quote:

Why do you guys even bother?

Well in the OPs case, he took it in for 2 recalls. Must be done at dealer, not an independent mechanic.

quote:

Originally posted by sigarms229:

quote:

Why do you guys even bother?

Well in the OPs case, he took it in for 2 recalls. Must be done at dealer, not an independent mechanic.

Details, meh

Let me wager a guess- Harrisonburg dealership? Starts with an S?

I’ve had similar experiences there, with recall fixes specifically.

quote:

Originally posted by Whisp:
Let me wager a guess- Harrisonburg dealership? Starts with an S?

I’ve had similar experiences there, with recall fixes specifically.

However did you make such an amazing guess? It’s like this place has a reputation for being run by a coked out cocksucker that treats every living being like trash. How they’ve remained in business is one of the great mysteries in life.

I have only had a recall visit to a dealership once and I told them I was selling the vehicle and just needed the airbags replaced under the recall.

I have been using a local mechanic for 15 years with no issues. It doesn't happen often - but when he tells me something needs to replaced - I listen to him and do it.

Hmmm, the evap system leak code is gone. So either it was related to the air pump (as is often the case) or they cleared it and made sure the gas cap was properly seated. But they wanted $100 to diagnose the problem.

They also didn’t even have the decency to run it through the quick wash.

All my years in parts departments were spent in GM dealerships but the last vehicles we purchased were Jeeps.

I tried two local FCA dealerships near home as I bought both of ours from my employers FCA store about 50 miles one way and I prefer to have a relationship with a dealership.

First dealership I tried was ok until I had a just out of mileage but still under time if the problem had been evident maybe two weeks before the odometer turned 36k. Requested owner assistance, dealership was supposed to open a case with their factory rep, two months and they basically blew me off as I called FCA only to find out that the dealer had to make the initial request for assistance. Went back to speak to the service writer only to have him that my request had been declined. And when I asked him for my case number he mysteriously could not find that but he would get me an estimate to fix the problem at my expense.

A couple of weeks later the service director from the FCA stores in our group transferred to our dealership, one of the other countermen mentioned to him of my problem. Within a half hour of his hearing what happened he had a driver on the way from my delivering dealer with a loaner. Week later, all fixed, no charge. About six months later the dealer that ignored my request starts calling my cell phone wanting me to come in and trade.

First time I called in and requested that they do not use my phone for solicitations. When I told the salesperson on the phone that I was not in the market for a new vehicle and just left it at that his response was “Oh yes you are, you just don’t know it!” Well that smart ass remark set me off, my reply “So you think that I cannot make a decision by myself? Take my name off the call list!” and hung up. Three months later another call! This time I fired off an email to the General Manager detailing my history with their store, the ignoring of my request for assistance and the subsequent sales call and ignored request to be removed from the call list. And any further calls would result in a formal complaint with the FCC and a couple of agencies in my state government.

Second dealership, screwed up three out of four oil changes. Replaced a passenger side air bag and nicked my instrument panel carrier and nicked up the side adjacent to the door. Only way to fix it would be to replace the carrier, hey, a 90k Wrangler, I let it go. But paybacks were mine, about a month later I found a almost new Streamlight pocket pen under the passenger seat! Casualties of war, guess that paid me back for that and twice having to go back bout the screwed up oil changes, one of them I caught at the dealership, both times on the Wrangler they put the wrong oil weight in it. The Liberty oil filter leaked, they said that they tightened(!)it and was all fine now. Still leaked, I would have willingly PAID for another filter to be installed. Subsequent oil change was done at the local Ford dealer, once th filter was changed the leak went away. Coincidence?

A new dealership is being opened about fifteen miles from here, owned by a small dealer group founded by one of the parts managers I worked for in the 70’s. I’ll give them a try next, maybe third times a charm?

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:

However did you make such an amazing guess? It’s like this place has a reputation for being run by a coked out cocksucker that treats every living being like trash. How they’ve remained in business is one of the great mysteries in life.

Lol, isn’t that the truth. I had a great experience with them in ‘03 buying a Corolla and service was excellent for a few years and then it just cratered. BS nickel and dime maintenance stuff added to the bill, always found something when I took it in for maint. We stopped using them around 05/06 except for recall stuff.

We finally swore them off for good when my wife dropped off our SUV a number of years ago for a recall and figured she’d have the oil changed too. They called back with a bunch of found nonsense stuff which I declined, and when she picked it up she kept hearing this rubbing sound. I looked at it that evening and the dust cover for the wheel well looked like it had been shredded by cougar. Called them the next day and they denied doing anything to, said that the cover didn’t even need to be removed for the oil change (which it does). Finally agreed they would replace it for the cost of the part which they quoted at like $150 or something ridiculous. It’s a $35 cover. I hung up and we never went back. Worth drive down to Staunton if we do a recall. They honestly aren’t great either, but better than the alternative.

On my last car I didn’t like the way I was treated in the sales side of the closest Lexus dealer to me so I bought the car somewhere else and I always went to a further away dealer for service work.

Typically I’d take it in for recall or warranty stuff and they’d give me a loaner and they always filled my tank (They’d probably go broke doing this now)

Everything was always fine until I drove my car there for a recall and the day after I dropped it off they called me telling me my battery was dead and they couldn’t do the recall until i replaced battery(at this point I’ve had this car for 4-5 years and I bought it Pre owned so who knows when it was replaced last)

Advisor tells me the battery is $450 + labor to install and reset or whatever needs to be done..

