OT - beware ripoffs increasing
SidePocket
Posts: 2,901 ✭✭✭
in the automotive repair world. In particular auto dealerships. I've heard many stories recently of bogus repairs being done at dealerships - here's what happened to me yesterday. My son's Toyota Tacoma had the Air Bag light come on. We take it to the Toyota dealer since airbags have an extended warranty and its still covered.
At about 10 AM the service rep calls and says that the problem is actually a power steering cable behind the steering wheel. I asked him how in the world that could cause the Air Bag light to come on and he mumbled a bunch of incomprehensible stuff. But the power steering cable isn't covered by the warranty.
So I said "how much"?
He says $600 to replace it. I said have the service manager call me immediately so he can explain to me exactly how a power steering cable can cause the air bag problem.
I get a voice mail 10 minutes later, stating they will replace the cable at no charge and under warranty.
Disgusting. I think the dealers are ripping people off in the service area to try to survive. Had my son gone in by himself they had a good chance of completing their ripoff.
At about 10 AM the service rep calls and says that the problem is actually a power steering cable behind the steering wheel. I asked him how in the world that could cause the Air Bag light to come on and he mumbled a bunch of incomprehensible stuff. But the power steering cable isn't covered by the warranty.
So I said "how much"?
He says $600 to replace it. I said have the service manager call me immediately so he can explain to me exactly how a power steering cable can cause the air bag problem.
I get a voice mail 10 minutes later, stating they will replace the cable at no charge and under warranty.
Disgusting. I think the dealers are ripping people off in the service area to try to survive. Had my son gone in by himself they had a good chance of completing their ripoff.
"Molon Labe"
0
Comments
I went postal ( with no actual violense ) on the dude .
This past Friday , our car started acting up (stalling) . She took it to another dealer . I told her to have the guy call me , before any work is done . My wife calls me and tells me that its going to be around $175 to fix. I told her to put the guy on . I then told him to put any parts that he changed in a bag , if they were replaced. I got home that night and found out he never charged her a dime as all it was , was a loose airhose.
Sonny
The harness for the air bags goes thru the inside of the steering column, it's possible that a wire inside the column had the insulation worn thru and shorted out.
Maybe you should ask them if you need some muffler bearings too.
"Molon Labe"
I only knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad but true.
MULLINS5,1966CUDA,nam812,nightcrawler,OAKESY25,PowderedH2O,relaxed,RonBurgundy,samsgirl214,shagrotn77,swartz1,slantycouch,Statman,Wabittwax
<< <i>I owned my own auto parts distribution business for 17 years with multiple locations and I sold parts to thousands of auto repair shops and car dealers. I mean THOUSANDS.
I only knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad but true. >>
That is really sad. I just found out that my wife’s sister was looking to get a new set of tires for her 3 series BMW from the dealership. I asked her what they were going to charge her for her tires. She told me that they were going to be $500 a tire. I took 5 minutes and called Discount Tire and got her the exact same tires for $240 a tire installed with the same warrenty. I also found out that she has been paying $115 each time she gets her oil changed by the dealership.
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/pdub1819/othersets/6204
Unfortunately, you combine that naivete with flat-out dishonesty from so many repair places and you get people ripped off left and right.
Tabe
<< <i>I owned my own auto parts distribution business for 17 years with multiple locations and I sold parts to thousands of auto repair shops and car dealers. I mean THOUSANDS.
I only knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad but true. >>
That's the biggest problem I had with the repair business. Once you see it from the other side, it's hard to like the people you deal with every day. Sometimes it wasn't that they were trying to overcharge, but more that the techs were incompetent. People ask me sometimes now where they should take their car and I can't recommend anybody.
T222's PSA 1 or better
only had 20,000 on it so we figured for the extra dollars it was worth it? Well last week its making a metal on metal
sound so I take it in immediatly. 2 days later? I get the phone call 1 hour after the van was pulled in. I know this because
I drove by twice to get my wife from work. He said over the phone that it was operator error the brake pads were worn?
I got made and said what are we suppose to do not use the brakes? He says if you do alot of driving around town it could be the case? I shook me head and said why are you blaming us because the pads didn't last a lifetime? He told us that he would warranty
it this time but not the next. He hands me the bill and its 238.00 dollars. I look at him and said for what all you did was replace the pads? He said well we had to resurface the rotors. I said they are brand new?
