Sick of thieves.

[jackute23]

I'm sick of thieves (they're not only in the auto industry, I know). Last service (won't name the dealership but maybe I should) on my Falcon (FGX) I was charged various extras including $12.00 supposedly to top up brake fluid.
I always check everything under the hood (and record the mileage) before getting cars serviced. The car's done less than 20,000k's.

Everything was topped up prior to service and the brake reservoir was full of newish fluid, as it should be at low k's. There was no mention of any bleeding the brakes on the bill and I know no top up was needed anyhow.

$12.00 worth of brake fluid must be quite a lot and surely it would need bleeding if it was that empty, which of course it wasn't, it was full.

So apparently they think it's acceptable to just add bogus charges to a bill knowing technically they're stealing from you (not that stealing from you would worry them). I know this is relatively minor compared to many other scams people suffer from these places. But I'm just sick of dealing with people you can trust as far as you can throw.

I just paid it without questioning it. Would only get some B/S I didn't want to listen to. Was where I bought the car from so won't be going back. Trouble is another dealer won't be any better.

[Mercury Bullet]

Damn.

I can understand how you feel. Got the same car and the only fluid changes have been ones I've asked for and then had them try to talk me out of it.
My brake fluid is at the same level it was the day it left the dealership.

There are good dealers out there. Ask around.
Sorry I'm a wa boy and don't know any in Melbourne.

[Ford17]

Sometimes I'm just thankful if I get the car back from service in the same condition as I dropped it off in.

I'd just pay them the extra money so the book gets stamped, and consider it a cost of keeping the warranty intact.

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by Ford17

Sometimes I'm just thankful if I get the car back from service in the same condition as I dropped it off in.

I'd just pay them the extra money so the book gets stamped, and consider it a cost of keeping the warranty intact.

The rules changed years ago regarding warranty.Now if you get the service at a qualified servce centre and use good quality parts and fluids the warranty cannot be denied.

[GO FURTHER]

Unfortunately this practise of charging for bogus parts and services is rift throughout many service industries including the HVAC (air conditioning), whitewood and brown goods repairs and other mechanical services.

The worst are the small operations including your self employed "one man band" outfits who come to your home to repair say your fridge or air conditioner.

They have learnt that the quickest way to increase profits is not through extra labour but parts that don't require replacing. So they get lazy as they want "freedom of action" and work less hours and make it up by stealing.

Refrigerant gas is a great one... "Oh, you where low on gas and had to add X amount of gas".... The customer is never going to know if and how much was put in.

They prey on the fact that most people are ignorant on anything mechanical and won't check the work done afterwards. Females naturally become the most victims.

One giveaway that you might be a victim, is when they say you need a particular part for your appliance at home ... And they always seem to just have that exact part in the back of their van without having to order it in and come back later.

What I used to do when I took my car in for servicing at a dealer, is I would get a permanent black Texta and mark certain things on the car the night before.

For example;

1. One wheel nut on each wheel, marked to a particular alignment on the wheel with small black dots... That way you know if they removed the wheels for a brake check or tyre rotation, etc.

2. Fuel and oil filters if they were to be replaced.

3. Windscreen wiper rubber blades.

4. Black dot on fluid levels like power steering, coolant tank, and brake reservoir.

Also check the cabin aircon filter behind the glovebox.

Best thing you can do when taking your car in for any mechanical repairs at the dealer is to get yourself a Polo shirt and get an emblem stitched on the breast pocket. e.g. "Rick's Automotive Repairs & Services" (About $20 at any kiosk type embroidery joint in any major shopping centre).

Then wear it when you take the car in and pick it up... Make them think you are in the trade so they won't try and bluff you.

[Mercury Bullet]

I come from the school of get me once and you will never see me again.

One particular Ford dealer in perth has missed out on quite a few sales from me and possibly others I have spoken to.

[eaglem]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

I come from the school of get me once and you will never see me again.

One particular Ford dealer in perth has missed out on quite a few sales from me and possibly others I have spoken to.

