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Taken for a ride by the stealership today and I am pissed.

15K views 98 replies 65 participants last post by  AeroWagon 
#1 · (Edited)
So two nights ago my 2000 accord starts making this absolutely horrendous screeching noise from the right front wheel, nonstop for like 2 miles. I'm coming back from playing some pickup soccer with two friends a town over and we decide to pull over and take the wheel off to see if theres anything we can do to get it to stop or locate the source of the problem. theres some fresh scratches on the rotor so I figure its probably a rock or something lodged in the caliper, we knock it with the wrench a couple times for the heck of it and put the wheel back on. fortunately the screeching is nearly all gone except during low speed (>20mph) braking.

This noise continues until today when I decide I might as well get it checked out, assuming the pads might be reaching the end of their lives and I have no idea when the PO changed them out. I dig out a postcard from the local dealer advertising free brake check and set up an appointment for today. I go in, describe the issue and hand the keys over, mentioning that my ABS light is on and the anti-lock brakes have stopped working and that they can take a look at that and fix it if it is a bad fuse or something simple, otherwise i couldnt care less if the abs isnt working.

The a while later service guy, who I have delt with a couple of times before, comes out and says they couldnt replicate the problem but the back rotors and pads are coming along to the end of their lives and gives me an estimate. the front brakes are apparently totally fine, oh and "by the way, youre not going to believe this but all your brake lights arent working". and im sitting there like well thats not good, but its also totally not believable.

I have a pretty good feeling theres something shifty going on and I have him take me back to the car where lo-and-behold, the brake lights arent working. fan-f*cking-tastic. i ask how much it is going to cost to figure it out and he says oh probably around $70. i weigh the cost of driving home on the highway at rush hour without brake lights and, oh **** it, just fix it so I can get out of here. Well it takes them well over an hour to diagnose that the brake light switch was the culprit, which seems like a pretty f*cking obvious solution.

I ask him how much it costs to fix and find out apparently im already in the hole $170 for diagnostics. Im like WTF!?!? how the **** did that happen? well we ran codes on your ABS problem and then had to diagnose what the problem with the brake lights is. and none of that is covered by the brake inspection? nope. and how much is it going to cost me to have the brake lights fixed then? oh another $100. are you F*CKING SERIOUS? how long is that going to take? oh about half an hour. fine do it then. he pulls around with the car less than 10 minutes later and lets me know that they did me the favor replacing one of my brake light bulbs that was also allegedly out. im like oh jee thanks a lot.

I talk to the guy about how obscenely expensive this whole "free brake inspection" was and get him to discount the price that was, with tax, nearly $300, down to $250. I pay it, pissed, while the guy tries to tell me something about how they washed my car for me as well.



As I'm driving home I get a text from my dad saying that he saw my brake lights working, hes been away on business for a few days so I brush it aside. I swing my my friends house who was with me when the original brake problem started up and he says he distinctly remembers my brake lights working, that was two days ago. Then, I talk to my brother who I picked up last night, within 15 hours of when I took my car into the shop, and he says that my brake lights were working fine when I went to get him and all the way home.

unless my brake light switch decided to conveniently off itself just in time for the dealer to charge me a fortune to get it fixed I just got totally bent. what a bunch of as*holes. Not only do I get my oil changed there when I'm too lazy to do it myself, but i got my last major service done there as well. but my parents got their last car there and as a family weve had 3 cars regularly serviced at the same fu*king dealership.

and I thought it was really fishy that when they changed out my engine mounts the last time around my alternator failed within 5 days and two car trips of their mechanics yucking around the engine bay.

well anyway, I plan on going there tomorrow and causing a ruckus, but I would really really really appreciate other ideas as well. :mad:

 
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#41 ·
I understand all the valid criticism, and surprisingly nearly all of it has been. But it doesn't seem to be taken into account that I was prepared to pay the dealership for a brake job proceeding the brake check up and as an underemployed college grad 250 is about a weeks take home.