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
We are selling our house through for sale by owner becayse the realors want too much. For 100
bucks we can try and do it ourselves. Why not ? So about 3 days in we get an email from someone
who wats to buy our home. We are excited as anyone would be in a case like this. Couple emails
over the next week and he is going to put a deposit on our house. Of course we are just floored.
He wants to retire here and he is living in the U.K right now. Red Flags are starting to fly.
Basically he is going send us 70 grand and then about 2 days later say an emergency
has come up and he needs us to western union him 10 grand and he will make it up at closing.
We will never hear from him again....
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
1) Get yourself a service/repair manual for your car (typically available at the major auto parts chains, such as Pep Boys and AutoZone). When the time comes, this will at least help you research and understand what the mechanic or service advisor is talking about when he tells you what's wrong with your car.
2) If the problem is something that affects safety or seems to be a common manufacturing defect (such as shuddering brakes on a relatively new car), chances are you can get the problem taken care of for free. What you want to do is find out if a recall (which is when the manufacturer openly acknowledges a defect) has been issued for that problem. Oftentimes you'll get a letter in the mail (a "recall notice") that will tell you what the problem is (even if you haven't experienced it) and urge you to make a service appointment to get it taken care of. But if you feel you have a problem and haven't received any notice in the mail, go to the NHTSA site and click on "Recall Searches by make, model, year." Under "Select the TYPE of search" you'll want to go with the already selected "Vehicle" category. You then enter the information that's requested to obtain the recall notice(s) that have been issued for your vehicle.
In addition to recalls, there are also technical service bulletins (also called "TSBs" or "Service Bulletins"), which are similar to recalls except that the defect(s) haven't cropped up in enough vehicles for a recall to be issued. In other words, only a small amount of people have discovered and complained about the problem. The manufacturer lets the dealership's service department know about the problem, and if someone brings in a vehicle with said problem to check for a possible TSB on your vehicle, again go to the NHTSA site only this time click on "Service Bulletins" and then click on "Search Technical Bulletins." You then enter the information on your vehicle as you would when looking for a recall. Note that you can also find service bulletin and recall information for your car by using the Edmunds.com Maintenance Calculator.
3) If the above doesn't apply and you're going to be facing some repair bills, you should check with the local Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if any complaints have been filed against the repair shops or dealerships you're considering for your car's care.
4) If they check out OK, ask the respective shop managers if the mechanics they employ are "ASE" (Automotive Service Excellence) certified, and in what areas (such as engine, brakes, electrical, etc.). Obviously, you only want ASE mechanics working on your car.
5) When you've picked a shop and are dropping the car off, tell the person handling your car that you want to be given an estimate before they perform the repair(s). Tell them to call you with the estimate and for your authorization before they do anything else so you can decide whether you want them to do the work.
6) Once you've gotten the lowdown on the necessary repairs and an estimate, it wouldn't hurt to quickly call another half-dozen or so shops (that also have good credentials) to get additional estimates for the work. Be certain that you make it clear to them exactly what you need done to your vehicle. What you're looking for is some consistency — estimates that are a lot lower than the average might not be real, whereas ones that are a lot higher could indicate a shop trying to take you to the cleaners.
7) If the shop that already has your car seems to have a fair price for the work, call them back and authorize them to make the repairs. Ask them if there is a written warranty. You might want to tell them that you'd like to have the old parts back — as confirmation that the repairs have indeed been made. Use your best judgment on this one; if you're getting a new exhaust system, for example, you can simply look under the car to check that a new one has been installed). Finally, don't forget to ask them when the car will be ready for pick up.
8) After the repairs are complete and you've gone to the shop to pick up your car, first scrutinize the bill to make sure the agreed-upon work was done and the cost is in line with the estimate. If anything looks awry, ask about it right then and there.
9) Check out your car and take it for a brief test-drive with the service advisor or the mechanic riding shotgun. This way, if the car still makes the "funny noise," or "runs rough" or "pulls to the side" when you hit the brakes, he'll be right there to witness it. Don't take the car unless you are satisfied.
