One of our readers recently complained about a shady dealership mechanic trying to sell him on replacing his whole rear differential on his car for $3,800, when all he really needed was his fluids to get flushed for about $160.
Jon says, “There was metal in the fluid and the gear was stripped. I looked in the pumpkin (big housing that the axels and driveshaft go into) and I saw normal wear. He then ran his finger over the MAGNETS in the housing and showed me the ‘horrible buildup’ uhm that’s a VERY old transmission scam gag.”
Sounds sketchy, and that got us thinking, what are the other “class” mechanic scams out there? Tricks of the trade unscrupulous body shops use to get people to buy more repairs and/or services than they really need? Sound off in the comments with your favorite.
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I’ve found this site to be very helpful when looking for a good mechanic, user submitted reviews and its part of car talk’s website.
http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/
FIlters filters filters.. Most places’ll charge you between 30-40 to replace your air filter.. that you can get for $10 at the store.. and replace with a screw-driver.
Oil change Checkups- Anything that they recommend after an oil change should be looked at by a real mechanic not an upselling oil monkey.
Inspections / misc failure items: Check you state law and car out before you get your car inspected and avoid fees that are just slightly lower than the part plus new inspection if you do it yourself. Things like $10 for 2 licence plate bulbs, $14 for 1 wiper, $13 for a brake light.
Inspections / brakes
YES you do need to replace your brakes, but often times you should look at the laws for your area, and actually look at your brakes (Before inspection). Quite a few places bank on the idea that you don’t know jack about your car, and that if they tell you your brakes need to be done. YES you do need to change your brakes.. but it’s always better for you to know how to check them yourself
I’ve had a place that rhymes with Wirestone tell me that my front brakes were down to 10% and would fail inspection unless I coughed up the 496 for replacement.
Problem 1.. My state only will fail your disk brakes if there is metal to metal contact..
Problem 2.. I did my brakes 2 months prior, there was no way I could have gone through the cheapest pads made of material that was remotely hard in 2 months and 2,000 miles.The pads I bought were not made of apple.
I took my car to another inspection place that day and passed with no issue. I even called the shop out on it and they tried to backpedal but keep the blame off of them.
Ok here are some tips from an Ex Mechanic,
1. First and foremost. READ your owners manual. It will have all factory recommended service intervals for your vehicle. Fluids, recommended types and when to replace.
2. Getting old parts are a good idea. If the part is remanufactured They may be able to show it to you but they have to send it back to get the core charge refunded. I wouldnt worry about this too much as most people though wouldnt know what they are showing you anyways.
3. 3000 mile oil change is the biggest scam out there. Read the owners manual for recommend oil change intervals. Use a quality oil and Filter that meet the manufacturers recommended type in the owners manual.
4. Stay away from shops that pay their mechanics or counterpeople on Commission or Flat rate (dealers and chain shops). Commission is too much tempation to sell things that may be unnecessary at that time. Flat rate pay can cause havoc as the mechanic can rush through the job (calls for 5 hours book time and do it in 3, get paid for 5). Mom and Pop shops are usually the most trustworthy.
5. When i ran the counter i would explain and wouldnt hesitate to show and educate the customer. Let them make the decision. They say no then its no. If it was a safety issue i would note the problems on the bill.
6. If you feel uncomfortable and not sure then get a second opinion. You would with your health why not with your car ?
It does make me shake my head at these scams as so many of my friends would easily fall for this with no clue on what to do
Thankfully, I go to a dealership that I represent law-wise so I know most who work there and get great service
I’ve got a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLI i’ve only managed to put 30k miles on. I work from home, I fly vs drive long distances, and only really get out and ‘drive’ for fun. Anyway, I only ever took my Jetta into VW to get it serviced, and somehow my oil plug managed to get stripped. Apparently there’s an issue with it being made of brass or something equally soft, and VW didn’t put out proper tolerances to its mechanics right away, so they were being overtightened and stripped, and VW didn’t feel they had to pay for that problem.
