My GF drives a Mercedes C-Class, and it threw a code (ie. cam position sensor) during the annual Texas State inspection so she failed inspection.

Despite working 60 to 70 hours a week, she decided to see if she could save a little money so took it to Caliber Auto Care instead of the MB dealer. Her exact instructions were give me an estimate for fixing the cam position sensor code from the inspection.

She was on the verge of tears last night when we met up and told me about the $6000 estimate. She had the estimate in e-mail so I read it off her phone, and steam started coming out of my ears. MF'er wrote the first 5 line items as high profit, unnecessary items such as change cabin air filter for $100 ($24 at Autozone) and oil change (done 2 weeks ago and sticker in window). Then, it was on to mechanicals not even in the engine bay such as brakes (done last fall by MB dealer).

I looked up the camshaft position sensor replacement on MercedesMedic and they say it's an inexpensive part and only 15 minutes of labor. It looks like it's in an easy place to access, but requires a tool I don't own and I don't have a scanner to reset the code. She's heading to the Mercedes dealer on Monday for what is likely $300 to $500.

Back to the service writer at Caliber, what a fucking sleazeball for treating a female customer like a mark. I hope he gets an 11mm kidney stone.

I couldn’t agree more! And people wonder why dealers and mechanics have such a bad rep.

A similar thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. My 2016 F-350 diesel’s check engine light came on and I read the code indicating that it was the def pump. I also got a recall notice from Ford for this exact thing about a month before but decided to wait until I had to go to the dealer.

I told the service writer what the code was and what is required to be done per the recall.

Tow weeks later the dude calls me back and and say Mr. smlsig the cost will be $3200 and change. I mentioned the recall and he said that it actually didn’t pertain to my issue. I asked him to email me the bill (I was out of town) then called the number for Ford on the recall notice. I sent the Ford rep a copy of the invoice to which he said “ Let me look into it and get back to you tomorrow”. The next day he called back and said there won’t be any charge sir and the truck is ready.

Scumbags!

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

Back to the service writer at Caliber, what a fucking sleazeball for treating a female customer like a mark. I hope he gets an 11mm kidney stone.

To be fair, I don't think he discriminates on the basis of gender who he'll rip off.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I couldn’t agree more! And people wonder why dealers and mechanics have such a bad rep.

A similar thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. My 2016 F-350 diesel’s check engine light came on and I read the code indicating that it was the def pump. I also got a recall notice from Ford for this exact thing about a month before but decided to wait until I had to go to the dealer.

I told the service writer what the code was and what is required to be done per the recall.

Tow weeks later the dude calls me back and and say Mr. smlsig the cost will be $3200 and change. I mentioned the recall and he said that it actually didn’t pertain to my issue. I asked him to email me the bill (I was out of town) then called the number for Ford on the recall notice. I sent the Ford rep a copy of the invoice to which he said “ Let me look into it and get back to you tomorrow”. The next day he called back and said there won’t be any charge sir and the truck is ready.

Scumbags!

definitely a scumbag. I loved my service adviser. I stayed with the brand for my next car just because I wanted to keep him because I knew he was fair. Too bad I had to move to another state.

He was cool with giving me a courtesy car and then dropping my car off at my house. I complained of something in my car and it was intermittent. He kept it for a week while I had a courtesy car. At the end of the week, he said they checked it every day but the problem never occurred. I went to picked it up and asked how much and he said no charge since they didn't fix anything.

My daughter had an intermittent rattle under her SUV. She brought it someplace where they told her the catalytic converter needed replacement at close to $1500. She called me and took my advice to hold off for a while since it sounded fishy to me, and went someplace else to have brake pads replaced. When the guy finished he said he’d noticed the heat shield was a little loose and he’d fixed it, no extra charge.

And all this is why I worked in a garage to put myself through college.

That really sucks, T. And one of the many reasons I do most of my work DIY.

If you ever need a code reset, I've god a BlueDriver that should be able to do it. Just give me a shout & we can meet up.

Also, when I had my Merc, the service crew at the Woodlands dealer always were very professional & I definitely didn't get the 'stealership' vibe from them, compared to the MB dealer a bit south of us.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P250UA5,

I've got a service writer now that's wonderful. The vehicle is good, not great. The quality is just not what I've gotten used to from Honda, Toyota, etc. But the staff is brilliant so far.

That being said, I've got a family run shop that does what work I can't do myself, and they've told me not to have work done multiple times and then told me why. I'm that regard, I'm really pleased with this aspect of my vehicles.

The rest of the crap i go through is a joke, but at least the people side of the equation is solid.

I took my '09 Tacoma to a dealer for a minor recall. Service rep tells me my frame is rusting and needs to be replaced, but no worries, it's covered by another recall. I told him to hold off for now, and drove to a place where they buy your car on the spot after an inspection. They looked at my truck and offered me a good price. I asked about the rusty frame. The guy put it back on the rack and told me there was no rust at all. Now I know the dealer wasn't ripping me off, but he was hitting Toyota for warranty/repair work. I did write a letter to Toyota corporate.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
If you ever need a code reset, I've god a BlueDriver that should be able to do it. Just give me a shout & we can meet up.

Thanks! I might take you up on that in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Also, when I had my Merc, the service crew at the Woodlands dealer always were very professional & I definitely didn't get the 'stealership' vibe from them, compared to the MB dealer a bit south of us.

She recently met the owner of the MB Woodlands dealer and is switching to them starting today.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
If you ever need a code reset, I've god a BlueDriver that should be able to do it. Just give me a shout & we can meet up.

Thanks! I might take you up on that in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Also, when I had my Merc, the service crew at the Woodlands dealer always were very professional & I definitely didn't get the 'stealership' vibe from them, compared to the MB dealer a bit south of us.

