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Dealer Service Dept Scams? - READ ONLY
69 messages, Last post on Sep 02, 2002 at 7:31 PM
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What is this discussion about? Toyota Tacoma, Truck
#60 of 69 by garypen
Aug 08, 2002 (12:31 pm)
I had a dealer shop change the transmission fluid...Aye, there's the rub. In my experience, dealers are not the best place to have repair/maintenance work done, unless of course the car is still under warranty.
#61 of 69 Leftist Wrenches by fleetwoodsimca
Aug 08, 2002 (7:01 pm)
You should ask the shop owner or manager if the operant policy on the shop floor is strict constructionist regarding the Constitution. If he answers no, tell the guy to put the clip board down slowly, as you fire up your engine to leave. NEVER let a communist work on your rig!#62 of 69 What happened? by garypen
Aug 14, 2002 (1:12 pm)
No posts in 6 days? OK. I'll do one.On Thursday, we brought our CL in for the standard moonroof rattle/sqeak, and an oil change. Pick it up Thursday night. I drive off in my Jaguar, she drives off in the CL.
She uses it all day Friday. I don't see it again until saturday Morning. Right away, I see two BIG scuff/scratches on each corner of the rear bumper cover.
I call the dealer first thing Monday morning, but that service rep isn't in until Wednesday, so we wait until this morning to bring it in. We talk to the Customer Relations "greeter", who brings the Service Manager. He says, and get this, "If you feel we did it, we will make arrangements with our body shop to have the bumper repainted at no cost to you."
Those lousy, cheating...oh...wait a second...
THAT IS TRULY EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE! I would highly recommend Stevens Creek Acura in San Jose, CA for anyone looking to buy or service their Acura. Actually, the buying experience was piece of cake too. But, that's for a different forum topic.
#63 of 69 In today's world by armtdm
Aug 19, 2002 (7:25 am)
where profits take precedent over service and repeat business is not the goal one must inspect your car after every repair to assure the repair was done and all appears well. Even simple oil changes should be inspected. Overfilling or underfilling a tranny fluid is so common as the tech simply does not have time to heat the transmission up to properly check the fluid, Letting it idle for 10 min does not do it.#64 of 69 armtdm by fleetwoodsimca
Aug 19, 2002 (8:45 am)
Isn't that the truth? You'd think a well run outfit would aim to please, and some businesses do. Those that don't are hard to fathom, so to speak. About 18 months ago, I had a transmission shop fail to refill a transaxle. I had a Chevy dealer put 5 quarts in a 3.5 crankcase. I hear stories of loose pan drain plugs. The "bad" stories abound. Anyone can and will make some mistakes, but some mistakes are not particularly forgiveable.#65 of 69 by garypen
Aug 19, 2002 (9:57 am)
Everybody makes mistakes. I made one once. The key is whether people take responsibility for their mistakes, and make an attempt to correct the situation.As I said, I'm very impressed with the folks at Stevens Creek Acura for doing the right thing, despite the damage to the bumper cover.
#66 of 69 Question? by asac
Aug 30, 2002 (10:19 pm)
I just purchased a new Mazda and the dealership provides "free" lifetime oil changes, every 3750 miles. The catch seems to be that in order to get the free oil changes, I must also have the dealership perform all the recommended service and maintenance on the car. In my experience, I find that dealerships charge far more for routine maintenance than local auto shops. Therefore, although I'll get "free" oil changes, I'll end up paying more for the other routine maintenance and actually end up loosing money in the long run. The question is, should I take the dealership up on the offer of "free" oil changes or should I just save some money and use a local shop?#67 of 69 Get the free oil changes until the 15K service, by zueslewis
Aug 31, 2002 (7:57 am)
then go to a private shop or a chain LOF place in your area that no one talks badly about.That way, you'll get $100-120 worth of free service and won't have to deal with the big 15K and 30K services.
#68 of 69 asac by tboner1965
Aug 31, 2002 (7:17 pm)
Whose recommendation? Make sure you are only paying for service that is recommended by the car maker. They could be packing the "recommended" list to their advantage.Skip the blinker fluid flush and summer/winter air rotation in your tires 8^)
About the only thing I would recommend more frequently than the carmaker is brake fluid refill (annual, brake fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs water) and perhaps more frequent transmission fluid/filter changes.
Other than that, most of it is simply inspection.
TB
#69 of 69 garypen by swschrad
Sep 02, 2002 (7:31 pm)
yeah, I thought I had made a mistake once, too, but I was in error
it does sound like they fessed up nicely over there.
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