So I paid $150 to have the plug redrilled and another larger plug put in. Within 6 months it was dripping again, and VW told me that they’d have to replace the whole oil pan this time, because they couldn’t drill it out any more (humperdink), and this was going to cost me $600. So I called around to some older family friends for a recommendation on a good mechanic, found one, and was told he could redrill it for maybe $50 max so I went in to see him and within 5 minutes he determined it was simply the wrong sized gasket used when they reassembled it. Grand total plus oil change was $40, and i’m never going back to the stealership again.
This is the advice I’ve given my kids as so to save them tuition and time at Experience School (I’m an alum)
Don’t use those cheap oil change stores. Don’t.
The few times my husband and I used them we ended up with not only an oil change, but extra grief.
A missing or loose nut on the oil pan. Hey oil light, why did you come on when driving home?
Employees accidently locking my keys in the car, panicking, then damaging the door when trying to break into the car to unlock it.
A masterpiece performance by the clowns “topping up” the fluids and oopsie! oil instead of water in the radiator! Shhh….lets all stand around her car with frowny faces but not let the owner in on the secret….let’s let her make the discovery when her van overheats!
I bought my car at a spectacularly reputable dealership that had amazing customer service, so when I moved to a new city, I took my car to the nearby dealership for an oil change — more because I hadn’t had time to research a place, and they were open on Saturdays. So I got a refresher course on two fun games:
1. My year old battery failed some kind obscure test that suggested I needed to buy a new one. Later that afternoon, I took my car to Sears (where I bought it), and told the tech I would buy a replacement if I needed too. He could find no way of producing any results that suggested the battery was about to die.
2. They put a $45 bottle of something called “ZMax” in my car without asking me, and then charged me for it. (A quick internet search shows that ZMax has been repeatedly fined by the FTC for false advertising and my car manufacturer explicitly recommends AGAINST additives.) I have since learned that the dealership is OWNED by ZMax and they will literally put that stuff in your car and charge you for it, no matter how many times you tell them not to. The good news is that they refunded the charge when I complained, but dear god, that’s slimy.
Then I found a reputable independent shop and never went back. Yay!!!
My transmission was slipping, I took it in to be looked at. They told me the transmission fluid was low, they filled it, and it still wasn’t right. They said they needed to replace the whole transmission for about $3,000. I said I’d bring it back later in the week because I needed the car for work. Well, I looked at the transmission fluid to find it almost bone dry, and since I had just gotten my fluids topped off at a recent oil change, that means there must have been a leak. I didn’t need the entire transmission replaced, I just needed the leak to be fixed. I don’t know why they prey on people who don’t have the money for these kinds of repairs. I obviously have a shitty car, so I obviously don’t have a lot of money. Don’t be a dick.
3,000 mile oil changes. Why does the guy with 1 hour of training know more than your vehicles engineers? Most cars can go 5,000 miles and some with oil sensors go well beyond that WITH the approved vehicle recommendation chart.
Lets not forget replacing the Finnikin Pin.
oh my god THAT’S what is wrong with my truck! Tanks a trillion!
Otherwise the maniform comes loose.
I used to go to a Mobile-One quick lube to get my oil changed, and it seemed that every other time that I was there I needed a new air filter. They wanted $30 to change it, but I always declined and changed it myself buying the $10 filter at the store. No big deal, it was just an up sell that I could and did ignore.
Then on one visit (the last one I ever went there for) they showed me some dirty dark brown liquid smeared on the work order and said it was from my transmission, and I needed a flush ($140) right away or the car would be irreparably damaged. I wasn’t going to consent to such a large service without checking it out first, so I declined. When I got home I pulled out the trusty Chilton and went hunting for the transmission dipstick to check the fluid out myself, but it was MIA. The car has a fill tube, but no dipstick, and there was no way that they got anything into the fill tube to pull fluid out as there is a coolant tube at the bottom of the fill tube blocking the way to the pan.
