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Car dealership rant

ImissWallyPryor
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4th_and_18

4th_and_18 687

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12 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

Are you willing to do it for half what an independent shop quotes?  Because they're usually half what the dealership charges, but that's what you may have meant.

ya, "half of what is quoted by dealership" in no way was meant to be independent shop.

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tokamak

tokamak 6391

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13 hours ago, Deej said:

I had a radiator replaced once. Took it back to the same shop for an oil change later that year. Guy comes out and tells me the radiator needs to be flushed.

"The radiator you installed 6 months ago?"

"Oh, sorry. I was looking at the wrong car."

Sure, buddy.

One time a dealership called me up after I dropped my car off for an oil change and told me that they'd do their best, but they might have to replace my oil pan because the drain plug had been stripped by whoever did the last oil change. I just laughed and told them that they were the ones that changed it and said it's their fucking problem, not mine. Miraculously they were able to change it without replacing the oil pain. Fucking thieves.

Russell and Smith Honda in Houston. Do not take your car there for any reason. Even for warranty work, I'd go to any other Honda dealership.

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54204

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18 hours ago, tokamak said:

Car dealership service departments are the scum of the Earth. All makes, all dealerships. If you have one you think you like, you've just been lucky so far. Give it time.

Used to go to San Marcos Honda for everything, for about 10 years, both cars .  The customer service reps were great, and there were more times when they said, "You don't need that done now" than when they suggested more work. Then, pretty immediately, all of the reps got replaced, and I had three consecutive oil change trips where they said, "Hey you also need this done, and we can do that today!"  I haven't been back.  

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Jersey Man10

Jersey Man10 3528

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I remember awhile back I had just installed a K&N Short Ram Intake with the cone filter. I went to get my oil changed at this somewhat local shop and they told me my filter was dirty and would need to get it changed. I told that motherfucker I had just installed it and he didn't say anything. That was the last time I ever went there.

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Gooby

Gooby 640

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My father in law is a worry wart by nature.  He's always taken his cars to the dealership for even the most basic service.  The upside to this is that he's bought nothing but Toyotas from Don McGill for the last 27 years, so he doesn't get taken advantage of any more than usual.  They won't try to upsell him, I do know that.  The old man drives a 2013 Tacoma, while my MIL drives a 2012 4-Runner with only 62,000 miles on it.

The story takes a turn, however.  They recently moved to Bryan, and in order to get to "know" the guys at the new dealership, FIL takes the 4-Runner to the dealership in Bryan and basically says, "this thing is 7 years old, there MUST be something wrong with it.  We're away from the home dealership, so we're counting on you!"  Well, those assholes basically red-flagged everything from the engine block forward.  New timing belt and assembly, new oil pan and gasket, new radiator...the whole fucking thing.  My FIL was particularly hung up on the radiator.  I asked him if it was leaking and he said no.  I said there was nothing wrong with it, then.  But why believe me?  $6,200 later and he doesn't have to sweat the radiator anymore.  

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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Friend of mine’s wife took her Rover in for an oil change at the Rover joint on Old Katy Road.  Prior to the visit, one of her friends lost the  push in cigarette lighter.  So, while she was there she moseyed over to parts and priced out a new lighter.  It was a 30 some odd dollar rip off but she’s says “ok, put it on my tab.”

She’s not your typical dumb broad and is solid when it comes to brains and chutzpah.  She got the bill at close out and sees the charge for the oil change, the lighter and then $75 (or some other close and outrageous figure, I don’t recall the exact amount) labor charge for “installing” the lighter.

She had a word with the manager.  I’m sure they were banking on her just swiping the crederrick card and not reading the bill.  Dipshits got busted and good. 

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GringoSalado

GringoSalado 1651

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21 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

What luck!  I literally just opened a letter that came in the mail today.  It's my dad's last chance to buy an Extended Vehicle Service Plan before the prices increase!  I'll be all over that one.