I paid a weeks take home to have my brake lights unplugged and plugged back in while getting absolutely nothing done on my car or my day off, if a little perspective adds to the story. Thanks for the commentary though.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
 
#47 ·
But it doesn't seem to be taken into account that I was prepared to pay the dealership for a brake job proceeding the brake check up and as an underemployed college grad 250 is about a weeks take home.
I'm completely with you on the money aspect...I know people who couldn't get through the month if they lost $250. So I realize that's serious money for many people. I think the more valid criticism is, if that's serious money for you, why did you take a 12-year-old car to a dealership and expect to get out of there on the cheap? If you look at all the fancy facilities and equipment at a dealership -- they don't get that stuff for free; the money comes from somewhere, and you just found out precisely where :)

If your financial situation is tight, you should either learn to do simple repairs yourself, or find a small shop in maybe a slightly ghetto area where they're used to working with people who don't have money to burn. My rule for good low-cost shops is, if the person you hand the keys to is not a hands-on mechanic, find a different shop.

-Andrew L
 
#46 ·
AAA center, LOL!

I took the wife's car there for an annual DMV inspection, after doing the entire inspection procedure at home first, and watching through the bay door the entire time. ;)

Guy checking out had a $2400 bill parts and labor for a standard timing belt job on some normal looking family sedan. :eek:
 
#50 ·
This why if the dealer or mechanic says a part needs to be replaced that I wasn't aware of already, I ask them to save the old part(s) and give them to me. That way if the dealer said the brake light switch is bad, I could test it myself with a multimeter to see if it was really bad or not.
 
#53 ·
  1. Had a brake issue.
  2. Didn't want to fix it himself (no shame in that).
  3. Took it to a professional mechanic.
  4. Paid $250.
  5. Brake issue fixed.


Quite reasonable, actually.
 
#62 ·
I didn't read the entire thread but I disagree with you thinking you were taken advantage of. They could have sold you a set of brakes that probably pays 2.0 hrs per axle but instead sold you a brake switch that paid the tech 1.5 hrs with diag and probably more for some abs sensor or two. They told you about the lights not working and asked you what you wanted to do and you are pissed because it turned out to be a brake switch that takes minutes to install. :screwy:
 
#64 ·
Brake switch, although very easy to replace, can also be tricky to diagnose. I had the same issue with my Maxima which I thought was a simple switch. Turned out to be some aftermarket alarm the dealers preinstall when they get these cars in. That diagnosis took about an hour and a half and the lower dash panel having to be removed. I replaced a part that ddidn't need to replaced and found out the car had an accesory alarm in addition to the factory unit.
 
#66 ·
their service costs are usually pretty competitive and when im too lazy to change my own oil, which is honestly most of the time, it comes with a free car wash. if i buy the oil myself it costs me around $18, the dealership does it for $20-$25 depending on the presence of a mailed coupon.
 
#70 · (Edited)
Being that I use to be a manager at a Honda dealership let me break it down for you Op.
You are an ignorant person to think 1.5 hours labor would be done for free. Theres a thing called fine print. Learn to read it. The brake check was just for pads thickness, abnormal rotor wear, brake line condition and pedal feel. You didn't honestly expect them to troubleshoot your whole ABS system for free did you? You gave the ok for additional diag to be performed so they in no wa back doored you. You are an even dumber person to tell others with expierence in the the automotive field that they are dumb because it took 15 minutes to fix and it should have been charged accordingly. We charge 1 hour diag time. Whether it takes 30 seconds or an hour because it never takes 30 seconds. We have to properly troubleshoot the whole system. If we diagnose your brake switch as being defective and then your master cylinder which is bad blows and your stupid cheap ass dies you family sues us. Just to get your car into a lift, hooked up to our computer software and run a scan is gonna take minimum 15-20 minutes. This is before checking any hardware or running any OHM meter test on hardware and visually inspecting the system. Also I have news for you parts break on a 13 year old car at random. If they wanted to bang you over the head they most certainly chose not to do so. Brakes and rotors here costs $460-$550 and are easy to do in half an hour with the mechanic getting paid 2.0 hours for it. If they really wanted to bang you over the head how did you geT off so cheap? Customers like you are customers we hate dealing with. Unless it's free they are not happy and we would go bankrupt if everyone was like you. Welcome to the real world Princess and consider this a cheap lesson.:rolleyes: The only one "Taken for a ride" in this case is the dealership which had to knock $50 off its profit margin to get you out the door after you disputed charges you previously agreed to for work they already performed and for parts already installed. Tell me how fair that was to them?:thumbdown:
 