Eventually I had to replace the pan gasket and found that the only way to check the fluid in that transmission was to remove the pan and replace the fluid. I don’t know where they got that brown fluid, it wasn’t from my transmission, the fluid I took out and replaced was red, not brown.
A huge scam I’m glad I didn’t fall for.
Eventually I had to replace the pan gasget and found that the only way to check the fluid in that transmission was to remove the pan and replace the fluid. I don’t know where they got that brown fluid, but it wasn’t from my transmission, the fluid I took out and replaced was red, not brown.
A huge scam I’m glad I didn’t fall for.
I know I need to get my steering fluid, brake fluid and maybe transmission fluid as well as new brake pads (+ the bi annual oil change) but I feel like the dealership which usually has the lowest cost for oil changes that include a filter change as well is trying to screw me when they presented an estimate of like $900 for the fluid changes, not including breaks. I know I need them done since I’ve never flushed any of them in the 4 1/2 years Ive had my car. I’m almost tempted to pickup car maintenance as a hobby so I can possibly change the breaks myself…
How about… ORDER YOUR COFFEE BLACK LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE.
I actually got sold on a $400 tuneup when I only went to get my oil change….but there was a noticeable difference when driving amongst other things after I bought a “used” car that ended up costing like it was new.
Lesson: Get your car checked out prior to make a major buying decision; don’t trust dealers.
I actually got sold on a $400 tuneup when I only went to get my oil change….but there was a noticeable difference when driving amongst other things after I bought a “used” car that ended up costing like it was new.
Lesson: Get your car checked out prior to make a major buying decision; don’t take the word of the dealer
I take my car to the local Midas. Not only haven’t I had a problem with them, they let the customers into their bays to watch. I, of course, watch from the moment my car enters the bay to the moment they hand me my keys back so I can drive off.
The people there are great, too. Manager had been working on restoring a ’68 Mustang convertible, my girlfriend at the time was doing the same, and so he offered to help us as needed for free. Another one of the mechanics helped me replace the exhaust system on my Mustang in his spare time, at no cost.
I had always had my mechanic work done by a trusted friend of the family. About ten years ago, I was traveling out of state in my minivan. The brake line came loose from the front brakes. I went to a chain location which I had never had problems with before. I even explained that the line had come loose. Silly me for being a woman, obviously I didn’t know what I was talking about. I had to leave the vehicle at the location (my mistake) because I was in a traveling theater production and we had a performance soon. When I returned, I was told that they had “gone ahead and replaced the brake pads because they were badly worn”. Uh, I thought you had to get my consent to do that, but OK. When I returned home, I had my mechanic look at the van. Apparently, they had switched my relatively new brake pads (the mechanic had replaced them recently and had written down the serial number which didn’t match) with really bad ones. So, they charged me for work that wasn’t necessary, AND they stole my new brake pads and gave me old ones. At least I learned from there on out that if I get any work done in a shop, I ask questions, stay on premises, and examine the work done afterward.
A mechanic at Sears tried to tell my grandmother that she needed four catalytic converters for her Ford LTD. This was back in 1990 or so. I think she still has the paperwork that has the quote somewhere.
This is why I usually work on my own junk. But, I do take the easy way out on oil changes. Unfortunately finding an oil change place that doesn’t try to scare you into the upsell is a pain in the ass.
I once had a place that I used for about 2 years that gave me good service. Usually brought in our family’s fleet of 4 vehicles on a regular 5000 mile interval. That was until they started upselling my wife. In essence they kept trying to scare her into replacing the diff fluid and transmission fluid on her 30,000 mile Tacoma. The transmission fluid isn’t even serviceable and diff fluid really doesn’t need to be replaced for at least 80,000 miles.
Needless to say I’m using a different service now.
I am selling a car, and decided to take it up to the car wash to get it really cleaned out, waxed and have them detail the interior. I decided to take a “deal” and get the oil changed too (needed it, as it was sitting for 6 months)
It’s an 05 Corolla “S”.