That would'nt happen to be the one on Wanneroo Road in the Wangarra area would it??????

When I had the AU Falcon I took it up there to have the Powersteering Pump hose replaced as it was leaking. They had an apprentice do the job and she had powersteering fluid spray all over the firewall. To clean it off she used a high pressure cleaner which ripped all the insulation from the firewall. I asked them what they proposed to do to fix the problem and they said they would paint the firewall with insulation paint because to replace the insulation they would need to remove the motor. I was not happy and never went back.

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

They prey on the fact that most people are ignorant on anything mechanical and won't check the work done afterwards. Females naturally become the most victims.

I had a control arm bush wear out and get squeaky but didn't have the tools or know-how to replace it so I called around to get a shop to do it. The first shop I called insisted on me "bringing the car over for a look first" but didn't actually even look at it when I got there. Some guy laid on his back on the ground, looked briefly under my car and then got up. He wasn't even looking near the bushing that I was talking about.

He gets my details, says he'll fill out a work sheet/quote and email it to me. Quote comes in later that day...... for $1900! Wow! As if!
So I called another shop and had a new bush supplied and fitted for about $170 from memory.

The first shop got back in touch to say they hadn't heard back about my quote so I told them I'd already had it done for $170 somewhere else and it seemed like they were trying to rip me off with their $1900 quote. There was a lot of fumbling and the guy says that my quote was to replace all of the upper and lower rear control arms AND all the bushes. That sounded like a load of crap to me because the work sheet clearly listed just replacement of the one bush that I'd referred to.

Trying to find a good shop is really hard. Trying to find a good shop as a chick is even harder. Please consider helping your female friends and family when you can, even if it's just with advice

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by leesa

I had a control arm bush wear out and get squeaky but didn't have the tools or know-how to replace it so I called around to get a shop to do it. The first shop I called insisted on me "bringing the car over for a look first" but didn't actually even look at it when I got there. Some guy laid on his back on the ground, looked briefly under my car and then got up. He wasn't even looking near the bushing that I was talking about.

He gets my details, says he'll fill out a work sheet/quote and email it to me. Quote comes in later that day...... for $1900! Wow! As if!
So I called another shop and had a new bush supplied and fitted for about $170 from memory.

The first shop got back in touch to say they hadn't heard back about my quote so I told them I'd already had it done for $170 somewhere else and it seemed like they were trying to rip me off with their $1900 quote. There was a lot of fumbling and the guy says that my quote was to replace all of the upper and lower rear control arms AND all the bushes. That sounded like a load of crap to me because the work sheet clearly listed just replacement of the one bush that I'd referred to.

Trying to find a good shop is really hard. Trying to find a good shop as a chick is even harder. Please consider helping your female friends and family when you can, even if it's just with advice

Me thinks he just wanted to check you out leesa!

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Best thing you can do when taking your car in for any mechanical repairs at the dealer is to get yourself a Polo shirt and get an emblem stitched on the breast pocket. e.g. "Rick's Automotive Repairs & Services" (About $20 at any kiosk type embroidery joint in any major shopping centre).

Then wear it when you take the car in and pick it up... Make them think you are in the trade so they won't try and bluff you.

Please tell me your taking the ****?

Why would an employee of "Ricks" take their car to "Any town ford" to have it circused?

As a mechanic I can't think of anything more rediculus to impersonate than a mechanic

Originally Posted by The Yeti

I can't think of anything more rediculus to impersonate than a mechanic

gynecologist?

[RegSpec]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

Please tell me your taking the ****?

Why would an employee of "Ricks" take their car to "Any town ford" to have it circused?

As a mechanic I can't think of anything more rediculus to impersonate than a mechanic

Kinda brings to mind the UltraTune advertisement from a few years back where a guy with his missus and kids walks in with paper bags over their heads and claims to be a mechanic from the dealer down the road eh'....

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by The Yeti

Please tell me your taking the ****?