#73 ·
^ LOVE IT. Totally agree. 16year veteran service advisor here and you speak the truth..The only issue I see (unless the OP forgot to mention it) is that the advisor should have clearly pointed out that the brake check is visual on the pads only (eventhough the OP was a dumbass and most likely did not read the fine print on the coupon in which he would have realized this). The advisor should have also not assumed the OP was not a dumbass and told him there would be a cost to diag the ABS.

OP...Dealerships don't try to rip off people and sabotage cars (brake lights) so they can make more money off people like you.. People like you are just the PIA customers that we try to get in and out a quickly as possible so those that want to spend the $$ can get into the shop.
 
#74 ·
Isn't it funny how the people who always talk so much trash against auto repair shops are the ones who have absolutely no idea how automotive repair businesses function?

OP, as said before your being ignorant. A free brake check is to verify the state of your brake pads and rotors.

-Every shop charges 1 hour for diag regardless of how long it takes.
-Every shop charges the flat rate time regardless of how long the repair takes.

This is just like when you go to the doctor to get a prescription for medicine. You pay your co-pay and they do not charge you more or less. The doctors visit may take 5 minutes or 2 hours...

And finally.... if you are so angry about paying to have this repair performed(which is a very important one as you could have been rear ended on the road)... then why don't you repair it yourself?
 
#82 ·
If the pads and rotors are OK, my guess would be that the dust shield on the backside of the disc is deformed and touching the back of the rotor. Take your tire off, check the thin metal shield on the backside of the disc for contact, bend it back so it does not contact.

Give this a try. It may solve your problem
 
#93 ·
My point was he claims they didn't fix it, so either go back and try again or fix it yourself.

Take away all the switch/bulb/ABS stuff, that is after the fact.

He walked in with an issue. They said they couldn't replicate it. He should have pushed that issue then and not left until he was adequately satisfied that the issue was addressed to his satisfaction. He should expect to PAY to have this fixed, regardless of the super awesome coupon.

2 other things to stress...

1. NOT taking the dealership to task because I won't label them crooks via 1 side of an internet forum CSB.
2. Not calling the OP an idiot, but I do think he may have had unrealistic expectations of his coupon.

I have a generally great Honda dealership near me but even I've fallen victim to the "we can't replicate your patently obvious problem" and guess what? I demanded a tech go for a ride me and lo and behold, there was my super obvious issue for which there was a documented, easy fix (I was still under b2b warranty). I don't hate dealers (if it's a good one) but even the good ones need a "nudge" sometimes to get things done.
 
#96 ·
The real problem is dealerships don't have real mechanics anymore. They have maybe one decent mechanic and 15 clueless kids following a troubleshooting script, designed to create income while eventually fixing a problem ( by replacing everything possible ).

All those free checks and walk around full cycle blah checkups and inspections are to catch as much money as possible.

If you go in with any problem they start following a flowchart and doing what a computer tells them to do, which they gladly charge you the shop rate while they do so.

If you don't know enough to head all the BS off and can't go in and say "this is broke fix that and nothing else" then you are going to get taken for a ride. You either have to be a smart informed consumer and know what you are doing, or you gonna get raped and they might use lube if they are "honest".
 
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