They did a good job detailing it, and I know I got my money out of it (did a before and after at Car Max just to see what the difference was. Over a $1000 difference in buy price after the clean up)
While I was getting the car’s oil changed, the shop called me, they wanted to know if I wanted to change the transmission fluid. I told them it was a sealed unit, and Toyota says to not change it (per the Helm manual). He begins to tell me that this is incorrect, and I would be dumb not to change it, it was thick, black, and he could see dirt in it. I told him i was selling the car, and I did not want to have it done (besides I could do it myself, the oil change was a free deal at the car wash). He then asks me if I want the fluids topped off, it would be $15 to do it. I said the fluids didn’t need topping off. He said all were low. I told him I had them at home, and could do that myself. Next he wanted to replace the air filter. I asked him why, he said it was no longer white, it was black, and needed to be replaced. I told him it was a K&N filter, and it was PURPLE, and less than 1000 miles old. I had looked at it this morning and it was fine (it was). He studdered, and thanked me.
When I got the car back from them, the fluids had been topped off and they tried to charge me for almost everything I mentioned above. I told them I had refused everything when the shop had called, and if they want to comp all the above that was fine by me. It didn’t go too well for me until I pulled the K&N filter out of the car’s intake, and asked them if they were charging me for a filter they didn’t replace. I did this really loudly in front of the car wash entry, where there were many cars coming in, all with their windows down.
I was given a “deal” that day. I only had to pay for what I asked for. I don’t think I will be going back anytime soon.
A coworker of mine shocked me with his confessions as a service station attendant. One of the tricks he used was to take a squirt oil can and squirt oil under the lip of the shock absorbers. He’d then tell the owner the shocks were leaking fluid and need to be replaced. Watch for that one.
Midas likes to rip holes in your exhaust system and threaten to call the Highway Patrol if you decide to leave for an honest place. The only time I’ve heard of this backfiring on them was when the finished, my friend pulled the lifetime Midas warranty out of the glove box.
Jiffy Lube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJjqr0QbIk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6KY6rrqYU
Diagnostics fee when the problem is obvious. The local Chevy dealership kept charging me these fees even when I tell them I don’t want it diagnosed, I just want the transmission pan gasket changed. It’s leaking just change it. They charged me hundreds to diagnose it anyway. “Well, yes, the transmission gasket is leaking but we had to pull the tranny and the engine to check the seal around the gear-shift. Luckily we did, because we feel some of the fluid may be coming out the top seal as well.”
“I don’t care; gravity will keep it in, just change the Vette’s tranny pan gasket.”
They also had ZERO parts in stock; to avoid Califonia’s inventory tax all parts are kept just across the border in Nevada. There was a small plastic vacuum hose joint that got broken when they pulled the engine. It was a $3 part but there were five versions and they didn’t know which was the right one. I told them to order all the parts and return the four wrong one. They wouldn’t do it so I offered to BUY all the parts but they refused. They kept the car for weeks while ordering one part, shipping it ground, receiving it, installing it, not having it work, going to the next one in the list. Thanks Ocean Chevrolet, I’m done with you. I made a point of going to the Owner, in the middle of a sale and telling him off and explaining I would no longer be doing business with them.
I hate that fee if there is little doubt as to what the problem is. Last trip to the dealer was for a car I just bought (Camry Hybrid) had the engine light come on. The car ran fine and was getting great mileage so I wasn’t too concerned. I came in just before closing and asked them to just read the error and tell me if it was a serious problem. The guy got flustered, he wanted me to leave the car, but I wouldn’t. Finally, he just tightens the gas cap. That fixed the problem. I am so stupid because I’ve had the same issue with every new car I’ve bought but I always forget new gas caps have to be cranked down.