Why would an employee of "Ricks" "Rick's" take their car to "Any town ford" to have it circused fixed?

As a mechanic I can't think of anything more rediculus ridiculous to impersonate than a mechanic.

Number one... You are assuming that because someone is wearing a shirt with an automotive trade emblem, that they are a mechanic. Like 99% of the population you are judging a book by its cover. See how it works.
The person wearing it could simply be a non-trade employee of that company such as the account person or receptionist.
If I turn up wearing a V8 Supercar shirt I bought at a race meet merchandising stand, does it mean I work for the race team?... Maybe I do or maybe I don't... Life is all about perception and illusion.

Number two... Why is it okay for the dealership to get away hoodwinking the customer with parts or procedures not needed or inflated invoices but not okay for a customer to hoodwink them in return?

Number three... Firstly, non-dealers can only do servicing, they can’t do warranty work.
Even people in the automotive trade who own a new car will take it to a dealership to have it fixed under warranty. If parts need to be replaced under warranty, only the dealership can provide them at no cost.
Non-dealers will also generally not have access to complete service information, technical support, factory knowledge, special service tools and fixes for any problems that may occur. A non-dealer cannot perform recalls or flash the computer with upgrades to overcome specific issues.

[snowcone]

Don't understand why you even use dealers.
They have been scamming people for decades and they will continue to do so

[bangm001]

I agree if you can find a good private mech you will be sooo much happier. At least its just $12.00. Imagine what they would have charged IF you did actually replace the brake fluid!

[superfly]

I always state that if they want to do anything extra that will cost me extra money (over the capped price), they must call me for my approval.

For the record, in all my services (done 110K now) I've never had my brake fluid topped up. They do like to replace it every 2nd year though which they ask me first.

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by superfly

I always state that if they want to do anything extra that will cost me extra money (over the capped price), they must call me for my approval.

For the record, in all my services (done 110K now) I've never had my brake fluid topped up. They do like to replace it every 2nd year though which they ask me first.

Same here.

Have had brake fluid replaced at whatever the interval was but only after they called for approval.

[falcon_bandit]

Dealer (not ford) quoted nearly $200 for brake fluid flush

Got it done at brake shop for $50.

[XRtowcar]

Put an XE sedan in for a Ripco service once.
$50 worth of extras such as greasing door bonnet and boot hinges, wiper rubbers that weren’t worn out, park brake cable lube, and wiper arms lube.
Been servicing my cars myself since.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by jackute23

I just paid it without questioning it.

You could of complained with logic and reasoning as you have described here and got the charge reversed in less time than it took you to create this thread.

No wonder they keep doing it if everyone is like you and just bends over and takes it.

Stand up to them, I usually find they back track very quickly

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Stand up to them, I usually find they back track very quickly

That makes me laugh. I have an experience that is not related to car service, but is related to service in general and "standing up to them".

This was several years ago and we were hosting a party for our daughter. Earlier in the day, my ex-wife ordered and paid for a cake, flowers and balloons. My job was to pick them up after work.

I picked up the flowers, then picked up the balloons and went to get the cake. Well, there was no cake for my daughter. I wasn't happy and more than disappointed. Still I remained calm, yet very stern and in no uncertain terms let them know I was there to pick up my daughters cake.

One of the guys went in the back and returned a few minutes with the cake.

I arrived home and my ex said that wasn't the cake where I then explained what happened.

She then informed me i went to the wrong shop. I felt terrible and went back to the shop that gave me the cake so I could apologise and pay for the one they gave me. Then I went to the other and picked up the intended cake. We had 2 cakes.

The point being, sometimes "standing up to them" will get you more than what you might imagine.

