Has your dealer's Service Dept ever tried to rip you off?
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free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:33 am

I always get suspicious that my car dealer's service dept will try to rip me off since I'm a girl who doesn't know anything about cars. I heard that girls are the most likely victims since they feel they can pull whatever stunts on women.

Well, it is proven today that my Volvo dealer tried to rip me off.

Two days ago I took my car in to a non-Volvo dealer for the routine 15K miles service. This service shop has been in business since 1969, and the shop looked clean. It was just a few blocks from the dealer, and their price is $200 less. I talked to the guy last year when my car had only 13K miles, and the dealer was trying to push me to get my car serviced then. The guy at the non-volvo dealer told me I could wait until it hit 15K miles. So I waited. When I took my car in, I told the guy to inspect my brakes carefully because my car would skid in the rain about a foot before it stopped completely. I also experienced a lot of squealing noise when I backed up in the morning on a cold day. I told the dealer about this when I had my oil change there at 3K miles, and later when my car had a strange light coming on, but both times the dealer told me nothing was wrong with the brakes.

So this guy at the non-volvo shop told me my brakes were fine, and did not have to be replaced, but there's an update at the dealer to make the noise stop. He told me if I took my car to the dealer and told them about the noise and the skid problems, they should change the front brakes for me free since it's under warranty.

I took my car to the dealer this morning, and told them about the two problems. Later the dealer called me and told me the problem was my rear brakes needed to be replaced and they got only 3mm left. This would cost me $229.

I got suspicious since the other guy told me my brakes were fine. I called the guy and confirmed with him. He said I got 50% left in my rear brakes. He then told me he was going to go in to the dealer for me and talk to the technician. He later called me back and told me he inspected my brakes at the dealer and got a technician there to agree with him my rear brakes still got at least 7mm left, which translates to about 50%. Then he told them that the noise I was complaining about had to do with the update, and that they needed to replace my front brakes.

So they ended up replacing all of my brakes for me free of charge (covered under warranty) because this guy helped me. Without his help, the dealer would have maintained nothing was wrong with my brakes, except for the rear brakes which would not be under warranty. I cannot believe how dealers can get away with stuff like this. As a consumer, I feel it is completely unfair but I don't know where to complain to. Dept of Consumer Affairs?

free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:35 am

I find if I'm direct with them, tell them exactly what I want done, I rarely have problems. Replace my front brakes, they're under warranty. Check the rear brakes, I had a mechanic friend look at them, but I think they're ok. They'll always try to sell you something more, that's they're business. And, the dealer is always more expensive and will always try to sell more fixes and the way they talk it sounds like your car is about ready to fall apart. I only take my car to the dealer for oil changes. I have to go next week to the tire place and I only want two tires. They're gonna LOVE that!!

free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:03 am

Sounds like you're the kinda gal who knows lots about cars. Plus having a mechanic friend is a huge plus.

My dealer did try to rip me off because first they told me my rear brakes got 3 mm left and needed to be replaced. After the non-volvo guy stepped in and went over to the dealer to speak on my behalf, my rear brakes magically got 7 mm left, and didn't need to be replaced, but they replaced them for me anyway as a courtesy. They put on their report that my rear brakes got 6 mm left, but they replaced them because of the noise I was complaining about, which was under warranty. So they still make money from the manufacturer.

Either the dealer was trying to rip me off, or my service advisor was a crook, or maybe it was the mechanic, but it all seemed very fishy to me. I just got lucked out when the other non-volvo guy decided to help me. Bless his heart. Without his knowledge about the update that the dealer should have done for me to stop the noise, I'd not have known about this to tell the dealer they had to do the update for me. This is an insider knowledge.

I must say I'm not impressed with this particular dealer, to say the least.

free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:25 pm

Bkkgirl, I have a friend who's a Volvo owner, and she was telling me the main reason she and her hubby got a Volvo was because of the allegedly excellent CS in their service shop -- theoretically they really pride themselves on great CS and are super-particular about making sure everything was done to your satisfaction.

Who knows if that's the same everywhere, but it sounded like a company-wide policy the way she described it. So why not bring it up with the manager? If nothing else, you might be able to send off a warning signal that consumers are wise to this kind of thing and that they'd better not screw with you!

Just a thought. And for what it's worth, I take my Toyota to the dealer for some simple stuff like oil changes, and they're actually a lot cheaper and more full-service than places like Jiffy Lube. I was chatting with the service dept. manager and he was saying that most consumers assume the dealership is the more expensive place to get work done, but that that's not always the case.

So I guess it depends on the brand -- I have a pretty new car and haven't ever had to get any major work done, but I know I'll shop around price-wise before I do, just to see. Sounds like you did the same and you found a good mechanic in that non-Volvo guy -- I'd go there for things that aren't specifically warranty-related if I were you!

free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:46 pm

Ginnielizz, I agree that I should write to the general manager (again!). lol I wrote to him last year (or whenever I took my car in for the 1st oil change). They kept my car for the entire day and never got around to change my oil. I was extremely unhappy because then I had to go pick up my car, and take it back the next day. All this for a simple oil change! The GM actually called me and apologized. He said it wouldn't happen again. I wonder if it's just this particular dealer. For me, I chose Volvo for safety reasons. I have two kids, and I know Volvo got a good reputation for using strong steel. If I ever got in a car accident with my kids inside, I just hope the steel would be strong enough to protect them. But the dealer is really making me hate Volvo. That's really sad. Luckily this other guy is making up for it. A good and honest mechanic is really hard to find. When I used to have a Lexus, I ended up taking an auto shop class so I could leverage the teacher's knowledge, so that when the dealer told me something was wrong with my car, I could have my teacher look at it. It was nice. I did find that the Lexus dealer was trying to sell me services that my car absolutely did not need all the time. It was annoying.

free skin care · Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:36 pm

Have they ever NOT tried!

free skin care · Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:58 am

Juliemarie wrote:

Have they ever NOT tried!

Yeah, you're right. These people at the dealer are bloodsuckers and immoral. I'm so lucky to have found this other non-dealer guy who seems to be quite honest.

free skin care · Tue Mar 11, 2008 11:17 am

I'm lucky because my dealership wouldn't dare try to scam me- everyone in my family has bought cars from them and the service guys know it. They usually take very good of us!

free skin care · Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:14 pm

My brother owns an independent Saab repair shop. It's been around for 14+ years & I work there a couple of days a week. We get that stuff from people who have been to the dealer all the time! New customers will call saying they need brakes & rotors all the way around. And of course, it should be done right away. We always ask who told them that & invariably it's the Saab dealer. Then we'll look at the car & inform them they'll need front pads only by the next oil change, but the rest looks good. Brakes are a "wear item" & therefore not usually covered under warranty, and a great scare tactic because no one wants their brakes to go out.

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