Car trouble. Dealership scam?

[kenmac]

I read the Elio thread. Very interesting. I hope they get it off the ground. I would worry about getting parts for the car, engine , etc,

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Yep, should have seen what the "free" first oil change cost, because my wife took it in.

 

[3930dave]

I read the Elio thread. Very interesting. I hope they get it off the ground. I would worry about getting parts for the car, engine , etc,

Natural concerns Kenmac. The founder seems like an industry veteran, so he should understand logistics and using off-the-shelf parts to keep costs down.

Given the state of the industry (often only a couple of players in a given parts sector, and the "established" major car companies obsoleting many parts quickly) if I was presently in a high mileage commuting mode, I'd probably roll the dice on this Elio early. If I could get even 5 years out of it, it would be making me money.

I like what Elio is doing. If my cash flow was a little healthier, I'd get in the queue now, just because.

Rgds, D.

 

[Gunny]

I bought a new vehicle for the wife earlier this year from one of the areas big dealers, one who runs all kinds of TV commercials about their great prices and great services. When we were buying it, the salesman mentioned that the first oil and filter change was free. When I told him that I seriously doubted that I'd be making any 94 mile round trips to get oil changed, that I'd rather do it myself, he said that the dealership didn't recommend that owners do their own oil changes, too many chances of something being done wrong! I immediately stood up and told my wife that we needed to be looking at other makes of SUVs, since I wouldn't own a car that I couldn't do an oil change on. The salesman then conceded that since I'd probably had a lot of "experience" doing that kind of stuff, I wouldn't have any problems, but that some people did.

Warranty service in the manual calls for oil and filter changes every 7500 miles. The dealership keeps sending me emails that they (dealership) recommends doing it every 3000 miles! This is full synthetic oil and they probably have a lot of customers that pay those big bucks every 3000K just because the dealership recommends it.

Unless it's a warranty issue, I don't think they'll see my wife's SUV again.

 

[3930dave]

I bought a new vehicle for the wife earlier this year from one of the areas big dealers, one who runs all kinds of TV commercials about their great prices and great services. When we were buying it, the salesman mentioned that the first oil and filter change was free. When I told him that I seriously doubted that I'd be making any 94 mile round trips to get oil changed, that I'd rather do it myself, he said that the dealership didn't recommend that owners do their own oil changes, too many chances of something being done wrong! I immediately stood up and told my wife that we needed to be looking at other makes of SUVs, since I wouldn't own a car that I couldn't do an oil change on. The salesman then conceded that since I'd probably had a lot of "experience" doing that kind of stuff, I wouldn't have any problems, but that some people did.

Warranty service in the manual calls for oil and filter changes every 7500 miles. The dealership keeps sending me emails that they (dealership) recommends doing it every 3000 miles! This is full synthetic oil and they probably have a lot of customers that pay those big bucks every 3000K just because the dealership recommends it.

Unless it's a warranty issue, I don't think they'll see my wife's SUV again.

Car companies love to crow about how green they are - that being one reason to push out their spec on Recommended oil changes.

If you can find an Environmental contact on the corporate web site, I'd forward the dealership 3k email to them.

Gotta love that "You're too stupid to do oil changes" kind of marketing !

Rgds, D.

 

[crazyal]

I had an Acura that had something very similar happen. It started running rough and the CEL came on. It was saying missfire in one of the cylinders. The dealer said it was most likely a bad coil pack. After replacing it it ran fine for a few days and did it again. The dealer said it was a different coil and then went into the whole "they get old and the coating on the wires starts to break down from the heat. When they are cold they are fine so it makes it real hard to detect." I figured since I could do the work I would replace it myself.

Before I did I happened to be talking with a gas station owner who told me a little secret. He said that some stations pour things like old engine oil into the gas tanks at night after hours. He went on to tell me that an underground tank could be 10,000 gallons so 100 gallons of engine oil split between the three tanks (4 if the sell diesel) isn't noticeable most of the time. Yet for the owner 100 gallons of used oil sold at retail price could put up to $400 unreported cash into their pocket. The problem is sometimes it doesn't mix and a car might get a much higher ratio of oil to fuel.

