This is why I usually do my own maintenance.

[wh500special 2,188]

Usually I do all of my own simple maintenance on my cars.  I drive fairly new vehicles, so really they don’t need much attention.  
 

About a week ago my 2016 Honda van started asking for an oil change.  I’ve been busy and a local dealer was running a $30 special so I figured I’d let them do it. They’re professionals of course. 
 

So, made an appointment and my wife dropped in and waited on it last Friday.  They were done in about an hour.  Oil change and tire rotation.  They of course recommended all kinds of other services that I declined.  
 

Later that Friday night I decided it was worth popping the hood to make sure the oil level looked ok...just in case.
 

Opened the door and found a big greasy black footprint on the gray plastic door sill.  Great.  Cleaned that up.  Mostly.  Some of it is stained permanently.   

 

Pulled the dipstick.  Seemed ok.  Looked underneath and saw a few drips of oil on the chassis and on my garage floor.  Figured they probably just spilled a little oil changing out the filter so cleaned it up.  
 

Monday they sent an email survey.   I noted the oil spillage and the greasy footprint.   Kind of thought there would be a follow up, but there wasn’t.  No big deal, stuff happens.  
 

We did some running around to enjoy the weather yesterday.  Filled the tank and checked the oil.  Still good.  Figured all clear.   Drove home and parked overnight.  
 

Today i was working in the garage.  Retrieved a screwdriver from my toolbox that is right in front of where the van sleeps at night.  Dropped it on the floor.  Oops.  
 

when I kneeled down to retrieve it from under the van I see it had narrowly missed falling into the puddle of engine oil on the floor. Pictures below.  Not Exxon Valdez level spill, but still quite the mess. 
 

Seems the professionals didn’t bother to tighten the oil filter.  It was loose enough that it wiggled on its stud.  I tightened it about a turn and a half by hand.  
 

I added a half quart of oil to bring the level back up.  Thankfully, it must not have been super loose until pulling in the garage or we’d be testing how good their service department was at installing a new engine.   Judging by this and previous experiences in their service department, I have my doubts.  
 

Now, I realize that the guys changing the oil probably aren’t the most experienced or senior guys but this is pretty basic stuff.  
 

I wonder what the story will be when I talk to them tomorrow.  I also hope whoever comes to clean my garage floor is friendly.

 

So much for convenience.   
 

better go check the lug nut torque...

 

Steve
 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by wh500special

[Zednoug 56]

wow

[bc.gold 3,403]

Had some tires replaced on an Airstream for a long trip from BC to Manitoba, made it to Manning Park as I'm coming down a grade i hear some strange noise, pull over to the side of the highway to inspect the trailer.

 

Both rims on one side of the trailer were ready to fall off, the holes in the rims wallowed out and the wheel studs are ruined. Unhooked the trailer then drove back to Hope. the tire shop a well known franchise refused to send their service truck out to do the repair.

 

A phone call to their head office in Vernon after arguing with the Hope shop, got the service truck mobile.

 

Brother In law working as an oil change jokey, forgot to tighten the drain plug on a brand new fire engine that was in for it's first oil change.

 

Shortly after taking up residence in rural Manitoba I coined the phrase one room school house mentality, but thee root of the problem goes back much further, the folks who immigrated came from pocket community's, and settled into pocket community's here. As an outsider you could live here a hundred years and still be an outsider.

 

I had a vehicle inspection done they missed moisture in the headlights and rusted e-brake cable that was so bad it was inoperable, all they wanted was to repair the rusted rocker panels. I have my suspicions the missed inspection parts would have come to light at this time with my truck held hostage.

 

I did not play into their scam and took the truck to another shop and it was this shop that discovered the discrepancy's of the first shop, and this is when I learned they're all related by blood or through marriages. A complaint against one is against the clan.

 

 

 

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

1 hour ago, wh500special said:

better go check the lug nut torque...

 

200 ft lb guaranteed.

[JoeM 7,874]

I've not had to many good experiences with dealer service. 

Leaks to bent rims on test drives. When I worked I wasn't home much and time was premium. 

I now use a local independent guy that is outstanding. My buddy said that guy is expensive, I told him in the 12 years or so never a problem. Honest and high quality. 

[lynnmor 7,313]

I only had an oil change done by a dealer one time in my life, that was the free one done on my new truck.  They put in more than two quarts too much of the wrong oil.  Took it back and again they got it wrong.  Never again, I can't even afford a free one.

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

I used to drive a Smart car, the tiny two seater which was marketed here by Mercedes dealerships.

So servicing had to be done at a main dealer for warranty etc.

One of the big plus points was being able to take it in for service, have a cup of coffee while they did it and drive out happy in a matter of minutes.

First time I booked her in, took her through, to be told "you weren't here early enough, you'll have to leave it and collect later." 

To say I was miffed is nowhere near enough.

