Went to dealership for oil change and they sure tried to stick it to me

[VAisforlovers]

I went to my Honda dealership to get my oil replaced for $17 which comes with a free car wash. I also went to inquire about my tire because it was making a noise.

After the oil change was completed, they told me I had 2 nails stuck in the rear left tire. It was unpatchable so it would cost $260 to replace the tire. They also told me that I should get the brake fluid changed for $130, power steering fluid changed for $130 and finally do a fuel induction system cleaning for $150.

I decided to just pay the $17 for the oil change and go to another auto shop that I trust. They told me there was only 1 nail that went through so they patched it up well for $20. I think the rest of the services the dealership tried to sell me were unnecessary. I might do the brake fluid change eventually but not the rest.

 

[Bartman39]

That is why they call them "Stealerships" get the name right...

They are good for warranty work only but not in all cases though...

 

[phucheneh]

That's not really typical dealer behavior. Who knows about the tire...I doubt they drove nails into it just to sell you one. And the high cost was likely just because they were matching whatever was on the car. Did you check to see what the same tire goes for on Tirerack?

But the other stuff...that's more like Firestone or other chain behavior. Recommend the most inconsequential 'maintenance' services to everyone that comes in the door in the hopes of snagging the occasional easy money.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What does your owner's manual say for brake fluid and power steering fluid changes? I would go by Honda's recommendations on changing that for sure.

 

[jolancer]

Not down playing your experience, there's specifics to the situation we may not know... but assuming they didn't word it in a way to try and push there prices on you as if your obligated to get the work done with them, then they may have done nothing wrong, explination bellow but that being said I wouldn't be saprized and would acutally expect most sales rep's at the service desk to upsell to women or people who look like they can afford it... within reasonable limits, not nearly as bad as your crooked corner shop, but the dealers price is high, however thats not the sales reps fault, and if work is done its legit.

about what they said... without knowing more detail, they might not of been able to patch your tire for liability reasons, if its on the sidewall or within a sertain clearance to the sidewall of the tire. They also didn't know only one went all the way threw because they couldn't pull them out without doing the work.

there recomendations may have been within or near your vehicals normal service interval, thats not to say certain things of course don't need to be done if your fluid system isn't compromized in any manner and the car's not excessivly old... and i agree i wouldn't do that maintance if your cars not that old and no issues, especially the fuel injection cleaner... if not profesionally done its practically useless and could cause more issues than it solves, tho I'd expect the dealer to do it right, if its a New car dealer not a Used car dealer where talking about. Conserning the Fuel injection cleaner only I'd go along the lines of if its not broke don't fix it... the other systems that use oil ofcourse use common sense with the age of the vehicle.

Don't know if all dealers are like this but if you ever want to seek recomendation from the dealer you can walk right past the service counter and go strait to the parts department, they will give you unbias recomendations there. If there to busy or maynot know they may stear you tward the service reps. but doesn't hurt to ask, of course some dealerships maynot be as friendly as others.

 

[Meghan54]

What you've experienced, OP, is the service dept. upsell darned near every new car dealership runs. If you ever notice, car dealership service depts. typically list services well beyond what the manufacturer lists in the owner's manual as needed and necessary services. They explain the extra, unneeded services with terms that make them sound like the manufacturer actually requires these services, but if you read your owner's manual, you'll find many recommended services are not required or needed per the manufacturer, esp. to keep warranties intact.

They're just ways to churn more work through the service dept. and empty your wallet faster.

 

[jaedaliu]

When my car was in the shop for a new alternator and battery they upsaled me on a top engine steam clean or something. I don't really know. I was new to the area, the mechanic was supposedly good based on yelp reviews and they paid AAA to be a recommended mechanic.

Anyways, after i go the car back, the idle was completely still, I felt like I was driving the car off the lot again.

tl/dr: up sales can be good.

 

[Kaido]

That's not really typical dealer behavior. Who knows about the tire...I doubt they drove nails into it just to sell you one. And the high cost was likely just because they were matching whatever was on the car. Did you check to see what the same tire goes for on Tirerack?

