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Old 03-25-2013, 08:28 AM   #1
dieselguy
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Getting Caught by the Wrong Person

My son needed a couple of new tires for his Chevy Colorado as well as an alignment. A major brand tire store quoted him a good price. While dropping off his truck, he asked if they could make him a good deal on an oil/filter change as well since they were doing the rest … they basically said regular price. He said never mind then, and left his truck at the tire store.
When he went to pick his truck up, the bill was $43 more than quoted as they went ahead and changed his oil/filter with the pricier synthetic. Being a kid, he just paid for it and didn’t get around to telling me till a week later. I was not as easy going as he was and paid a visit to the tire store. After some discussion with the manager, I got money back for labor on an oil change that wasn’t authorized, a $20 alignment coupon that wasn’t offered, a refund of road hazard warranty that we did not ask for, and a stupid $2.50 charge on top of the oil change for an oil filter disposal fee. (You can go by any O’Reilly’s or Autozone any day of the week and drop off you used oil and filter for FREE). Anyways, I then asked for the alignment sheet that he didn’t get when he picked his truck up. Mysteriously, none could be offered even off the store work invoice copy. The manager said just to bring the truck by the next day and they would put it back up on the rack and run the numbers for me. My son calls me the following day and said they missed a bad tie rod the first time and were going to replace it and recheck the alignment on his truck all for free. I could see them eating the labor on the tie rod, but not the price of the part as well. I went back up to the store and watched the alignment tec finish the truck and take it down the road for a test drive. When he drove back in the parking lot, I met him at the truck and he showed me the bad part … biting my lip, not much more was said. We drove away never to return. There’s no way of proving it, but I firmly believe my son’s truck was never aligned the first time … they got caught by a mechanically minded customer's Dad … they tried smoozing it over by paying for the part and install. The really sad issue here is how much of this crap happens daily at similar stores nationwide and never gets caught????
 
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Old 03-25-2013, 08:42 AM   #2
LonnieB
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Unfortunately, this stuff does happen, and it gives a bad name to those of us who strive to do things with honesty and integrity.

Not trying to defend the shop where the work was done (or not done), but they can't take their used oil and filters to anyone for free disposal, they have to pay for the used stuff to be picked up and disposed of by a reclamation/disposal company. It is the same with junk tires, we have to pay a professional service to pick them up and dispose/recycle them.
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Old 03-25-2013, 10:08 AM   #3
bethandkevin
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Unfortunately this happens all too often. You are probably right, the alignment was never done: Reason #1-the tie rod was missed on the pre-alignment check. Reason #2-they offered to do it again for free. When I worked at a local GM dealership I had a high top van brought in to me for a transmission complaint. It wouldn't shift under load. I took it out for a test drive and it acted normally until you stepped on it hard, then it would scream and not shift. I knew immediately it wasn't the transmission and pulled the fuel filter off-it was plugged and a wonder the van would start at all. I took my recomendation and estimate to the service writer who said "no way" it just had one put on here months ago as part of a maintenance package. Checking further, the number on the filter didn't match the one sold. The tech that did the "work" was off that day. The service manager and myself did a little snooping and found two boxes of brand new filters and parts under the tech's bench. yep, found the part number filter sold for the van, plus a few more. That tech was fired the next day and the van was repaired no charge to the customer. The moral here is that idiots and cheats are everywhere. Find a shop and build a relationship with them. If they don't do what you expect of them, tell them so. If what you expect is so far out there-they'll tell you so. But they will attempt to resolve your issue if they're worth your time and money.
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Old 03-25-2013, 10:30 AM   #4
Tom S.
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by LonnieB

Unfortunately, this stuff does happen, and it gives a bad name to those of us who strive to do things with honesty and integrity.

Not trying to defend the shop where the work was done (or not done), but they can't take their used oil and filters to anyone for free disposal, they have to pay for the used stuff to be picked up and disposed of by a reclamation/disposal company. It is the same with junk tires, we have to pay a professional service to pick them up and dispose/recycle them.
The problem though is adding it on as an extra instead of writing it into the cost of the job. It's like adding on a charge for heating and lighting the building, and is similar to the airlines charging for baggage - even carry ons. I still do my own oil changes, but if I didn't and they tried to add that charge to me, I'd ask for the old oil and filter back and take it to one of many parts stores who take them for free.

BTW: I'm sure you're right about tires and filters, but I believe they sell the used oil as it is reprocessed and resold.
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Old 03-25-2013, 10:50 AM   #5
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Not all areas have this option, but we have an oil reclamation company here in town (Universal Lubricants) that processes used oil and filters by the semi load daily. As well as thousands of gallons of used oil, they buy used filters from all over and run them in a large hydraulic press to squeeze the majority of the oil out of them. They then go in a shredder that somehow separates the filter media from the metal. The oil goes in with the rest of the reclaimed oil, the metal gets sold to a metal recycler, and who knows where the filter media goes.
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Old 03-25-2013, 12:56 PM   #6
kab449
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I was owner operator of my own Exxon Service Station for 30+ years. A lot of my best customers were people like you who got tired of getting ripped off every time they had work done. I always allowed my customers who also became my friends to stand right beside their vehicles as we worked on them, much to the chagrin of my insurance company. Always saved the old parts and called if they were not present when something was discovered and not included on the estimate. Bigger isn't always better but people are obsessed with saving a little money even when after taking everyone into account they are not.
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Old 03-25-2013, 04:15 PM   #7
DQDick
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At the home base or on the road I always try to do business with someone I know and trust or someone another party recommended to me based on them knowing and trusting them. Might cost a little more up front, but cheap in the long run.
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Old 03-25-2013, 06:36 PM   #8
steelpony5555
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Holy cow!! you threw your kid to the wolves.....lol lol lol That goes on at any major dealership. Hope your son learned a few good lessons this way. Any time you take your vehicle to those kinds of places you got to be on your toes. That's why when they ask can you drop it off I say nope I'm gonna be right here with it......
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Old 03-26-2013, 12:16 AM   #9
Bill-N-Donna
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I have a local place that does a lot of my vehicle work. They know me well and that is important for a trusting relationship. I have them do a lot of things on our vehicles but when it comes to the diesel engine I take it to the Ford dealership because of what one of their employees said just prior to the purchase of my F-350.

The one employee is adamantly against the 6.0. I was told by him that if I purchased it that I might as well get a loan for 20-30 K$ for what it was. He told me that they get vehicles in there all the time with those engines in them (buses etc..). He was blatantly putting the engine down and complaining about how difficult they were to work on. I decided right then and there that it must be a good engine if they were in so many vehicles; buses, transit vehicles ambulances, etc... His negative attitude is what sold me on getting it. I just decided then and there that the maintenance would be done at the Ford garage and not by him; whose employees are specifically trained for working on them. I’ve had it for a few years now and I believe that overall it has paid off. I still give my business to the local garage but only for things such as brakes, smaller things and possibly some motor work when it comes to a gas engine. I’ve talked with the owners about him and they defended that he was in fact a good mechanic but very mouthy. They have lost a lot of business over the past few years from me just because of his attitude. Overall I trust what they do and I have never been burnt or feel like I’ve been taken for a ride. They try to run an honest business and that is why I still go there.
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