I had to walk home, 15 miles, by the time I got home I had walked off most of the anger. As I arrived home I got a call saying they had rushed it through and it was ready to collect! They expected me to be grateful.

I never had a good experience with Mercedes customer service, I thought it was because we only had a Smart car, but a lady with a huge saloon said they were rubbish with everyone as we sat waiting for our cars.

Just goes to show even mega dealers can be bad at looking after their customers. 

 

[Pullstart 62,922]

I am not licensed for auto repair but stay plenty busy in the garage.  I have most every tool needed and two hoists but none of those qualify my skill.  Being able to u defat and the problem and relay it to the customer in an honest fashion is where my shop finds it’s pride.  I had a car in last week for requested “struts and ball joints”. I ran to the parts store and picked up what I needed, got it in the air and one ball joint separated during disassembly.  I decided to do the ball joints and test drive it myself.  No problems with the struts at all.  I could have easily listed them rendered bad but I chose to not waste his money on more parts and labor.  Happy customer, clean conscious as he drove it away.  No advertising needed, word of mouth is busy enough!

[bc.gold 3,403]

3 hours ago, Mickwhitt said:

I used to drive a Smart car, the tiny two seater which was marketed here by Mercedes dealerships.

So servicing had to be done at a main dealer for warranty etc.

One of the big plus points was being able to take it in for service, have a cup of coffee while they did it and drive out happy in a matter of minutes.

First time I booked her in, took her through, to be told "you weren't here early enough, you'll have to leave it and collect later." 

To say I was miffed is nowhere near enough.

I had to walk home, 15 miles, by the time I got home I had walked off most of the anger. As I arrived home I got a call saying they had rushed it through and it was ready to collect! They expected me to be grateful.

I never had a good experience with Mercedes customer service, I thought it was because we only had a Smart car, but a lady with a huge saloon said they were rubbish with everyone as we sat waiting for our cars.

Just goes to show even mega dealers can be bad at looking after their customers. 

 

 

The CEO of a logging company dressed in work cloths went into a Kenworth dealership, wanted to replace is aged logging trucks, when the salesman ignored him he walked across the street to a Mac dealer who were more than happy to supply the new fleet.

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

I've had my oil changed at a place where they pretty much just do oil changes.... I brought 2 of my cars in both at the same time wife in 1 myself in other. Well one car made it back home the other had to go back to the oil place for a new oil change and a complete engine bay degrease and exterior cleaning. Half way home I could smell some oil burning. Chalk it up to some oil spilling from the fill on the exhaust burning off set up kinda messy on this 1 so I've done it myself. Then I took off at a red light on a pretty straight section of road and that's when my front window became a blur from all the oil spraying under the hood and up my front window and down my roof. They never put the oil cap back on... how do u miss that... it's a 4 banger engine the oil cap is half the size of the valve cover... after they were done detailing my engine bay I've never seen it so clean before also they did such a good job cleaning it I never smelt burning oil once. So maybe they should focus on car washing business? 

[Pullstart 62,922]

17 minutes ago, OldWorkHorse said:

the oil cap is half the size of the valve cover.

that’s funny right there!  

[bc.gold 3,403]

5 hours ago, pullstart said:

I am not licensed for auto repair but stay plenty busy in the garage.  I have most every tool needed and two hoists but none of those qualify my skill.  Being able to u defat and the problem and relay it to the customer in an honest fashion is where my shop finds it’s pride.  I had a car in last week for requested “struts and ball joints”. I ran to the parts store and picked up what I needed, got it in the air and one ball joint separated during disassembly.  I decided to do the ball joints and test drive it myself.  No problems with the struts at all.  I could have easily listed them rendered bad but I chose to not waste his money on more parts and labor.  Happy customer, clean conscious as he drove it away.  No advertising needed, word of mouth is busy enough!

 

Good honest workmanship, your customers will give you word of mouth advertising and you'll have more work than you can handle on some days.

 

During the 1980's I repaired and sold appliances from home which eventually lead into doing in home repairs for family and friends then started getting service calls from total strangers.

 

My service call fee was $30.00 and my policy was if the problem could be fixed with in the half hour would not charge an additional fee towards the hourly rate.

 

During one of these occasions an old German fellow asked if I liked fishing, when I replied that I did he says I'll pick you up Saturday morning, when the old fart shows up gets out of the car to shoot the breeze a bit then as were heading towards the car with boat in tow he hands me the keys telling me to drive.

 

Were heading for the Pacific for a day on the ocean, this turns out to be a weekly ritual with his eyesight failing he had commandeered my services as chauffeur and fishing partner.

 

His boat a Boston Whaler that looked like a 12.5 ft duck punt with a 50 hp Merc hanging off the stern, I had asked him one day how long he had owned the boat, told me one day a brochure for the Vancouver boat show came in the mail to his tailor shop. He decided attend and purchased the boat there.