Use it to troll the fuck out of them. 

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Gooby

Gooby 640

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Posted (edited)
31 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Holy crap.  7 years and 62k?  I wouldn't worry about a Toyota until twice that.  Did should have just bought an extended warranty for the $6200.

You can't tell the man anything.  Everything must be done by a professional.  For example, when they moved we drove over and helped them with a bunch of stuff, and one thing I noticed that needed to be done was the dryer cord needed to be replaced, so we drove to Lowe's and bought one and replaced it while they were off doing other shit.  Well, my mistake was not tossing the cardboard wrapper from the new cord in my car, because once he saw it he hit the roof.  "You're not a licensed electrician and I cannot take chances" and blah, blah blah.   He's right, I'm not an electrician, but my dad is a Master's Electrician who still holds licenses in 7 states and is pretty highly regarded around the area.  I've worked summers and holidays and whenever dad's guys needed the help, so I can hang a light fixture or ceiling fan, replace a breaker and I sure as shit can replace a dryer cord.  Nonetheless, once it turned to straight-up BITCHING at us for doing them a favor, we left, and I told my wife I would never volunteer to help him do ANYTHING again.

The next day, he called an electrician to come and have a look at the dryer cord, because "it just CANNOT be right."  The electrician told him it was right, but still charged him for 2 hours plus the service call.  The highest irony of the whole thing was, the electrician who showed up on the service call was a pupil of my father's in apprentice school.

We were through there a couple of weekends ago, and the wind had taken out a section of their fence...three posts had cracked and it was down.  They're currently on a 4 month waiting list for a fence guy.  I COULD fix it, but ain't no fucking way I'm volunteering.

 

Edited by Gooby
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RDCanecutter

RDCanecutter 26377

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4 minutes ago, Gooby said:

We were through there a couple of weekends ago, and the wind had taken out a section of their fence...three posts had cracked and it was down.  They're currently on a 4 month waiting list for a fence guy.  I COULD fix it, but ain't no fucking way I'm volunteering.

I'm not a fence guy but my graphic design skills are good enough to make up a certificate and shirt patch that say "Official Fence Guy". If you help me get the job, I'll kick you back a straight 20% of whatever I manage to get out of him.

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Gooby

Gooby 640

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3 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

I'm not a fence guy but my graphic design skills are good enough to make up a certificate and shirt patch that say "Official Fence Guy". If you help me get the job, I'll kick you back a straight 20% of whatever I manage to get out of him.

If you could come up with some kind of official looking fence guy "license", that may seal the deal

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8695

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24 minutes ago, Gooby said:

You can't tell the man anything.  Everything must be done by a professional.  For example, when they moved we drove over and helped them with a bunch of stuff, and one thing I noticed that needed to be done was the dryer cord needed to be replaced, so we drove to Lowe's and bought one and replaced it while they were off doing other shit.  Well, my mistake was not tossing the cardboard wrapper from the new cord in my car, because once he saw it he hit the roof.  "You're not a licensed electrician and I cannot take chances" and blah, blah blah.   He's right, I'm not an electrician, but my dad is a Master's Electrician who still holds licenses in 7 states and is pretty highly regarded around the area.  I've worked summers and holidays and whenever dad's guys needed the help, so I can hang a light fixture or ceiling fan, replace a breaker and I sure as shit can replace a dryer cord.  Nonetheless, once it turned to straight-up BITCHING at us for doing them a favor, we left, and I told my wife I would never volunteer to help him do ANYTHING again.

The next day, he called an electrician to come and have a look at the dryer cord, because "it just CANNOT be right."  The electrician told him it was right, but still charged him for 2 hours plus the service call.  The highest irony of the whole thing was, the electrician who showed up on the service call was a pupil of my father's in apprentice school.

