Western Off Topic
07-26-2011, 06:56 PM
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Re: Western Off Topic
I was brought a Pilot to work on that had been rejected for state inspection at Rick Woodson.It had one of their in-house inspection forms which cited a long list of things the car needed to pass inspection including brake pads and rotors that were worn past spec,engine mounts,etc....The brakes are literally brand new(I'd rate pads at 90%+ and rotors measured as new).The engine mount problem is complete bullshit(she was told there was a hydraulic mount that was torn and had leaked all fluid.The mount is completely intact,and is actually a standard style,non-hydraulic mount).The only legitimate issue that would cause the car to fail state inspection was an SRS light,which they wanted $90 for diagnostic to read the code.I'm pretty sure the SRS issue is related to a known problem that has a TSB to fix under warranty/good will.
Basically,I just want to know if this is their standard business practice,or if it's isolated to only certain writers/techs.She's undecided on if she wants to get the state police involved.if it were up to me there'd be no question.I know of situations like this in the past at other establishments that led to employees getting fired and loss of inspection licenses-that seems to be needed bigtime in this case.
I used to only dislike them because the newer guys in parts were dicks that had no sense of customer service and always charged me above retail for parts,I had no idea there was this kind of dishonesty though.
Worst part is this is a CPO car bought there less than a year before the failed inspection.
Take that info for what it's worth.I seriously doubt everybody there is aware/guilty of this kind of dishonesty(and I know it's common practice for dealer service to stick customers for everything they can),but this is rediculous.
Last edited by TNGChris; 07-26-2011 at 07:01 PM.
07-26-2011, 07:11 PM
#3732
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Re: Western Off Topic
I think I may have sombody that was a service writer I can talk to.At first I wasn't going to post details about it,but I really don't care.
I was brought a Pilot to work on that had been rejected for state inspection at Rick Woodson.It had one of their in-house inspection forms which cited a long list of things the car needed to pass inspection including brake pads and rotors that were worn past spec,engine mounts,etc....The brakes are literally brand new(I'd rate pads at 90%+ and rotors measured as new).The engine mount problem is complete bullshit(she was told there was a hydraulic mount that was torn and had leaked all fluid.The mount is completely intact,and is actually a standard style,non-hydraulic mount).The only legitimate issue that would cause the car to fail state inspection was an SRS light,which they wanted $90 for diagnostic to read the code.I'm pretty sure the SRS issue is related to a known problem that has a TSB to fix under warranty/good will.
Basically,I just want to know if this is their standard business practice,or if it's isolated to only certain writers/techs.She's undecided on if she wants to get the state police involved.if it were up to me there'd be no question.I know of situations like this in the past at other establishments that led to employees getting fired and loss of inspection licenses-that seems to be needed bigtime in this case.
I used to only dislike them because the newer guys in parts were dicks that had no sense of customer service and always charged me above retail for parts,I had no idea there was this kind of dishonesty though.
Worst part is this is a CPO car bought there less than a year before the failed inspection.
Take that info for what it's worth.I seriously doubt everybody there is aware/guilty of this kind of dishonesty(and I know it's common practice for dealer service to stick customers for everything they can),but this is rediculous.
I was brought a Pilot to work on that had been rejected for state inspection at Rick Woodson.It had one of their in-house inspection forms which cited a long list of things the car needed to pass inspection including brake pads and rotors that were worn past spec,engine mounts,etc....The brakes are literally brand new(I'd rate pads at 90%+ and rotors measured as new).The engine mount problem is complete bullshit(she was told there was a hydraulic mount that was torn and had leaked all fluid.The mount is completely intact,and is actually a standard style,non-hydraulic mount).The only legitimate issue that would cause the car to fail state inspection was an SRS light,which they wanted $90 for diagnostic to read the code.I'm pretty sure the SRS issue is related to a known problem that has a TSB to fix under warranty/good will.
Basically,I just want to know if this is their standard business practice,or if it's isolated to only certain writers/techs.She's undecided on if she wants to get the state police involved.if it were up to me there'd be no question.I know of situations like this in the past at other establishments that led to employees getting fired and loss of inspection licenses-that seems to be needed bigtime in this case.
I used to only dislike them because the newer guys in parts were dicks that had no sense of customer service and always charged me above retail for parts,I had no idea there was this kind of dishonesty though.
Worst part is this is a CPO car bought there less than a year before the failed inspection.
Take that info for what it's worth.I seriously doubt everybody there is aware/guilty of this kind of dishonesty(and I know it's common practice for dealer service to stick customers for everything they can),but this is rediculous.
