Dealer service

[rogwar]

This is a story about my wife's car which we bought a number of years ago and still drive today. We did not get the extended warranty. The dealer we bought it from gave us a "special" on oil changes and routine maintenance. Since it was close to where we lived that is where we took it for oil changes and such. Anyway I believe the original factory warranty was something like 36 month or 30K miles.

When my wife took it in for an oil changes service at ~31K miles they told her it needed a new water pump, alternator, and a couple of other things (probably a new fetzer valve and some 30 weight ball bearings). She called me up and I was stunned and said just have them change the oil.

Being a shade tree mechanic growing up I checked this stuff out as best as I could at home, finding nothing wrong, but nevertheless still a little worried.

Now at around 135K miles and a number of years later:

- same water pump in use, no coolant loss or notable problems
- replaced alternator at about 90K miles
- same fetzer valve and 30 weight ball bearings.

GO FIGURE!

[Strip]

It probably needed blinker fluid, a muffler bearing and a left handed wiper blade too. If it had been a 71 Beetle the radiator might have been seriously corroded. Sorry but being in the automotive industry for ten years (and I am only 25 ughh) has taught me a few things. The largest being that there are some serious ripoffs and cons that will take advantage of people. Especially those that are not educated in such areas, unfortunately they to be women and the elderly. Granted there are some exceptions to the rules but people are none the less ripped off all to often.

In that time frame I never sold one service or part that wasn't recommended by well established guidelines. I even went so far as to stop people from wasting money on a service they didn't need.  I wish other would do the same, and some do (like CAP1) but others wont lose any sleep over it. Dealerships can be some of the largest crooks around, glad you went with your gut and got some mileage out of your vehicle.

Strip

[oakranger]

Strip, i  you for your honesty and dedication as a mechanic.  It is obvious that both you and CAP1 are passionate with what you do and care enough to gain trust with you customers by telling them the truth and not cheating them out of their own pocket.  I do wish one of you guys where a lot closer to me that i can have service done. 

[KgB]

Dealerships can be some of the largest crooks around.
Strip

Can be, but not as offten as private shops. Let me explain.
Dealer makes more money on services than repairs.When something fails after warranty expires, when it could've been replaced under warranty (when car was serviced) then it is my fault because i missed it, i got three page check list that i need to fill out with every service.
Angry customer will always  let you know if he/she has to pay for something that he/she should not. So its in my best interest to make sure that customers vehicle comes back only for service.  Also private shops limited product knowledge(takes longer or forever to fix),aftermarket/junk yard parts, cheapest unknown fluids........Yes we charge more, but its worth it if you thinking long term.
I should be expecting angry reply from CAP1 soon.

[KgB]

When my wife took it in for an oil changes service at ~31K miles they told her it needed a new water pump, alternator, and a couple of other things (probably a new fetzer valve and some 30 weight ball bearings). She called me up and I was stunned and said just have them change the oil.
GO FIGURE!

30k is due for major service. Depending on manufacturer coolant,brake fluid,trans fluid,cabin and air filter,wiper blades,rotate and balance tires, and other crap. May be your wife missunderstood and  some of those things were included in service they were selling? And why the hell didn't you call that dealer?
It doesn't make sense. New vehicle warranty is 4 years or 36k, repairs would've been covered anyway.

[CAP1]

This is a story about my wife's car which we bought a number of years ago and still drive today. We did not get the extended warranty. The dealer we bought it from gave us a "special" on oil changes and routine maintenance. Since it was close to where we lived that is where we took it for oil changes and such. Anyway I believe the original factory warranty was something like 36 month or 30K miles.

When my wife took it in for an oil changes service at ~31K miles they told her it needed a new water pump, alternator, and a couple of other things (probably a new fetzer valve and some 30 weight ball bearings). She called me up and I was stunned and said just have them change the oil.

Being a shade tree mechanic growing up I checked this stuff out as best as I could at home, finding nothing wrong, but nevertheless still a little worried.

Now at around 135K miles and a number of years later:

- same water pump in use, no coolant loss or notable problems
- replaced alternator at about 90K miles
- same fetzer valve and 30 weight ball bearings.

GO FIGURE!

good catch.

i can't tell you how many people come to my shop, and show me pages of crap that the local dealer(be it chevy, bmw, ford, nissan, etc.) said needed to be replaced.

 a couple of experiences i've had though CAP with larson ford back this up.

 last year, our 2008 e-350 van developed a starting problem. at the time, it was about 5 months old, and just under 6,000 miles. at that point, EVERYTHING should've been covered.
 we found the positive battery cable end broken. as is typical of ford, it was a weird design, and there was no way for us to just put a new end on it. the entire cable needed replacing. the cable itself was nearly $400, plus labor, and larson ford refused to cover it under warranty.
 brought it to winner ford here in cherry hill, and they did it under warranty.

 another one. 1999 ford e350 with 35,000 miles. that squadron's transportation officer took it in for an oil change, and check over. larson ford again. he gets a phone call, saying it needs front and rear brake pads, calipers, and rotors, serp belt, fuel filter, and fuel injection cleaning. the TO called me(i'm nj wing LGT)and told me what they said. i had him fax me their estimate, and read it over.....then noted the $1500 estimate.
 i called him back, asking how the van drove, if there was anything weird. nothing. i told him to get it the hell out of there, and if he felt uncomfortable, to take it to the shop where ha has his personal vehicle serviced.
 
 they told him it only needed front brakes. he was paranoid at this point, so he took it to a local shop calles marrazzos. by this point, i had approval on the brakes front and rear from NHQ....just in case, and marrazzos knew it, as i had talked to their service manager, and scheduled the van there myself, telling them if it truly needed the brakes, then to go ahead and do them.

 wanna know what they said??  BULLCRAP!  there is nothing wrong with your brakes at all. then they showed him what he was looking at.

dealers are for the most part the worst place in the world to take your car for anything except to trade it in on another car.
 they generally have one or two really good mechanic/technicians, and the rest are lucky to be considered parts hangers.

