Servicing vehicles yourself, ie., DIY

My father bought a nice used Dakota from a dealership in Rochester New York named Ralph Pontiac with a 30 day warranty,took it back for rear brakes, when the job was done (I use that word loosly) he got the truck a block from the dealer and the wheel fell off and hit a brand new vehicle in the front of another lot...They claimed no responsibility,my parents put up such a fight about it Ralph Pontiac called their insurance man and he quickly assesed the situation and said to the Ralph represenitave "IT'S ALL ON YOU AND YOU NEED TO MAKE IT RIGHT QUICKLY BEFORE THESE GOOD PEOPLE TAKE YOU TO THE CLEANERS"..Our jaws dropped because he was sure to say it loud enough everybody in the area heard him...They did pay the entire bill as they should but there had to be this big scene for nothing..

 

See i dont get that how can some one who just worked on the brakes and the wheel falls off a block away and claim they arnt responsible for it, thats just bad business and stupid. Stuff happens every ones human and makes mistakes but at least say ya the tech forgot to tighten the lugs but we will fix it. We hada tech here worked for the dealership since 85 when it opened forgot to put oil back in a car, first major screw up in 20 years but the dealership said ok we will buy the motor you (the tech) have to put it in durring work hours not geting paied for it of course

 

Keep receipts for sure if you're under warranty.


Rob

 

At first glance I thought this thread said "Servicing yourself"

 

and that would have been way,way off topic...even for us!!!

 

I'll second this. A good small shop has to survive by reputation of the work not quantity of jobs done.

 

I have been a Toyota Master Technician for nearly 10 years and I know that there are some hacks out there in the dealership community. I also know that there are some "money whores" who will try to sell you everything that you don't need so that they can make a buck. I also know that I am, and there are many more like me, that are focused on getting the job done quickly and correctly so that I can please my customers to best of my ability. I have a pretty good customer base that when they come in they ask for me specifically and will come back to talk to me about their cars. If I am not there they will return at a later time/date when I am there. I take care of my customers and I like to think that they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them. Maybe I am an oddity, but we work at the dealership, the place where you should be able to bring your car and have the piece of mind that you are getting the best possible service with the best possible parts at a fair (loose term I know) price. It truly does bother me to read posts about how the dealers are "stealers" and just there to rip you off. I get vehicles that come to me all of the time that outside "independent" shops either can't fix, or just can't fix correctly and its now up to me to make sure that the job gets done correctly, costing the customer even more of their hard earned money. So my advice is that if you feel comfortable doing the job yourself, then do it, because you will have the piece of mind knowing that it was done correctly. If you can't do the job or don't feel comfortable, take you vehicle to the dealer. Thats what we invest our time on all of the training, and all of the expense on tools for. Just my $0.02... sorry for the ramble.

 

I have had good luck at my dealer and agree with you on most all above as I have a favorite wrencher when I take mine in. I should have been more specific about big shops. I meant JIFFY LUBE, QUICK KAR type places. These are the places I have had near miss experiences with striped oil plugs, loose filters, not enough oil, missing bolts, ect. Keep up the good work for your dealer. Job security you know.

 

My dealer seems OK. I wouldn't go to those quicky places if I can help it, myself.

A good mechanic takes a long time to make and I don't think I'll entrust a $20K+ truck to some guy making $8 an hour...or somebody at the end of a 12 hour shift. People get tired.


Rob

 

i'm gettin up to 45k and i'm wondering if its worth taking it in for the recommended inspection? anyone know what the cost is?

 

they are gonna over charge ya for an oil change, maybe an air filter, and checking over some stuff. not exactly sure what the cost will be.....but to me, whatever it is.....its too much. now that goes without saying that if you dont wanna do it yourself, by all means, take it in.

 

I go to the local Air Force base and it costs me $4.50 an hour to get a stall with a lift with all the tools I could need to borrow. Their labor rate is $30 an hour but as long as I only need them for a little help on stuff I don't know they don't charge any extra.

 

^OK, I'll be down this weekend, lol!

So are you with the 437th? My buddy was down there, too, a few years back.

 

No I'm a Marine, I just freeload off the AF since we don't have a large base here.

 

no, i can't stand other people working on my car. but i'm used to having beaters that don't have a warranty.

 

Noticed your heathcare remark at the top. Check out this link if I can get it to paste. I think I love this USA.


http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php

 

My parents just bought an Avalon from a rinky dink dealer that gave them a 30 day warrenty..Took it back for a few minor things they said they were fixed got a quarter mile down the road Check engine came on None when the car was took in...He said ok we will fix it leave it here again we did..When my parents went back to get the car it hardly got out of the driveway she took it straight to the Toyota dealer and for $300 they had her straightened out and loving her car THANKS DORSCHEL

 

So what was wrong with it? I mean if giving $300
to the dealer magically fixes it that'd be great. But what was wrong? Was it something simple...Was it something complicated? I never trust dealerships, but a Toyota dealership is a better bet than a used car dealer doing the work for free.

 

Being a Mechanic/Machinist myself, I have learned that experience is a good thing.The more you do something the more competent you become. I do the minor maint. myself, but sometimes take it to the dealer hoping that a experienced & competent mechanic will be working on it.

 

I had a bad experience at the dealer who sold me my '07 in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Went in for a TSB fix - wind noise at high speed.

1. Although I had an appointment, the service department had no record of the specifics of the problem from my call. So I had to schedule a second day to address the problem, so the dealer could “schedule my window guy.”
2. When picking up truck on day two, they brought out the wrong vehicle.
3. When my truck finally came out, there was black goo on the cab top and window shield (in front of the driver seat-impossible to miss), tape around the windshield, and the front end was dirty from the work.
4. As I start to pull of tape – the poor assistant helps me out and apologizes – as if he missed the ball of black adhesive in front of the windshield.
5. Adding pain to misery I still had wind noise at high speed the next day! Haven’t had the problems since then, so I’m assuming that the adhesive has set.

In any case, if I need another dealer TSB fix, I’ll pick another dealership.