 

When he had arrived home with the boat his wife gave him an ultimatum telling him either the boat goes or I go, Old George laughs saying that was thirteen years ago and I still have the boat.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by bcgold

[ri702bill 8,350]

All:

Back in the 1990's I worked with a guy who got his start in the automotive field as a Lube Technician at a local Dodge - Chrysler - Plymouth dealership. You bring your car there thinking you are getting quality service, right??? He had a quota that was set by the management - if he came up short, it reflected in his paycheck. per each oil change, he had to:

Clock the car into the system to start the work order,

Draw the correct filter from the Parts Department (oil was dispensed from an overhead bulk system),

Get the car (which may blocked in) moved in to shop and up in the air on the lift,

Drain the oil, replace the filter, grease the front end if applicable, reinstall the drain plug,

Lower the car, add the oil, shut the hood,

Return the car to its spot in the service lot,

Clock the work order out, on to the next one.

His quota was FIVE cars per hour, so each averaged 12 minutes. Quality service - maybe. 

I just lump places like that into a bucket I refer to as "Iffy Lube".

Bill

 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I owned and operated an autobody shop for 15 years.  Saw so much my head hurts just to think about it.  On the rare occasion that I've paid a shop for something I ended up commenting to myself that I'm fully capable of screwing something up and there's really no reason that I should pay someone else to.  At least I'd know who to blame, what was done and why it was done that way.  And yep!  I've screwed up stuff...  But I didn't pay someone else to!

[Mickwhitt 4,642]

Just got back in from doing a mower repair at someone's home.

They had always had this machine serviced but since the shop closed they have struggled to find anyone to look after it.

My name was suggested by some friend as being someone they could trust.

I looked over the machine, a small domestic cylinder mower.

Pull cord was broken, I repaired that and no spark. New plug, bit of a clean and lube and topped up with a pint of oil.

Took me 45 mins to do and just a few pounds in parts.

I charged £25 for the work and parts and the elderly couple were blown away. They had tried a dealer and were very disappointed with the service and poor customer care. 

I enjoyed the trip out and meeting two lovely people, as well as getting him up and running with his mower. 

Im not a businessman but I understand how to deal with people fairly. I'll never make a mint but I'm happy to be doing something worthwhile. 

 

[peter lena 8,646]

wheelhorse500special , I  can relate to your concern over dealer service , they only do what is in the book , even then the total lack of interest is glairing. as the old type of service shops disappear, mine too , being able to walk in and look at your stuff and talk over an issue , is quickly going away. recently my shop gave me some quick lift time to get the initial internal , box sections rustproofing done , letting me finish easy areas on my time at home. being a retired wrench , I will always be interested in getting after a problem or doing a new update. Remember , these are the good old days , pete

 

[squonk 41,164]

Note: I AM NOT defending anybody but. Sometimes stuff happens. As an ex Auto mechanic and Parts guy I have seen just about everything.

 

Early 80's the days of the Chevy Chevette. Did a service on one of those bad boys. Week later we get a call from the customer. There is oil all over his tiny garage. Oil is coming from the oil filter. So since I worked on it, I was the guy who had to go to his house with another filter, oil and cleaning supplies. Filter was tight, gasket on it looked kinda funky. Replaced the filter and added oil and cleaned the garage.  Week later another call, Same thing. This time the car is towed in. Filter gasket blown out. We ended up replacing the oil pump which seemed to cure it.

 

Lug nuts. I serviced a Jeep for a trip. ALUMINUM WHEELS. Torqued the lug nuts to factory spec. If I remember right it was 100 ft. lbs. Right on the invoice it says and I quote "RECHECK LUG NUT TORQUE AFTER 50 MILES!!!" A couple of weeks later lady went from CNY to Wash. D.C. spent 2 weeks there driving all over. Half way back a wheel loosens up and is ruined. My boss accuses me of not tightening the wheels correctly. I asked him to explain to me how a loose wheel would make it to Washington and halfway back before being a problem and a total of a month's time?  Almost the exact same thing happened to another guy in the shop a few month's after this.

 

IF YOU HAVE ALUMINUM WHEELS YOU MUST RECHECK THE TORQUE ON THEM!! 

 

Working in the parts store I've seen all kinds of incompetence. I couldn't recommend any of our accounts to walk in customers with a few exceptions. Lucky for me I found a Toyota shop that's brilliant and fairly priced for my wife's van and a shop near where I used to work for my truck who has a solid reputation. Plus the GM dealer down the street has guys in the shop I worked with 25 years ago that I trust. Getting on and off the floor with my knees and back is not worth it to me to do it myself .

