[quote=oldwrench]Later as a BMW mechanic, we were told to change our white shirts if we had a drop of oil on them.
I guess Mercedes, BMW,Ferrari,Porsche,and other mechanics that work on performace vehicles take a different view point of the car repair industry as do others in this business.[/quote]
No this just indicates that rich people are weird. Your appearance doesn’t have that much to do with ability. Organization can, but not appearance.
The guy who refused to shake your hand was a d*ck and isn’t worth your time but could very easily have been one of your customers.
Diagnostics is very difficult. That’s why your an actual mechanic and people like me are just “parts hangers” (on my own cars only BTW) The problem is your industry easily generated a thread that is currently over 200 threads and growing for a good reason. Have a good laugh and keep your own integrity intact knowing that your one of the good ones. Your own rep is the only one you control.
This is not a scam really, just a bit of balony. I take my cars to the dealers without fail for all oil changes, Everytime/everytime I go to pay the bill the service writer proclaims “and we topped off the windshield washer fluid”. Interesting, because I have NEVER, ever use it. Several times, for the fun of it, I checked it right in the dealer’s lot before it went in! Maybe it makes them feel good to sound so through.
My son bought a Ford Super Diesel from a local Ford dealer-used. The expensive warranty only covers the coffee in the waiting room (donuts are 50 cents). The repair bills are huge. The last one was $1,600. When he complained, the service writer magically cut the hours spent on the job and dropped the bill to about $1,300. Where was the mechanic all that time? In the bathroom? More complaining led to a “one time only discount on parts”, The bill dipped to $1,000.00. My strong willed son poked his head into the managers office with a word or two and the bill dropped again-to $900.00! Some might call that customer service. I call it theft plan and simple.
I recently went to a quick oil change place (Valvolene) on Middle Neck Road in Great Neck (Long Island), and the guy told me he had pulled a nail out of my tire and there was a slow leak he could plug for $30. I told him I coulde get a leak plugged for $15 in Manhattan (not that I believed anything he said), whereupon he dropped his price to $15 cash (no bill for it; no manager around). He then showed me there was corrosion around my battery terminals and wanted $10 to clean it off, which translated into his spraying it with something. When I got a Customer Service call and was asked to rate my experience with that place, I gave them a piece of mind. They always try to hit you with something. Valvolene was a breath of fresh air compated to Toyota. I once went to their dealership in Manhattan because of their special deal on the price; they came back with a list as long as your arm about what I “needed”. That scared me half to death, until I brought that list to my regular mechanic out on LI, who told me I didn’t need anything. Unfortunately my regular guy, who is as trustworthy as the day is long, is no longer really accessible. I tried someone else’s “trustworthy honest guy” in Manhattan, and he was a rip-off artist, but I was able to get my money back when I showed up with the guy who had referred me. Does anyone recommend anyone decent in Manhattan?
I would be upset if they did that for mine without asking, as I exclusively use the Rainx wiper fluid that helps water to bead up and slide off the windshield.
Took my vehicle(92 Lexus) to the local Wal-Mart for an oil change, fluids check/tire rotation. Was advised I needed to get a new air filter but…they didn’t have one in stock. Living close, once I got home, I lifted the hood to see how difficult replacing the filter would be and saw that the housing for the filter was undisturbed, no prints or any indication it was removed for inspection. Then I reviewed the checkoff receipt listing all services performed and fluids checked by their technician ( their words, not mine ), all checked off OK. But upon further inspection I saw the washer fluid was almost empty, but more importantly, I found my transmission fluid was way low. Big deal if I was on the road traveling. Can’t be too careful, lots of knuckle heads and thieves out there. PS. air filter was not dirty
Unfortunately most of my car work I do myself so scamming myself is counterproductive. However I have no facility to mount or balance tires on my rims, so that has to get outsourced. Of the four events that I ever bought tires, two I got ripped off (one I caught in time)-
I had a spare rim (with no tire on it) and bought a tire as a spare to replace my donut. I got charged a tire disposal fee. I caught that and they took the charge off.
I bought a set of tires from a shop. They charged me for installing four new valve stems, but when I inspected them, they’re all as dirty as when I brought the car in to replace them (not to mention they were working fine). I didn’t go back to argue but still miffed about it.
50% … Not looking good.
Walmart is a great place to buy underwear, magazines, small appliances, jeans and a few other consumer products. I would hesitate to go there for car service of any sort.
I did buy a battery there a few years back because of an emergency. The guy had trouble installing it and I had to coach him along.
My tail lights were not working. I had changed the bulbs a month earlier. Took car to local BP gas station. They wanted to replace the Head light switch in the steering column for $470. When I said I wanted to think it over, they charged me $95 for the diagnosis, credit if I did the repair.
So I took it to JAMCO. They found a broken wire. Replaced it which fixed the tail lights. Also replaced two front corner bulbs and did an oil change all for $90.
