Dealership maintained vehicles

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck
I had the opposite experience with a dealership-maintained 2002 VW Golf. Over the 6 years I owned the car, it had a recurrence of identical problems, some of which were caused by poor craftmanship, others by negligence at the dealership. These include:
- headlight bulbs frying twice a year. I now suspect the dealership installed them with greasy fingers.
- stripped oil pan drain thread. Dealership pestered me because the drain plug had been over-tightened... well all oil changes were performed at the dealership since new. Didn't stop them from billing me $1,200 for a new oil pan, no discount.
- door weatherstripping sticking to doors in freezing temperature and tearing, every year. That's expensive
- 6 inch puddle of water below the back seat because sunroof leaks. Billed for repair twice. Still 6 inch puddle.
- various electrical problems.
- electric windows falling in the door once in a while. Never really fixed.

I now own a Toyota and take care of routine maintenance myself thanks to youtube tutorials. Zero trouble so far.
VW NEVER AGAIN!

To answer OP's question, dealership maintenance is no guarantee of good care.

Anyone with tools, youtube, the inclination to learn and use good judgement plus the incentive to do it right (as opposed to fast, pushed by boss) can do a better job than a dealership for most of the maintenance of an average car. I'm not talking about the fancy Porsches that need a dealership computer to read and reset codes on oil changes, I'm talking average Joe's automobile.



Yes, your real problem was that it was a VW. There's a good reason they were at the bottom of the list in reliability for many years.

 

[KrisZ]

I think that for the vehicles we're discussing here, i.e. over 10 years old and high mileage, where maintenance includes far more than oil changes and tire rotations, the difference is quality of parts used IMO.
Dealerships in general use high quality OEM parts, which is especially important when the brakes or suspension components are concerned. Also, most of the tires they stock are pretty good as well.

Now, compare this to someone that goes to one of these car repair chains and puts on some cheap brake pads that squeal when cold, or gets cheap, Chinese tires that are loud and it's not hard to see that a car fitted with these types of components, making all sorts of extra noises, will feel like it is in a much worse state.

 

[SteveSRT8]

No guarantee on the quality you'll get at a stealership. My GM dealer isn't worth the powder to blow him to %&*#!

I'd say careful labor is at least as important. I've had stealers leave off bolts and put stuff back together completely wrong. Of course they "guarantee" it but then your vehicle is down for days or weeks while they grind through some ridiculous Process. My vehicles earn money and we can't just go rent one!

Then there's my RAM dealer. They seem great from the sale to the shop. But that vehicle only has 50k miles on it, in our world it's brand new. Need a bit more time...

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I've ridden in a number of vehicles that have never been maintained by a dealer, and they rode and ran quite well despite their age.

And I own vehicles that have never been maintained by a dealer, and run/ride quite well despite their age.

There's nothing special about dealership maintenance.


Same here. Although I did have a good experience with a local Jeep dealership. I had the airbag recall work done to my 2016 Rubicon, NAV/Radio replacement, and a reflash of the PCM. All they tried to sell me was an oil change, and it wasn't a hard sell. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Bgallagher]

I haven't been to a dealership for service in years (except for a driveshaft for my Equinox as the local shop said they don't have the expertise and didn't want to screw up the repair. Impressed that the indy shop didn't try to wing it. My GMC has been a GMC dealership for their free oil change and tire rotations and I do have to say everything has been spot on. Oil is perfect and level, fluids were either filled or adjusted. Coolant was slightly overfilled from the factory and after the first oil change they adjusted it to the max fill mark. I was impressed they did that. As already mentioned, it can be a [censored] shoot on if you get a skilled tech or somebody who doesn't care. Both in dealerships and indy shops. It's their service reps that are the scumbags, scare tactics on repairs, telling customers they need unnecessary services etc.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: CKN

With all due respect some of the problems you listed are inherent in owning a Volkswagen. For example-electrical problems on Volkswagens are unfortunately widespread and common. Weather stripping coming off are build issues (regardless of ambient temperature) and nothing more.


I came very close to buying a GTI in 2007 and a Golf R just last year. In both cases the lack of competent dealers in my area caused me to cross them off my list.

 

[Ramblejam]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
In both cases the lack of competent dealers in my area caused me to cross them off my list.

Bachman & Huffman? How are they incompetent?

