Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
03-01-2010, 05:34 AM
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Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
Cliffs below for those who aren't interested in the details.
The wife's car needed an oil change and she found a coupon for ~$15.00 at a chain tire shop. Since I didn't really have the time to do it and it was about the same price that I would pay for oil and a filter I told her to go ahead and get it done. We buy our tires there and they offer free tire rotation so she was having that done also. She calls me about an hour later telling me that the mechanic told her that her rear brakes are so dangerously worn that she needs to have them replaced immediately and that it would cost $159. I tell her just to bring it home and I'll take care of it. When she gets home, she shows me the receipt where the mechanic's comments said that he "notified the customer that the brakes were dangerously worn and that the shop was not liable for any damages as a result of this condition."
On my way home, I buy the brakes shoes, the spring kit and some brake cleaner for less than $30. When I get home, I turn on the air compressor and pull a beer out of the fridge and start on the brake job. I pull the left wheel and drum off and see that the shoes still have plenty of material left...the new shoes are only 1/8" thicker. I go to the other side, and the shoes are worn only slightly more...the worst shoe has ~1/4" of material left. Since I had the parts and all my tools out and already emptied my first beer, I went ahead and grabbed another beer and changed the brakes.
Now I actually appreciate a courteous reminder that the brakes are close and should be replaced soon (as I this particular shop as done for me in the past), however this was not the case. This was a pushy mechanic who insisted that my wife's vehicle was dangerous to drive when in fact there was enough material there to pass the state inspection...which it just did in December. And it wasn't just once...he came out immediately after rotating the tires (before even changing the oil) to mention it, once more after changing the oil while it was still up in the air, and again while he was ringing her up and even noted on the receipt that the brakes were "dangerously worn."
Cliffs:
- wife took car for a cheap oil change/tire rotation at a chain tire shop.
- mechanic insists multiple times that the rear brakes are dangerously worn and wants $159 to replace them.
- I spend $30 for parts, drank 2 beers, and took an hour to change brakes that would have passed state inspection.
I plan to contact the store manager and show him the brake shoes so that he is aware of what his mechanics are trying to do (a practice which gives the entire industry a bad reputation), but I'm wondering if this practice is more widespread now in a struggling economy. Should I contact the store management or does this store need to be reported to the state for trying to pull a "bait and switch" scam?
The wife's car needed an oil change and she found a coupon for ~$15.00 at a chain tire shop. Since I didn't really have the time to do it and it was about the same price that I would pay for oil and a filter I told her to go ahead and get it done. We buy our tires there and they offer free tire rotation so she was having that done also. She calls me about an hour later telling me that the mechanic told her that her rear brakes are so dangerously worn that she needs to have them replaced immediately and that it would cost $159. I tell her just to bring it home and I'll take care of it. When she gets home, she shows me the receipt where the mechanic's comments said that he "notified the customer that the brakes were dangerously worn and that the shop was not liable for any damages as a result of this condition."
On my way home, I buy the brakes shoes, the spring kit and some brake cleaner for less than $30. When I get home, I turn on the air compressor and pull a beer out of the fridge and start on the brake job. I pull the left wheel and drum off and see that the shoes still have plenty of material left...the new shoes are only 1/8" thicker. I go to the other side, and the shoes are worn only slightly more...the worst shoe has ~1/4" of material left. Since I had the parts and all my tools out and already emptied my first beer, I went ahead and grabbed another beer and changed the brakes.
Now I actually appreciate a courteous reminder that the brakes are close and should be replaced soon (as I this particular shop as done for me in the past), however this was not the case. This was a pushy mechanic who insisted that my wife's vehicle was dangerous to drive when in fact there was enough material there to pass the state inspection...which it just did in December. And it wasn't just once...he came out immediately after rotating the tires (before even changing the oil) to mention it, once more after changing the oil while it was still up in the air, and again while he was ringing her up and even noted on the receipt that the brakes were "dangerously worn."
Cliffs:
- wife took car for a cheap oil change/tire rotation at a chain tire shop.
- mechanic insists multiple times that the rear brakes are dangerously worn and wants $159 to replace them.
- I spend $30 for parts, drank 2 beers, and took an hour to change brakes that would have passed state inspection.
I plan to contact the store manager and show him the brake shoes so that he is aware of what his mechanics are trying to do (a practice which gives the entire industry a bad reputation), but I'm wondering if this practice is more widespread now in a struggling economy. Should I contact the store management or does this store need to be reported to the state for trying to pull a "bait and switch" scam?
03-01-2010, 06:28 AM
#2
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
Cliffs below for those who aren't interested in the details.
