Adventures at a dealership.

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The less I go to a car dealer the better. That has always been my motto. Warranty work only, and I say no to everything they try to up sell.
 
Some dealerships are no better (or worse!) than your local quicky-lube.

Some dealerships are quality establishments, and those are the ones I choose to patronize.

From my experience the difference is immediately apparent.
 
I guess its been a slow day and we have yet another bash the dealer thread.....

Let's all bash and then join hands as shade tree mechanics and sing kumbaya....
 
Funny, the dealership sounds like a lot of the guys on here recommending early fluid and filter changes. Some on here recommend a 500 mile oci on a new car, or a 10k transmission fluid change. Could you imagine if the dealer recommended that?
 
I have had good experiences with dealers, but in a city like Toronto there is plenty of room for shady examples. We have at most two dealerships for a brand (sometimes just one) so they can't afford the word of mouth.

I brought a 1980 GMC I had just bought to one of the Chevy/GMC dealerships for an inspection. They charged me $C 80 [$US 65] and gave me a complete itemized bill of health on paper, went over it with me, indicated on the sheet what needed to be fixed now (nothing), what needed attention but could wait (a few things) and what was good to go (most things). No pressure, no bull.

Same thing with my Mazda, good dealership (the only one) that was honest and trustworthy, zero upsell, did the alignment I asked for (new wheels / tires and a used vehicle; I could tell by the old tires the alignment was necessary) and cleared the floor drains (in convertibles, they assume water will get in sooner or later because convertible, and there are drains to carry it out that sometimes get plugged with debris like blown in leaves) for no charge. Gave me an accurate assessment of my brake pads (front good, rear 10% pad life left) which I was able to confirm by my own inspection.

The Mopar dealership (there are two) did the recalls on my 1996 truck when I bought it in 2005, no charge, and a two week wait for parts. Free ride from and to the dealership and offered the courtesy car (I didn't need it, was working all day so the free rides were perfect). Again, no attempt at upsell, good experience overall.

I did go to the other Mopar dealership about a service item, but they were not so angelic ... tried to upsell me immediately and parts prices were about 20% higher than at the other guys. So I guess I can't say it never happens here, but at least there are options.

Both the Chevy/GMC and the "good" Mopar dealership offer a flat 15% off all parts if you can show you're a member of the local bona-fide Car Clubs, and the Mopar dealership sponsors the Circle Track and offers parts discounts to teams, and carry a good variety of third party race parts (Edelbrock, Kirkey seats, etc). They charge me $C 4 [$US 3.25] for a genuine Mopar oil filter for my truck.

I also have been to the Toyota dealer (only one) for a few items, like Shin Etsu grease, which you can get Toyota branded. Good price.
 
This is what happens when you pay a very low base and have everyone on a commission based system where it's still hard to make money. PERIOD
 
Rear brake shoes and drums $621? One hour and $50 in parts, so simple even a caveman can do it.

This is why I use stealerships for warranty work only and tell the service advisor "do not touch anything else". I took my 16 Toyota in for a recall at 10k, told the service guy I already did the 10k service. When I got the paperwork it said "customer refused required 10k service". They really are idiots.
 
My Honda Odyssey went into the dealer for the airbag recall a couple years ago. The only thing they tried selling me? A new windshield because mine was cracked. That was nice because they included a quote and there was no sales pitch, just information that was helpful to me. That's a dealer I would go back to. I want to go for warranty work, not a sales pitch.

My girlfriend took her 2002 Mazda Tribute into the Mazda dealer around the same time for a recall (some subframe brace, I guess the subframe can corrode over time and possibly fail.) She came back with $3.5k worth of work that needed to be done. The situation was ominous-- they made it sound like the car might just fall apart on the way home if she didn't repair these things immediately. Dry ball joints, dry outer tie rod ends, shocks & struts, windshield washer pump & tank, filters, transmission flush, fuel injection service, blah, blah. Two thirds of it was just made up, the other third I could somehow see how it could be recommended. Yes the ball joints tie rod end boots look dry-- they're 15 years old, they should be or else they're leaking! I thought about visiting myself (I doubt the list would be that long had I been there) and asking for them to show me these supposed "failures" but I just won't visit that dealer ever again.

Needless to say, I've never had a car in for service, dealer or independent. If I can't fix it myself, it's time to sell it. I always have a spare vehicle in case some repair takes longer than expected.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Funny, the dealership sounds like a lot of the guys on here recommending early fluid and filter changes. Some on here recommend a 500 mile oci on a new car, or a 10k transmission fluid change. Could you imagine if the dealer recommended that?


Right, people should stick with the "lifetime ATF" that the mfg recommends, and not listen to the D+F nonsense the dealer might suggest; after all, it is just an upsell. lol

People should become a bit more familiar with the maintenance schedule of their own vehicle and not let the dealer 'track it'

It is some's first second or third most expensive purchase and a little time well spent can save one some money.
 
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I've had excellent service work done at the Honda dealer. They work on other makes as well. A little bit farther out than the other ones but worth the trip. They treat you like a person instead of a number, receive good reviews, estimates are always spot on and final bill always a few bucks less than estimate, free loaners when scheduling 3-4 days out, DO NOT nickel and dime which is big annoyance of mine and unlike Toyota dealer even on oil changes. Maintenance packages are expensive here so I avoid that and do things ala carte. They've saved me a fair amount of money with their recommendations on things. Ford Quicklane is good as well.
 
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