We were through there a couple of weekends ago, and the wind had taken out a section of their fence...three posts had cracked and it was down.  They're currently on a 4 month waiting list for a fence guy.  I COULD fix it, but ain't no fucking way I'm volunteering.

 

Well my father was a mechanic. His father was a mechanic. My mothers father was a mechanic, my 3 brothers are mechanics, 4 uncles on my fathers side... 

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25907

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Gooby said:

You can't tell the man anything.  Everything must be done by a professional.  For example, when they moved we drove over and helped them with a bunch of stuff, and one thing I noticed that needed to be done was the dryer cord needed to be replaced, so we drove to Lowe's and bought one and replaced it while they were off doing other shit.  Well, my mistake was not tossing the cardboard wrapper from the new cord in my car, because once he saw it he hit the roof.  "You're not a licensed electrician and I cannot take chances" and blah, blah blah.   He's right, I'm not an electrician, but my dad is a Master's Electrician who still holds licenses in 7 states and is pretty highly regarded around the area.  I've worked summers and holidays and whenever dad's guys needed the help, so I can hang a light fixture or ceiling fan, replace a breaker and I sure as shit can replace a dryer cord.  Nonetheless, once it turned to straight-up BITCHING at us for doing them a favor, we left, and I told my wife I would never volunteer to help him do ANYTHING again.

The next day, he called an electrician to come and have a look at the dryer cord, because "it just CANNOT be right."  The electrician told him it was right, but still charged him for 2 hours plus the service call.  The highest irony of the whole thing was, the electrician who showed up on the service call was a pupil of my father's in apprentice school.

We were through there a couple of weekends ago, and the wind had taken out a section of their fence...three posts had cracked and it was down.  They're currently on a 4 month waiting list for a fence guy.  I COULD fix it, but ain't no fucking way I'm volunteering.

 

My (ex) FIL was the same fucking way.  I was LITERALLY making my living as an "expert witness" on construction defect cases.  I noticed a stain on his drywall ceiling that he hadn't noticed.  I offered to hop up on the roof and have a look. 

"Oh-no...I'll get a PROFESSIONAL".    So he hires some mexican that was doing landscaping up until a few months earlier...now he's a roofer.

whatever.  Guy was a fucking idiot.  When my wife would  visit, he insisted on "checking out" her car.  She's driving home from their house on summer day, and the car overheats.  She calls me from a gas station. "My car's overheating".  I'm like WTF?  I just changed the oil, and checked all the fluids last weekend.  I get there, and of course, the FIL had "checked out" her car and hadn't replaced the radiator cap correctly, and all the water cooked out. 

 

Fucking idiot could have cost me an engine.  

Dipshit was a USC educated mechanical engineer, and he couldn't close a fucking umbrella.  

 

 

Edited by Gil Bang
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Sbbruin

Sbbruin 21828

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2 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

My (ex) FIL was the same fucking way.  I was LITERALLY making my living as an "expert witness" on construction defect cases.  I noticed a stain on his drywall ceiling that he hadn't noticed.  I offered to hop up on the roof and have a look. 

"Oh-no...I'll get a PROFESSIONAL".    So he hires some mexican that was doing landscaping up until a few months earlier...now he's a roofer.

whatever.  Guy was a fucking idiot.  When my wife would  visit, he insisted on "checking out" her car.  She's driving home from their house on summer day, and the car overheats.  She calls me from a gas station. "My car's overheating".  I'm like WTF?  I just changed the oil, and checked all the fluids last weekend.  I get there, and of course, the FIL had "checked out" her car and hadn't replaced the radiator cap correctly, and all the water cooked out. 

 

Fucking idiot could have cost me an engine.  

Dipshit was a USC educated mechanical engineer, and he couldn't close a fucking umbrella.  

 

 

xhss9.jpg

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25907

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Yeah. 

He and his dipshit son decided to replace the wood fence in the backyard (they lived in Whittier).  They go to the lumberyard, and select the heaviest fenceboards, get this, because they think that the wood is denser.   Of course, once the wood dried out, it shrunk to the point that there was an inch gap between each picket.