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
I haven't been to a dealership for service in years (except for a driveshaft for my Equinox as the local shop said they don't have the expertise and didn't want to screw up the repair. Impressed that the indy shop didn't try to wing it. My GMC has been a GMC dealership for their free oil change and tire rotations and I do have to say everything has been spot on. Oil is perfect and level, fluids were either filled or adjusted. Coolant was slightly overfilled from the factory and after the first oil change they adjusted it to the max fill mark. I was impressed they did that. As already mentioned, it can be a [censored] shoot on if you get a skilled tech or somebody who doesn't care. Both in dealerships and indy shops. It's their service reps that are the scumbags, scare tactics on repairs, telling customers they need unnecessary services etc.


My BMW dealer has a great service department that doesn't charge exorbitant amounts for maintenance or repairs. I even get a BMW loaner when I bring in my 144k mile 1995 Club Sport(which I didn't even buy there). My service advisor -a BMW CCA member and track geek- has never pushed any unnecessary work.

For example, when the "4X4 Fault" light illuminated on my wife's X3 my advisor told me, "The system only stored one isolated fault- the steering angle sensor. I would not suggest replacing it- it's most likely just a random glitch." No charge for that diagnosis, either(and the issue has not recurred). When my Club Sport was in for an Oil Service he told me, "The power steering return hose is slightly damp, but I wouldn't replace it until it starts to drip, and that probably won't happen for another 40,000-50,000 miles."

 

[wtd]

I would probably be inclined to take my vehicles to the dealer for maintenance and repairs more often if the cost wasn't so high. On my Mustang, I take it to the dealer for tire rotations because for the price, it's not worth the hassle of me trying to do it at home but that is it. So far I do everything else.

As far as always getting OEM parts at the dealership, that is not always true. I once had GM dealer who was working on my truck tell me that they used power steering pumps from the local parts stores quite a lot. I also have seen vehicles from the local parts stores delivering parts to dealerships. As a customer, you have no idea where the part came from unless you happen to see the manufacturer's name on it and you know it's a part that came factory on your vehicle so you might be able to assume it's a dealer part.

Wayne

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: MCompact
In both cases the lack of competent dealers in my area caused me to cross them off my list.

Bachman & Huffman? How are they incompetent?



Because this is BITOG. And because we change our own oil that makes us capable to be able to judge dealerships as to their skill levels.

We paint with broad brushes here as well.

 

[DrRoughneck]

Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck
I had the opposite experience with a dealership-maintained 2002 VW Golf. Over the 6 years I owned the car, it had a recurrence of identical problems, some of which were caused by poor craftmanship, others by negligence at the dealership. These include:
- headlight bulbs frying twice a year. I now suspect the dealership installed them with greasy fingers.
- stripped oil pan drain thread. Dealership pestered me because the drain plug had been over-tightened... well all oil changes were performed at the dealership since new. Didn't stop them from billing me $1,200 for a new oil pan, no discount.
- door weatherstripping sticking to doors in freezing temperature and tearing, every year. That's expensive
- 6 inch puddle of water below the back seat because sunroof leaks. Billed for repair twice. Still 6 inch puddle.
- various electrical problems.
- electric windows falling in the door once in a while. Never really fixed.

I now own a Toyota and take care of routine maintenance myself thanks to youtube tutorials. Zero trouble so far.
VW NEVER AGAIN!

To answer OP's question, dealership maintenance is no guarantee of good care.

Anyone with tools, youtube, the inclination to learn and use good judgement plus the incentive to do it right (as opposed to fast, pushed by boss) can do a better job than a dealership for most of the maintenance of an average car. I'm not talking about the fancy Porsches that need a dealership computer to read and reset codes on oil changes, I'm talking average Joe's automobile.



With all due respect some of the problems you listed are inherent in owning a Volkswagen. For example-electrical problems on Volkswagens are unfortunately widespread and common. Weather stripping coming off are build issues (regardless of ambient temperature) and nothing more.

Which is why I wrote "some of which were caused by poor craftsmanship, others by negligence at the dealership" in the second sentence.

 

[raytseng]

As with most internet arguments, people try to make a black or white argument, but the world is not absolutes.

Draw the venn diagram for folks that do exclusively dealership maintenance and whether they care about their maintenance, and it will approach a donut.
Draw the venn diagram for folks that don't do dealership maintenance and whether they would rather save money over full recommended maintenance, I argue that it will approach a regular venn diagram or separate circles.

The other way to think about it is if Dealearships say all their service is included/free, what do you think the percentage of people who still refuse the free service and DIY it themselves because they think Dealerships are screwups.
Sure you can say I will DIY even if the dealership was free, but you are likely the small minority.

