Why, why, why?!

[ChevMali99]

Why when you take your car to an auto repair shop, no matter which, you go in asking to do one precise job they always call you back telling you about something else?! Go in for brakes, "you need to replace the rotors too". Check for spring seat washer due to truck rattle, "your shocks are bad". Go for OIL CHANGE!!! "your air fuel filter need changing". Knowing very well that these items need not to be touched because I TELL THEM NOT TO from the get go! Then they threaten you by not honoring some lifetime warranty that you never qualify for.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by ChevMali99

Why when you take your car to an auto repair shop, no matter which, you go in asking to do one precise job they always call you back telling you about something else?! Go in for brakes, "you need to replace the rotors too". Check for spring seat washer due to truck rattle, "your shocks are bad". Go for OIL CHANGE!!! "your air fuel filter need changing". Knowing very well that these items need not to be touched because I TELL THEM NOT TO from the get go! Then they threaten you by not honoring some lifetime warranty that you never qualify for.

find another repair shop. tell them not to add fluids or inspect anything other than the task written on the work order. make sure the work order says all these things !

as far as brakes go they all try to screw you on rotors. they don't even measure them ! this is a scam that they all do to jack up the cost . some will get nasty and say they can't give you the vehicle unless they replace the rotors. this has to be check out by you before hand and put in the work order that this was measured by you and you have the spec's.. when they say rotors worn ask what it measured I bet they say nothing.

[Tech II]

Because , because , because, that's my job......

Car comes in for an oil change, my job is to do a 26 point inspection, in addition to the oil change.......I write up anything I find wrong....what is wrong with that?

Of course the shop is trying to up sell.....as am I......if we get a repair out of what I find, I get a %......that is the incentive for me to look for problems.....

No shop makes money on an oil change......they make money by up selling......if I see/hear a brake wear sensor touching a rotor, I shouldn't report it? When I see this, I take the time to pop the wheel off, and mic the rotor(during the oil change), so that there are no surprises later......so I take exception with what you said JCat.....Part of an oil change is checking the air filter.......I shouldn't report a fluid leak? Exhaust leak? Rusting fuel/brake lines? Looseness in the front end? Badly worn tire? A light in the dash? A front or rear light out?

Why do we do this? Competition, mainly.......if a car needs work, why let the car leave and go elsewhere for the work? We are in the business of repairing cars....if there is something wrong, we report it......We get way more praises from customers, for reporting this, then the negative attitude of the poster.....If you don't want to fix what we find, don't do it, but at least you are made aware of a problem.....I take pride in my work and the work my shop did.......

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by ChevMali99

Why when you take your car to an auto repair shop, no matter which, you go in asking to do one precise job they always call you back telling you about something else?! Go in for brakes, "you need to replace the rotors too". Check for spring seat washer due to truck rattle, "your shocks are bad". Go for OIL CHANGE!!! "your air fuel filter need changing". Knowing very well that these items need not to be touched because I TELL THEM NOT TO from the get go! Then they threaten you by not honoring some lifetime warranty that you never qualify for.

tech II has explained why I do my own work on my vehicles...

just recently my family member brought vehicle in for an oil change and they get the list of repairs they think is needed.. So I re-check their report results.

guess what they did not do ??? check the oil level ! I had to go down there and kick some AZZ,,, they did fix it all up...the reason it was not filled correctly was the spilled the measured oil all over the intake manifold !
this was a dealership not joe blows quick lube...

[rkvons]

I was in need of two new tires on a vehicle once a long time ago in a bygone era. I had a Montgomery Ward credit card and my grandmother worked there so I could get a discount. Anyway, my budget only allowed me to get two new tires. So I told them to replace the front two. I was waiting in the waiting area when the mechanic came in and said I have to show you something. So he shows me that the back tires had the metal belts sticking out and were ready to fly apart. So I said, "Change the back two instead." So I left there in need of two new tires and a credit card bill. I was glad he told me and he did not get more out of me.

I think both good shops/mechanics and bad shops/mechanics each come to the same intersection during their repair work. It's their integrity that tells them which way to go from there.

[DeltaP]

I believe its my professional responsibility to advise someone of additional work that's needed. I can advise them of the severity of the work needed and the estimate then leave it up to them. If I don't then they'll probably bitch to the next guy about how they "Just had their car in for an oil change last month and why didn't they notice the front brakes were bad"... Lost customer.
Whats wrong with up selling when the work is definitely needed. Of course the customer should be on their toes because a lot of shops make their money on the up sell. They're giving the $24.95 oil change special or coupon away just to get a good look at your car and to take a crack at you. It takes all kinds.

[la1]

There really is quite a simple answer to that...do the repairs yourself. I started out when I was a teenager with a motorcycle. I would take it in for a tune-up and it would not be much better when I got it back. Then I figured the money I spent for the tuneup was well, thrown away. If I spent the money on tools or books that I would have handed the repair shop, well i would have at least have something afterwards. I didn't have youtube autoforums or anything. There was one guy in my neighbothood that would help me when i needed it. In the same vein I also do my families cars. One time when I was away on a business trip my sisters car would not start . She had it towed in. The car was several years old. The repair shop called her and told her she better come on down right now. They had this big list of what was wrong with her car and why it would not start. It totalled out at over $3000.00. She said give me awhile to think this over and left. What luck!! on her way out she just happened to meet the mechanic who diagnosed her car for her. He offered to buy her car for $500. Fortunately I talked to her on the phone that night and told her to go and get your car out of there. So she towed it to another shop she had used before. They went out , removed the battery cable , cleaned the post. Put the cable back on , the car started right up.

[Tech II]

Well, I hope that story didn't end there......if some shop gives someone an estimate of 3K, and all it is is a bad battery cable, that place should not be in business......hope the owner went back to that shop and gave that SM an earful....I also would have reported that shop to the BBB....

[la1]

no unfortunately no one ever went back to the dealership , should have done what a friend of mine did when he had trouble with a Jeep dealership...he went in with a baseball bat. LOL. The BBB is a joke , think about it. They collect dues from the companies that belong to the BBB. So they are never going to do anything that will make them loose one of their members. I have a story about the BBB that backs this up. that is another time though. The good news is there are good dealerships too. I worked at an outstanding , honest Chevrolet dealership. They took care of our customers. Someone had a dispute , The service manager would say lets go for a ride to the disgruntled customer. They would both come back laughing and talking like they were old friends. Thanks to the UAW we have lost the auto industry here.

[rkvons]

I agree with doing it yourself, but it's not for everyone. And I would say with electronics available today there is going to be less time spent learning how to fix something mechanical but instead more time spent learning how to configure apps. I am the biggest do it yourselfer there is. When you do one thing yourself, it helps you on the next thing you'll have to do. You will have more tools, more experience, less fear. I would not feel confident in my vehicle's reliability if I did not do the work on it myself. If I hear a little noise, I pretty much know what it is because I know the history of the vehicle. I bought the Grand Prix shown in my little avatar picture thing when it was new. I actually ordered it. I was driving one day and it died. Would not start. I had no idea why. I had to have it towed to the dealer. They replaced the fuel pump resistor. $100 tow charge and $150 for the resistor change. That sucked. The car was pretty new and I was unfamiliar with it. I joined this forum after that and began reading. Now I would know to do the relay bypass thing for the fuel pump to get me home.

[Tech II]

Just for those, who might be confused, rkvons is talking about the ceramic resistor that cracked in the fuel pump circuit, which was only used on cars with a SC'd engine....

[ricediana64]

I imagine the inline fuse could also be blown.