your comment that I was likely receiving a good deal on a timing belt replacement is unfounded. Admittedly, I am by no means an expert in mechanics or auto part repair prices but I know enough not to have the wool pulled over my eyes. To make things even simpler for you I can you send you a copy the quote for the timing belt kit from O'rielly's Auto Parts, a copy of the quote for the same part from Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC, and a copy of the quote I just received from an alternative mechanic. Again, I would suggest that you (Joe_smoe) reread my initial comments carefully before offering any further advice. I personally found your astute counsel not very helpful and largely misplaced. By providing a link I already investigated your argument is negated. I won't make any predeterminations about your level of education or experience but I would recommend that you take a little more time and consideration before attempting to join in an online discussion with me in the future. Thanks for trying though, better luck next time.

A good day to you Joe_smoe

P.S. I believe you meant to write "a small amount of time" instead of "a small time" in the first line of your comment. Without some type of quantification for the adjective "small" that part of the sentence does not make sense. If you want I can do grammar checks on any of your future comments before you post them, it will help with the clarity of your ideas. I can also send you some very helpful resources on elementary statistics if you need help understanding my research methods.

One of the more memorable aphorisms my father used to say was,

"I was born at night...but it wasn't last night".

This pithy observation has never rang more true than recently when trying to summarize my dealings with Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. (675 West 6th South). I usually don't delve into the realm of online conversations or blogs but the actions of this company deserve public reprimand and scrutiny. What follows is a summation of my interactions with this company. I took my 2005 Hyundai Elantra to Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. in February of this year for an oil change and tune-up. I suspected a fair hand for fair pay, however, what I got could best be described as the run-around. I was told that my car was in need of new front brakes. Call me a doubting Thomas but I decided to get a second opinion. So after taking my car into another I company I was told the brakes did not require the immediate attention I was led to believe by the reprobates at Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. Strapped for time and against my better judgment I took my car back to Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. for a simple oil change on 5/21/2013. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt...everyone has an off day every now and then. I thought maybe one companies' idea of bad breaks is not the same as another. To my astounding surprise after the oil change was completed on 5/21/2013 not only did Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. recommended that I get new brakes they also suggested that I get another tune-up. They actually recommended that I have all same parts and services done again that should have been completed in February when I first took my car there for a tune-up. This was the first red flag. I agreed with them that the car most likely needed new brakes but a tune-up just four short months after the first tune-up seemed extremely out of place. Again, giving them the benefit of the doubt I attributed their actions to a simple oversight or computer error. Then came one of the most egregious acts of snake oil salesmanship I have ever beheld. Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. recommended that I get a new timing belt put on the car for the mere price of $423.33. Now don't get me wrong here, I am not arguing that the car does not need a new timing belt it's the price that causes me ills. This is where my father's quip came to mind and I had to chuckle just a bit. You see I worked in a mechanic shop for 9 months just before I started my undergraduate degree in anthropology. I could not remember a time when changing a timing belt on a car of that size and make cost a price that exuberant. In the days of old mechanics could hold a person hostage because of their lack of knowledge but the internet and automotive part chain stores have greatly changed things. Feeling that I was going to be over charged by about $138 dollars I set about a quick investigation into the average cost of changing a timing belt on my car's make and model. I simply did some quick stats I learned in college, which revealed that at most I should pay around $285.00 dollars for the procedure. So to test if my suppositions were correct I did some more simple math on the quote I received from Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. The quote I received was $423.33 divided up as follows: $15.56 for shop supplies, $10.00 for hazardous materials disposal, $147.26 for a timing belt kit, $241.67 for labor, and $8.84 for tax. The shop supply fee and hazardous materials disposal fee are low blows to say the least but we will forget those for now. The first bit of math I did was to divide the labor fee by the three hours Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. claimed it would take to finish the job. This produced the following equation $241.67/3hrs = $80.56 per hour of labor. This amount was a little high compared to my online research into industry standards for the hourly rate a mechanic should charge. I must say I felt a little perturbed...but the next phase of my inquisition really got my goat. The online research I did revealed that the price of a timing belt kit for my specific car should range from approximately $67.00 to about $80.00. I felt as though my intelligence had been insulted by the quote for $147.26 I received from Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. In order to check if I was being lied to I stopped by O'Reillys Auto Parts. This is an aside for Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC., I would recommend that you stop leaving the receipts from where you get your parts on the main table in your business, it makes it very easy for people to track your price fabrications. Back to O'Reillys, I simply asked the nice person at the parts counter for a quote on a timing belt kit for my car. He chuckled because he had already looked up that very same kit earlier in the day. I chuckled as well when he told me the timing belt kit cost about $77. This revelation, from on high as it were, caused me to do my final equation for this comment. If you subtract $77 from $147.26 you are left with the remainder amount of $70.26. Then if you divide $70.26 by $77 you get a decimal number of 0.91. In order to find the percentage amount that I would be overcharged for the timing belt my car sorely needed I simply multiplied 0.91 by 100. This produced the number 91 or in other words a 91% percent markup was added to the price I was quoted, in writing no less, on the timing belt. Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. I was born at night but it wasn't last night. You should be ashamed that you would try to take advantage of someone like myself. I am a soft spoken and quiet man but that does not mean I am not an intelligent person. If this is the type of business model you want to employ than you are not worth your salt as the ancient saying goes. My wife's family and my own have both lived in Mountain Home and the surrounding area for over 25 years. In total our extended family numbers well over 75 individuals, most of whom drive cars, and some of whom that supply you with business. Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC. you possess the basic arithmetic skills required to mark up your parts and labor but I seriously wonder if you have cognitive ability to compute the amount of business you will surely lose and never have chance to gain by trying pull one over on myself. I can assure that you that the money you are going to lose from your underhanded chicanery will be greater than the money you attempted to pilfer from me.

A very good day to you Mountain Home Car Care Center, LLC.