Vehicle Dealership Oil Changes and Recalls

[ultrarunner]

It could be a SF Bay Area thing...

When I bought my one and only new car through the local BMW Dealership the services offered were nice to say the least... internet lounge, free shuttle service, express service, free loaner etc...

That has all changed and from the looks of things it isn't coming back...

 

[KubotaToy]

I've never had that problem when getting my Fords serviced at the Ford dealer. I just show up whenever it's convenient for me and they usually get it done within a hour or so. I recently made an online appointment for an oil change and the service writer told me that while those are accepted, it's still just first come, first served, so really no need to make an appointment.:laughing:

My local Ford dealer was first come first serve and usually had you out within 45 minutes. Now it is appointment only, I make an appointment but drop it off the afternoon before. They usually call about an hour later stating it is done, so making an appointment really does not matter.

 

[JMER817]

My current dealer (Dodge) opens the oil change door at 7:30am, and closes it at 5:00pm or 8:00pm, depending on the day.. All you have to do is pull in, tell them you want an oil change, tire rotation, alignment, trans service, etc and sit in the waiting room drinking coffee/tea/hot chocolate, have a cookie, watch Direct TV, and wait... Northwest Indiana Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep dealer: irresistible savings You guys with problems getting a simple oil change really, really need to change dealers. Seriously.

I've had issues with multiple locations. It's the lack of pride of the millenniums these days

 

[Haoleguy]

Hope you're on the mend Ultrarunner...get better soon. I think your experience with dealer appts are on the long side and probably related to city populations and few good dealers. Even in my rural setting the local GMC dealer is 3-4 days backed up whereas the Ford and Acura dealer can take vehicles immediately.

 

[RollingsFarms]

It's not just your area, it's a major hassle where I live too. Dealers have stopped giving loaners and now are going to this dumb "shuttle service" where they have a van that will take you wherever you want to go while you wait. Dumbest thing ever. In fact, the Toyota dealership just started charging for this service. Beside their msrp sticker is a dealer added sticker for a $1500 package where they charge for "nitro filled tires, paint and fabric protection, engines for life warranty, shuttle service" and they will not remove it when you are buying a car. I told them I didn't want any of it and to take it off or I walk when I was buying my mothers Camry, they let me walk. Now other dealers are doing the same thing and it's becoming a pain to find a dealer that doesn't charge these add-ons and forces you to pay for them.

 

[ultrarunner]

99% of my vehicles were bought used... and 1 new.

I have helped family and friends buy new and found now that there are fewer competing dealers things have tightened up...

My city had several Chevrolet Dealers and now no more... same for other makes..

 

[RollingsFarms]

99% of my vehicles were bought used... and 1 new. I have helped family and friends buy new and found now that there are fewer competing dealers things have tightened up... My city had several Chevrolet Dealers and now no more... same for other makes..

Oh we have all sorts of makes to choose from, the problem is the GMC store is owned by the same family that owns Chevy. They also own Nissan. Want Toyota? Great, they also own the Mazda place next door. So it's really hard to shop around cause they're all owned by the same people.

 

[ultrarunner]

There has been a concentration going on in auto retailing... less dealers is suppose to help the bottom line due to less competition.

Sister In Law wanted a touring edition Honda Odyssey... ALL Bay Area Dealers were selling for thousands over invoice...

We traveled 200 miles to farm country and the Dealer their was forced to take one but had no market for a 44k list Honda...

He was glad to make the sale and it was thousands under list... nice little road trip and we were dealing with the Dealership owner...

 

[Snobdds]

There has been a concentration going on in auto retailing... less dealers is suppose to help the bottom line due to less competition.

Sister In Law wanted a touring edition Honda Odyssey... ALL Bay Area Dealers were selling for thousands over invoice...

We traveled 200 miles to farm country and the Dealer their was forced to take one but had no market for a 44k list Honda...

He was glad to make the sale and it was thousands under list... nice little road trip and we were dealing with the Dealership owner...

The bay area is hardly representative of the larger automobile market.

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm finding this out all the time... in many ways the SF Bay seems to be quite unique.

Homes that were abandoned for back taxes back when I was walking to school now routinely sell for up to 400k in marginable areas...

There has been a real consolidation of Dealers and Dealership owner groups.

Even shopping for a Kubota RTV required a 350 mile round trip... whereas in Olympia Washington I would have several competing dealers in a 25 mile radius.

One thing the Bay Area does have is many rust free cars that get sent out for scrap simply because it is too much trouble to get them to pass emission testing... some drive and look great.