Stealerships Stories... Got one?

Mad Mike

Mad Mike

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I've been looking after elderly parents for a few years and I'm astounded at how dealerships mislead and sometimes outright lie to elderly customers. A few months back how Leggat Mazda in Birlington took me for $600 after I OK'd a 32K routine service on a CX5. The owner's manual stated Lube / Oil /Filter and a routine visual inspection $150 so I OK'd it over the phone. Later I see the bill -- $800! I call back, the service writer tells me the 'Leggat' dealer recommended 32K service is more comprehensive than Mazda Canada's recommendation - it recommended a Coolant flush, Brakefluid flush, and replacing air and cabin filters (which the dealer replaced 4 months prior).

Well it happened again. Mom (82yrs old) went to Leggat Mazda for a routine 5K oil change ($120) on her '20 CX5. Since she'd been taken before, I asked her to get a written quote first. The hand wrote the quite on a post-it note.

Car has ~40,000 KM, has LOF 2x a year, never more than 500KM intervals, as well as every Mazda recommended service. The oil monitor has been reprogrammed to trigger at 5,000km instead of the factory-recommended 12,000/12mo interval (not crazy about the dealer doing that without telling us...)

The service Writer told her this is what's needed:

Lube /Oil / Filter. (about $120 - that's what she went in for)
  • Brake cleaning service
  • Full Vehicle Inspection
  • Vehicle electrical inspection
  • Decarbonization Service
  • Wheel Alignment
Total: $755+$98HST=$853
 
What the hell is a "brake cleaning service"
 
Usually one learns the lesson the first time they shove beans up their nose, to not do it again :) In other words, burned once don't go back.

Not the same dealer or brand but I have never had a problem telling a dealer to just do the oil change, nothing else. They may say xxx is due, just do the oil change...nothing else.
 
Our friend is 82 yo female with a 10 yo Cadillac SRX with 80k on the clock. Brought in for regular oil change. Service advisor recommended having the spark plugs changed out since they are getting old. They acknowledged they are well within spec mileage wise. Estimate north of a grand.

Little old lady who drives a caddy must have cash to spend on make work service to keep the dealership afloat.

🤷‍♂️
 
This was MANY years ago where my (at the time) 60 year old mother went to a Nissan dealership near Highway 401 / Dixie and she ok'd an oil change service.

A $100 bill turned into a $2500 service bill. I lost my $hit...I drove over immediately and went to town with the service advisor, service manager and all their managers.

They couldn't produce a quote, couldn't produce any approval signature, and after 2hrs of arguing I just said 'show me the parts you took out. You have to show me the parts removed from the car, so where are they?'

Silence

So we went from a $2500 to about $600 and my dad piped in 'ok that's fair let's leave it there' and I was livid.

I was 100% sure I could get that bill back down to $0 because of their bullcrap that they tried to pull. If my dad hadn't opened up his mouth, that bill would have been erased.

I was a service advisor at the Jag dealership on Dundas and knew the game. I couldn't let my morals / conscience take advantage of anyone so I wasn't good at upselling...but I refuse to stand by if someone takes advantage of someone else.

Different dealership, cousin literally flew in from another country and went into a dealership and got taken by the Mitsubishi dealership. When I saw the Bill of Sale I hopped into the car and went with him and tore a strip out of the salesman, sales manager, and VP. They took a person with minimal English and took advantage of him.

I'm sure some of you remember my adventures where a certain dealership messed up my Volt tint. Too bad as they've got a sweet GLI.

That took weeks of going back and forth, arguing, going to OMVIC, resolution, and a signed NDA to get my money back....

Makes me angry just thinking about it.
 
backmarkerducati said:
Usually one learns the lesson the first time they shove beans up their nose, to not do it again :) In other words, burned once don't go back.

Not the same dealer or brand but I have never had a problem telling a dealer to just do the oil change, nothing else. They may say xxx is due, just do the oil change...nothing else.
Click to expand...
This is what I told VW when they wanted me to spend $500 on oil change and hydraulic fluid last year.

'Oh but the performance of the GTI'
'What am I going to the track? Do the oil change'

Did hydraulic fluid 2 weeks ago for close to half price.
 
In Ontario, repair shops must provide a written estimate before charging for repairs.
The estimate must be clear and itemized, and the final cost cannot be more than 10% above the estimate.

What's included in a repair estimate?
  • A breakdown of the parts and labor costs
  • A list of the tasks to be performed
If you have a problem with a car dealership in Ontario, you can contact the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC).
How to contact OMVIC:
  • Call the Complaints and Inquiries Department at 1-800-943-6002, extension 1
  • Email the Complaints and Inquiries Department at consumers@omvic.on.ca
  • File a complaint online using the OMVIC Complaint form

About

Discover how OMVIC protects car buyers and ensures a fair vehicle sales marketplace. Learn about our responsibilities and enforcement actions.
www.omvic.ca
 
Jag decided to start making unpleasant sounds on Friday. Let's see what my service appointment for tomorrow shows!

Mechanic tho, not stealership. Maybe the quote will make all the 'would be ballers' sigh with relief 🙈
 
I had an incident at a CTC service centre.
I went in to have 2 tires replaced on a crapper Buick I owned, the little bunny behind the service counter said no, we have to change all 4.
I replied that she had two choices - do what I asked for and write all over the work order whatever you want OR bring it back down off the lift.
I've been on both sides of the counter, play nice or don't play at all.
 
