Dealership Service Experience

I just took my 2011 in for 60k oil change at the dealer. I asked them about doing transmission fluid, and they said I'd be crazy to spend the money to do it now...that I should wait until 120k! They asked me if I wanted to do the full 60k service; I said no thanks, and that was it...no push at all.

Compare to the local Honda dealer (used to have an Accord), and they were always trying to tell me all the things wrong with the car, including cabin air filters (which I regularly replaced) for $80. One of the last times I used them they gave me a list of 6 things that needed fixing (totaling around $1,500 worth of work). I said no thanks and went to an independent repair shop, who said that there was nothing wrong with anything they pointed out. Finally ended up trading in that Accord for another Prius!

 

The 4 liters (or quarts) of Toyota ATF-WS retails for under $40, you need about 3.5. It's a couple of hours labour for a DIY'r, definitely under an hour for an experienced shop with a lift. And it's best done sooner than later, imho: the first change I did around 15,000 km and the drained fluid was already very dark. The next time, around 40,000 km, it looked pretty much like new.

 

Hi All,

This post reminds me of how fortunate I am to be able to do most of my car repairs on my own. My rule of thumb is, if I can fix it myself in under 3 hours, I will fix it myself.

If I owned a dealership, I would have a wall titled "Wall of Shame". I would post crooked estimates from other dealerships (with their names inked out). I would invite all my customers to allow me to post their crooked estimates. At the bottom of the wall, I would put, "We don't do this here". I would run a tight ship. I would fire the first nutball that tried to scam my customers. I would hire service writers who know our cars inside and out. I would have them personally review said inspection of repaired car and SIGN the invoice stating that all is true and correct.

I would have monthly meetings to see how we could "provide better service". I would have the entire team, from the girl who cashes you out, to the guy who drives the car to you when repairs are done, ride in all our vehicles once a month, so they know what the hell we are here for. Quarterly training would happen to keep up on all the new things the vehicles we sell have. In other words, I would bet every damn penny I own that if I ran the tightest, honest dealership in the area, I wouldn't have to worry about making a profit. How hard is it to run an honest business and make money? I bet I would get all the business I could handle..............and then some!!

Ok, off my soapbox............just had to vent. You all get were I'm coming from. Thanks for reading.

 

Our nearby Honda dealership had a really good service department manager for a while. It was like dealing with a conscientious surgeon. When anything significant was involved, he would talk to you personally, explain the options.

I was working with a guy, and he let drop that he was this service manager's friend. He'd left the dealership after a while, apparently he wasn't a "good fit" there. Last I heard he was teaching mechanics at our local vocational college.

One time I brought in a car with a cracked brake rotor, saw it myself beforehand. About an hour later the service writer let me know the car was ready, and it had been a false alarm, nothing was wrong. I went straight to the service manager via email, and he called me back within half an hour, mentioning the (cracked) rotor was sitting on his desk, lol.

 

Montgomery... OUTSTANDING!!!

I don't know why all service departments can't be run like that! There must be plenty of good, honest, hard-working people looking for jobs???

Why so much DISHONESTY in the auto repair business?! You gotta start with the top guy, the Service Manager, and blame him first. Are all those service writers on commission? And does the Service Manager encourage the dishonesty, and "selling" of unnecessary services? Does he get a bonus??? I believe they do. The more phony crap his service advisors "sell", the bigger his bonus!

Just put everybody on a fair straight salary, get rid of the bonuses and commissions, encourage honesty with no "hard selling" tactics... And tell the mechanics to repair and do maintenance only on what truly needs fixing. Seems simple, doesn't it? (Much better than ripping off the elderly, women, and dummies like me that fell for the "you got a serious oil leak", scam! )

 

California Firestone Shops Found To Overcharge, Rip Off Customers
June 28, 2016 10:53 PM By Christin Ayers -CBS

Bill Thomas of the California Bureau of Automobile Repair says that over two years, investigators discovered a disturbing trend.

Thomas said they found, “unnecessary services being sold to consumers, potential fraud, charging for services that weren’t performed, significant oversell.”

An anonymous tip from a former Firestone employee said the fraud was happening at Firestone shops statewide.

“We prepared undercover vehicles and conducted covert undercover operations at 30 Firestone locations throughout the state,” Thomas said.

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I wish they would go undercover at a few Toyota service depts, too.

 

All of these investigations only prove what we already knew. What we need is an investigation and list of all of the repair places that do it right!! Make a list of those!! Promote the good places, that way we know where to go!! That would help!!

 

I'm surprised they left off SERVICE NEEDED AT ONCE ,,,,,, The changing the winter air that's in your tires to summer air ,,, very important Service Needed

 

There ARE honest dealers out there, unfortunately, few and far between. If you find one, latch on and tell your friends and neighbors.

 

It happens all the time. That's why I do my own work. You cannot trust them. How can you trust that they used 0w20 synthetic instead of cheap 10w40 standard oil, when they lie about everything else?

And yet... Did they recommend brake pin lubrication? Or changing the tranny fluid? You know... Simple, basic maintenance items that actually matter?

I could understand if they made the recommendations based on mileage; that's fair enough. But saying that your brake fluid's black or that the HV fans are clogged... getting to those fans is all the work! Wiping them with a cloth is nothing. There's no way that somebody would tear into all that and put it back together again without cleaning off the fan.

 

Hate to dig up a relatively old thread but just want to add a bit.

First...Toyota takes customer relations with its dealers very seriously. I ALWAYS recommend reporting any possible fraudulent activity to the CEC (Customer Experience Center).

Second......as I have told every technician I have trained and worked along side for my 16 years with Toyota, NEVER make a recommendation you can't prove is necessary. If they make a recommendation for a service or repair then there should be no issue bringing the owner of the vehicle into the shop and SHOWING them the reason for the recommendation. This has always kept unnecessary services at bay. Plus our customers appreciate the transparency and we earn their trust.

Third....some services will be recommended outside of Toyota's maintenance schedule. One of which I highly recommend is trans fluid drain and fill. I have always serviced mine (3 Prii) every 40k. Why? WS fluid is hygroscopic. The transaxle isn't "sealed" so moisture will eventually find its way in there.

Unfortunately there are shady individuals at dealers, but no dealer principle is going to risk their franchise to make money off fraudulent work. There is much more for them to lose than gain.

SM-G900V ?

 

It's not just fraud. Maybe more so it's just complacence and/or incompetence, per my cracked rotor in post #24. Now this was Honda dealership, lol. But I don't think there's a gulf of difference in the climate, Honda service vs Toyota. Neither are terrible in my experience, but yeah: there have been a few stinker moments.

 

I'm fortunate enough to deal with Bobby Rahal Toyota in Mechanicsburg, PA. I could not imagine a finer dealer. Never any pressure or bs. Service, parts, and sales staff are completely up front and professional. They look out for my needs, not theirs. Prices are honest, totally reasonable, and right. They are courteous, and will go the extra mile for a customer. No, I'm not in any way affiliated with them, but I know they are the rare exception to the image created by most Toyota dealers.

 

One more fraud video.

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