The Dealership in Laconia

[SAMIAM]

Ever notice when waiting for service in the waiting room at your dealership that the service tech comes out frequently to tell a customer that they found a problem while doing service and do they want to take care of it.Usually it's a battery,tires ,brakes or maybe a coolant flush or some mysterious part that's worn.
Dealerships encourage their service people to upsell and are paid commissions for extra (some times unneeded) service

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Ever notice when waiting for service in the waiting room at your dealership that the service tech comes out frequently to tell a customer that they found a problem while doing service and do they want to take care of it.Usually it's a battery,tires ,brakes or maybe a coolant flush or some mysterious part that's worn.
Dealerships encourage their service people to upsell and are paid commissions for extra (some times unneeded) service

Back in the early - mid 1960's, I worked at a gas station / repair garage. One of the first things I was taught working the gas pumps or doing oil changes was "TBA". I was going to Bentley College of Accounting & Finance and the owners explained what margin was all about in retail. TBA is Tires, Batteries, Accessories; this is where money was made. We didn't sell something that didn't need replacing, but would check for dirty air fillers, check wiper blades, look at tires (putting a penny in the tread to see if the tread reached the top of the head of Lincoln), etc.. Soft sell, but it did reap benefits when the customer would have it replaced then or at the next maintenance appointment.
Providing a service is one thing, ripping off a customer by suggesting a totally unwarranted repair is something else. For what it's worth, we stopped dealing with one dealership in town for some of what Professor says: saying brakes would not pass inspection when they had been replaced about 6 months earlier, advertising oil lube filter for one price, say $40, and then charging close to $10 more.

Pay attention to their recommendations, ask to see the items in question before repair, and take the old items.

Dave

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[fatlazyless]

Ya know the Walmarts in Tilton and Plymouth do oil and filter changes, up to five quarts, for just 19.88, and they inflate the tires, and reset the warning light back to no warnings if your car is indicating it needs an oil change, or low tire pressure, or something.

Plus, Walmart sells excellent oil for 2.44/qt: 5w-20, 10w-30 and other stuff ...... three cheers for Wally-World!

It keeps my dark brown 1998 Ford Contour with 5-speed shift and 319,056-miles just going, and going, and going!

What, me worry ......so, what's not to like?

Thanks to the big run-up in the stock market and the recent GOP tax cuts bill, my next car will be a metallic blue Porsche Cayenne suv w/ 6-speed manual, and YES, it will be going to the $19.88 Walmart oil change in Plymouth!

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Ya know the Walmarts in Tilton and Plymouth do oil and filter changes, up to five quarts, for just 19.88, and they inflate the tires, and reset the warning light back to no warnings if your car is indicating it needs an oil change, or low tire pressure, or something.

Plus, Walmart sells excellent oil for 2.44/qt: 5w-20, 10w-30 and other stuff ...... three cheers for Wally-World!

It keeps my dark brown 1998 Ford Contour with 5-speed shift and 319,056-miles just going, and going, and going!

What, me worry ......so, what's not to like?

Do you really want a kid changing your oil & filter that was probably serving burgers and fries at his previous job, and not doing that very well? Well I guess you do but because of the car you drive but I wouldn't.

[fatlazyless]

Hey there Biggd, you left out the last sentence from my quote all about my new blue Porsche ...... maybe you want to return to the seventh grade ....and redo 'puter class, or something!

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Hey there Biggd, you left out the last sentence from my quote all about my new blue Porsche ...... maybe you want to return to the seventh grade ....and redo 'puter class, or something!

You stick to your expertise which is being a cheap xxxxxxx and I will stick to mine which is a auto mechanic with over 45 years of experience.

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[8gv]

If a any repair shop replaces something that really doesn’t need replacing that is a dishonest shop.

But...

At least you are getting what you paid for. They are not really stealing from you. Consider it to be “proactive” maintenance.

Anne Landers said it well:

“Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission.”

If something doesn’t feel right, get a second opinion as the OP here did.

Buyer beware!

On a side note about independent repair shops:

Wifey’s BMW X-3 started leaking oil so I took it to the dealer in western MA. They told me that it was not covered under my extended warranty. Their price was $1,100! That was enough to send me to a local small shop which a friend recommended. That shop got the job done for $225. The BMW dealer would have done better to quote me $600. I would not have gone looking for a better price if they had.

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by 8gv

If a any repair shop replaces something that really doesn’t need replacing that is a dishonest shop.

But...

At least you are getting what you paid for. They are not really stealing from you. Consider it to be “proactive” maintenance.

Anne Landers said it well:

“Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission.”

If something doesn’t feel right, get a second opinion as the OP here did.

Buyer beware!

On a side note about independent repair shops:

Wifey’s BMW X-3 started leaking oil so I took it to the dealer in western MA. They told me that it was not covered under my extended warranty. Their price was $1,100! That was enough to send me to a local small shop which a friend recommended. That shop got the job done for $225. The BMW dealer would have done better to quote me $600. I would not have gone looking for a better price if they had.

If I replaced parts on all my customers cars that were not needed I'd be rich but dishonest. I agree though, that it's even worse if you are charged for a service that was never done.
I have one bad review because I changed the oil on a girls car and a few weeks later her oil change light came on because I forgot to reset it. She gave me a bad review because a friend of hers checked the oil and said it was dirty and I never changed it. She never called me to complain she just took her friends word for it.

[Biggd]

It's one thing to note things that you see that could be a problem in the future but to sell a part just because you need the work is dishonest but I see it all the time.
Then there is the other side where you are so busy and you just fix what is asked to be fixed and really don't have the time to check the car for other problems. Something breaks on the car or the car doesn't start a few weeks later and the customer says, "well I just had it in for service", even if that service was just an oil change. In this business everyone wants it fixed ASAP and sometimes there just isn't enough hours in the day.
We aren't perfect and make mistakes like everyone else but being dishonest is not a mistake.