I returned to BP and they reluctantly returned my $95. If I had spend the $470, it would not have been fixed…unless they were going to replace the wire instead…I will never know, will I…
I got approached twice on the same type of scam. A service station sends someone around to sell you a “package deal” - you pay $50 and get coupons for so many oil changes and other minor repairs (saving x amount on each one) plus a free inspection. You buy the package (not at the shop where you can check the place out but at your home) and then you take your car in for your cheap oil change. They of course book you in for the inspection asap and when you come back to pick your car, it needs a ton of work done on it. I fell for it, bought the package and took my little Chevy Sprint in. Came back and they said I needed to replace my shocks as they were in near dangerous condition. Said I couldn’t do it then and would call and make an appointment. Instead I called another mechanic and he looked at the car and said my shocks should go for 1000’s more miles. I had that car for more than two years after that - never changed the shocks and I don’t the gal who bought it from me did either. Don’t buy package service deals or coupons - it’s a just bait to get you into the shop and hooked into a big bill.
while on vacation with my daughter,her husband and grandkids in landcaster,Pa. my som-n-law had a slow leak in the right rear tire of his subaru outback. we dicovered a nail in the tread and i advised him to have it repaired before we drove home to ny. he went to pep boys in landcaster and we went to the dutch wonderland. when he showed a few hours later he said they told him the nail was to close to the sidewall and they had to replace the tire furthermore they needed to replace all four tires which they said was necesary when replacing one radial tire.consequently he bought 4 new tires (one of the old ones was
fairly new). i think they took advantage of an inexperienced out of towner as i have never heard of this requirement. i was especially suprised as pep boys is a national chain. am i right in thinking that my son-in-law (who i love) was taken.
Perhaps this is not a full-blown scam but I think it is certainly a subtle scam perpetuated by Mercedes Benz. I was in for the 45K miles service on my 2005 SL500. Called them to find out if the car was ready & they said well no you have some repairs that need to be completed. First both batteries are bad…about $300 to replace. I noticed no problems with the batteries. Next your transmission mount is bad & needs to be replaced…about $400. And last both motor mounts are bad…about $1800 to replace. The service manager said I probably noticed the engine vibrations & transmission shaking. Well actually no it runs as smoothly as it did when it was new & I can’t really tell when it shifts because that is so smooth as well. To top it off they supplied me with a beautiful color piece with write- ups & photos of good & bad motor & transmission mounts & the significanc of replacing them. Also included in this piece were photos of the batteries & a write-up about replacing them. I restore English sports cars for a hobby & have had Mercedes since the 70’s so I did not buy into the bill which was about $2900 for my piece of mind & a continued smooth riding Mercedes.
Ummm…yes. Radial tires are just a fancy name for every tire in use today on modern automobiles - the radial term just refers to the construction of the tire, as opposed to older, bias-ply tires.
It is preferred to replace all 4 tires at the same time, so that they wear evenly and you don’t get weird handling of the vehicle. Without looking at the car, I can’t say for sure, but if they said they have to all be replaced simply because they were radial tires, then they were scamming you.
On the other side of the coin, I was visiting my son in Cleveland, Tennessee. I’m from Indiana. I noticed a nail in the tire of our then new 2003 Toyota 4Runner. I took it to an independent tire store. The store removed the wheel, dismounted the tire to be certain the nail hadn’t gone through the tire, remounted the tire and put the wheel back on the car. The charge? none. I tried to pay for the labor, but the manager said that since they didh’t fix anything they couldn’t charge me.
I try to stay away from chain franchises and work with independent shops. Maybe that is why I don’t get scammed.
On a Subaru, unless the tires are close to new, you HAVE to replace all 4. This has nothing to do with the fact that they are radials (all tires are now). It has to do with the AWD system on the Subaru. All 4 tires need to be very close to the same diameter. You could shave off a new tire to bring it to that size, of course.
If the tires were well worn, the service station did you a FAVOR. A $2500 repair bill for a wrecked center viscous drive would be the alternative!!!
Sometimes there is differrence in opinion on a scam and a clever business practice. I was returning to graduate school on really sloppy, slushy roads. This was in the time period where windshield washer fluid could be had for 29 cents a gallon. I stopped at a full service gas station to fill the gas tank. The attendant offered to fill the washer reservoir, which held about a quart, for a dollar. I had him fill the reservoir. I decided that this was a real service and the station deserved a profit.
I have heard about full service stations not pushing the dipstick all the way down and selling the motorist a quart of oil I would bet that these operators were really in the minority. However, I’ll bet if we had full service gasoline stations today that did check the oil, we wouldn’t have the postings on the board about owners whose engines were destroyed because of insufficient oil.
When i changed my car’s oil and filter myself after two visits to a local quick lube shop, i found the OEM oil filter was still in place. That’s about 15k miles on the same filter! I can;t even be sure they changed the oil. My son had the same experience with his BMW. He marked the filer before bringing it in… same filter when he got home. Buyer beware the dealership may be a better bet.
BUT! my local dealer told me after an expensive 7500 mile service that my tires are worn and an alignment needs to be done. After i told him i just had new tires and alignment 30 days before, he stumbled and said he must have gotten the papers messed up and it was a different car. Nice try.
The nice thing about Wally World’s batteries is that when they do go bad, there is probably a store within a mile of you. Wellll, maybe I’m exagerating a little bit. They will replace them from the build date sticker on the battery, even if you have no other paperwork. (Spelled even if you were not the original purchaser.) In my experience, their batteries last as well as anyone else’s.
A customer of mine took his '99 Taurus to a Meineke (Sp?) Muffler shop for an oil change (special at $24.95). Mikey is a nice kid, but he truly is not right bright. I know his whole family, parents, Grandpa, aunts, cousins… so I know his circumstances. He has a significant speech impediment, and reads at a 2nd grade level, if that. You get the picture. They knew they had someone they could take advantage of. He came to me with a long list of things that Meineke said HAD to be done. One was a new oil pan gasket because there was some dusty seepage on the pan. So what? It had probably looked like that for years. New struts front and rear was another. There was no oil leakage from them, and they didn’t continue to bounce when tested. The list totalled over $900. The clincher came when I saw that they didn’t change the oil filter. It was still dirty on the ouside. They didn’t even bother to wipe it off. Since I was suspicious by that time, I pulled the dipstick. Sure enough, the oil was still dirty. They took his money, and did NOTHING. I called them to tell them that I was sending him back for a “free” oil change, and would be checking their work. I still take good care of Mikey because I promised his grandpa I would.