Be especially careful around your inspection time. In NY, cars get inspected once a year, before the end of the month the sticker expires. Take your car in to be inspected first thing that month. Do not wait until the end of the month. This is a scare tactic used by a lot of places. They know you are in a hurry to get your car to pass, so they will try to add things in that “you absolutely need for it to pass” state inspection. Know what the requirements are, and check them yourself, so there are no surprises. Check tread depth on tires, check all your lights work, check your horn, your wipers, seat belts, etc the day of (or day before) you visit the shop. I work on my own cars, and some shop pulled this on my sister trying to get her car inspected. Wanted $100 to replace a horn (they unplugged), $60 to replace signal bulbs (which were just reflectors, had no bulbs in them), and her tires needed to be replaced (they all had more than legal tread depth). At least she had the smarts to call me first before agreeing to anything. Shop wanted almost $900 total to pass her car. Funny, we took it to another shop, and it passed with no problems. Don’t fall for this.
Decades ago in Utah, my uncle took an old Nash Rambler to a service station for the state mandated safety check. He made the mistake of taking it to one on the side of town the rich old ladies used. They had state-of-the-art equipment like a laser headlight alignment machine with a ‘computer’. (This was before personal computers) They said the headlights needed to be aligned and that one of the brake lights was needing replacement, among other things. They wanted a fortune. My uncle called me and we took it home to fix over their objections. I threatened to call the HP and they gave in. The car had about 24 brake lights, of which one was dim or intermittent (not a safety issue). We aligned the lights on a garage door and changed the bulb. When we came back, the mechanic wanted to know how we could possibly align the headlights. I said “garage door”. He objected and I replied, “Why, what do you have, some computerized-laser tracking system?” He stuck his chest out to brag and the other attendant jabbed him in the ribs. At that point they figured they were dealing with a couple hicks with no money and wanted us gone. The intermittent brake light wasn’t working again but they wanted to be rid of us. (They were paid the standard fee and only had the $5.25 sticker to look forward to) So the guy cupped his hands over the one failed light to see if it was just dim or not working and asked me to press on the brake. I got in and pulled the headlights on instead. “It’s working!” and we were done.
Things I’ve had the local quicky-lube manager try to sell me:
Automatic transmission flush (on a manual transmission)
Air filter (On a car fitted with velocity stacks and metal mesh filters)
Tire rotation (on a truck with 33×10.50 fronts and 33×12.50 rears)
Power steering flush and service, because it wasn’t working right when he pulled it into the bay. (it has no power steering)
Why do I keep going back there? I know the guy that actually does the work. He’s trustworthy, unlike his manager.
Other things I’ve seen over the years:
Had an old truck with a two-piece drive shaft and towing package. There were 13 grease fittings, and they were always a pain to get to, so I took it to a quick lube place. They handed me a slip of paper stating they’d greased all 7 fittings on my truck. I handed it back and said “So you’re half done. Planning on pulling it back in to finish, or am I not paying for the lube?”
Another place decided that the entry in their computer stating my vehicle required 20w50 was a mistake, and decided to fill it with 10w30. I caught them three quarts in and made them redrain the oil. They then tried to charge me for their mistake.
GM dealer decided they’d claim my car needed a quart and a half of automatic transmission fluid, and not only charged me for it but suggested I needed the pan gasket changed because they could see it leaking. “It’s a manual.” “The computer says it’s an automatic, and the mechanic says he added ATF.” “Nope, he didn’t.” The manager flips his computer around and says “See? 1981 Camaro Z28, 350 V8, automatic only.” “That’s nice. Mine is a 1979 Berlinetta with a 350 and a 4 speed.” He taps away at the computer for a minute and says “There is no such thing, you’re mistaken.” “Well, you can either take the charge off now and assign a different mechanic to verify every line on the rest of that invoice was performed, or you can do it when the police officer I’m about to call gets in the car and sees a clutch pedal.”
I had a local shop around here try and shaft me.
I received a gift of a bunch of free oil changes and stuff from my grandma (It was in the form of this big post card with little coupons, it was from a fundraiser).
