Another dealership service cautionary tale

[Zee09]

I was sensitive to the word stealership. I just thought it was a bit harsh

Had to take my elderly mothers car in for two minor recalls.


I got the call just now from the bogus service writer ( In my day a service writer was a retired master mechanic that got too old
to pull wrenches and became a teacher-service writer- top notch bloke)


The guy tells me the car is ready but needs a complete TB cleaning at $89.95 ( car has 24K miles on it)

Then he tells me the oil sticker is hard to read and the oil is dark so it needs changed.


The oil has 3700 miles on it and I put in PUP with a Fram Ultra and the sticker is the Kendall ones Amazon sells.



Yeah sure buddy. No mention of 4 tires that need replaced soon- why? They don't sell tires...……………….

( tires are a bit weak because they weren't aired up until I started taking care of the car.


Stealership it is...……….. lol

 

[Nick1994]

I wish I could trust dealerships, but I've had way too many encounters that make me hate them.

My mom's 2012 Jeep Patriot was in the dealer earlier this year right before the extended warranty was up. Needed a blend door motor and I told him it's got a vibration at idle (obviously motor mounts). The service advisor called me up and said it needs motor mounts, the extended warranty will cover them. He also said something about the spark plugs being carboned up and it needing an engine decarbonization. I told him the Iridium spark plugs have 8k miles on them, and that they're fine. I have no indication that we needed this done.

My mom goes to pick up the car and he tried to scam her out of over $400 for the engine decarbonization and new spark plugs. What!? I had to call the service manager and that guy was a scammer too. He says it's routine maintenance, just like an alignment. That's when I went off.

She ended up not having to pay for it.

 

[Zee09]

That is disgusting.
This place has three car brands and the service center is at 100% capacity.
They don't have a need to rip- but they do. Sad!

 

[StevieC]

When I drove the fleet van we used to have to take it to the dealer for repairs and they would always come back with a list a mile long because they knew they were going to bill PHH (Now Element) leasing company and that the company would deny most of it. Drove me nuts because I would go in for something simple and they would keep the van all day. Keep in mind these were vans 3 years old or less with 180,000km or less before they would retire them. (My dad's is one of these I looked after).

I go to dealers for warranty work only and I specifically have them put on the service order "All work must be authorized by customer before proceeding". Everything else I do myself.

 

[Zee09]

Same here but even warranty work is a hassle these days. It's like dealing with a bunch of panhandlers!

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by Zee09
Same here but even warranty work is a hassle these days. It's like dealing with a bunch of panhandlers!

Panhandlers. That's a good one. That's exactly how it can be.

 

[Pew]

The dealer I take my car into for work is pretty cool, they do exactly what I ask for and give real suggestions based on their inspection and mileage if they don't have a record if it being done.

The previous dealer I took my car in for was like your experience though, the service adviser tried to make me change the pads and rotors on the car at 30K miles - in which the rears were good until 120K miles and the fronts looked like they had enough meat left to easily get to 180K with no issues. No surprise to me though that this was the same dealer that fired my buddy who was the finance manager so another manager's friend can work there.

 

[Kawiguy454]

All service industries are like that. Heating/cooling can be same pushy upsell. and with elderly its usually scare tactics selling peace of mind.

 

[fenixguy]

I loathe dealership service departments. I honestly don't know how they sleep at night. I've had my run-ins with them and avoid them for all except warranty work.

Here's a good one that happened last year:
A coworker's mom took her vehicle to the local Nissan dealer for an oil change. The service adviser came out and informed her that the car needed a tire rotation. She agreed. He came back and said the car needed brake pads. She agreed. Came back and told her she needed new rotors and calipers (car had less than 30k miles). Her husband had just passed a couple weeks before, so she was afraid to not get it done so she agreed. A little while later, the service department's manager came out and spoke with her. Turns out, the service manager was good friends with her husband and recognized her in the waiting area. He told her that after they looked again, all the car needed was a tire rotation. In other words, the boss had sympathy this time and spared her about a grand worth of work that wasn't needed to begin with.

 

[RooflessVW]

Crazy - all my dealership experiences have been smooth. Now with Audi it's even smoother.

$75 and a car is dropped in my driveway. They take mine away, diagnose, contact me, I'll approve or otherwise, the work gets done, and my car shows up the next day.

Seamless.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by StevieC


I go to dealers for warranty work only and I specifically have them put on the service order "All work must be authorized by customer before proceeding". Everything else I do myself.


Is it legal anywhere in the US or CA to perform work outside of the work order, NOT authorized by the owner, and for the owner to still be responsible for the bill?

 

[Stevie]

Brought my Mercedes SLK into the dealer to have some warranty work done. Bought the car from another dealer as it came off a lease. The dealer had already ordered the overhead light panel and dashboard face I needed.

The service writer met me as I drove up under the covered entrance.

All kinds of treats, ice cream, fancy coffee, and even free I pads to use in waiting room.

They gave me a brand new Mercedes to drive over the weekend as they did the work.

