Service Department Just Lied to My Face

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Originally Posted By: Hootbro
I like a good stealership story myself. In this case though, I am not inclined to believe you got the "Gotcha" crime of the century here. Quite frankly, $440 would be about 2 man hours worth of dealership shop labor with shop supply fees and parts cost rolled in. About what I would expect for a job like this.

Sure you can argue after the fact but the truth is you were pig ignorant on the procedure yourself until you perused the internet. I am sure the service advisory deals with a bunch of different designs and would give him the benefit of the doubt on getting it wrong of the switch being external instead of internal.

Others telling to write the BBB, State Attorney General and talk to the service manager will be a waste of time. BBB will do nothing nor does anybody under the age of 40 every consult BBB rating before hand. State Attorney General will do nothing because it is small potatoes and the dealership service manage will fein concern to placate you and move you along the way.


I agree with you. I'm not going to pursue it any further. I just chalk it up as another reason I do my own work. The ONLY reason I had them check it, is it happened to start blinking on the way there. I've never had good experience with any local dealer's service department since I started driving.
 
It's a 9 year old car. The dealership knows they're going to lose you to an independent at some point, maybe soon. This is their moron test for you and you passed. They know that many honda owners are in it for the reliability/ white glove perfection perception and offer that level of service. I wouldn't call it lies, someone is opening the trasmission in that dust can get in through the hole, no matter how small. More of a salesman's exaggeration.

It's like a parent getting more annoying when their adult kids don't move out.

Attorney General won't do anything because you didn't follow through on the service, and therefore there's no victim.
 
My mom's 2012 Patriot was just in the dealer a couple weeks ago for a blend door motor and new throttle body (extended warranty). They tried to upsell a fuel injection cleaning, because "that's what killed the old throttle body, all the carbon buildup". The service advisor told me the fuel injection cleaning would clean the throttle body, give me a break! Keep dreaming buddy! They just put a new one on there so what is there to clean?

Same service advisor that told me the extended warranty doesn't cover the front "shocks" being bad, only struts. The car does in fact have struts and I had to talk to a manager to get him to realize it.
 
sounds like a friends family member with a 05 ford 6.0.
rough starts,low on power,ect.
stealer told him it needed 8 injectors and a bunch of "services"
all for the low price of $3100!
and they told him it would not make it back home much less back across town.
they did not even read codes!
i did and had their son pull the ficm.
did my rebuild on it and sent them home to Kansas.
it may not have made it home this is true.
but most of the stuff was unneeded and fluff.
coolant and atf flushes would not make it run any better.
nor increase odds of it making it home.
 
Service advisors typically don't know much about the actual procedures when it comes to repairs. They just look up the book times and calculate dollars in labor + the parts the tech is asking for.

The nonsense has more to do with the tech who is working on your car than the advisor, although I have definitely heard advisors say some pretty stupid things.

Their pay structure has a lot to do with it also. Yes they are paid in commission, but their potential bonuses for monthly customer service ratings are massive in comparison, at least in BMW world. Essentially, selling tons of stuff and [censored] customers off makes you far less money than selling less and having happy customers. And the happy customer will likely return to see you.

Edit: Not sure if other makes have the same pay structure... might explain the tomfoolery a bit if it's commission only!
 
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"Point of the story, he lied to my face and smiled about it and it really bothered me. Sorry, I'm just venting."

Yeah, the way they lie to us while smiling is more of an insult then ever!

Happened to a pal of mine, so he built a website about fraud at THAT dealer, then send an email
inviting the owner to check it out, then posted the email for public view!! LOL
Later the service manager was fired.....
 
When I worked as an advisor, the tech gave me his parts and the hours that the job booked. I'd check the book to make sure he wasn't double charging or overcharging hours but past that I sold what he asked for. If I didn't think the customer would buy at that cost I'd ask if he could lose some time or if the parts department could let prices slide a little.

The goal as a service advisor is to try to keep everyone happy. Customers already come in cheesed off. Techs already come in cheesed off. Most of us aren't out to rip anyone off; we just want to help you get your car fixed.

We all know you can fix it yourself for cheaper. WE ALL KNOW. Acting like you're special because you can "do it yourself for cheaper" is ridiculous. Acting like someone is ripping you off because they charge more than Amazon.com and free labor is ridiculous. If I was you I would have asked to speak to the manager or technician and, without being indignant, ask about the charges and if they would work for you to do the fix at a reasonable cost. It's likely they would have agreed. They recommended the 5 quarts because they didn't know you did your own change and it would be good PM. The advisor was ignorant and just using a line he had used before. Maybe lied to by a tech. Maybe he was told correctly and tried to make it simpler to the customer. Who knows.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
When I worked as an advisor, the tech gave me his parts and the hours that the job booked. I'd check the book to make sure he wasn't double charging or overcharging hours but past that I sold what he asked for. If I didn't think the customer would buy at that cost I'd ask if he could lose some time or if the parts department could let prices slide a little.

The goal as a service advisor is to try to keep everyone happy. Customers already come in cheesed off. Techs already come in cheesed off. Most of us aren't out to rip anyone off; we just want to help you get your car fixed.

We all know you can fix it yourself for cheaper. WE ALL KNOW. Acting like you're special because you can "do it yourself for cheaper" is ridiculous. Acting like someone is ripping you off because they charge more than Amazon.com and free labor is ridiculous. If I was you I would have asked to speak to the manager or technician and, without being indignant, ask about the charges and if they would work for you to do the fix at a reasonable cost. It's likely they would have agreed. They recommended the 5 quarts because they didn't know you did your own change and it would be good PM. The advisor was ignorant and just using a line he had used before. Maybe lied to by a tech. Maybe he was told correctly and tried to make it simpler to the customer. Who knows.