I’ve already shopped for battery prices because I knew it was a funky battery and it was dealer only… local Lexus dealer wants $250 for it…

So I tell advisor no problem I’ll get the battery and come put it in so they can do the recall.. He says well I’m not allowed to work on cars on their property.. so I tell him no problem.. jump start it and I’ll drive it off the property, change the battery, and bring it back in… so he replies it’s so dead it won’t jump start… so I tell him no problem… I’ve got a portable jump pack that will start anything if it’s a battery problem… nope can’t let you do that… hmmmm so now I’m getting angry… I told him cool… at this point I’m willing to pay more to prove a point just so they don’t get to screw me on a new battery and installation… I’ll send a tow truck, we’ll take it off the property, change the battery, then bring it back in… He responds that tow trucks aren’t allowed in the bays… I would have said I’d push it off the property but it was a hybrid with an electronic shifter thing that won’t go into neutral without power..

Finally I told him listen… I have literally given every single option there is to solve this problem… there’s is no way I’m paying $200 more for the battery plus the labor to install it… it’s a hybrid so the starting battery is somewhere behind some panel in the trunk you have to remove a couple things and pull some interior pieces out to get to it… not rocket science but I’m also lazy… sooo I’m willing to let you change out the battery if you match the other dealers price on the battery and I’m not paying you more than $100 to install a battery or we can deal with the cops or whatever we need to do because you are giving me no other options besides buy your battery and basically telling me I can’t have my car back unless I buy your battery…

Finally I got the new battery installed for like $325… which was fine with me.. and I never went back to that dealer.

I have two different Nissan dealers near me that I have used for oil changes , rotations , etc. No issues with either .

The public perception of dealership service departments, I look at as a bell curve. When I started in 1970 about the only time you saw a car in a dealership was for warranty work, all else went to independents or the D-I-Y crowd. Dealers were rip offs, prices too high, takes too long, all the public perceptions, some true, some not.

About the mid 70’s GM started tackling this, starting the Mr. Goodwrench program tackling these and other issues mainly that were bottlenecks for dealerships like pricing, availability, warranties and the beginnings of the new and remanufactured engine and transmission programs.

Dealers that worked within the program in many cases saw the results. Some of us in dealerships started doing competitive pricing on services and parts and ran our own specials independent from what corporate suggested. I was involved in a couple small dealerships in the 80’s out west. I aggressively went for fleet work too. Funny thing especially with travelers, the fear many times warranted by them of getting “ripped off” for a breakdown was abated when they would be towed in and see a couple of U.S. Forest Service vehicles, fire and police vehicles, railroad, public utilities, figuring that we must have a good reputation with those entities. The high point of the bell curve.

Seems like we are on the downside of it today. Dealerships are no longer mom and pop operations, dealer groups are the thing. Where many mom and pop stores were interested and vested in their communities the dealer groups only see profit,profit,profit. I’ve worked for both and still do in retirement and I prefer to be in a mom and pop any day but they are endangered species. Seems at least to me since the 2009-10 crash this is when the business mode became “screw ‘em the first time they walk in the door as this may be our only chance” instead of “let’s take care of them, maybe they will come back again”.

On my old Tundra I'd started noticing relatively minor things not working that did work when I bought it 4 years ago. Cruise control quit working, started seeing an airbag warning light on the dash. When I noticed the horn wasn't working I decided to take it in. I'd had it in the local dealer a year ago when one of the ignition coils failed, so I assumed they had forgotten to reconnect the horn wire when they were under the hood. No, I don't use the horn very often.

So they called me after they looked at it and said there's something they called a "ring switch" in the steering wheel, that was broken. Apparently everything electrical that's mounted on the rotating part of the steering wheel - including the airbag and the CC as well as the horn - all goes through that switch. They wanted $800 to replace it. I passed. They also said the front brakes needed to be overhauled. I already knew that and would have told them to go ahead until they said they wanted $1,900 to replace the pads and rotors. That's not a typo. $1,900. The calipers were "probably OK but we won't know for sure until we get it apart", meaning it would have been an extra few hundred $$$. Pass again. A couple weeks later a buddy helped me change out the pads, rotors AND calipers for $290 in parts and a pizza.

Suffice it to say that the local Toyota dealer won't be getting any more business from me. Too bad for them, a couple years down the road I'll be replacing the truck and a nice shiny new Tacoma is on my short list.

I had to have the "clock spring" replaced in the steering column of my 2001 Dakota due to similar symptoms.

Fortunately it was under warranty.

I dumped that parts-eating SOB the day before the warranty ran out!

Yes, the dreaded “clock spring”. Apparently there is a problem also on Wranglers that mine is experiencing intermittently, failure of the cruise control to operate. I’m out of warranty EXCEPT if the air bag light comes on then FCA/Stellantis, whatever name they go by this month will then cover it as it’s a safety related item then.

Until then the generally workaround according to the Jeep forums is turn the wheel left and right and honk the horn. I’ve tried it, felt stupid but it has worked, maybe coincidence but that seems to do it. I’m hoping for the air bag light to come on in the next 44k though.

It’s a scam to even pay for a scan. What other business do you have to pay to get an assessment of the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
It’s a scam to even pay for a scan. What other business do you have to pay to get an assessment of the problem.

Just about any M.D.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
It’s a scam to even pay for a scan. What other business do you have to pay to get an assessment of the problem.

Avionics. More specifically - DoD avionics.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

It’s a scam to even pay for a scan. What other business do you have to pay to get an assessment of the problem.

Many (most?) types of aircraft problems.

quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:
What other business do you have to pay to get an assessment of the problem.

Appliance repair

Plumbers

HVAC

Dentists

Yes, you can get a scanner reading for free at the parts stores, but that’s not what torched me. The fact that it had to be done to verify and repair the recall problem but that desk jockey wanted to charge me for it is what really pissed me off.