She recently met the owner of the MB Woodlands dealer and is switching to them starting today.

I bought my C from them & was really impressed (grew up in dealerships) with how they treated customers, on both the same & service side.

I worked in the dealership service department environment for almost 25 years and bailed out on that career choice in the early/mid 1990's.
My somewhat dated experience with service writers is this. Most if not all are paid a small salary. And then a percentage of what they sell in the service lane.

Look at it from an owner/dealer perspective for a minute.
If you pay the service writer say $150,000 annually as a salary, then they won't sell anything in the service lane. They would be fat & happy on the annual salary alone.
Pay them say $30,000 annually, and 13% of the work they sell in the service lane, and now that employee is hungry, motivated, and a real benefit to dealership financials.

The real issue with service writers is whether the one YOU are interacting with has any integrity.
Some service writers do and some don't.
Finding the answer to that question will take some time and money.

Me personally, anything I own that has tires/wheels/engines, I try and do everything I can at home.
Car/truck/diesel tractor/motorcycle/UTV/ATV/lawn tractor/lawn mower/chainsaw/weed eater/generator/pressure washer.
I have to draw the line for doing it myself at home someplace, and replacing automotive tires, automotive tire balancing, annual vehicle/emission inspections, those go to the professionals.
Everything else is on me. I still jack them up with a floor jack and jack stands and rotate car/truck tires at home.
I have the knowledge, tools, and practical experience.
When I take a vehicle to a professional for it's annual vehicle/emissions inspection, I have already had it in my shop and gone over it with a magnifying glass.

Doing so results in minimal interaction with service writers.

You have to distinguish between dishonest and aggressive.
You can't blame them for trying to sell you something.
However, caveat emptor should always be the order of the day.
An out and out lie about work is different from suggesting work that may be preventative or optional.
Sometimes it is difficult to draw that line.
A educated consumer is a smart consumer.

20 yrs ago I got rear ended in my BMW E46 so hard that it bent the exhaust manifold. At fault driver's insurance took care of everything, so I didn't care about cost. But when it was all done and I was driving home from the BMW dealer, I got a CEL. I used my own scanner and pulled the codes, drove back to the dealer, which was closed by then, and I left the car there. I put the key in a night drop envelope and wrote the codes and what they meant on the envelope. They charged $90 for diagnostics, which were exactly the codes I told them. LOL. Again, I didn't care, as the other driver's SF policy handled it.

I had a writer try and pull that s*** over on me at the last dealership I worked at. I had only been there for around three months when a SES light illuminated with an accompanying highway speed surge developed. His rationale was that to diagnosis the problem a injection service was required in addition to a diagnosis charge if the problem was not a General Motors Protection Plan covered repair.And that in either case whether or not it was a covered problem I was responsible for the injector service. He figured that I was like many of the ones employed there in the past, not the sharpest and or would believe anything they were told, a common factor due to lack of experience in many of the previous hires there.

I told him no on the injection flush, he insisted that it was required. I told him “Show me,let’s pull the P&P (policies and procedures) book and show me where I’m required to pay for a non factory flush even if it is a covered repair.”

Long story short, mechanical failure was found, camshaft to distributor drive gears were worn, the second tech to work on it found a TSB that applied to the problem, top end overhaul that cost me my deductible, one hundred dollars. I’d have been out the additional two hundred bucks for a flush service with questionable value in most other cases anyhow, more of a feel good thing than anything else. GM and other makes have addressed that issue with TSB’s stating that fact that these flush services add to the cost of ownership with dubious worth and in the case that the flush contributes to a breakdown it would not be a warranty covered repair but becomes a customer pay repair regardless of the circumstances.

Its wrong to screw a customer, I’ve seen a lot of that over the years from dealerships I’ve worked at and from competing dealerships. And as wrong as that is it’s really bad when you screw your own coworkers, it was an unwritten rule that you never crossed that line.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
You have to distinguish between dishonest and aggressive.
You can't blame them for trying to sell you something.
However, caveat emptor should always be the order of the day.
An out and out lie about work is different from suggesting work that may be preventative or optional.
Sometimes it is difficult to draw that line.
A educated consumer is a smart consumer.

And many times the fear factor is implied with ambiguous wording and outright dismissal of objections raised by the customer. An authoritative voice used by the service writer can make a customer with rudimentary knowledge accede to what the writer is pushing. Similar tactics that telemarketers use to convince the unwary to send money whether it being a bogus bill collection or soliciting a donation to a local police or fire department.

It’s been taught that a person on the receiving end of a sales pitch comprehends about every third word said.

At the very lest I would report Caliber Auto Care to the BBB.
Myself, I would pay a visit to the owner and politely explain to him why they didn't get the job and that I will warning everybody I know plus about the complaint to the BBB.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
20 yrs ago I got rear ended in my BMW E46 so hard that it bent the exhaust manifold. At fault driver's insurance took care of everything, so I didn't care about cost. But when it was all done and I was driving home from the BMW dealer, I got a CEL.

I used my own scanner and pulled the codes, drove back to the dealer, which was closed by then, and I left the car there.
I put the key in a night drop envelope and wrote the codes and what they meant on the envelope.
They charged $90 for diagnostics, which were exactly the codes I told them. LOL. Again, I didn't care, as the other driver's SF policy handled it.

I see two issues:
1. The car wasn't fixed right, the first time.
2. Charging for diagnostics/codes when you already did this.

They shouldn't charge at all to make it right, even though you didn't have to personally pay (insurance).

Second is sort of "gotcha" as they do need to verify the codes, hence the charge.

I can understand a shop wanting to run their own diagnostic to verify the codes .

Sounds like the guy at the Toyota dealership that wanted to charge me $100 to run a diagnostic on my truck that was only there because of a recall. I lit that fucker up and gave his manager hell after she tried to defend him.