 

[Andrew1972]

Dealer maintained cars tend to get regular service by mechanics who can do work in their sleep. Also dealers tend to recommend work earlier so car stays in excellent shape as they age. Lastly dealers can fix and correct items free while indys stay mum

That all being said for repairing/diagnosis and lowest cost dealers may not be best choice.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck
I had the opposite experience with a dealership-maintained 2002 VW Golf. Over the 6 years I owned the car, it had a recurrence of identical problems, some of which were caused by poor craftmanship, others by negligence at the dealership. These include:
- headlight bulbs frying twice a year. I now suspect the dealership installed them with greasy fingers.
- stripped oil pan drain thread. Dealership pestered me because the drain plug had been over-tightened... well all oil changes were performed at the dealership since new. Didn't stop them from billing me $1,200 for a new oil pan, no discount.
- door weatherstripping sticking to doors in freezing temperature and tearing, every year. That's expensive
- 6 inch puddle of water below the back seat because sunroof leaks. Billed for repair twice. Still 6 inch puddle.
- various electrical problems.
- electric windows falling in the door once in a while. Never really fixed.

I now own a Toyota and take care of routine maintenance myself thanks to youtube tutorials. Zero trouble so far.
VW NEVER AGAIN!

To answer OP's question, dealership maintenance is no guarantee of good care.

Anyone with tools, youtube, the inclination to learn and use good judgement plus the incentive to do it right (as opposed to fast, pushed by boss) can do a better job than a dealership for most of the maintenance of an average car. I'm not talking about the fancy Porsches that need a dealership computer to read and reset codes on oil changes, I'm talking average Joe's automobile.



With all due respect some of the problems you listed are inherent in owning a Volkswagen. For example-electrical problems on Volkswagens are unfortunately widespread and common. Weather stripping coming off are build issues (regardless of ambient temperature) and nothing more.

Which is why I wrote "some of which were caused by poor craftsmanship, others by negligence at the dealership" in the second sentence.


I see one issue possibly caused by the the dealership-the oil pan. The sunroof again sounds like a factory defect/build issue that the dealership tried to fix-but was ultimately a poor design.

You bought the wrong brand....and you moved on. Enjoy your Camry-they are great cars.

 

[Olas]

With a couple of exceptions, it's always better to do your own work on your own car - saving money and time and knowing its done right are just a couple of reasons.
The exceptions being that you want to maintain warranty, you lack the knowledge and/or tools, or you have an extremely complex/valuable piece of supercar/hypercar exotica.

The issue with maintaining the warranty by using a dealership all the time is the risk of a bad time at that dealership - for example being charged for a new sump&plug after they stripped it. Lots of people report bad experiences at dealerships, sometimes through unrealistic expectations and sometimes through rudeness or poor quality work.

The point is, dealerships are staffed by humans, some good and some bad. If you have experience of a certain place or know of its reputation you might be more inclined to take a chance than with an unknown place, but it's still 'better' to do your own maintenance. Compare the cost of the dealer doing the work vs. the cost of the tools and parts - put the difference in your pocket and total it up at the end of the year

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: MCompact
In both cases the lack of competent dealers in my area caused me to cross them off my list.

Bachman & Huffman? How are they incompetent?


Back in 2007 I called the service departments of both dealers to ask how much they charged for the 40,000 mile DSG service that the owners manual specifically calls for.
Bachman's tech told me: "The newer transmissions are sealed and don't need service. Everything is done through the computer."
At Huffman, the first person in service who picked up asked me what a DSG was. I was transferred to a second person who stated that there was "no recommended service" for the DSG.

And prior to those awesome displays of knowledge I tried to deal with so-called sales advisors who acted like custom ordering a car had the same degree of difficulty as achieving cold fusion...

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: CKN

Because this is BITOG. And because we change our own oil that makes us capable to be able to judge dealerships as to their skill levels.

We paint with broad brushes here as well.


I hate to burst your bubble- but as you can see above, I based my comments on first-hand experience...

 

[Vikas]

The people who take the car to dealer after 150K miles are of the type who do not live with minor problems. They also have the money to pay top dollar to the dealership. Rest of us do the cost benefit analysis i.e. do I really need to fix that rear LH passenger window or could I just tape it shut? I don't really need that window to be opened! The same goes for say sun roof etc.

Give few of these type of items and now you have a car which starts feeling old.

This is why OP notices that dealer serviced car feels newer.

 

[KitaCam]

^^^^^ yes....My neighbor just got a 2003 Altima with 127k miles...the CarFax had FOUR PAGES OF DEALER MAINTENANCE...no repairs...incl OCIs of 4k miles....crazy, but good for him.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I took my Magnum to the dealer for oil changes the entire time I owned it. (I think I did one myself.) They kept sending coupons, and I couldn't change it myself for what they charged. (About $26 total.)