This. And they have to listen to folks all day think they know more than them thanks to the internet. My local dealership knows up front that I know a good amount about cars, so they are honest an upfront about stuff. Never had an issue, and they have convinced me every once in a while to do something...and never regretted it. They also deal with many types of folks- the cheap,dumb, and the know it alls along with regular customers.

So I never get angry unless I know they are in the wrong....
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
This. And they have to listen to folks all day think they know more than them thanks to the internet. My local dealership knows up front that I know a good amount about cars, so they are honest an upfront about stuff. Never had an issue, and they have convinced me every once in a while to do something...and never regretted it. They also deal with many types of folks- the cheap,dumb, and the know it alls along with regular customers.

So I never get angry unless I know they are in the wrong....

Even then, just TALK to them. People's first reaction anymore seems to be to fly off the handle and start MFing people in person and then on the internet, where they get cheered on!
 
Originally Posted By: Killer223
I'd print off the directions, go in and see him and call him a lier to his face, then talk with the manager. I'd also write a letter to the BBB and state attorney general. also inform the manager that you are going to tell everyone to never do business with that place.


This is hilarious but some guys might miss the sarcasm if you don't include a smiley icon.
grin.gif
 
Took the 06 Sentra in for the airbag recall.
When I went to pick it up I was told I needed $1400 work.
They said because of the mileage (175K) I should have the fuel injectors cleaned. Car runs just fine and I probably would have gotten a wall job.

They said the belts were rotted. Nope they look just fine.

They said I needed the fuel pump replaced because it took long to start. I told the service guy that it was a defect in the design of the pump from Nissan that it loses its prime after it sits awhile. It starts every time for the 90K I've owned the car. He mumbled that some people like to turn the key and go. I said we are talking 5 extra seconds here.
They prey on the lack of car knowledge of some people with scare tactics.
 
Nothing new here. Last year my MIL took her 350Z in to the Nissan stealership for service. She trusted them, too.

Service writer came back with a HUGE bill, 4 figures! She called me and I told her to get out the owners manual and see what it said. Ended up at 300 bucks or so IMO, but the point is they were doing all sorts of unneeded services per their own stupid schedule when all she needed was what NISSAN RECOMMENDS!

I guess they get away with this all the time.
 
Once you've gotten all of your facts and if your thought are correct(sensor on the outside of tranny, no tranny pan to drop/very little ATF loss) then maybe contact the dealership and express your feelings. This could also be a story on social media.
 
Oh it happened to me the same with my Mazda; I took it for airbag recall and they tried to cross sell some stuff, exchanging the fluids for example; and I bet they would damage something else in the process so they can say hey look an old car you got to fix this too

I never looked back
 
Originally Posted By: fenixguy
Thanks for the replies everybody. And thanks for sharing the video OneEyeJack. That looks similar to what I'll be doing but mine might be in a different location. I'm going to have someone else read the code before I do anything.

I would also like to share another experience with this same dealer. My grandma bought a new CR-V in 2012. A couple years ago, she asked me to "take it to the Honda place so they can see why the dash is lit up". It was the maintenance minder telling her it needed an oil change. I told her I'd change the oil for her and reset the light. She insisted I "take it to the dealer because they know more about what they're doing than you" (I have three Honda that have never seen a mechanic since I've owned them... except for recalls of course). Gotta love grandmas. So I drop it off for her. They called me and said the car needed an ATF change, a cabin air filter, and an engine air filter. I called my grandma and told her that I could do all of that for $50-100. She insisted they do it. Her total bill was $680. Of course, she thought she is doing the best for her car. I knew they ripped her off, but what can you do... they know best! They charged $80 labor to change the air filter!!! That was the one thing that stuck out to me. A 1 minute job.

Anyway, they won't be getting my business anymore.


Do grandma a favor next time and do some work yourself....once you drive away she doesn't know where it goes and it won't affect her comfort zone.
 
A while back, my wife's cousin, who is not a car guy showed me a bill the dealer gave him for a four wheel alignment on an Expedition he had at the time. It seemed really steep. I read it and it read like the truck had four wheel independent suspension.
I looked under the truck and it did in fact not. I understand some did.
Anyway, he and I go back to the dealer and get the service manager. He swears up and down they aligned the rear wheels. I got him under the truck with me and pointed out the four stamped steel bars that located the rear end and asked him to show me how you adjust these.
They refunded my wife's cousin half the bill.
 
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Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
This. And they have to listen to folks all day think they know more than them thanks to the internet. My local dealership knows up front that I know a good amount about cars, so they are honest an upfront about stuff. Never had an issue, and they have convinced me every once in a while to do something...and never regretted it. They also deal with many types of folks- the cheap,dumb, and the know it alls along with regular customers.

So I never get angry unless I know they are in the wrong....

Even then, just TALK to them. People's first reaction anymore seems to be to fly off the handle and start MFing people in person and then on the internet, where they get cheered on!


Thanks Gents.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato

I know their job is to sell, but the complete lack of integrity coupled with ignorance is easy to be upset about.


These people are TRAINED and COERCED into selling Blinker Fluid and new muffler bearings because they get fired if they don't............
 
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