Oil Change - and then some....

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Originally Posted By: addyguy
She's not being ripped off...


She might be. If her owner's manual says inspections are required at, say, 30K miles and the dealer is charging her for them every 5K, that's a rip off. Particularly if they're telling her she needs to do this to keep her warranty valid.

I'd like to see a list of those "required" inspections. Or better yet, a list of what her owner's manual requires.
 
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.



The price of the vehicle has nothing to do with the price of services provided, it is a matter of dealer integrity and proffesionalism, which is known to be very close to 0.

I will give you my example and the reaseon I don't trust dealers. I brought my Mazda for 30k service, because I thought I should get at least one of these done, just in case I need some warranty work done, which I did not by the way.

The price was $250 and it included oil and filter change, fluid level and other inspections, and an air filter change, pretty steep but I decided to go through with it. At the end of the service they gave me an inspection sheet along with the receipt, that included all the stuff they claimed they've done. Every inspection was rticked off (can't prove that one), oil and filter change (this one was done) and air filter change was ticked off. Later that night I checked the air filter and it was never changed. So I paid $250 for an oil change and was ripped off because the services were not done completley. I never went to that dealer and any other one for that matter again.


What OP's wife is being charged for is the same thing, there is no way to prove they did not inspect the car and only completed the checklist, if you don't see naything wrong with this then you must be working for the dealer as well.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
...and to charge that much for a inspection on a BRAND NEW vehicle every 5K is almost hard to believe.


I agree. My GM dealer includes a free 29-point inspection as part of their $29 lube special.
 
I use to have all the services done on my two Elements by the book until I saw exactly what they were doing (check light bulbs, etc.), that is when I decided to take it in for just the oil changes, ATF changes, and diff change as recommended by Honda. I figured I could check the lights bulbs, air filter, and cabin air filters myself.
 
KrisZ,

Don't get mad, I'm not trying to be rude or disrespectful....
but you paid $250 for a 30K service, its still a brand new car.
Why aren't you do all the inspecting for free ?

Greasebag service writers and dishonest snake 'ASE' technicians make 'Cash-Money' on these types of so called inspections.
smirk2.gif

These unscrupulous snakes would do the same thing to their own mother & father and sleep well at night knowing they made some easy money. How sad.
 
Also, an oil change at most places involves an inspection of all the obvious stuff, torn cv boots, any leaks, check all lights, tire pressure... The quicky lube places here were even checking both the diffs, transfer case, and transmission fluid levels on my tracker as part of a normal change.
A $92 bill should mean a real tech spends 1/2 of an hour doing something in addition to an oil change. But I doubt they were doing anything other than a quick look over like every other oil change place.
I don't think you have any practical recourse other than asking the service manager for some money back or a free oil change. I'd just not do any more business with them after this if they don't do something for you.
 
I would not call the dealer, I would go see them in person, and the most important thing is to remain calm, be polite, and if you do not get the answer you want, just tell them it has been a pleasure doing business with them but you will not be back. A little reminder to the owner that he is not the only Toyota dealer in town won't hurt either.

But remain calm and polite, that drives them nuts.
 
I can see them charging for the inspection, but 62 bucks (I'm guessing the OC was 30)? I could see an extra 20 bucks, but wow....
 
The owner's manual probably calls for inspections at those intervals, unfortunately they are mostly visual ones, and you could do them yourself. If the oil change stated specifically that the inspection was to be done there is little you can do, if she said do the 5,000 mile checkup up there is nothing you can do. Too many people drive in and say do the 30,000mile service not knowing that most of it are inspections and most not needed by the manual. I would mention it to the dealer but just stop going there, I doubt there is much you can do to recover any money.
 
Quote:
I doubt there is much you can do to recover any money


At this point, she approved the service and signed on the dotted line.
END OF STORY. LESSON LEARNED.

I love my wife and would never allow her to step foot into a dealership and have these dishonest unscrupulous snakes sell her a service just so they can print out a few pages of worthless inspection papers.
 
We all realize that these 29 point free inspections included with an oil change are nothing more then revenue generators, the only reason, and I mean only reason they are doing the inspections are to sell more services. Oil changes may even be used as loss leaders just to lure people into the shop and then find other problems with the vehicles. Some will say that is good as it can locate a potential serious problem early however, in most cases the problems are non existent. Like others I have had my share of dealer upsells and shady recommendations.
 
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
At this point, she approved the service and signed on the dotted line.
END OF STORY. LESSON LEARNED.


True. Months have probably passed; they're not going to refund anything. Best to hope for might be a free oil change next time (if there is a next time).

Originally Posted By: Spector
We all realize that these 29 point free inspections included with an oil change are nothing more then revenue generators


Yes but there's a difference between doing the inspections for free (and you can always tell the wife to memorize the "no" word when they try to upsell anything), and charging $92 for them with the "scare" tactic that its to keep the warranty intact.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny
I would not call the dealer, I would go see them in person, and the most important thing is to remain calm, be polite, and if you do not get the answer you want, just tell them it has been a pleasure doing business with them but you will not be back. A little reminder to the owner that he is not the only Toyota dealer in town won't hurt either.

But remain calm and polite, that drives them nuts.


I think Johnny hit the nail on the head. You are too easy to blow off or dismiss calling on the phone. I would talk to the service manager and then the GM/owner. I believe this would be the best route. They might not even realize this is going on?
 
Originally Posted By: Spector
We all realize that these 29 point free inspections included with an oil change are nothing more then revenue generators, the only reason, and I mean only reason they are doing the inspections are to sell more services. Oil changes may even be used as loss leaders just to lure people into the shop and then find other problems with the vehicles. Some will say that is good as it can locate a potential serious problem early however, in most cases the problems are non existent. Like others I have had my share of dealer upsells and shady recommendations.


Bingo
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I would try to get some of that money back, either cash or free services, if they refuse, just don't go there, oil changes are not rocket science and any place can perform it. All your warranty requirements are in the owner's manual make sure your wife reads it.


You're nuts. The dealer did nothing wrong-- $92 is quite reasonable in this area for an oil change, tire rotation and inspection.

Those tire shop/independent shop (unless brand specific) free inspections are not nearly as good as the ones at the dealer. They may be free, but the techs at the independent shops do not know what to look for. They do not know all of the common issues with every make/model, where the dealer does.

Dealers also have a higher overhead. They use better quality parts. With regular dealer servicing, you can demonstrate to the manufacturer that you are a good customer and can potentially qualify for goodwill assistance in the event that you need a post-warranty repair. There are many advantages to dealer servicing, but you just have to ask yourself if you're willing to pay the price. If not, then go elsewhere. But don't complain and say that dealer servicing is a scam; just because you pay more for it does not mean it is a rip off. It's like you can buy your pair of Levi's and I can buy my pair of True Religions.
 
Quote:
Those tire shop/independent shop (unless brand specific) free inspections are not nearly as good as the ones at the dealer. They may be free, but the techs at the independent shops do not know what to look for. They do not know all of the common issues with every make/model, where the dealer does.


That statement might be a bit over generalized.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Quote:
Those tire shop/independent shop (unless brand specific) free inspections are not nearly as good as the ones at the dealer. They may be free, but the techs at the independent shops do not know what to look for. They do not know all of the common issues with every make/model, where the dealer does.


That statement might be a bit over generalized.

Think Pep Boys or Joe Corner Garage will know how to look for stuff like this?

http://accuratecars.com/blog/2008/11/26/...dyssey-touring/

I doubt it.
 
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