Car trouble. Dealership scam?

[N80]

I've got a 10 year old F150 that burns about a quart every 1000 or so. No leaks on the ground. No oil underneath or in engine bay. No blue smoke. Runs great, has always been reliable.

The other day my wife asked if it needed an oil change. I told her that now it never needed an oil change since it was getting a fresh quart every 1000 miles.

I think she believed me.

Here is a true stealership story. Harrelson Nissan in Rock Hill, SC. Had brakes done on my 1990 Pathfinder. This was in about 1998. I go to pick it up and they tell me there is a problem and to come back to the garage to see. One of the lug studs is broken. They quote me some ridiculous price to replace it. Then the mechanic (young punk) tells me they are ALL bad. Watch, he says, and starts cranking away at a lug nut with his impact wrench. Pop! the stud breaks. Watch, he says, and starts to do another one. I told him not to touch my truck again with that impact wrench. Drove it home with two broken lug studs, had them replaced elsewhere and drove the truck for years more with no lug stud problems. Essentially he was tearing up my car while I watched and expecting me to pay.

I'm not too sure there is anything they won't do if they think they can get away with it.

The funny thing is, I know lots of people in many lines of work and very few of those people are the type who will take monetary advantage of someone just because they can. So how is it that so many dealerships are able to employ so many unscrupulous and dishonest people, from the management all the way to the mechanics?

And my last conspiracy theory rant is this: I think a lot of CEL codes, or at least the sensitivity level for throwing codes, is a calculated money maker for the dealerships and designed specifically that way by the manufacturer as part of their revenue. And while that may sound crazy, it has been fairly well documented that many parts ARE designed with an obsolescence date that is far earlier than most of the other parts on the car and that the replacement and repair of these parts is calculated into the revenue stream by the manufacturer. So suspecting that some codes serve the same purpose is not that much of a stretch.

 

[aczlan]

Here is a true stealership story. Harrelson Nissan in Rock Hill, SC. Had brakes done on my 1990 Pathfinder. This was in about 1998. I go to pick it up and they tell me there is a problem and to come back to the garage to see. One of the lug studs is broken. They quote me some ridiculous price to replace it. Then the mechanic (young punk) tells me they are ALL bad. Watch, he says, and starts cranking away at a lug nut with his impact wrench. Pop! the stud breaks. Watch, he says, and starts to do another one. I told him not to touch my truck again with that impact wrench. Drove it home with two broken lug studs, had them replaced elsewhere and drove the truck for years more with no lug stud problems. Essentially he was tearing up my car while I watched and expecting me to pay.

That would have cost the stealership two studs at their expense (installed elsewhere and them footing the bill) after a nice chat with the manager and the dimwit about the proper torque settings...

Aaron Z

 

[Bird]

And while that may sound crazy, it has been fairly well documented that many parts ARE designed with an obsolescence date that is far earlier than most of the other parts on the car and that the replacement and repair of these parts is calculated into the revenue stream by the manufacturer.

I don't think that situation is as bad now as it used to be. When my Dad owned an auto parts store in the late '50s through the mid-70s, I learned about a lot of that. Some of it was almost unbelievable.

 

[MotorSeven]

The funny thing is, I know lots of people in many lines of work and very few of those people are the type who will take monetary advantage of someone just because they can. So how is it that so many dealerships are able to employ so many unscrupulous and dishonest people, from the management all the way to the mechanics?

They are not all 'bad", but yes, I completely agree that there is an abnormally high percentage that fleece you whenever they can. I can honestly say that due to these shenanigans I hesitate to even buy "new".

 

[jinman]

I think the dealerships are pushing their techs to do a high volume of work and the techs are bustin' their behinds to cut every corner they can on the flat rate schedule so they get paid for twice the amount of time that jobs take. That formula has always been a recipe for disaster and sloppy work. Expensive locations, fancy showrooms, lots of advertising, and a lot full of cars is what the average dealership is today. They have to make their margins somewhere and the shop is a huge profit center.

I have a great mechanic at his own garage. He has a nice shop, but none of the ridiculous overhead a dealership must maintain. I've been completely satisfied with the work he does. If you have a job done in his shop and he notices something else wrong, he will tell you, but there is absolutely no pressure if you want to hold off. His shop is always full of cars and his business is great. Yet, he also maintains integrity. He does state inspections by the book and refuses to turn a blind eye to safety issues. He tells you up front that his inspections are by the book, but will point you down the street to another shop that is not so strict in their interpretations of the law. He just won't take a chance on his certification being pulled. I take all my work to him and have been thrilled with the results, but frankly, I get my inspections down the street where I get my oil changed.

