Oil Change - and then some....

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TWG1572

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This goes under the category of "I should have known better" and/or "I should have done it myself". We will just add this to the list of painful learning moments in my life.

My wife has always been very into taking responsibility for routine maintenance on her vehicles (big thumbs up), the only thing I ever really get involved with is any repairs, etc. She can also stretch two nickels further than anyone I know, so I've never really worried about the upsell/etc.

She has a '09 Rav4 with 15K miles. She's been taking it into the local Toyota dealer for 5K oil changes, they have a fastlane and the price for an oil change is roughly competetive with any other quickie place out there. I'm figured she could do a whole lot worse, so didn't pay much more attention.

We are driving down the road this weekend, and she lets a comment fly about how she will be glad when her warranty is up so she can stop paying $92 for oil changes. At which point I about drive off the road! I asked her what exactly they are did to the car - she said that the service writer told her that there were all these inspections that needed to be done to maintain her factory warrenty. Sure enough, she has the paperwork at home that shows all the inspections at 5K, 10K, and 15K. And surprise, surprise - everything checked out ok!
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Right now, I'm waiting till I get home so I can have the manual in front of me before I call the dealer. Assuming there is nothing in there that requires inspections - I can't wait to call the dealer and hear just how those inspections are required to maintain the factory warranty.

I plan on asking for a refund for those three services, to the $29 the oil changes were supposed to cost. The chances of getting anything back are probably pretty slim, but I will feel better. I know she agreed to the extra costs when service was done, but my guess it was pretty much an outright lie. Once I have the manual, I'll know.

I guess we can file this with all the other "buyer beware" posts out there. And if anyone can point me to a solid independent mechanic on the east side of Madison, WI who is good with Toyotas/Nissans - I'd appreciate it.
 
Consider a suit under your state's consumer protection act. In my state, you could win treble damages. Find the right lawyer and they could face a class action suit.

Also, what about contacting the local tv and radio stations?
 
Tv news won't do anything about car dealers. They are the bread and butter of station revenue. The dealer manager would call his salesman and make sure the story is fair and balanced, or, where's the story, she signed off on the work?

Sometimes you'll see a network/dateline NBC piece on meinikie or midas, or an independent.

I think mrs OP just really loves her car. Some cheap people, myself included, are cheap on the small stuff so we have money for what we think really matters.
 
Originally Posted By: Boatowner
Consider a suit under your state's consumer protection act. In my state, you could win treble damages. Find the right lawyer and they could face a class action suit.

Also, what about contacting the local tv and radio stations?

For what? The work was agreed upon before they started it. Not much you can do besides learn.
 
I'd agree that my wife does love her car, but unlike a lot of us here on BITOG car maintenance/upgrades is not something she spends her "fun money" on.

But you are right on with your assessment of her saving money so she can spend it on fun stuff! In her case, that would be travel.
 
Wouldn't it have to be free under the Magnusson law? If its required for warranty it has to be free(inspections).
 
I'm sorry, but I'm getting SICK of posts like this.

You bought a brand-new vehicle that probably cost about $20-25k. Your wife is being responsible, and taking it in for regular servicing, which is a LOT better than many drivers out there.

When she takes the car in she is having an oil change done, and is asked if she wants to have the 'warranty inspections' done. Maybe they aren't required to keep the warranty intact, but for someone who doesn't know everything about cars, they aren't a BAD item for piece of mind.

She's not being ripped off, she's paying for a service that is being offered. Is she paying too much compared to a maintenence-savvy person that can do it themself? Sure, maybe she is - BUT SHE IS NOT INHERENTLY BEING RIPPED OFF AGREEING TO PAY FOR A SERVICE THAT IS DONE!!!

The 'cheapeness' and outright HATRED that all people on here have for every last dealership is getting old really fast. $20-25K vehicle, and people act like it's the end of the world b/c someone paid a couple of hundred extra $$$ for service to keep the vehicle going.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I'm sorry, but I'm getting SICK of posts like this.

You bought a brand-new vehicle that probably cost about $20-25k. Your wife is being responsible, and taking it in for regular servicing, which is a LOT better than many drivers out there.

When she takes the car in she is having an oil change done, and is asked if she wants to have the 'warranty inspections' done. Maybe they aren't required to keep the warranty intact, but for someone who doesn't know everything about cars, they aren't a BAD item for piece of mind.

She's not being ripped off, she's paying for a service that is being offered. Is she paying too much compared to a maintenence-savvy person that can do it themself? Sure, maybe she is - BUT SHE IS NOT INHERENTLY BEING RIPPED OFF AGREEING TO PAY FOR A SERVICE THAT IS DONE!!!

The 'cheapeness' and outright HATRED that all people on here have for every last dealership is getting old really fast. $20-25K vehicle, and people act like it's the end of the world b/c someone paid a couple of hundred extra $$$ for service to keep the vehicle going.
And..every last dealership doesn't do things this way. I would at least try to contact the dealership's OWNER, and make sure that you don't appreciate your wife being taken advantage of this way. Many (if not most) tire stores will do a courtesy check for FREE, and to charge that much for a inspection on a BRAND NEW vehicle every 5K is almost hard to believe. A phone call to the Better Business Bureau sounds like a good idea too.
 
an inspection allows the dealer to catch a little problem before it becomes a big problem. if u think the dealer is too costly, go to an independent garage and price shop, that's what i do.

you are driving a high tech piece of equipment, and you are trusting your wife's life that nothing goes wrong, but you're ?too cheap to follow the manufacturer's advice for getting it checked? that bill you are paying is referred to as "cost of ownership" and it's part and parcel of vehicle ownership.

there is a maintenance schedule that must be followed for the warranty to be intact, and you have to follow each one of those items exactly. if they are doing more than the schedule, then this is just a rip off, but remember, the dealership is a business, and they need revenues to stay in business. Funny how we don't mind taking it out on the little guy, but let a corporation completely cause TRILLIONS OF dollars of damage to the Gulf environment - then no one really cares, that is someone else's problem, but if you over bill me by $5, then WATCH OUT!!!
 
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You'd think the dealer would figure out how to make money off warranty, it's skimpy sometimes, but there should be a way as it's their bread and butter. Then do the courtesy check for free hoping to drum up more business, benefiting both customer and dealer.
 
If there was actual services done, I would feel OK about it, but since all they charged extra for was inspections that were largely not needed, I'd be ticked off as well.
 
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