Dealership ripping me off??

[RandallNeighbour]

Air dams?

He could actually be speaking of a number of things, not just the oval plastic pieces with horizontal bands that are inserted into your bumper, allowing air to pass thorugh to the radiators.

There are other things that can be considered "air dams":

1. There are rubberized plastic flap thingies (technical, huh?) that extend downward about two inches from the front wheel well that push air away from the tire. Mine are half torn off and need replacement. They make a flapping sound when I make U Turns and the tires grab them and pull them back, then release them. Freaked me out until I realized this rubbery stuff was making the racket, not my suspension!

2. Under the car, there are two air shields that are kept up with two kinds of clips. These make the car quieter on the road (less wind noise) and make the car faster as it reduces drag. One goes from the front bumper to the firewall, and the other goes from the firewall back to the beginning of the engine compartment.

[wetstuff]

One of the things at the top of Randall's list on the driver's side must have had contact with a rabbit or something...but I'll fix it myself. The rest of the costs don't sound so off.

I'd suggest you go in with an open attitude. Darting eyes and a death grip on your checkbook will only get you rolling eyes and mark you as 'one of them'. Rather, I'd suggest you actually shake hands with the 'wrench' who'll do the work - just don't say somehting like; "Don't scratch it!"


Jim

[RandallNeighbour]

The rubberized flappy thingies mentioned in my post above can be purchased at the parts counter and replaced yourself with a screwdriver, by the way.

You don't even have to jack up the car to do it, but it sure does make it easier and you don't have to use a right angle screwdriver for the job.