 

[dmccarty]

Here is a true stealership story. Harrelson Nissan in Rock Hill, SC. Had brakes done on my 1990 Pathfinder. This was in about 1998. I go to pick it up and they tell me there is a problem and to come back to the garage to see. One of the lug studs is broken. They quote me some ridiculous price to replace it. Then the mechanic (young punk) tells me they are ALL bad. Watch, he says, and starts cranking away at a lug nut with his impact wrench. Pop! the stud breaks. Watch, he says, and starts to do another one. I told him not to touch my truck again with that impact wrench. Drove it home with two broken lug studs, had them replaced elsewhere and drove the truck for years more with no lug stud problems. Essentially he was tearing up my car while I watched and expecting me to pay.

I had something similar happen to a truck I used to own. I went to a place to get new tires and I can't remember if this was a chain of stores but it was not a dealer. A coworker had used the place and recommended them. I and they made a mistake when I ordered the new tires. I wanted some tires that did well in the rain and that is what I ordered. Unfortunately, I and the shop did not notice that the load rating's on the tire were not high enough for my truck. I did notice after I ordered and I called them up so we could get a different set of tires. No big deal.

that afternoon, the coworker drops me off and I go to pay up. They start telling me that I had to pay for some tire studs that broke. Excuse me? There is nothing wrong with the tire studs when I brought the truck in here. Long story short, I did NOT pay for the studs that the so called mechanic broke with an air wrench. The mechanic is hearing what is going on an starts throwing stuff around the shop and having a fit. Really? Is this nursery school? Oh, but it is not over. I can't drive the truck home because this dufus had left the ignition on, which left the glow plugs on, which in turned, trained the truck batteries.

I WAS NOT HAPPY. I told them to keep that guy away from my truck...

I had no way home, so one of their employees drove me home. Nice guy, just out of the Navy. I went back the next morning to pick up the truck, after they charged up the batteries, and I never went back. I hope they fired that so called mechanic. He needed to be in a rubber room somewhere.

Later,
Dan

 

[sld]

And my last conspiracy theory rant is this: I think a lot of CEL codes, or at least the sensitivity level for throwing codes, is a calculated money maker for the dealerships and designed specifically that way by the manufacturer as part of their revenue. And while that may sound crazy, it has been fairly well documented that many parts ARE designed with an obsolescence date that is far earlier than most of the other parts on the car and that the replacement and repair of these parts is calculated into the revenue stream by the manufacturer. So suspecting that some codes serve the same purpose is not that much of a stretch.

Engineers determine when the CEL comes on, not the Accountants. Myth is debunked.

 

[bladesx]

Back to the op problem, best thing to do is replace all coils at same time same brand ( and yes mixed coils can cause problems) also all plugs ( plug wires also if used) making sure to use dielectric grease in side all of the boots and electrical connections. Second find the ground/s for the computer sections- clean and grease connections to prevent corrosion. Bad grounds can cause all kinds of problems totally random in nature.In some cases the computer housing itself is the ground (Nissan used to to do it that way haven't had one in many years ) Dove me bonkers for about six months as all the tests started out by removing the computer from its mounting area,ie removing and reinstalling corrected ground issue on a temporary basis.
One of the responders said that all units will identify which cylinder is misfiring since 1996, this is not true they will identify which bank( ford 96-99) but not the particular cylinder on v6,8 & 10s. The difficulty with coils is that they can check good with simple tools, sometimes even with the fancy ones but when that high voltage pulse is triggered the dielectric strength of the materials may not be up to the task.

 

[Dags1]

Go to justanswer .com and you can work it out with a expert in Nisson for under $20.
Certified techs will help you until satisfied or your money back.
Miss fires can be caused by so many different things you need to gather all info before
making any determination as to what is wrong.
I've used them and it's not a scam if you don't like who is helping you ask for another tech.

Best of luck to your son

 

[Lloyd_E]

Ford f150 2002. Had a few coils replaced over the years Some at dealers$$$ and local shop. Local shop was $217... Another coil went 3 months later and took it to a new mechanic we are using. Wait for it... Price: about 90 bucks. We had some other stuff done to my wife's car at the same time. My wife took her car into the shop we stopped using - it is convenient for her. Oil change and winter tires put on... $170.00. Little steep I think. They also looked at the rear wiper not working - motor bad.

I don't trust dealerships anymore regardless of brand.