Maintenance:
1) Before you take your car in for its scheduled maintenance ("15,000-mile service," for example), grab the owner's manual (that little-read book that's usually in the glovebox) and look up what services the manufacturer recommends at this particular mileage point. Usually, there will be two different schedules, one for "normal driving" and another for "severe duty" use. The latter usually is defined as the car being driven primarily for very short trips (such as for delivery use), or in very dusty or severe climate conditions.
2) Once you've figured out which schedule applies to your car (more often than not, it's going to be "normal driving"), call the dealer and make an appointment for your car's service.
3) When you take your car to the dealer, make sure that you take the owner's manual with you. When you arrive and talk to the service advisor, chances are he's going to whip out some official-looking chart showing what the dealership recommends for your car's service. And chances are the cost of this "service" is double or triple what the manufacturer's recommended service would be. But since you've studied the owner's manual and are confident that the actual maker of the car (not some easy-profit-oriented dealership) knows what the car needs, you can politely tell the advisor, "No thanks, just do what the manufacturer states." If he balks, show him the owner's manual and go over the actual service you want performed. At that point, his argument for transmission fluid replacement or fuel-injection cleaning for your 15,000-mile car will cease to have any validity.
We recommend printing out this list of tips and keeping it in your glovebox (preferably with the owner's manual) so you can review it if need be. Now that you're savvy about matters of maintenance (and repair), we're confident that taking your car in for service won't equate to a chance of you being taken to the cleaners.
<< <i>What a tool! You didn't send him the 10 grand, did you? >>
Nope I think they actually think we have that kind of money so it won't happen if we get that far in the transaction.
We asked for a letter of intent and a bank check about 10 days ago. We emailed him and asked if he
still wanted to follow through. He responded with I am on business in Asia and will take care of everthing
when he got back to base. In other words I know your on to me so see you later.
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
Send him an email explaining that you will need him to initially deposit $5,000 to hold the house, but that you represent a wealthy nigerian prince whom will send him $100,000 to assist his emergency once the desposit to hold the house has been made.
An hour after I drop it off they call and say its going to cost $650 to fix as the whole wipe assembly needs to be replaced. I told them no thanks and pick up the car. My dad figured we may be able to get the wipers off easier now since the dealer just had them off. Sure enough they pop off pretty easy. We take a look at the wipe assembly and see that the dealer apparently broke a structural piece of it and tried gluing it back together, the glue was still wet! Aside from that, my dad looked at it, and sure enough it was just a pin that had sheared, $5 part. Ended up buying a different wiper assembly for $15 from a junkyard to replace the one the dealership broke.
Sad. Yet it's my profession (lawyers) that gets the bad rap. "The list" should now be amended to read, in no particular order:
1) Lawyers
2) Used car salesmen
3) Car repair shops
<< <i>I only knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad. Yet it's my profession (lawyers) that gets the bad rap. "The list" should now be amended to read, in no particular order:
1) Lawyers
2) Used car salesmen
3) Car repair shops
The computer repair industry gets a bad rap too, it's really hard to get some people to trust you. Rightfully so as I've heard some pretty big computer ripoffs too.
<< <i>I only knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad. Yet it's my profession (lawyers) that gets the bad rap. "The list" should now be amended to read, in no particular order:
1) Lawyers
2) Used car salesmen
3) Car repair shops
You can add jewelers to that list.
<< <i>Last October we had a 580 dollar front brake job. We actually bought the lifetime warranty pads. The van
only had 20,000 on it so we figured for the extra dollars it was worth it? Well last week its making a metal on metal
sound so I take it in immediatly. 2 days later? I get the phone call 1 hour after the van was pulled in. I know this because
I drove by twice to get my wife from work. He said over the phone that it was operator error the brake pads were worn?
I got made and said what are we suppose to do not use the brakes? He says if you do alot of driving around town it could be the case? I shook me head and said why are you blaming us because the pads didn't last a lifetime? He told us that he would warranty
it this time but not the next. He hands me the bill and its 238.00 dollars. I look at him and said for what all you did was replace the pads? He said well we had to resurface the rotors. I said they are brand new? >>
The brakes wore down and the rivets that they use to hold the brake material to the metal pads probably dug small grooves into the metal rotors (the metal on metal sound). If they don't resurface the rotors the new brakes will wear funny because the rotors aren't flat.
