Dealer tried to rip off my Sister

[RF Overlord]

Same thing happened to my buddy's grandmother. He was helping her with her bills one day and noticed that JL charged her for a new air filter every time she had the oil changed (3,000 miles). He confronted them and got them to refund the money for 3 air filters.

It probably helped that my buddy is kinda scary-looking...

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: 71Chevyguy
Car was brand new under warranty and they wanted a $180 diagnostic fee to look at it in cash non refundable but can be used towards repairs. I was like what in the world? Called Nissan and they said the dealer was allowed to do that because someone has to pay the tech if he finds nothing wrong with it, and we all know they never do if it is under warranty. Tried another dealer because this was absurd and they said the same thing.


So you think the dealer should just donate their tech's time to you to do diagnosis on something that isnt necessarily there? Did you have good basis for what was wrong?

A but different than the OP's situation - where while dealers do mark up parts bigtime, the charges seemed excessive and possibly incorrect.


Under warranty that shouldn't happen. Mazda is like that, they don't pay for diagnosis time under warranty, where Ford does. Our Mazda rep told a customer they had to pay for teardown to find out why the engine in their Mazda 5 seized with 5,000 miles on it. They said if it was a warrantable concern they would refund the diag, customer traded the car in on a Ford.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
Same thing happened to my buddy's grandmother. He was helping her with her bills one day and noticed that JL charged her for a new air filter every time she had the oil changed (3,000 miles). He confronted them and got them to refund the money for 3 air filters.

It probably helped that my buddy is kinda scary-looking...


Outrageous. There MIGHT be some honest Jiffy Lubes out there, but if that company went out of business it would be OK with me. I hear too many bad stories about JL.

 

[Falken]

The best thing to do is research like mad a good Independaent shop that repairs the cars you like to own.

Find their name, location, and what tow truck company they always use. Also, try to find the parts supplier they like to use. Have all these business cards and a plan of action ready.

Have the tow truck guy's number and the Indy shop's number programmed into your cell phone.

Afterwards, coordinating not getting ripped off is a breeze.

Otherwise, if you are stuck, you get ripped off.

Which reminds me I still have to find a great Indy shop for Honda. I can fix cars but sometimes you need help and resources.

I am still very green, everyone should find someone they trust as a priority.

 

[Colt]

I go to the dealer only for warranty work.I have a local shop that is good and has been working on my vehicles for years.

 

[71Chevyguy]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: 71Chevyguy
Car was brand new under warranty and they wanted a $180 diagnostic fee to look at it in cash non refundable but can be used towards repairs. I was like what in the world? Called Nissan and they said the dealer was allowed to do that because someone has to pay the tech if he finds nothing wrong with it, and we all know they never do if it is under warranty. Tried another dealer because this was absurd and they said the same thing.


So you think the dealer should just donate their tech's time to you to do diagnosis on something that isnt necessarily there? Did you have good basis for what was wrong?

A but different than the OP's situation - where while dealers do mark up parts bigtime, the charges seemed excessive and possibly incorrect.


Under warranty that shouldn't happen. Mazda is like that, they don't pay for diagnosis time under warranty, where Ford does. Our Mazda rep told a customer they had to pay for teardown to find out why the engine in their Mazda 5 seized with 5,000 miles on it. They said if it was a warrantable concern they would refund the diag, customer traded the car in on a Ford.


I think the dealer is responsible for fixing the car when it is brand new and having issues yes. That is why people buy new cars, so if they break down the dealer will take care of it. It had about 4,000 miles on it and was having cvt issues plus not starting with the smart key if it didn't feel like it. Other minor problems as well which I do not feel are right on a brand new car. IT is really not any of my concern who pays the tech, he is there and it is his job. If he is not getting paid then he is more than welcome to go work elsewhere. The purpose of a new car warranty is to cover any and all repairs due to manufacturer defects which at 4k would be the case. It wasn't from abuse or neglect it was just a [censored] car so it didn't work. Never had that much bad luck with a car before. I am more than capable of repairing things but I do not feel I should be taking apart a brand new car that is not working properly. Problems like that require the dealer's diagnostic computers and info from the manufacturer as to why the cvt is puling away in top gear and slipping along bucking like someone who has never driven a manual before and figured they would give it a try. I do not feel that I am wrong to expect the dealer to look at it and fix it. No other manufacturer has ever stiffed me like that on warranty work. They just fix it and most of the time the cars had nice long lives after the issues were ironed out. Never heard of a diagnostic fee on brand new car repairs, that is ridiculous.

 

[HerrStig]

SO a new "approved method" for avoiding warranty work is to demand a fee for verification of a warranty problem. Then, I suspect, like magic, as soon as the waranty can no longer be enforced the happy owner gets told "you got a SERIOUS" problem here".
Lemon laws in many states make this harder to pull off IF you are willing to put up with the process.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: 71Chevyguy
I think the dealer is responsible for fixing the car when it is brand new and having issues yes. That is why people buy new cars, so if they break down the dealer will take care of it. It had about 4,000 miles on it and was having cvt issues plus not starting with the smart key if it didn't feel like it. Other minor problems as well which I do not feel are right on a brand new car. IT is really not any of my concern who pays the tech, he is there and it is his job. If he is not getting paid then he is more than welcome to go work elsewhere. The purpose of a new car warranty is to cover any and all repairs due to manufacturer defects which at 4k would be the case. It wasn't from abuse or neglect it was just a [censored] car so it didn't work. Never had that much bad luck with a car before. I am more than capable of repairing things but I do not feel I should be taking apart a brand new car that is not working properly. Problems like that require the dealer's diagnostic computers and info from the manufacturer as to why the cvt is puling away in top gear and slipping along bucking like someone who has never driven a manual before and figured they would give it a try. I do not feel that I am wrong to expect the dealer to look at it and fix it. No other manufacturer has ever stiffed me like that on warranty work. They just fix it and most of the time the cars had nice long lives after the issues were ironed out. Never heard of a diagnostic fee on brand new car repairs, that is ridiculous.