When I picked up my car they had also done a free 15 point check on the car.

It was washed and detailed inside and out.

Want to be treated like Royalty? Buy a Mercedes. The dealer a little further away even has a free masseuse while you wait.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by Stevie
Brought my Mercedes SLK into the dealer to have some warranty work done. Bought the car from another dealer as it came off a lease. The dealer had already ordered the overhead light panel and dashboard face I needed.

The service writer met me as I drove up under the covered entrance.

All kinds of treats, ice cream, fancy coffee, and even free I pads to use in waiting room.

They gave me a brand new Mercedes to drive over the weekend as they did the work.

When I picked up my car they had also done a free 15 point check on the car.

It was washed and detailed inside and out.

Want to be treated like Royalty? Buy a Mercedes. The dealer a little further away even has a free masseuse while you wait.


You paid for those perks, whether you think you did or not...

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by StevieC


I go to dealers for warranty work only and I specifically have them put on the service order "All work must be authorized by customer before proceeding". Everything else I do myself.


Is it legal anywhere in the US or CA to perform work outside of the work order, NOT authorized by the owner, and for the owner to still be responsible for the bill?


Unauthorized work is not allowed to be billed for in Ontario without customer consent. I can't speak for the rest of the country or in the U.S. However I put it on there anyway because I had had a dealer come back to me and try to bill me for an oil change because they accidentally did it so now I needed to pay for it. (yeah that didn't get paid for) Having this one liner makes it easier to have the conversation of I didn't authorize it so I'm not paying for it. Because even if they actually did mess up and it is law this should have stopped them because it was IN PRINT to remind the sorry idiots at the dealer.

I'm nice about it when I ask for it to be added and just tell them I had a bad experience in the past and would feel better if it was on there.

 

[WylieCoyote]

And all that hind kissing comes to you, courtesy of everyone who has work done to an out-of-warranty Mercedes.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by Stevie
Brought my Mercedes SLK into the dealer to have some warranty work done. Bought the car from another dealer as it came off a lease. The dealer had already ordered the overhead light panel and dashboard face I needed.

The service writer met me as I drove up under the covered entrance.

All kinds of treats, ice cream, fancy coffee, and even free I pads to use in waiting room.

They gave me a brand new Mercedes to drive over the weekend as they did the work.

When I picked up my car they had also done a free 15 point check on the car.

It was washed and detailed inside and out.

Want to be treated like Royalty? Buy a Mercedes. The dealer a little further away even has a free masseuse while you wait.


Oh yeah, yours might be nicer than mine. Mine just has the free breakfast/lunch counter, no ice cream. They have drinks like a convenience store, several refrigerator racks full of drinks. They are nice with the washing and cleaning too. Went there once during the winter and they even clean the salt off the floor mats as part of the cleaning. I think some dealers also let you bring the car in for a wash. Someone else was telling how she always brings the car in for a free car wash even if she's not getting any service. That might only be if you buy the car there though.

 

[bullwinkle]

Here in OH they used to have a form that had "oral estimate", "written estimate", or "no estimate" that the customer had to initial & sign. Haven't seen that form for years. Fortunately, all my cars are old, only the new company van has to go to Ford for repairs (now, they leased direct last time). Still wondering how that's going to work if WHEN something major goes wrong...

 

[DONWATERS]

I have only had one new car, and bought it far from home. The local Ford dealership where i went to for warranty repairs was under some kind of Ford probation-they had been ripping off people for so long and pulling scams they had some kind of consequence from Ford corporation. They fixed everything under warranty free with no issues and no backtalk. The car must have been built Christmas eve or on a Friday, cause nothing was right. Every time I brought it in I got a survey letter in the mail asking how the service was and it had a sase that went to Ford. The ac system leaked out all refrigerant because the ac hoses were all hand tight. I could actually turn the hose nuts that went into the compressor. They replaced everything. Rear axle howled at 12k, posi clutches never worked. Oh, and the ac system failed again a month after it was out of warranty.

Before and after that car, I just do the repairs myself. If you factor in all the time getting the car there, dealing with the BS, its easier to fix at home.

 

[Uphill_Both_Ways]

Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
And all that hind kissing comes to you, courtesy of everyone who has work done to an out-of-warranty Mercedes.
Not true. He gets the masseuse, they get screwed.

 

[BHopkins]

Wow! I need to praise my Subaru dealership for how they have treated me in the past.

Last time I took my car in, I asked them to do the complimentary 25 point inspection that they offer. When the service was done they reviewed the inspection report with me. She pointed out that while camber was slightly off on the RH wheels, it was still in the "green", thus no service was required. No attempt to sell me a fuel injector cleaning or a throttle body cleaning, or anything else of the sort.

Next time I'm in there, I'll have to tell them how much I appreciate the way they treat me.

BTW, my dealership gives me a ride back to work . . . in a Subaru. Oh, and they also offer loaner bicycles for the true green people. Yea. I've never taken them up on that offer.