Because modern fuel injection systems continuously pump the fuel to the injectors any extra goes through a regulator so the injectors always see the same pressure and the rest of the gas gets returned to the tank. The bad stuff in the tank gets pumped to one injector where it causes a miss fire while the rest gets sent back to the tank. Then after some time the bad stuff gets pumped back to the injectors and you get another misfire. When the mechanic looks at it he can't find an issue so he replaces something to make it sound like he did something. Spark plugs, coil pack, and O2 sensors are usually replaced.

So I decided not to do or replace anything. After about 15 minutes of driving it started running rough. I just put my foot down, the CEL came on, and in a minute or two it started running better. 15 or 20 minutes later the same thing happened but not as bad. After about 5 times doing that it would just run a little rough but not bad at all. After that I made sure not to get gas at stations that also service vehicles. Now I use gas only or quickie mart type places that do large volumes and have name brand companies for gas suppliers. I drove that car for another 5 years before selling it, never had an issue.

 

[3930dave]

The Globe and Mail (Canada) a long time ago (20 years, give or take) had a pretty extensive article talking about hazardous waste being dumped into road fuel. As in big scale money. If you remember back then, there was still some real "reporting" going on, instead of the infotainement fluff of today....

Heavy stuff (oils) would go into diesel, lighter stuff (ex. dry cleaning fluid) into gasoline. Govt regs have probably tightened up somewhat since then, but I'd have trouble believing that this practice has totally disappeared. Present economic factors might actually mean that there is more of this dumping going on today, than a few decades back.

Random engine codes people get today may be nothing more than collateral damage from somebody's Cayman Island account getting a top up.

Rgds, D.

 

[Coyote machine]

The Globe and Mail (Canada) a long time ago (20 years, give or take) had a pretty extensive article talking about hazardous waste being dumped into road fuel. As in big scale money. If you remember back then, there was still some real "reporting" going on, instead of the infotainement fluff of today....

Heavy stuff (oils) would go into diesel, lighter stuff (ex. dry cleaning fluid) into gasoline. Govt regs have probably tightened up somewhat since then, but I'd have trouble believing that this practice has totally disappeared. Present economic factors might actually mean that there is more of this dumping going on today, than a few decades back.

Random engine codes people get today may be nothing more than collateral damage from somebody's Cayman Island account getting a top up.

Rgds, D.

Now wait just a minute, you mean to tell me we're not supposed to get E-10 gasoline, the E for extra enhancements? and the ten for ten reasons not to buy this station/ brand of gas?!:confused2::laughing:
I can't believe it, companies that were split by anti-trust laws and have now found a way to remerge as one of the world's largest monopolies are slamming it to the consumer with the help of the 'little guy' at the local jip mart looking the other way, while the gas mafia fills the underground tanks with who knows what from who knows where?
Well if they start using radioactive waste then maybe we can turn off the headlights at night!:confused3:

 

[Gator6x4]

Car companies love to crow about how green they are - that being one reason to push out their spec on Recommended oil changes.

If you can find an Environmental contact on the corporate web site, I'd forward the dealership 3k email to them.

Gotta love that "You're too stupid to do oil changes" kind of marketing !

Rgds, D.

Don't laugh. I walked around the gas pump one night in Georgia and there stood a well dressed individual trying to get the radiator cap off to add oil because his check the engine oil light was on.

Plus I personally know individuals who do not know how to check the air pressure in a tire.

In Gatlinburg TN one morning after being entertained for several minutes watching an individual trying to figure out how to put fuel in a new Cadillac, I showed him how to open the fuel door to allow access to the gas cap.

I guess he was lucky they gave him a full tank of gas when he purchased the vehicle the day before.

 

[Bird]

Warranty service in the manual calls for oil and filter changes every 7500 miles. The dealership keeps sending me emails that they (dealership) recommends doing it every 3000 miles! This is full synthetic oil and they probably have a lot of customers that pay those big bucks every 3000K just because the dealership recommends it.

Of course I can remember when we changed oil every 1,000 miles, but then later changed to 3,000 miles. And when the manufacturers started calling for oil changes at 5,000 miles in "normal" conditions, but 3,000 in "severe" or "special" conditions such as excessive, heat, dust, trailer towing, idling, I know most, if not all, dealerships told customers that they considered driving in the Dallas heat and air pollution was "severe" conditions and recommended the 3,000 mile oil changes. And I did that for many years.

However, the Ford dealer that currently services both of my vehicles made a point of telling me they'd do it any time I wanted it done, but that they recommend going 5,000 miles, as the manuals for my older vehicles specify.