I hate car dealerships thread

Let me start with the fact that I am anal about the maintenance and repair of my vehicles and I'm not cheap but wise with my money.
I got a recall notice on my 2004 Toyota Tundra (that I bought new) for a frame inspection, possible replacement or painting. I got it inspected in April and they said that the frame was fine but needed to be painted (coated) for free. I made an appointment for today because they were backed up and I'm on vacation this week. I dropped it off at the dealer's body shop this morning. I get a call at 2pm from a service rep from the mechanic's shop stating that they had checked the frame and that is was ok but needed painting. I told them that it had already been inspected and it was there to be painted. She said that there was a mix up and that they would send it back to the body shop. She asked "would you like to hear what we found wrong with your truck while we had it? I said sure. She stated that the timing belt was cracked and the water pump was leaking and the rack and pinion was leaking. (What she did not know is that I had my mechanic replace the timing belt and water pump last year and I drove it less than 4k miles since then.)I told her she was full of shiit, that the timing belt and water pump were new and I hung up on her. I was pizzed. The muffler leaks and is noisy and she didn't even mention it.

Rant over!

 

Yup, gotta agree with you, I'd be in a rant too. Difference would be that I'd be ranting on the showroom floor of the dealership. Personal appearances are always more effective.

 

I have to go back and pick it up so I'm thinking about what to say.

 

Jack, by no means let the rant be over! I'm sure that there are plenty of others that will chime in with similar experiences.
The toyota dealer that I have dealt with had offered free oil changes for a couple years or so, and I finally took them up on an offer one time. I asked why the heck are they doing this for free, what's the angle, etc. Even told them they must make too much money to be able to offer this for as long as they had (at that time). While waiting for my car to be done, one of their reps came out to talk with one of two others that were waiting for their cars oil change, and told them a number of things that needed replacing or attention of some sort. The first party was an older woman and agreed to the suggestions of replacing the wipers, air filters (one for the engine, one for the cabin air) and I think the belts needed replacing, also. So, her free oil change ended up being well over 200 I'm thinking. Now I knew the angle. Sure enough, they came out to the second party and told them a similar story, and then it was my turn. My water pump needed replacing because its was leaking, air filters, etc. Told them no thanks, but thanks for the free oil change! Pushy

 

Service writers are paid based on what services they are able to push on a customer. If they don't produce the numbers to keep the service bays profitable, they are GONE. That's why there are so many job listings for service writers.

 

A couple cars ago I went to an instant oil change place. It was dead of winter and I didn't feel like laying on the ground under the car with snow boogers bombing me while changing oil. I pulled in, they started the oil change and about 5 minutes into it one of the workers came to the drivers side window and said my air filter needed replacing. I knew darn well he hadn't checked it as I was looking through the gap between the windshield and hood and he wasn't anywhere near the air filter. Plus it was a PITA to get the air filter out of that car. I asked him to show it to me. He disappeared for a minute or so, at which point I opened the door and he was scrambling trying to get the filter out. Had he checked the sticker on top of the air box that said "K&N filter installed, do not replace" or whatever it said, he'd have been known that he didn't have to replace it. I'd cleaned and oiled the filter earlier that fall.

I asked to speak with the manager, told him I didn't appreciate their tactics and got half off the oil change. That was the one and only time I went to an instant oil change place.

I'd worked in a garage for 5 years in a previous career and I'm sure I had changed more oil than anyone in that shop had changed.

 

Ya think ? I get suspicious after $50

 

I have two. One was the chevy dealer that was doing warranty work. They called and said I needed a new battery as my truck would not start. They kept pushing it and I said if my truck does not start when I get there It will be in the middle of the showroom when I leave. Started just fine but they "forgot" to mention the stuff not covered by warranty that had to be done to fix the issue. The next was a ford dealership with the camshaft position sensor recall. Got almost home and it stalled like before. Called them and asked they told me a bunch of things that could be wrong but I had already replaced all that stuff. I asked if they reset the computer they said no our paperwork did not tell us to. I reset it and its been fine since. Rant over.

 

I spent 18 years wrenching at a dealership and would still be there if it was up to me. What always got me was the fact people thought they were saving money going to an independent, when in fact they were paying more. I'll stop there.

 

I hear ya Jack. I change my disposition when I have to deal with anything related to car dealerships. It's things simular to your story about what they found while it was on the lift that sends me to another state of mind as well. I also have a personal mechanic that takes care of me. When it has to go to the dealership for a recall or other business my guy cannot do I get weird, almost like preparing for war.
My wife won't even go there anymore because it's a FACT they treat women differently, thinking they are less knowledgable and if they say something to them that sounds serious that they will cave in and spend the money thinking it's unsafe, like they are more vulnerable. I could rant on your dime too Jack, thanks for speaking up!

 

We have a 2 yr old car that developed a grinding noise in one of the brakes. My wife went to the dealer. There the mechanic said that the front brakes had got scratched by something getting in like a pebble. There wanted about $400 to fix the problem. I questioned this and took it in to the independent up the road from us. I always took my vehicles there because he was handy and earned my trust. He found the problem in the rear brake, ( the one making the noise) and said the front brakes were like new. He did the job for just over $200.

 

I think my blinker fluid needs changing.......was gonna' use aftermarket, but I can't find it. Dealer only?
Haven't even seen the inside of a dealer shop for many years.

 

Bought a new "used" car from a large regional chain dealership. Two days later there started to be problems with the engine. On the third day, I took the car to the dealership for repair since the warranty covered the problem. The dealership gave me such a hard time through shaming (besides selling me a lemon) that I will never go back again.

 

Sorry that happened to you. My wife pulls the attorney card once these guys play games, it shouldn't have to come to that.

 

I was nice to them because I knew I would never be back. They gave me a hard time about using the warranty (isn't that what it is for?) and talked down to me. Oh well. Won't return.

 

Your gonna make me look that one up.

 

It's also funny because word of mouth is a big part of the car business, just like any business. Treatment like this will not get (in your case) other women in there to do business, they will go elsewhere.