The wife's car needed an oil change and she found a coupon for ~$15.00 at a chain tire shop. Since I didn't really have the time to do it and it was about the same price that I would pay for oil and a filter I told her to go ahead and get it done. We buy our tires there and they offer free tire rotation so she was having that done also. She calls me about an hour later telling me that the mechanic told her that her rear brakes are so dangerously worn that she needs to have them replaced immediately and that it would cost $159. I tell her just to bring it home and I'll take care of it. When she gets home, she shows me the receipt where the mechanic's comments said that he "notified the customer that the brakes were dangerously worn and that the shop was not liable for any damages as a result of this condition."
On my way home, I buy the brakes shoes, the spring kit and some brake cleaner for less than $30. When I get home, I turn on the air compressor and pull a beer out of the fridge and start on the brake job. I pull the left wheel and drum off and see that the shoes still have plenty of material left...the new shoes are only 1/8" thicker. I go to the other side, and the shoes are worn only slightly more...the worst shoe has ~1/4" of material left. Since I had the parts and all my tools out and already emptied my first beer, I went ahead and grabbed another beer and changed the brakes.
Now I actually appreciate a courteous reminder that the brakes are close and should be replaced soon (as I this particular shop as done for me in the past), however this was not the case. This was a pushy mechanic who insisted that my wife's vehicle was dangerous to drive when in fact there was enough material there to pass the state inspection...which it just did in December. And it wasn't just once...he came out immediately after rotating the tires (before even changing the oil) to mention it, once more after changing the oil while it was still up in the air, and again while he was ringing her up and even noted on the receipt that the brakes were "dangerously worn."
Cliffs:
- wife took car for a cheap oil change/tire rotation at a chain tire shop.
- mechanic insists multiple times that the rear brakes are dangerously worn and wants $159 to replace them.
- I spend $30 for parts, drank 2 beers, and took an hour to change brakes that would have passed state inspection.
I plan to contact the store manager and show him the brake shoes so that he is aware of what his mechanics are trying to do (a practice which gives the entire industry a bad reputation), but I'm wondering if this practice is more widespread now in a struggling economy. Should I contact the store management or does this store need to be reported to the state for trying to pull a "bait and switch" scam?
The wife's car needed an oil change and she found a coupon for ~$15.00 at a chain tire shop. Since I didn't really have the time to do it and it was about the same price that I would pay for oil and a filter I told her to go ahead and get it done. We buy our tires there and they offer free tire rotation so she was having that done also. She calls me about an hour later telling me that the mechanic told her that her rear brakes are so dangerously worn that she needs to have them replaced immediately and that it would cost $159. I tell her just to bring it home and I'll take care of it. When she gets home, she shows me the receipt where the mechanic's comments said that he "notified the customer that the brakes were dangerously worn and that the shop was not liable for any damages as a result of this condition."
On my way home, I buy the brakes shoes, the spring kit and some brake cleaner for less than $30. When I get home, I turn on the air compressor and pull a beer out of the fridge and start on the brake job. I pull the left wheel and drum off and see that the shoes still have plenty of material left...the new shoes are only 1/8" thicker. I go to the other side, and the shoes are worn only slightly more...the worst shoe has ~1/4" of material left. Since I had the parts and all my tools out and already emptied my first beer, I went ahead and grabbed another beer and changed the brakes.
Now I actually appreciate a courteous reminder that the brakes are close and should be replaced soon (as I this particular shop as done for me in the past), however this was not the case. This was a pushy mechanic who insisted that my wife's vehicle was dangerous to drive when in fact there was enough material there to pass the state inspection...which it just did in December. And it wasn't just once...he came out immediately after rotating the tires (before even changing the oil) to mention it, once more after changing the oil while it was still up in the air, and again while he was ringing her up and even noted on the receipt that the brakes were "dangerously worn."
Cliffs:
- wife took car for a cheap oil change/tire rotation at a chain tire shop.
- mechanic insists multiple times that the rear brakes are dangerously worn and wants $159 to replace them.
- I spend $30 for parts, drank 2 beers, and took an hour to change brakes that would have passed state inspection.
I plan to contact the store manager and show him the brake shoes so that he is aware of what his mechanics are trying to do (a practice which gives the entire industry a bad reputation), but I'm wondering if this practice is more widespread now in a struggling economy. Should I contact the store management or does this store need to be reported to the state for trying to pull a "bait and switch" scam?
03-01-2010, 06:33 AM
#3
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
richmond.bbb.org (can file complaint online)
end of the month sales goals + female customer = attempted fraud
end of the month sales goals + female customer = attempted fraud
03-01-2010, 06:37 AM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
Are you sure they didn't get which brakes that needed to be replaced mixed up?
I would definitely contact the manager and bring the old parts in first. You might be able to get compensation. If they do nothing, then go up the chain. I wouldn't recommend the BBB because half the time nothing is done. I mean if a business is funding you, how serious are you going to be in going after them for a complaint? Try the store, then the company corporate and then maybe the AG.