So, I go in for the Oil change, get it done and get ready to leave (and have the oversized post card thing stamped and hole punched). The woman behind the counter prints off the work that was done, and says “That will be $35.50″. So, I’m sitting there telling her that I have this coupon thing that makes the oil change free. She says “No, thats for the light we replaced”.
I’m looking on this receipt: When I walked down the street to get some McDonalds while I’m waiting, they decided to change my third brake light (in the rear view window). It was $5 for the bulb and $30 for the frickin labor! So, I complained to her and the manager. They kept wanting me to pay for it and figured that it would “Be right of me to support the shop. After all, you did get a free oil change…”. Yeah, it was free after my grandmother paid $70 for the coupon thing.
After pitching a fit, they finally just let me leave and didn’t charge me for anything.
Later, when I had my girlfriend use the coupons to get oil changed in her car, they tried to scare her with all these things that were “Dangerously wrong” with her car.
CON. FREAKING. ARTISTS. All the local shops by me are nuts. I once watched a woman get charged $100 for an oil change on a Ford Five-Hundred. I asked to see her receipt; they charged $40 in oil and $60 for labor (NOT SYNTHETIC OIL EITHER!). I walked out without even getting my exaust system looked at…
Vote for the Tea Party and it’ll be MANDATORY that you pay whatever service shop you visit to change out the air filter, no matter if it’s dirty or clean. Blame Bush and the grape-gobbling wealthy masses, they sit in their McMansions on top large hill tops, playing with themselves and rubbing their bellies full of pot roast. Damn you, damn you all to HELL.
Are you currently high on drugs or something? What do air filters have to do with grapes?
Regarding disposal, if you’re worried about it might be better to figure out how to do it yourself. Here in Austin the owner of 31 Jiffy Lube franchise shops was busted for dumping oil in the sewer. “Heartland Automotive Services, Inc. is very respectful of our environment and regrets any damage that may have arisen from the ill-advised actions of a few of our employees”
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2009/04/09/jiffy_lubes_owner_admits_putti.html?cxntfid=blogs_austin_legal
Man, I think Jiffy Lube is the king of this stuff – just about every time I have gone there for an oil change, I am told I need all sorts of filters and things replaced. Especially the air filter! It’s irritating.
I had a dealership try one on me. I took my truck in to have a free oil change and they said I needed my fuel filter replaced because it ‘looked dirty’. I asked them how they knew it was dirty inside? It’s metal. You have to remove it to look inside and still, you won’t see very much. So either they had already removed it and put another on, or it was a scam.
I figured it was a scam because I had changed it out 3 weeks before while tracking down a rough idle problem. Needless to say, I don’t use them for service any more.
In my own experience, the most reputable garage in town is the one with the oldest clientele and is usually so busy, you nearly have to make an appointment.
We took one car to a shop for approval before we bought it(we didn’t have the time to do it) was charged $150 for a clean bill of health.
3 days later we are doing an oil change and noticed that the air filter was factory and looked like crap, the drive belt was cracking and the brakes were on their last legs. I went back and rose hell about it ended up getting my $150 back and 2 free air cleaners that we later discovered didn’t fit.
Walmart got me last time for a road hazard repair. Due to an accident we can no longer do a true aliment so the tire had a bit of odd ware no were near where the screw went into it. They replaced the tire with out talking to be about it first then tried to void my road hazard warranty because of the slight aliment problem and tried to charge me $140 for a new tire. We told them to piss off and fix the old one and remount it. They refused to so we left(Wife and I had both our sets of keys on us) I went back with my dad for back up after reviewing some of the paper work. We asked for the manager and of course the tech side lined her for 15 mins and once she came to us she tried to give us a canned reply.
