Stealerships

[red-beard]

Took my F250 to the Ford Service dept since it needed a front end alignment (uneven tire wear). Had them do an oil change since it was due and we were heading out on a 5 day vacation.

They rotated the tires, but didn't reset front and back pressure. They didn't reset oil dashboard reminder. So, kinda irritated.

They also said my brake pads are down to 5%. This was after the service. Well, OK. I'll get that fixed after the trip.

Today I had front and rear pads in hand. Blocked wheels. Setup air compressor. Tools out. Looked and looked for my pad compressor, had to settle for c-clamp.

Jack the truck, put in Jack stand. Removed the wheel. Searched for the security nut adapter. Found it and removed last nut. Wheel off.

And then I pull the pads. Hmmmmm. Those don't look too bad. Check the new pads. Huh?





Needless to say, there is more than 50% pad left. I put the old ones back in and I'm returning the new pads.

WTF?!? That is fraud, straight up. I'm glad I didn't just take it someplace. My regular mechanic for the BMW wouldn't have done this.

I feel like that scene in Pulp Fiction. "What does Marcellus look like?"

[Bugsinrugs]

My mother in law took her car in for an oil change and they told her she needed a timing belt. Of course she asked me. What’s a timing belt?? I opened her hood and right there on the engine is the mileage and date when it was last replaced....20,000 miles ago! She never went back to that shop.

[fastfredracing]

[recycled sixtie]

I agree with all of the above. A second opinion can be very valuable. I took my Lexus to my local indy shop. I booked an appointment for next week and asked him to show me that the left front strut is leaking. Secondly I asked for a quote for replacement and a wheel alignment.

His quote came him around $600 and the Lexus quote came in around $1000 cdn.

[stevej37]

Brought my twelve year old Honda in yesterday for the 'front axle replacement' recall.
The estimate was up to a two hour fix.

At the 45 minute mark..I get a text..."Your Honda is ready to go."

They had also washed it before I picked it up....no charge for anything.

I love my Honda Dealer.

[Scott Douglas]

Once upon a time, I actually owned a Ford Taurus wagon.
Was going to go to Vegas with the missus for our anniversary and thought it'd be a good idea to have the local dealer, who was offering a free checkup as they'd just changed ownership, look over the car.

They found that the head bolts had the corrosion crack failure and said it'd be covered by warranty.
OK, do the head bolt replacement.
Got a call later that morning saying the coolant needed to be flushed as it wasn't in very good shape. I asked if they'd started the head bolt replacement and the service writer said yes, it was all apart out back. I said I'd be down in just a minute.

Got down there, was walked to the back where the car was. Box of parts sitting on the bench, hood down, nothing touched. I asked the service writer to open the hood and pull the rad cap to see what the coolant looked like. Told him to put his finger in it and he pulled it out with nothing but clean coolant on it. I didn't tell him I'd just changed it the weekend before.

Needless to say he was stammering when I asked what the he!! was going on.

I asked to see the service manager and read him the riot act. They were running a coolant change special that week but what a way to drum up business.
They sent me on my way after going over the car for the 'free' inspection. What they failed to tell me was I had tires that were separating under the tread.

Our weekend in Vegas was ruined when I had to buy tires while there as the tires really started thumping after going across the desert at speed for four hours.
Never went back to that dealer again for service. We did buy a Mustang convertible that my wife just had to have after she said she was done driving a minivan. Yeah, it turned out to be a POS too, just like the Taurus.

[oldE]

Similar story here with the MIL's 10 year old Jetta. It had to go to dealer for warranty rust repair and while it was there, the safety inspection expired. They called her with a list ranging from discs and pads front and rear, new exhaust and replacement of the driver's side mirror. She called me and I spoke with the garage which had serviced the car since new. I took the car to them.
Front brakes did have to be done and the exhaust needed to be replaced, but the rest of the "required work " was bogus.
She saved over $1000 by double checking.
Best
Les

[porsche tech]

I keep a note book in the glove box and write down everything I do to the car...o/c, rotate, pads, belts, etc., I mark the date and the mileage. I do pretty much everything myself but someone who relies on a shop should keep a record and question when someone says you need to replace something. How many miles and how much time has elapsed? If you’ve kept a record, at least you have something to gauge by.

[stevej37]

^^^ I do the same. If the Dealer sends me a message saying I need to have service done on the
brakes, drivetrain, etc.....I know that they have no idea what I have done.

I like that the dealer is staying with the program.
(they can't read my mind)

[red-beard]

The only reason I went to the dealer at all was my local mechanic said he couldn't do a front end alignment on the F250, probably the size of his machine. I normally do the oil changes, and little stuff.

It just steams me that they they said five percent. And it is almost fifty-five percent. The good news is the rotors look great. So I expect to do this around 75K miles.

[sugarwood]

Next time, photograph the pads cross section. Head on photo is useless.

[KFC911]

^^^^ LOL .... "next time".

I don't think there will be one

[craigster59]

Red, when I bought my first F150 (wrecked) the brakes were done by their Ford Dealership

Completely wrong and scored the rotors bad. No bueno

[KNS]

It seems like lying to the customer is par for the course at many dealerships as a way to either generate revenue or the tech is simply lazy.

The Ford Escape I had a while back was at the dealership for Service Bulletin and while there they told me the air filter was filthy and should be changed (I had changed it about a month before). I had the Service Advisor look at the filter and asked his opinion. He said "Gee, I can't imagine what the tech was looking at".

My brother ordinarily does a lot of the work on his Volvo himself but brought it to the dealer for a brake fluid service/replace among a couple of other things.

He got the car home and examined the dust caps on the calipers - there were dirty and clearly hadn't been touched. He took photos and showed them to the Service Manager who then confronted the tech. The tech admitted he didn't touch the brakes and got docked a day's pay. The Service Manager was pretty upset and didn't charge my brother for the (eventual) service.

I hate dealerships.

[red-beard]

Like this?

[stevej37]

Or maybe the stealership is a clue to that you are with the wrong dealership.

[Jims5543]

I have had that happen at tire shops. They come into the waiting room and tell me that my pads are done and I should do the pads now.

I tell them I will take care of it, go buy pads and had the same result as Red Beard, I pull my wheel and the pads are at 50% or better.

My niece recently asked me if I could do the pads on her Mini. The stealership told her they were done and they wanted $600 to do the job.

She said she would buy the pads and come over, I told her to come over first and let me look and see if she really needs pads. I was in shock, she actually did. She had about 20% left.

I told her to go buy the pads and come back the following weekend and I would swap them out.

I never trust any shop now when they say I need them.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by KNS

.... brought it to the dealer for a brake fluid service/replace among a couple of other things.

He got the car home and examined the dust caps on the calipers - there were dirty and clearly hadn't been touched. He took photos and showed them to the Service Manager who then confronted the tech. The tech admitted he didn't touch the brakes and got docked a day's pay. The Service Manager was pretty upset and didn't charge my brother for the (eventual) service.

Tech should have been fired, your bro should have gotten a free set of tires and a full service and detail along with the free brake job and the consumer watchdog department at all the local tv stations should have been notified.

[fastfredracing]

The whole system breeds dishonesty.

[red-beard]

I honestly believe it is because I had them do the oil change