07-26-2011, 07:44 PM
#3733
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Re: Western Off Topic
You should see some of the crap we see from Crossroads/Hammersly/Whatever. Take it in for a checkup come out with a 4000 dollar estimate lol
07-26-2011, 08:01 PM
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Re: Western Off Topic
I heard you have dsm tuning experience...Do you have any safcII and gm maf-t experience?I need a tune something awful...16.5-17 afr aren't doing it for me.
07-27-2011, 04:10 AM
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Re: Western Off Topic
I guess I'm just amazed they'd take that kind of risk-I mean,what if the person does actually know what they're looking at and questions it,and pursues it further?When she told the service writer she'd like to have somebody else look at the issues before agreeing to get them fixed,they started backing up bigtime.He told her,among other bullshit,that they can only suggest to replace a part that appears to be worn based on what they can see with a flashlight.I don't need a flashlight to see that any of the listed issues(including pads that are listed on the inspection form as having less than 2/32" material left are,in fact,new)are definitely not issues.
Haha,I'm foaming here.
07-27-2011, 12:50 PM
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07-27-2011, 03:49 PM
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Re: Western Off Topic
If you're bringing your car to the dealership for work it's usually a sign that you have no clue what is wrong with your vehicle or why.
Service write up guys bring in the vast majority of money made by large "new car" dealership.
I've seen service write up guys sell repairs that reach or exceed the value of the car. Most new car dealers aim to break even on new car sales, their "sales" profits are from used cars and services/packages they offer on new/used cars. So they can be as crooked as the stereotypical used car salesmen. It's not really a big secret, it's just like the salesman at best buy telling you your television will have a better picture if you spend 100 dollars on the gold plated monster cables even though they're just a fancy version that performs no better than the 5 dollar versions.
As for getting your vehicle inspected, stick to independent shops, find some one you like/trust. Only reason you should be visiting the dealer is for warranty/recall work any way, going in for inspections is asking for problems, why do you think dealers offer free state inspections on every car they sell?
Service write up guys bring in the vast majority of money made by large "new car" dealership.
I've seen service write up guys sell repairs that reach or exceed the value of the car. Most new car dealers aim to break even on new car sales, their "sales" profits are from used cars and services/packages they offer on new/used cars. So they can be as crooked as the stereotypical used car salesmen. It's not really a big secret, it's just like the salesman at best buy telling you your television will have a better picture if you spend 100 dollars on the gold plated monster cables even though they're just a fancy version that performs no better than the 5 dollar versions.
As for getting your vehicle inspected, stick to independent shops, find some one you like/trust. Only reason you should be visiting the dealer is for warranty/recall work any way, going in for inspections is asking for problems, why do you think dealers offer free state inspections on every car they sell?
07-27-2011, 04:32 PM
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Re: Western Off Topic
If you're bringing your car to the dealership for work it's usually a sign that you have no clue what is wrong with your vehicle or why.
Service write up guys bring in the vast majority of money made by large "new car" dealership.
I've seen service write up guys sell repairs that reach or exceed the value of the car. Most new car dealers aim to break even on new car sales, their "sales" profits are from used cars and services/packages they offer on new/used cars. So they can be as crooked as the stereotypical used car salesmen. It's not really a big secret, it's just like the salesman at best buy telling you your television will have a better picture if you spend 100 dollars on the gold plated monster cables even though they're just a fancy version that performs no better than the 5 dollar versions.
As for getting your vehicle inspected, stick to independent shops, find some one you like/trust. Only reason you should be visiting the dealer is for warranty/recall work any way, going in for inspections is asking for problems, why do you think dealers offer free state inspections on every car they sell?
Service write up guys bring in the vast majority of money made by large "new car" dealership.
I've seen service write up guys sell repairs that reach or exceed the value of the car. Most new car dealers aim to break even on new car sales, their "sales" profits are from used cars and services/packages they offer on new/used cars. So they can be as crooked as the stereotypical used car salesmen. It's not really a big secret, it's just like the salesman at best buy telling you your television will have a better picture if you spend 100 dollars on the gold plated monster cables even though they're just a fancy version that performs no better than the 5 dollar versions.
As for getting your vehicle inspected, stick to independent shops, find some one you like/trust. Only reason you should be visiting the dealer is for warranty/recall work any way, going in for inspections is asking for problems, why do you think dealers offer free state inspections on every car they sell?
She's got some stupid deal with buying the CPO car where she gets free oil changes/inspections,so just like plenty of other people,she's falling into that trap.They tried the same thing with my mom on both her CRVs she bought there.With every free oil change,they'd find all kinds of odds and ends that needed replacement(and happened to be non-warranty).Wiper blades that were bad(even though they just changed them three months before,etc....I finally convinced her to actually spend $20 on oil/filters and just let me do it.It's amazing what people will put up with to save a few dollars.