But the other stuff...that's more like Firestone or other chain behavior. Recommend the most inconsequential 'maintenance' services to everyone that comes in the door in the hopes of snagging the occasional easy money.

One of these days, you need to write a Car Guide for ATG :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

After the oil change was completed, they told me I had 2 nails stuck in the rear left tire. It was unpatchable so it would cost $260 to replace the tire. They also told me that I should get the brake fluid changed for $130, power steering fluid changed for $130 and finally do a fuel induction system cleaning for $150.

Not sure what car you have, but $260 is pretty dang high. My '99 Ford Escort was $70 for a basic tire, installed. My last car, the Honda Fit, had special-sized small tires that were a bit harder to find and cost me $150, which I thought was pretty ridiculous.

 

[Meghan54]

To the OP.....that's not bad.

We went to a Lexus dealer to get a key cut for our GX 470. When it was delivered back to us, the service rep. came out and said the GX had horrible exhaust leaks on both manifolds....and was dangerous to drive. (Never mind it was quiet as a church mouse when running.....exhaust leaks aren't quiet.)

We said thanks and left. Three days later, a Toyota dealer was unable to find any exhaust leak anywhere, even after I advised them the Lexus dealer found both exhaust manifolds leaking massively and dangerously. Just makes one wonder.

 

[Zargon]

That's not really typical dealer behavior. Who knows about the tire...I doubt they drove nails into it just to sell you one. And the high cost was likely just because they were matching whatever was on the car. Did you check to see what the same tire goes for on Tirerack?

But the other stuff...that's more like Firestone or other chain behavior. Recommend the most inconsequential 'maintenance' services to everyone that comes in the door in the hopes of snagging the occasional easy money.

depends on how many miles the car has

he might be due for a fluid changeout

the fuel injection cleaning sounds like utter bs though

the tire might just be only OEM for that civic so it costs an ungodly amount because there are HORDES of people that will only use OEM tires, because they simply don't know better

 

[mmntech]

This is the oldest game dealerships play. There's probably more than a few dummies out there who look at these big repair bills and ask to be taken to the showroom.

 

[halik]

To the OP.....that's not bad.

We went to a Lexus dealer to get a key cut for our GX 470. When it was delivered back to us, the service rep. came out and said the GX had horrible exhaust leaks on both manifolds....and was dangerous to drive. (Never mind it was quiet as a church mouse when running.....exhaust leaks aren't quiet.)

We said thanks and left. Three days later, a Toyota dealer was unable to find any exhaust leak anywhere, even after I advised them the Lexus dealer found both exhaust manifolds leaking massively and dangerously. Just makes one wonder.

You'd definitely hear an exhaust leak.

 

[imagoon]

I guess I am lucky that I found one that didn't screw me over. They have never offered anything that could not be found in the owners manual. The shop foreman even made a point to grab the manual from the glove box to show people even though they had it on the computers.

The one and only exception was the cabin filter. They recommended every 15k vs 30k. I have always done it myself but I get why they recommend 15k. I have pulled out a 1-2 inch thick pile of leaves and sticks from in there in the past. The filter might still be ok but it at least gets me to open the box and vacuum out the junk pile.

 

[WilliamM2]

You'd definitely hear an exhaust leak.

Couldn't hear the exhaust leak on my Mazda Protege with a cracked manifold at 20K miles. Sure could smell it, but only when the engine was cold. sealed right up once heated.

 

[nerp]

My dealership recently told me I didn't need an air filter yet even though I asked for it. I checked myself and they're right. I trust them.

 

[JimKiler]

I just had the opposite issue where i took my car to a locale repair shop and they were guessing at the problem, charged for $500 for an EGR valve and spark plugs then my car does the same thing i took it to them to fix. So over to the dealer i went and they replaced the ignition coil. I am awaiting for confirmation of the refund amount the first place owes me..

 

[tweakmonkey]

I bet if you sampled 100 cars on the road today, 90+ would have brake fluid that should be changed. Just because the dealer recommends something doesn't mean it's critical, but there are honest dealerships out there. I think there's just no trust for mechanics these days, I'd hate to be working at a service shop or dealer service dept., you just can't please people.

