Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
. . . Of course the oil changes are prolly seen as a loss leader for the dealership. The idea is just to get you in there so they can pitch you XYZ...but if you resist the temptation, sales pitch.. it's not a particularly bad deal for a dealership oil change.
This particular dealer, the one from which I bought the Park Avenue 12 years ago, has never tried to upsell me on things. Their oil change/tire rotation package is not only a bit cheaper than my independent could do both, they're open on Saturday mornings, and they're located near my barber. I drop off the car, walk down, get sheared, walk back, and the car is usually ready. I check the oil level and color to keep them honest -- but I've yet to have a problem with them.
Had the same experience at a Chevy/GM dealer in Greenwood, SC.....Gary Russ Chevy.
I'd just purchased an '03 Silverado with 108K on the odo.....back in Oct. 2013. Went in to have the trans filter changed...usually it's just a drain and fill scenario (they had a quite inexpensive deal going on for GM trucks at the time for this.)
Talked with the service manager....it was just as they opened (hey, I'm retired so I do have a tad of free time, so no problem being somewhere when it first opens, provided I can motivate my dead behind out of bed.....lol!) I proffered the coupon for the trans special and before I could even get anything out my mouth other than "I have a coupon for your truck trans service," he stated the shop would NOT flush the trans, esp. since I had no documentation showing the tranny had ever been flushed before and the truck was over 100k on the odo.
Sort of a reverse upsell.
Contrast that to a Lexus dealer outside Boston I visited in 2012. We'd just purchased an '06 LX470 but it came with a single key. (Got an excellent price for it and the seller did reimburse us for the exorbitant cost of getting a second key made for it.) The dealer did the usual while they had it.....inspection, wash, vacuum, etc. Then we get taken in to one of the service writer offices where the guy says.....BOTH exhaust manifolds were cracked and needed replacing immediately and the vehicle was unsafe to drive in its present condition. The estimate for doing it was a couple thousand dollars.
Now, I may be a trusting soul, but I've heard cracked exhaust manifolds in my life and this Lexus was just [censored] quiet when running...no evidence of any cracks, leaks, etc. in the exhaust system. I declined and declined and declined the repair despite his ever increasing warnings of us asphyxiating ourselves as we drove. Drove off after 30 min. of refusing them to work on the truck & finally got the key that was made. Wife was sorta freaking out......
A week later go to the Toyota dealer in Hyannis on Cape Cod to have the timing belt/water pump on it replaced....and wouldn't you know it? Their mechanics could not find any exhaust leaks, even with the fancy printouts that the Lexus dealer provided detailing the "problem" and its implications, i.e. death while driving. (Used the Toyota dealer because the repair cost $775 from them vs. the Lexus dealer's $1242 quote for the same job.)
Talk about a screw job from the Lexus dealer. Sham all the way.
So, there are good dealerships and not-so-good ones. All depends upon who the service managers are and if higher ups in the dealer are pushing to extract every last penny from customers, reputation be [censored].