I know we go from either being steady or busy but sadly we have had customers come in for us to check something that another shop told us was worn or bad, yet it is fine. What shop was it because i send my customers that need tires to tire shops because they can get better prices for tires than what we(a dealer) can offer. Don't want to send my customers to a place that is shady.
I would definitely contact the manager and bring the old parts in first. You might be able to get compensation. If they do nothing, then go up the chain. I wouldn't recommend the BBB because half the time nothing is done. I mean if a business is funding you, how serious are you going to be in going after them for a complaint? Try the store, then the company corporate and then maybe the AG.
I know we go from either being steady or busy but sadly we have had customers come in for us to check something that another shop told us was worn or bad, yet it is fine. What shop was it because i send my customers that need tires to tire shops because they can get better prices for tires than what we(a dealer) can offer. Don't want to send my customers to a place that is shady.
Last edited by Woodrow; 03-01-2010 at 06:43 AM.
03-01-2010, 10:44 AM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
If it's Merchant's, there is no need to call the guy's store manager, the store manager's are the ones that make the techs push people into shit they don't need. The good prices on an oil change are just to get them in there.
It's crazy, it's like their business motto is, fuck the customer over once for as much as you can since they won't be back anyway rather than working on a long term relationship.
Now I'm not really a violent guy (have had my moments I guess) and I'm definitely not an e-tuff-guy, but one of the last times that I got REALLY pissed was in a very similar situation.
One of the tire places on Brook RD threatened to hold my ex's car because the brakes were "too dangerous" and they'd be liable. Told her it HAD to have new hoses, calipers, pads, and rotors when she was in for an oil change. Basically if she didn't consent to over 1K (yeah WTF) worth of work, they wouldn't let the car leave. It pissed me off so badly that I took the afternoon off of work and went and got her and the car. They threatened to call the police while I was there and I told them fine, they better do it and do it fast because if they didn't over keys they were all going to have to fight, whether they wanted to or not, and it was going to start long before the cops got there.
Why was I so mad? The car had new hoses, pads, and rotors put on by me about 2 months before that. Shit, she TOLD them that and they said it hadn't been done, they were OEM and worn out. The car was sold 3 years later with the same brakes on it...
It's crazy, it's like their business motto is, fuck the customer over once for as much as you can since they won't be back anyway rather than working on a long term relationship.
Now I'm not really a violent guy (have had my moments I guess) and I'm definitely not an e-tuff-guy, but one of the last times that I got REALLY pissed was in a very similar situation.
One of the tire places on Brook RD threatened to hold my ex's car because the brakes were "too dangerous" and they'd be liable. Told her it HAD to have new hoses, calipers, pads, and rotors when she was in for an oil change. Basically if she didn't consent to over 1K (yeah WTF) worth of work, they wouldn't let the car leave. It pissed me off so badly that I took the afternoon off of work and went and got her and the car. They threatened to call the police while I was there and I told them fine, they better do it and do it fast because if they didn't over keys they were all going to have to fight, whether they wanted to or not, and it was going to start long before the cops got there.
Why was I so mad? The car had new hoses, pads, and rotors put on by me about 2 months before that. Shit, she TOLD them that and they said it hadn't been done, they were OEM and worn out. The car was sold 3 years later with the same brakes on it...
03-01-2010, 11:37 AM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
I won't comment on Merchants as i used to work there a few years ago and Frost is spot on about how they operate. That is why I left after almost 2 years there.
03-01-2010, 12:06 PM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
Guess I'll need to find another place to buy tires. I'm not going to support a company that does this. It's one thing to find something that's actually broken, but to make up a problem is out of line.
I'm not looking for any kind of compensation, just looking to try to prevent someone else from being screwed. I'll see if the AG is interested, if not the media might be. Word spreads quickly around my work though so plenty of potential customers are aware of the tactic.
I'm not looking for any kind of compensation, just looking to try to prevent someone else from being screwed. I'll see if the AG is interested, if not the media might be. Word spreads quickly around my work though so plenty of potential customers are aware of the tactic.
03-01-2010, 03:07 PM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
Guess I'll need to find another place to buy tires. I'm not going to support a company that does this. It's one thing to find something that's actually broken, but to make up a problem is out of line.
I'm not looking for any kind of compensation, just looking to try to prevent someone else from being screwed. I'll see if the AG is interested, if not the media might be. Word spreads quickly around my work though so plenty of potential customers are aware of the tactic.
I'm not looking for any kind of compensation, just looking to try to prevent someone else from being screwed. I'll see if the AG is interested, if not the media might be. Word spreads quickly around my work though so plenty of potential customers are aware of the tactic.
Even if they can't get you a good price, buy your tires online, and then go to a "local" shop to have them mounted....
03-01-2010, 03:49 PM
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Re: Are local auto shops really that hard up for work?
This! Support local business. The glass shop I work for has been around since 61'. We can't beat everyone's price but, we do a damn good job with less than 5% complaints.