Ya the tech support guy told our tech "the car can rot on your lot for all we care, we don't pay diag." It sucks for the customer, but at the same time it sucks for the technician that has 80K+ in tools with a mortgage and kids to feed to have to donate 8+ hours on an inspection teardown so that he might get paid to drop a new motor in.

The phone call was actually pretty funny. They asked why he thought it needed an engine and he said "theres a rod sticking out the side of the block." They asked him why he thought that required replacement, so he said "Unless you want to send me some block weld, I think it needs an engine."

 

[rjundi]

Looking forward to a dealer visit for oil change and recall check of my brake lines in my Subaru.

The car is fully maintained by an indy and current at 154k. Interesting to see what they "come up with".

Last one (another recall at 120k) was car needed an alignment but not just any alignment but $300 due to "rusty rear suspension parts". Decline by me. Wife wrecked her tire two weeks latter and free alignment check during tire replacement. Car was amazingly in alignment according to machine specs printout. Hmm.....

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: rjundi


Last one (another recall at 120k) was car needed an alignment but not just any alignment but $300 due to "rusty rear suspension parts". Decline by me. Wife wrecked her tire two weeks latter and free alignment check during tire replacement. Car was amazingly in alignment according to machine specs printout. Hmm.....



Took it back to subaru or someplace else? Not all alignment shops know how to do all cars, as some have specific requirements for weight, spreader bars, etc. Most shops ignore most of this.

 

[Lyman]

One reason I buy older vehicles that are out of warranty. I hate dealing with the idiots. I will fix my own stuff thank you.

 

[MCompact]

My local BMW dealer is excellent; reasonable prices and no attempt to upsell needed work. I also have a trio of excellent indie shops that I use for my Jeep and older BMW. And the Mazda? The nearest dealer that has an honest sales force and competent techs is 120 miles away...

 

[artificialist]

This is why I am half-glad that I have been sidelined by medical problems.

Just because you go to an independent does not mean that you will get cheated somehow:
1. Salesmen are often stuck selling oil change additives that are worthless.
2. Auto techs will be forced to align cars that have special requirements, but we are never given those weights that are required on certain vehicles. We don't get those toe spreader bars used on some cars either. No auto tech would ever get paid fairly to actually do that stuff during an alignment and never pay us for the tools that get it done.
3. We often get stuck using generic coolant and transmission fluid in all cars. Nobody has any distilled water for the coolant either. I would do certain tasks on my own car at home to avoid this.

I could think of more, but it would be depressing. This business has so much fraud.

 

[sciphi]

This is what we get when cars are viewed as black boxes. We did it to ourselves.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
I could think of more, but it would be depressing. This business has so much fraud.
sure is.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
There is a reason why they call them "$tealerships".


I'm surprised that they didn't split the CV boots just to cover their attempt to steal from your sister.


All i can say is i rarely have a car at the dealer, and i have never in my 30 years of own cars, experienced a split cv boot. I also live on a gravel drive with lots of dust. I do believe there are many instances of jabbing the boots. I have never had a split one on any car including my current 93 olds.

 

[Azeem]

I was helping a relative to buy a set of tires because he had no money and tires were showing the metal wire,he justified his need for the help by HAVING to get his 1994 Ford Ranger truck ,which obviously need a paint job and clutch is slipping BAD, fixed at the dealership because his timing belt snapped on the 2.3 engine which IS NOT interference engine. he said it was $1300 because he wanted to get it fixed RIGHT.


I immediately understood how all these dealerships are still in business despite all the tricks they do.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
This business has so much fraud.



You got it bucko!


I can say it because I worked in dealer stores in the service departments for 25 years and saw all manner of fraud, cheating, and vandalism to customer vehicles.

The comical thing is when you read the auto trade magazines like Crain's Automotive News they are basically a mouth piece and defender of these scummy b@stards. Always trying to press how they contribute so much to the community. LOL

Yeah, they contribute to the crime rate through fraud and malicious mischief when they break more stuff on your car to make more money.

The entire business model for the industry should be scrapped and rethought. But look at these scum bags fighting Tesla tooth and nail.

 

[sxg6]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
There is a reason why they call them "$tealerships".

I'm surprised that they didn't split the CV boots just to cover their attempt to steal from your sister.


All i can say is i rarely have a car at the dealer, and i have never in my 30 years of own cars, experienced a split cv boot. I also live on a gravel drive with lots of dust. I do believe there are many instances of jabbing the boots. I have never had a split one on any car including my current 93 olds.


Depends on the car, I know some subaru owners have a problem with their cv boots splitting. The problem is the boot is too close to the exhaust system on some subarus, which bakes the boot and causes it to split over time.

In regard to the original topic.. There are some bad dishonest dealers, and there are some good honest dealers. As JHZR2 said, where they really get you is parts prices.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Azeem
I was helping a relative to buy a set of tires because he had no money and tires were showing the metal wire,he justified his need for the help by HAVING to get his 1994 Ford Ranger truck ,which obviously need a paint job and clutch is slipping BAD, fixed at the dealership because his timing belt snapped on the 2.3 engine which IS NOT interference engine. he said it was $1300 because he wanted to get it fixed RIGHT.


I immediately understood how all these dealerships are still in business despite all the tricks they do.


$1300 for a t-belt on a Lima engine is straight up robbery! There is probably no easier vehicle on this earth to change a t-belt on than a Lima I4 Ranger.