[mbailey]

If im not mistaken, dont dealer mechanics make their living on a % of the work they do on a vech?

Im extremely fortunate to have an a#1 mechanic. Ill follow up with my wife used to work with them, but that being said, any and everytime something needed repair, the mechanic would sit her down, explain everything to her fully, and would keep the parts replaced to show me when we picked it up. I dont ask for any of that anymore because we have built up a trusting customer / business relationship. I actually drive by 15+ shops and 30mins just to take my truck there. Prices are just sick as they still give my wife her employee discount, and my wife helps them here and there with paperwork if there inundated with car sales.
Were actually fortunate that my (eerrhhmm...."our") 2005 2500HD Silverado was made so well, it really never (knock on wood) needs anything, but when it does, we have someone to take it too.

[CAP1]

If im not mistaken, dont dealer mechanics make their living on a % of the work they do on a vech?

Im extremely fortunate to have an a#1 mechanic. Ill follow up with my wife used to work with them, but that being said, any and everytime something needed repair, the mechanic would sit her down, explain everything to her fully, and would keep the parts replaced to show me when we picked it up. I dont ask for any of that anymore because we have built up a trusting customer / business relationship. I actually drive by 15+ shops and 30mins just to take my truck there. Prices are just sick as they still give my wife her employee discount, and my wife helps them here and there with paperwork if there inundated with car sales.
Were actually fortunate that my (eerrhhmm...."our") 2005 2500HD Silverado was made so well, it really never (knock on wood) needs anything, but when it does, we have someone to take it too.

 you are correct they work on flat rate.

 what that is, is this.

assume you need front brake calipers. the labor guide calls for 3 hours to r & r them, including bleeding the system. the mechanic working on the car does them in 1 hour. he's still getting paid for that job on your calipers as he's working on the next car. you still pay that 3 hours labor. chances are good he took shortcuts, which usually are not good.
 
 i do the same with my customers. i make absolutely sure they know what they're paying me for. i do this moreso with women, as too many auto shops see boobs, and assume they can jack up prices, lie, and basically rip them off. that pisses me off to no end.
 i take pictures of stuff i do too, so if it's not feasible to show the parts to the customer, i show them the old worn out part, next to the new part...again, so my customer knows what they're paying for.

[rogwar]

Whatever it was 30K or 36K I do not remember but the service visit was like 500 to 1000 miles after the warranty expired. They also gave her a list of all the stuff I mentioned. It was not consumable parts like collant, belts, hoses etc.

[Wolfala]

you are correct they work on flat rate.

 what that is, is this.

assume you need front brake calipers. the labor guide calls for 3 hours to r & r them, including bleeding the system. the mechanic working on the car does them in 1 hour. he's still getting paid for that job on your calipers as he's working on the next car. you still pay that 3 hours labor. chances are good he took shortcuts, which usually are not good.
 
 i do the same with my customers. i make absolutely sure they know what they're paying me for. i do this moreso with women, as too many auto shops see boobs, and assume they can jack up prices, lie, and basically rip them off. that pisses me off to no end.
 i take pictures of stuff i do too, so if it's not feasible to show the parts to the customer, i show them the old worn out part, next to the new part...again, so my customer knows what they're paying for.

CAP. I'm pushing 61K on my Acura TL type S. I know Brake work is coming. Where is your shop located for a thorough inspect. I've had enough of the $400 air filter changes.

[ozrocker]

Don't forget to check your Catastrophic Converter Vern!

                                                <S> Oz

[4deck]

Well Im sure with cars and with computers, they have a Master Bromulator installed somewhere.

I used to do field service, and if the problem was a simple user error, I would correct the issue, and tell them it was the master bromulator that failed, and they're all better. A little guidence sometimes is all you need, but people take advatage of situations sometimes. I left a company early in the days for that reason. Never sat right with me, but I'm like some people.

[CAP1]

CAP. I'm pushing 61K on my Acura TL type S. I know Brake work is coming. Where is your shop located for a thorough inspect. I've had enough of the $400 air filter changes.

hey dude.

i'm down in cherry hill, about a mile and a half off of rt 295 exit 32(i think that's the exit number). i take that exit every day, and not sure of it's number.

depending on how far north you are, there is a shop in columbus called houstons auto, right on 206, that has given me spectular service with our civil air patrol vans, or near trenton there's marrazzos....same spectacular service, and in seacaucus, s&s auto.....these i use for civil air patrol, and i've found all three of them to be VERY honest. marrazzos is the one that as i mentioned earlier, told us we didn't need any brake work on our van, although they had already been given approval to do it if need be.

 if you want to come down here, i'd be more than glad to give your car a look over for ya.

[CAP1]

Well Im sure with cars and with computers, they have a Master Bromulator installed somewhere.

I used to do field service, and if the problem was a simple user error, I would correct the issue, and tell them it was the master bromulator that failed, and they're all better. A little guidence sometimes is all you need, but people take advatage of situations sometimes. I left a company early in the days for that reason. Never sat right with me, but I'm like some people.

i went to work for a midas muffler shop awhile back(before i had this place).

 they were masters of bullcrap. they had me replacing brake pads that still had half their life left. they overcharged for my diagnostics(i was the only one in that shop of 6 that knew how to use a scanner, and the grey matter between my ears).
 they used crap pads. it was the first time in 15 years that i had to "burnish" a brake pad.

 i started looking after about a month. one of my old bosses heard i was looking, and he called me there at the shop. said if i was interested to stop by his house, and we'd talk. i left midas 2 weeks later.