 

My BIL was subsequently murdered in a love-triangle deal.  Pretty shitty situation. 

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ShaggyBevo RIP

ShaggyBevo RIP 3868

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 5/20/2019 at 4:08 PM, ImissWallyPryor said:

It wasn't that long ago.  I had a '92 Explorer with Firestone Wilderness AT tires, though.  The Firestone in Oak Hill gave me a new set of tires as part of that recall.

Are you Army Brat's brother?  Its been over 20 years.

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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ImissWallyPryor

ImissWallyPryor 9046

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51 minutes ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Are you Army Brat's brother?  Its been over 20 years.

Ha!  I think Judge was asking is my dad's tire story dates back to the Firestone/Explorer tire fiasco.  That story is from this decade.  I just added the fascinating fact that I participated in that recall back in the 90s.

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ImissWallyPryor

ImissWallyPryor 9046

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There is a local shop I have used that is very reasonable on their charges, but they make up for it by charging $29.95 for Miscellaneous Shop Supplies and a $49.95 Engine Diagnosis charge.  I bought a code reader, so I give them the codes when I drop it off.  Regardless, they charge $49.95, and I have to remind them that I gave them the codes.  Once, they told me they have to charge that because they "don't trust cheap code readers."  I told them that if my codes are correct, I didn't want to be charged for a diagnosis.  The $29.95 supply charge is more than double what other independent shops charge, but I know that's what they will charge and take that into consideration.  They haven't tried to repair non-existent problems, they're convenient, and almost always get me in and out on the same day, so I continue to use them.

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CycleTex87

CycleTex87 2965

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I reluctantly took my out of warranty car to the dealer a while back to get the airbag recall taken care of.  I have been handling the oil changes myself for a couple years. Dealer rep told me “Hey, you still have a free oil change coming, want us to change it?”  OK, sure, it’s not due but whatever.  I had replaced the oil filter cap with an aftermarket machined unit that I felt sealed better than the plastic factory one. Of course they couldn't use the better cap, and insisted after the fact that I purchase a replacement factory cap.  

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Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25907

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1 minute ago, CycleTex87 said:

I reluctantly took my out of warranty car to the dealer a while back to get the airbag recall taken care of.  I have been handling the oil changes myself for a couple years. Dealer rep told me “Hey, you still have a free oil change coming, want us to change it?”  OK, sure, it’s not due but whatever.  I had replaced the oil filter cap with an aftermarket machined unit that I felt sealed better than the plastic factory one. Of course they couldn't use the better cap, and insisted after the fact that I purchase a replacement factory cap.  

Filler cap, not filter, correct?

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SurlyBDR

SurlyBDR 22763

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2 hours ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

There is a local shop I have used that is very reasonable on their charges, but they make up for it by charging $29.95 for Miscellaneous Shop Supplies and a $49.95 Engine Diagnosis charge.  I bought a code reader, so I give them the codes when I drop it off.  Regardless, they charge $49.95, and I have to remind them that I gave them the codes.  Once, they told me they have to charge that because they "don't trust cheap code readers."  I told them that if my codes are correct, I didn't want to be charged for a diagnosis.  The $29.95 supply charge is more than double what other independent shops charge, but I know that's what they will charge and take that into consideration.  They haven't tried to repair non-existent problems, they're convenient, and almost always get me in and out on the same day, so I continue to use them.

What code is it? Did you know that "cheap code readers" only get you in the neighborhood of what could be wrong? For example; P0442 (GM specifically), has to do with an evaporative emissions system leak. Which could be; purge valve, vent valve, canister or gas cap. Don't rely on DTC's alone if you really dont trust your mechanic. 

 

If you dont like that there could be multiple fixes for a cheap code scanner diagnosis, dont blindly trust someone whom plugs one into your OBD port. 

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