That IS interesting.
And, after having visited a couple of his son’s car dealerships, I think that the gangster connection might not have died with Gerry.
You are correct. Its baked into the corporate culture.
I hear about all kinds of people trying to scam the dealership service departments. adding oil after the engine is blown, “My brakes worked fine until you changed my wipers” etc. Scammers gonna scam. People looking to evade responsibility will try their best and try anything. That’s part of why it is so hard for legitimate claims to get dealt with.
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One scammer is just one person affecting that one dealership. A dealership scammers try to scam HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS every year.
I’ve come across a couple extremely unscrupulous dealerships.
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+1
And, the scammers try to ply their trade everywhere–not just in dealership service departments.
My father had a small shoe store, and one day an irate woman came in with a pair of shoes that she had bought for her daughter a couple of weeks previously. She claimed that the soles “wore out” in only two weeks. There was a hole in one of the soles that was clearly from the kid having stepped on a nail, or some other very sharp object–and Dad told her that this was clearly the case.
Mommie Dearest’s response was, “My daughter said that she didn’t step on anything sharp, and she goes to parochial school, so she would NEVER lie.” 
But, because the customer is always right–even when they’re lying–he gave her a new pair of shoes–gratis. Scammers are gonna scam.
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Had salespeople at two Toyota dealers who only cared about making a sale that day and not if she got what she really wanted, one tried to push the previous gen Prius CPO for more than the new base model was selling for. Reminded mom that she could have bought the previous gen New if she wanted one and we went to another dealer in the same town. Price was going to be MSRP with an exemption from sales tax in Washington that ended the day after she took delivery of her new 2010 Prius with exactly what she wanted and nothing more. Interior color doesn’t matter as much as long as it isn’t vinyl. At some point she’ll trade up to the latest Prius which will have all the features Dad want’s her to upgrade to (safety features mainly) likely from the local dealer or the dealer 25mi away that we had a great experience with last time but they didn’t have anything available in a color mom liked.
Red and Black are the only real no chance colors, lighter colors are better living on a gravel road so the dirt blends in a little better.
I have witnessed dealer service managers exaggerating the danger of delaying repairs to unknowledgeable owners and have had my share of rejecting sales pitches for extended warranties and other dubious add ons. Like alot of things, it depends on the integrity of the individuals and the reputation of the dealer. My days of buying new cars is passed, and I bought my first recent used car from a dealer: A Subaru Legacy during the car shortage at the end of Covid. Because of that I paid too much, in my opinion, but when the CVT gave out more than 10 years after first date of use and at 140K miles the dealer saw its way clear to cover a new valve body under the warranty. Just recently I had to replace a second vehicle and guess where I went.
Dealers have an obvious advantage when it comes to proprietary systems and software and are sometimes unavoidable. They do invest in training and equipment that explains their elevated labor rate, but a lot of routine maintenance can be handled elsewhere. I feel lucky to have found a reputable dealer, know an excellent independent shop and still handle most routine stuff myself. The average new car looks like it is close to $50K. My days or shopping new are over unless I win the lottery.
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I find it difficult to feel badly for dealerships. They hold the upper hand in the business and if customers try to “scam” them, they are prepared. Maybe it is a little like feeling bad for a casino if a customer hits a jackpot and they have to pay. One difference, though, is I never have to go to a casino but I occasionally have to go car shopping. It is true that some dealerships are easier - or at least more pleasant - to deal with.
I’ve had prices changed after agreeing to make a purchase, additional items slipped into a contract (like a warranty I didn’t want, and then there is the infamous dealer documentation fee that allegedly pays for the paper work required to sell you the car - which should just be a cost of doing business. Nothing but a money grab. Shucks, I even called a dealership to see if they had any cars available at an advertised price from a newspaper ad. Of course, they didn’t.
I like the concept that the price is the price but typically, they are ludicrously high or the trade in values are so low you’d have to be a fool to let your vehicle go for that under valued quote.
It comes down to if you can live with the prices or not. Customers think they got a deal - but they don’t have all the information of how those prices are calculated.
So, I’ll go on record for dissing dealerships. I’ll not heap praise upon them
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I’m kind of neutral on going to the dealer for service. Their prices can be higher than independent mechanics…but sometimes their hours are better (weekends), and they do have specialized knowledge.
In terms of buying, though…just about every dealer I’ve bought from has at least tried to take advantage of me, either in terms of money, my time, or both. Earlier this year we bought a used Honda from a Honda dealer. We came to terms on the price and trade in. Even though I already had some financing set up through my bank, I decided to give the dealer a chance on the financing just for convenience. They ended up stringing us out at the dealership for over 2 hours one evening. The salesperson was blaming he “higher mileage” on the car, and difficulty finding a loan; my BS detector was going off. By the time they finally got us back to the Finance Guy’s office, all of us were tired, hungry, and ready to go. We rushed through signing the paperwork. I admit I did not pay attention to the interest rate for the loan.
Only a day or so after I got home did I have a chance to sit down and review the loan paperwork. The dealer had gotten us an interest rate over 10% (!). I knew from the loan I’d set up through my bank that we ought to be paying about 1/2 that. Plus my bank never said a word about the mileage on the vehicle. I ended up refinancing the loan through my bank within a week. I’ll never set foot in that dealership again, and I’ll always have my financing set up through my bank.
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I wouldn’t want to work in a dealership again . . . in ANY capacity
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No they don’t. Maybe some of the exotic vehicles or EV’s…but in general - I’ve found them to have LESS knowledge then a good trusted mechanic. I knew a guy that had his own shop, but worked for 30 years at Nissan and was one of the top mechanics Nissan had in NY. He was far superior then any Nissan dealership mechanic. And some things like Transmissions - many dealers send that work out because they don’t have expertise inhouse to do the work.
We hate them until they are gone.
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Needed a battery for my 2017 Acadia, local guy said take it to the dealer, they have to programk it for auto start to work. Same story with failed window switch. When mechanics at work are stumped off to the dealer it goes, and they fix it every time.
Anything to report?
My experience with dealership service is pretty unconvincing though a couple of times, they have solved issues that had independent shops stumped. My granddaughter purchased a new Kia and took the bait on all the warranties and services. At a cost, ith has been good for her. They just take care of the issues, espcially a few electronic problems. All things considered, some of the OEM parts are superior and last longer. But the shop rates are out of sight. I agree with the plan to do your own financing and have done exactly what you did - refinance a dealership arranged loan before the first payment.
: ledhed75 via Car Talk Community notifications@cartalk.discoursemail.com
Yes, im compiling my report. Ill finish it and post it tomorrow.
Find a different local guy. Sure some of these local guys won’t spend the money for the added equipment to do some of the repairs. But the good ones will. It’s the same with TPMS. When first introduced - only the dealer could reset them. Now almost all tire shops have the equipment to do it. If it doesn’t then don’t take any tire work there.
I’ve mentioned this before . . .
The Costco near me will gladly sell you TPMS sensors . . . but is not equipped and/or trained to reset/reprogram them, after all these years
We don’t have a Costco near enough for me to be a member, but we do have BJ’s (same as Costco) and the ones I’ve visited have the equipment. Where I buy my tires at - small locally owned has one. It’s just a handheld unit and works on all vehicles.
That must vary from one Costco tire center to another. When I last bought tires and new TPMS sensors from them (about 5 years ago), my TPMS light was lit-up as I was driving home. I quickly returned to their tire center, and one of their guys used a hand-held device to determine which one of the sensors was at fault, and he successfully re-set it.