Auto dealer maintenance upselling

[Dftodd]

Wife had her car in at the dealership for a service. Gal at the service counter started in on her about how her car needed new tires and that they were badly worn

Wife walked the girl out to her car and asked where the tires were worn???

Gal started back tracking pretty quickly.

We had just had new tires installed the week before and the tires still had the little nubbings on them.

 

[MTGreen]

It's not called the stealership for nothing.

I may be in the minority here with my dim view, but I'm of the opinion that no mechanic touches any of my vehicles/equipment unless it's a free warranty repair (or a computerized alignment).
Years ago I took vehicles to mechanics and every time there were broken/missing parts/fasteners, trash/tools left in the engine compartment, fraudulently charging for something that wasn't done, or blatant attempts at (IMO fraudulently) generating unnecessary work by attempting to prey on the ignorant like in the case of the OP.

 

[John0829]

The only time our vehicles go back to the dealer is for recalls which thankfully have been very few.

 

[BlueKnife]

I drive a 25 year old pickup, have no intention of ever buying a new vehicle and have never paid anyone to do anything on a vehicle for me, so this is just idle curiosity. If you don't like the service at dealerships, why are you going there? Is it required to maintain a warranty or something?

 

[ultrarunner]

Honest question…

When one buys a Tesla direct… at least I think this is the term… do you have to run the gauntlet of value added features and services pushed at the Dealership level?

 

[Hay Dude]

I must be lucky, because I have bought a Jeep and a Ram from the same dealer and although they do “suggest” extra services, they don’t force them. I kind of like the reminders and appreciate with so much to forget in life, that my Ram and Jeep are well cared for. Maintenance is pretty cheap compared to repairs.
Can’t believe how long the change interval is on the OP’s front/rear differential and transfer case.
Mine are 60K.My transmission is 30K with “severe use”, which mine is with all the towing I do. I did the front & rear diffs at 40K along with the transfer case.

Wife had her car in at the dealership for a service. Gal at the service counter started in on her about how her car needed new tires and that they were badly worn

Wife walked the girl out to her car and asked where the tires were worn???

Gal started back tracking pretty quickly.

We had just had new tires installed the week before and the tires still had the little nubbings on them.

omg thats so funny.
My wife has the dealer service her BMW and they always pull the “tire shaming” on her. Michelin run-flats “only” like $700 a pop.

 

[Tomtint]

Car dealers have 3 profit centers. The first is the sales department where they will put a ACV on your trade, that is banked with a wholesaler, ..then give you less than that ACV in many cases. Then they have the gross on the new sal as well as holdback in many cases. The second is the finance office where the after sell occurs. Paint protection, Extended warranty mud flaps, etc.. All high markup after sell items. This office is also responsible for finance rate bumps. Many dealers have deals with finance companies and make profit by signing you up well above their buy rate from said financial institutions. .. Every 1/4 point they can bump you..the more they make. Now you are onto the service department, where in many cases is where the most profit comes from in the dealership. Service writers make a living with aftersell. They instruct the tech to walk around every vehicle and provide the wish list while the vehicle is held hostage on the lift. Its all a numbers game.. If they pitch 50 add on tickets a week and 10 bite on 50% of the ticket.. It's bonus time.
a good service writer is vital to a dealership. For more reasons than you may realise. If a good one leaves the dealer, In many cases they will take the best mechanics with them as they move to another shop. The techs make book time for jobs, and many of the aftersell jobs pay much better than repair work on rusty old crap ..

 

[Tomtint]

Honest question…

When one buys a Tesla direct… at least I think this is the term… do you have to run the gauntlet of value added features and services pushed at the Dealership level?

Just get the dual fire extinguisher option.

 

[mrmikey]

Mine are 60K.My transmission is 30K with “severe use”, which mine is with all the towing I do. I did the front & rear diffs at 40K along with the transfer case.

That's something I have to do on my Ram in the next while, front and rear diff's, trans case and transmission. I've got the diff oil but have to get the transfer case and trans fluid. Going to use Valvoline Multi Vehicle instead of the the Mopar fluid at $35L

 

[Oaktree]

Wife had her car in at the dealership for a service. Gal at the service counter started in on her about how her car needed new tires and that they were badly worn

Wife walked the girl out to her car and asked where the tires were worn???

Don't know if your state has annual safety inspections, but that is always a big scam at dealers or chain tire places. They'll offer a low price for state inspection, but it's almost a guarantee they'll find something "wrong". And since a failed inspection gets flagged in the DMV database you can't just go somewhere else, you're stuck getting it "fixed" (though not necessarily at the same place that failed you).
Funny though, when you buy a used vehicle from them it always breezes thru.

I may be in the minority here with my dim view, but I'm of the opinion that no mechanic touches any of my vehicles/equipment unless it's a free warranty repair (or a computerized alignment).
Years ago I took vehicles to mechanics and every time there were broken/missing parts/fasteners, trash/tools left in the engine compartment, fraudulently charging for something that wasn't done, or blatant attempts at (IMO fraudulently) generating unnecessary work by attempting to prey on the ignorant like in the case of the OP.

I used to do most of the repairs/maintenance on my vehicles, but as I've gotten older and vehicles have gotten more complex I don't do much of that beyond brakes, oil changes, etc. Something about arthritic knees and hands that makes it a lot less fun.
The key is finding a mechanic you can trust. They are out there. Mostly independent guys who are established. They didn't get that way by being crooks.