In your case, you absolutely need a different garage. Most auto parts suppliers will turn rotors for less than $20 each, and there really is no extra labor to R&R rotors on most trucks/vans when you're replacing the brake pads at the same time. Replacing your rotors with new ones would likely cost less than the $119 each that they charged you.
I guess in every profession there are good and bad, and we only notice the bad.
Sad. Yet it's my profession (lawyers) that gets the bad rap. "The list" should now be amended to read, in no particular order:
1) Lawyers
2) Used car salesmen
3) Car repair shops
FORGOT Realtors and mortgage brokers
<< <i>nly knew of 1 shop that I could actually recommend to friends that didn't rip people off.
Sad. Yet it's my profession (lawyers) that gets the bad rap. "The list" should now be amended to read, in no particular order:
1) Lawyers
2) Used car salesmen
3) Car repair shops
FORGOT Realtors and mortgage brokers
I think by mentioning "profession" he eliminated the clowns that are in the "Realtor" profession. The only value a Realtor adds is by holding back information in the listing.
Mortgage Brokers are basically in business to help people that shouldn't get a mortgage, get a mortgage.
I know it is easier said than done, but it can be done. It is good to start early, but even grown folks can learn almost everything about almost
everything simply by reading the internet AND buying any necessary books and manuals.
Many community colleges offer courses in car repair, and the building trades. If you cannot teach yourself, take a fast course. You'll be fine.
NO service vendor can hurt you too badly, if you know the stuff you should know.
...............
Jewelers - and collectible buyers/sellers - are among the most dangerous critters, but even they can be tamed, IF you educate yourself.
Doctors can be a bit risky for consumers, but if you avoid them UNLESS you are near death - they are best at serious accident repairs -
the risk is manageable.
Lawyers are ALL kittycats. If your guy/gal is not, hire a new one. Make them understand that they are just the mouthpiece, and while
they are expected to contribute their ideas, YOU are in charge and YOU call the shots. ALWAYS tell them at the frontend EXACTLY what
your "desired results" are. (Few lawyers are total crooks; some are not very smart/competent, but VERY FEW will steal from you unless
you let it happen.)
While the dealer shares some of the blame, the true cause of the problem are the auto companies. For warranty work, dealers are not compensated for identifying the root cause of the problem, they are only paid whatever the repair book says it should cost to replace a part. There it is not in their interest to really fix the problem, just replace it.
Your best best is to find a local garage through references and try them out. It does take time, but it will save you thousands in the long run. These shops depend on word of mouth for business, so they will usually try to fix the root cause of the problem.
For car repairs just keep getting different opinions. Each of my last three oil changes I was told there were new repairs needed, each time it was something different. If there really was something wrong with the brakes or tires, wouldn't each of those places have pointed them out?
<< <i>
<< <i>Last October we had a 580 dollar front brake job. We actually bought the lifetime warranty pads. The van
only had 20,000 on it so we figured for the extra dollars it was worth it? Well last week its making a metal on metal
sound so I take it in immediatly. 2 days later? I get the phone call 1 hour after the van was pulled in. I know this because
I drove by twice to get my wife from work. He said over the phone that it was operator error the brake pads were worn?
I got made and said what are we suppose to do not use the brakes? He says if you do alot of driving around town it could be the case? I shook me head and said why are you blaming us because the pads didn't last a lifetime? He told us that he would warranty
it this time but not the next. He hands me the bill and its 238.00 dollars. I look at him and said for what all you did was replace the pads? He said well we had to resurface the rotors. I said they are brand new? >>
The brakes wore down and the rivets that they use to hold the brake material to the metal pads probably dug small grooves into the metal rotors (the metal on metal sound). If they don't resurface the rotors the new brakes will wear funny because the rotors aren't flat.
In your case, you absolutely need a different garage. Most auto parts suppliers will turn rotors for less than $20 each, and there really is no extra labor to R&R rotors on most trucks/vans when you're replacing the brake pads at the same time. Replacing your rotors with new ones would likely cost less than the $119 each that they charged you.
I guess in every profession there are good and bad, and we only notice the bad. >>
Thought rotors were pretty expensive? I have been ripped off many times. The last place I used, the owner was real honest, but some of his mechanics weren't. Not a good combo. The owner got out of the biz.
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