 

[JimKiler]

I just listened to this weeks episode of This American Life and they are stating that only grocery stores make less profit than car dealerships. Dealerships make 3% profit for each car sale. I would never want to be in that job.

They also show how the sales person will negotiate with the customer and then negotiate with the manager so they can get get a sale done.

 

[WackyDan]

You should go by the service interval for fluids found in your manual. If you are hard on the car, unsure of it's past ownership abuse, or if you tow something heavy frequently, then yes, you might want to shorten the factory service intervals.

I've had my brake fluid completely flushed at my request... I've never had a dealer ask me to do it. Same with Transmission... I'm generally a bit shorter on the interval than most and by time they ask or indeed try to upsell me, it's already been done.

I've found most dealers to be pretty honest with me and the upsell has been minimum. I think they can smell you a mile away if you come in blind. When my wife takes the car in it is a completely different story - They will attempt to upsell her every time.

 

[phucheneh]

depends on how many miles the car has

he might be due for a fluid changeout

the fuel injection cleaning sounds like utter bs though

the tire might just be only OEM for that civic so it costs an ungodly amount because there are HORDES of people that will only use OEM tires, because they simply don't know better

'Fuel injection service' is not a very consistent thing. I know at Firestone, it was: dump an additive in the gas tank, dump an additive in the oil, and run a third bottle through an IV drip into the intake.

It may also be called 'induction service' or something similar. It has grown quite popular as something with many claimed benefits and no factory-specified interval (or recommendation at all). And it's cheap enough (49-79 bucks, depending) to sell and quick to perform.

I refuse to do them. The IV drip, basically the same 'seafoaming' that many enthusiasts and DIYers do, may be marginally helpful. But I only do it in conjunction with a physical cleaning of the throttle, which you rarely see done.

There is also the use of a pressurized container hooked directly into the fuel rail...I've only been at one place that does it. That is the only way you are going to do any actual cleaning of fuel injectors beyond removing some external crud that has accumulated, likely as a result of a worn engine and/or bad PCV system causing lots of oil ingestion.

As far as brake and P/S...someone can feel free to correct me, but I've never seen an interval for a factory-recommended P/S fluid change.

Brake fluid...meh. It's usually there, but it's like once in the whole lifetime of the car. Unless you have a luxury car, then it inexplicably becomes a ~60k item. My biggest problem is that depending on the method used, it can do more harm than good. It often involves someone putting a dirty fluid-sucker into your master cyl reservoir to pull out the dark fluid and replace it with new, then a basic bleed. Hello contaminated fluid. And brake linings, if they decide not to catch what comes out of the bleeders.

The flip side...they have the right rig for it, which applies gentle pressure to the reservoir and recovers fluid from the bleeders into a waste tank. Big question: how well sealed is the supply of new fluid, and how long has it been in that machine?

Don't even get me started on trans service methodology...

 

[Meghan54]

I just listened to this weeks episode of This American Life and they are stating that only grocery stores make less profit than car dealerships. Dealerships make 3% profit for each car sale. I would never want to be in that job.

They also show how the sales person will negotiate with the customer and then negotiate with the manager so they can get get a sale done.

Did that profit include the hold back?

 

[phucheneh]

New car sales
Used car sales
Service
Parts

Four different businesses operating under the same roof. The profit margins of car sales are irrelevant to what the service department is doing.

 

[tweakmonkey]

Brake fluid...meh. It's usually there, but it's like once in the whole lifetime of the car.

I could be wrong about this but I think most manufacturers recommend changing it every 3 years or so.

In my worst nightmares my 12-year old Honda would have original brake fluid. *shudders*

 

[jolancer]

If i had a newish car I wouldn't touch those fluids either unless there was a system compramise. whenever i got a used car though I would change all fluids, not take it anywere to get flushed but just drained and refill.. except power-steering, its not as convienynt, or critical.

after that though i don't touchm either if the systems not compromised, brake fluid though i will bleed any time i do the brakes, not the hole system just to clean out the abused fluid in the calipers and wheel cylinders. Topping it off that way also helps maintain it, as the older fluid accumulates moisture.