TK4 said:
I had an incident at a CTC service centre.
I went in to have 2 tires replaced on a crapper Buick I owned, the little bunny behind the service counter said no, we have to change all 4.
I replied that she had two choices - do what I asked for and write all over the work order whatever you want OR bring it back down off the lift.
I've been on both sides of the counter, play nice or don't play at all.
Click to expand...
I took a Highlander we had with close to 500k in to get new tires at ct they came back with 7000 in work they wanted to do. I said just do the tires and no issues.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
 
Evoex said:
Jag decided to start making unpleasant sounds on Friday. Let's see what my service appointment for tomorrow shows!

Mechanic tho, not stealership. Maybe the quote will make all the 'would be ballers' sigh with relief 🙈
Click to expand...
I backed off my quest for a Type F for the moment.

I'm still on the hunt for a well looked after'winter beater' XF AWD.

A common noise on Jag 3&5l engines comes from a failed SC blower shaft coupler. The Jag guy will tell you before you ask, it's a distinctive noise that sounds like tumbling rocks at idle that disappears under load then returns at idle. The part is about $30 but requires removing the SC which is easy but time-consuming.

If you do the fix, drop another stack on a couple of good upgrades. Drop the SC drive pully to 2.75" and you'll get the torque 'pull' at 2200RPM, thrills up the drive if you have the 3.0, helps with parking lot drifting in a 5l. Upgrade the rear plastic cooling manifold (if it hasn't been done) to an aluminum aftermarket part. The plastic pipes are prone to catastrophic failure, to change them requires removing the SC.

A Jag with a burnt engine is worth $10-20K less than a Jag with a good engine.
 
Evoex said:
Jag decided to start making unpleasant sounds on Friday. Let's see what my service appointment for tomorrow shows!

Mechanic tho, not stealership. Maybe the quote will make all the 'would be ballers' sigh with relief 🙈
Click to expand...
Let me know if you need a recommendation. Know of some of my old colleagues that still dabble in Jag repair services.
 
So far I've been pretty lucky with my Toyota dealer. But I was always amused when I dropped the car off for some maintenance, usually oil change. Then I would get a call shortly afterwards asking if I wanted to change the engine filter or cabin filter. I'd usually ask how can I verify the condition of the parts over the phone....they kinda stopped doing that crap. But they are relentless with finding stuff to repair, every time I go in now they say you car needs major work, and point out some stuff, I just shrug it off. Last time they told me my tires had weather damage... really tires impacted by the weather, shocking... (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself).
 
mimico_polak said:
This was MANY years ago where my (at the time) 60 year old mother went to a Nissan dealership near Highway 401 / Dixie and she ok'd an oil change service.

A $100 bill turned into a $2500 service bill. I lost my $hit...I drove over immediately and went to town with the service advisor, service manager and all their managers.

They couldn't produce a quote, couldn't produce any approval signature, and after 2hrs of arguing I just said 'show me the parts you took out. You have to show me the parts removed from the car, so where are they?'

Silence

So we went from a $2500 to about $600 and my dad piped in 'ok that's fair let's leave it there' and I was livid.

I was 100% sure I could get that bill back down to $0 because of their bullcrap that they tried to pull. If my dad hadn't opened up his mouth, that bill would have been erased.

I was a service advisor at the Jag dealership on Dundas and knew the game. I couldn't let my morals / conscience take advantage of anyone so I wasn't good at upselling...but I refuse to stand by if someone takes advantage of someone else.

Different dealership, cousin literally flew in from another country and went into a dealership and got taken by the Mitsubishi dealership. When I saw the Bill of Sale I hopped into the car and went with him and tore a strip out of the salesman, sales manager, and VP. They took a person with minimal English and took advantage of him.

I'm sure some of you remember my adventures where a certain dealership messed up my Volt tint. Too bad as they've got a sweet GLI.

That took weeks of going back and forth, arguing, going to OMVIC, resolution, and a signed NDA to get my money back....

Makes me angry just thinking about it.
Click to expand...
Dude, I felt that anger in this post. (y)
 
Oh yes...let's not forget the Honda dealer that told me my clutch isn't covered under warranty due to the shifting issue...and thanks to GTAMers I took it to another dealership and it was covered as the master cylinder was pooched...and the second dealer covered it under warranty...

Good times...2k estimate got done under warranty.
 
Mad Mike said:
I backed off my quest for a Type F for the moment.

I'm still on the hunt for a well looked after'winter beater' XF AWD.

A common noise on Jag 3&5l engines comes from a failed SC blower shaft coupler. The Jag guy will tell you before you ask, it's a distinctive noise that sounds like tumbling rocks at idle that disappears under load then returns at idle. The part is about $30 but requires removing the SC which is easy but time-consuming.

If you do the fix, drop another stack on a couple of good upgrades. Drop the SC drive pully to 2.75" and you'll get the torque 'pull' at 2200RPM, thrills up the drive if you have the 3.0, helps with parking lot drifting in a 5l. Upgrade the rear plastic cooling manifold (if it hasn't been done) to an aluminum aftermarket part. The plastic pipes are prone to catastrophic failure, to change them requires removing the SC.

A Jag with a burnt engine is worth $10-20K less than a Jag with a good engine.
Click to expand...
Yeah I've done my homework on the upkeep. I had planned preventative maint. In the spring; plugs, SC oil, SC belts, accessory belts, coolant pipes. If I'm going in then I want to go in once.

The 5.0 I have certainly doesn't need a pulley upgrade lol. It's already bananas.
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