[Rallye Sport]

Just been through this with the mrs car. She pays to get it serviced, she likes being independent like that, fair enough.
I checked the invoice and she'd been charged for an oil top up on the rear axle, its a Fwd Laser?
Charged for an aircleaner, I'd changed and dated the one in there before a road trip and guess what?
and apparently one of the rear shocks was 'leaking' and needed to be replaced next time, looks fine to me... I didn't even ask about the electronic tune up, didn't think there was much that could be changed on an ecu system.
I approached the shop and got some story about having problems with their computer system, but got a full refund.
Like others have stated once bitten twice shy, we won't go back there again.

[CyberWasp]

+1 for the call of approval for anything over the capped price.
When you drop off the car, make it clear that they get your approval for any extras over the cap price.
I have never had a problem doing it this way.

[fordomatic]

Caught Ford in Townsville doing a burnout in my old BA XR8 many moons ago. Phone calls, mate it needs $1200 worth of work outside of warranty. No worries, do it all.

Walked in and kept cool, got my keys, said never call me again and i drove off.

I thought I had a good mechanic here in Canberra, have been using them for 5 years. The head mechanic changed this year and they overfilled my oil by 1litre and told me a heap of stuff needed replacing that didn't. Now im at a loss as finding a new mechanic is super painful.

[au350hp]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Caught Ford in Townsville doing a burnout in my old BA XR8 many moons ago. Phone calls, mate it needs $1200 worth of work outside of warranty. No worries, do it all.

Walked in and kept cool, got my keys, said never call me again and i drove off.

I thought I had a good mechanic here in Canberra, have been using them for 5 years. The head mechanic changed this year and they overfilled my oil by 1litre and told me a heap of stuff needed replacing that didn't. Now im at a loss as finding a new mechanic is super painful.

That is my ultimate nightmare. I am always nervous if there is a service I have to out source for. My tip: Know what parts need to be changed or what they do & cost, basically try to come off like someone who knows enough so that straight out BS doesn't work & a clean car also shows an interest in cars which cant hurt.

[.:4:.]

The mechanic I use for anything greater then driveway repairs is a Korean mob. No they don't just work on korean cars, they take pride in their work and have an extreme honour system. Righto they aren't the easiest to understand as I only speak bogan English, but they're more then willing to call you down to show the faults they found. They did me a second hand tyre for my trailer for free as i had a flat, and they refused a carton of asahi as payment (Johnny likes asahi) and I had to just leave it in the waiting room. The next rego check they were appreciative of that gesture. Honestly the tyre meant more to me then the case of beer. Prior to that before he moved away I used a mobile guy who was a 1 man show who was brilliant. To keep repeat business he didn't stooge you. If it was too much for a driveway fix he would ask to take it to his house and use his garage. He did a cylinder head for me once and asked if it was ok for him to pick his son up from school on the way to drop the car off and if I could give them a lift home. He lived 4 streets away so of course I had no problems. That was genuine service. The bloke didn't mess around because being a 1 man band he had to get things done, work was always good and things were cleaned up creating repeat business. Price was cheaper then a dealer and the work was good. There's probably cheaper shops that do questionable work, but this guy was proud of his work.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

The mechanic I use for anything greater then driveway repairs is a Korean mob. No they don't just work on korean cars, they take pride in their work and have an extreme honour system. Righto they aren't the easiest to understand as I only speak bogan English, but they're more then willing to call you down to show the faults they found. They did me a second hand tyre for my trailer for free as i had a flat, and they refused a carton of asahi as payment (Johnny likes asahi) and I had to just leave it in the waiting room. The next rego check they were appreciative of that gesture. Honestly the tyre meant more to me then the case of beer. Prior to that before he moved away I used a mobile guy who was a 1 man show who was brilliant. To keep repeat business he didn't stooge you. If it was too much for a driveway fix he would ask to take it to his house and use his garage. He did a cylinder head for me once and asked if it was ok for him to pick his son up from school on the way to drop the car off and if I could give them a lift home. He lived 4 streets away so of course I had no problems. That was genuine service. The bloke didn't mess around because being a 1 man band he had to get things done, work was always good and things were cleaned up creating repeat business. Price was cheaper then a dealer and the work was good. There's probably cheaper shops that do questionable work, but this guy was proud of his work.