At that point we asked for the store manager and to see the old tire. This time we got to the manager first and explained what was going on and the 3 of us went to talk to the tech and tire center manager. As it turns out the old tire ‘magically’ went missing. The GM ended up refunding us the road hazard on all 4 tires and dropping the price of the new tire to $50 because 1. Road hazard did apply to it as the aliment problem didn’t cause the screw to stick in the tire. 2. They swapped the tire with out talking to me first(they were only authorized to fix a flat, not replace the tire). And 3. No tire, no proof, that kinda back fired on them.
We need to replace 3 out of 4 of the tires soon. We are doing to do all 4 at a different shop and pick up a 5th rim and use the newest tire as a full sized spare.
How about seventy bucks to “adjust” the serpentine belts? Yeah, beltS. I showed the young lady how to replace it herself with a tool borrowed from Autozone, where she paid seventeen dollars for the belt. No, belt installation isn’t free, just batteries, headlamps and wipers.
And another thing… I had a Cavalier (keep reading when you stop laughing) that suddenly started running very rough and stalling if I let the engine idle. Took it to a “Highly Recommended” shop. They told me I needed a complete engine rebuild. They only wanted $3,200 which is pretty cheap for any engine these days. I decided to jump on the Car Talk site and ask around. First reply came back “your timing chain tensioner just broke, replace the sprockets, chain and tensioner, thirty five bucks for the kit. Right! It’s a real pain to install on that car but that fixed it. In its second hundred thousand miles all I replaced were filters and fluids. Timing parts never failed.
I got my oil changed at one of those drive-thru places in my hometown late last winter & I was impressed to see there was a monitor next to the driver’s window so you could see the guy under the car (& building) doing the lower half of your oil change.
That was awesome, except that there was a big thing… something black & emblazoned with some motor oil logo propped up in front of the camera downstairs so you could only see the feet of the person changing the oil. I flirted with the upstairs guy for a bit then demanded that he go down and move the thing. First he said it couldn’t be moved, then when pressed further he changed his story.
As I drove away I noticed two things:
1. My muffler, which had been a little loud prior to pulling in, was now about as quiet as an old tractor.
2. The invoice stated clearly at the bottom that they would NOT be responsible for ANYTHING that happens to your car for ANY reason after leaving that place.
Scammy, indeed. I haven’t been back.
I was sitting in the waiting room at a dealer once and listened as they told every other customer ahead of me that they needed 4 new tires, and it just so happened they were running a special on tires.
When they finally came to me I declined and they warned me my car would never pass inspection with my tires as is. I took my chances and low and behold never had a problem and passed my next inspection.
This has happened to two of my friends, as well as myself. Hand an oil change performed at Jiffy Lube as they were advertising a buy one oil change, get one free promotion. Not one of use have been able to collect on the free oil change. After many calls to their customer service, nothing changed. Even some pretty great excuses, such as, “yeah we must have mailed that out to another guy in your town with the same name.” Don’t fall for it.
I have had some bad dealings with some shops. I went to a Canadian Tire for an oil change and when I got my car back, the hand brake lever cable had snapped in between my dropping it off and picking it up. I got a replacement through another car repair shop altogether. Another Canadian TIre I went to for emissions control said they did the test and I had to have a serious amount of work done since my emissions were twice the allowable limit. They said I had to do at least $750 worth of work to show that I had made the effort to get my car compliant. I took my 2000 Buick to another, registered shop that specializes in emissions testing and it came out clean. When I challenged the manager at the Canadian TIre store on this, he insisted that they did proper testing and followed the correct procedures all the time, but could not explain why there was a 200% difference in emissions test results that were a week apart.
A Gary’s Automotive I went to for new tires before a long trip put them on but I noticed a little wobble, and I was too far along to get back before closing time. I finally pulled over when it had gotten very bad, and none of the nuts were tightened on one wheel, and one was actually missing! I could finger-tighten the remaining four. I had to get a replacement the next morning and continue on. We were in heavy fast traffic going through Toronto, if a wheel had come off we could have been killed. When I told them about it, there was no apology, nothing. I never went there again and I warn people against going to that chain of shops.