Asahi? Have you tried it? I would turn it down too haha. One of the worst beers I've tried since coming to this big dry piece of land.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

Asahi? Have you tried it? I would turn it down too haha. One of the worst beers I've tried since coming to this big dry piece of land.

I like asahi. They go alright.

[.:4:.]

Actually come to think about it, it was probably really irrisponsable on my part to let his kid sit in the back of my old car. I was only 18 or 19 at the time so god knows what human slime that seat had absorbed.

[commodorenutt]

I've only ever taken warranty cars or company cars in for service.

One such company car was a "heavy industries" brand. Not really my choice, but the pick of a bad bunch due to fleet rules at the time.

Normally the service guys have to fight it out with lease companies for authorisation to do additional work (at additional cost) and most don't even try it, as the lease companies are tight-asses, and they also know all the tricks in the book. But this particular car wasn't through a lease arrangement, and we had to pay for servicing on the company credit card.

Went in for the usual 1500km or whatever it was inspection, which was noted as free, but they still wanted me to fill out paperwork. Having learnt in the past, I always wrote "no additional work or products without prior approval" and my mobile number. I got a call asking if I wanted the tyres rotated, which I declined. That should have rung the warning bells... 1500km and the tyres need rotating on an AWD car...... sheesh!

At 3 months, it went in for it's first service (something like 10 or 12K from memory?). Asked the price beforehand, knowing it was really just a filter & oil.
Filled the paperwork out as usual, including the authorisation line I always write before sigining.

Go to pick it up, and the total requested was almost double what was quoted that morning. On top of the scheduled service, they wanted $20 something for wiper blades (they were 3 months old!) but the real ripper was the twin-pack of "fuel system cleaner" that they put on the counter - with one empty bottle. He told me I needed to put the 2nd bottle in next time I filled the tank. I questioned why a 3 month old car would need 2 bottles of "fuel cleaner" put through it, and was told "you can't trust fuel companies."

He then proceeded to put a bottle of "genuine" washer detergent on the counter - with about 10mm missing from the top. The price for that was also exhorbitant. I told him I didn't request it, and the answer was "well it's in the car now, you have to pay for it" - so I replied "I'll pay for the % of the bottle you used, and you can wear the rest" - his reply "doesn't work like that, you have to buy the whole bottle, it's in your car now" - so I told him, loud enough to get the attention of others in the waiting area "well you can go & get a straw & suck it back out, because I am not paying for something that wasn't authorised."

It then became a standoff - they wouldn't let me pay the original quoted amount, and wouldn't hand over my keys until I paid the new total. But I stood my ground & asked for someone higher up. Got the "I am the boss" line from a guy in a polo shirt, so I requested the dealer principal. He laughed, making a joke to his colleagues that sure, the customer thinks the DP has an office here in the service dept (it was a separate site to the sales yard). I may or may no have called him a farmyard animal, but told him to get him on the phone, which they did - but they wouldn't let me talk to him. They gave a "softer" version of events, bordering on lies, but were careful not to say too much.

Eventually they came to the realisation that nobody called me for authorisation, and I was in the right. The bill was cut back down to the original service charge. I suggested (being a smart ***) that he might want to put my old wiper blades back in, so he can keep the new wiper blades for the next stooge job. All I got was a growl......

The problem then, was this was the only service outlet for that brand, that was convenient for me to get to, so I was kinda stuck knowing I'd have to go back. Fortunately I only had that car for 2 more services, and each time I warned them no additional work was allowed without authorisation. They tried calling & asking for silly things, and I simply refused each time.

But it makes me wonder how many people, when given the "empty" fuel system cleaner bottle (clever suck-in marketing in the twin-pack), or the freshly opened washer detergent, simply pay up. The waiting room was probably 75% female customers, some of them with school age kids in tow, some young, some elderly - all of them ripe for the picking. If they tried it on me, were they going to to the same to all of them too?