Edited March 22, 2021 by squonk

[Handy Don 12,244]

Been using an independent service shop for a number of years. Have watched it grow from a quiet 2-bay operation to a busy 4-bay setup. Thankfully, the owner and I got off to a good start while he was still doing wrenching. I was doing a lot a miles so he saw my car at least three times a year for regular service interval stuff. Now he's mostly managing and consulting on the complex jobs. He's let me know that hiring is becoming very difficult and he's had to raise his prices some to be able to attract and pay better techs and he's let go some who just weren't doing the job he expected (he hires on three month probation). I deeply appreciate our tactical conferences and his crew's work keeping my cars in great shape and feel his rates are good value. Heck, he even lent me a tool I needed when I was working on a tractor!

He occasionally reminds me of his reaction one day when I picked up my car after a job, looked at the bill and said "Adam, this just isn't correct". He looked worried. Then I added, "This is the exact amount I paid for my last service. There was more work this time, this bill should be much higher." Sure enough, the desk person printed out the wrong bill. The right one was a couple hundred more. So mistakes happen all over in busy shops--but they now have a different desk person and a new system for printing bills!

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,326]

I have 2 Volvo and a POS EL Camino . Found out by a bad experience with my local guy , the shop can't work on Volvos they go to the dealer who is excellent .  The mechanic ( this place  assigns the same guy to work on your car until he retires or you get a new car )  and the the service writers are good ole rednecks do a great job , always give me a discount on repairs . The last job was quoted at $800.00 , service writer remembered that he had looked at a small leak on a prior visit . He did his thing and I got $300.00 off the bill.  The local shop is the El Camino's shop they like old cars and even let me order the correct parts that need to be replaced.  

[Handy Don 12,244]

12 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

POS EL Camino

Liked these since I first laid eyes on one in the late 60's. Our assistant Scoutmaster had one for his glass business.

Strangely, the new Tesla Cybertruck reminds me of this design since it sure doesn't look like a pickup truck!

Hope it keeps running well for you.

 

15 minutes ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

Volvos ... go to the dealer who is excellent

I was taking my '04 Volvo V70 280K to a good dealer shop until they switched to Mazda when the economy slowed and the service staff had massive turnover. After several tries at other dealers, I started with the local guy I described. One of his techs he got from a Volvo dealer and he tells me that he's picked up business from several other Volvo owners who come in and say "Hey, I noticed you have that v70 out front, do you guys do Volvos?"

[squonk 41,164]

My Toyota guy won't work on Volvo's either!  My wife had one of those things and I had to take it to where she bought it and a basket of Bongo Monkeys could have done a better job! The Toyota guy also does Honda's and Subaru's. My wife had an Outback before the Volvo and I had him remove the engine and reseal the whole thing. I had asked him to replace the radiator hoses whilst it was out. He didn't. I asked why and he said they were fine and I probably would never need them. He took care of my 4 Runner (now my son's) and I bought my Tundra from him. It had 150,000 when I bought it and we didn't discuss any warranty. The AC condensed blew up 2 month's after I got it and he replaced it at NC. He's so busy he doesn't have to advertise. He's there from 8 in the morning till 11 at night. He won't change the oil on my GMC!  but he replaced the spark plugs on the Sienna which is a 5 hr. job! 

My sister had an Accord which her dealer would service every year. They would sell her all kinds of crap. Once her brake light came on. A line that went thru the front suspension cradle rotted. They quoted almost $500 to fix it. I call Toyota Steve and he says oh we have a different way to fix it. About $150 

Edited March 22, 2021 by squonk

[bc.gold 3,403]

A local plumbing supply and contractor put the touch on me to do some contract work, sent me to replace a shallow well pump, two days later the shop calls me saying the pump is not working and that I would have to replace it on my dime.

 

They went good on the new pump which I installed again, when I inspected the pump I was replacing discovered a slimy slug had managed to gain entry through the air vents at the back end of the motor frame.

 

What had happened when the pump came on the slug prevented to centrifugal start switch from opening, the motor was stuck on run causing the run windings to burn out.

 

The customer was shown the fried slug with an explanation this was the cause of the pump burning out, not sure if the shop covered this under warranty or not.

 

Hired on with another pump shop, a father and son operation and I'm thinking here we go thinking the son would be a jerk. Most of the calls I did were just me, on a few ocassions worked with the son when we were doing a new deep well pump and tank installation. Kid was great to work with.

 

Then one Saturday I'm going out first time with the father, we're on a new home site, deep well the trench is dug for the water and power lines, I grab the Hiilti and punch a hole through the foundation, its a long drill and a pebble comes loose preventing me from pulling the bit.

 

Disconnect the bit, put the Hilti back in the box, grab the water tank as I'm about to head into the basement to retrieve the bit by threading it forward and the old man comes unglued on me.

 

Told him right then and there if he wanted to be such a &^%$ he could finish up the job by himself, I terminated my employment on the spot.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by bcgold

[bc.gold 3,403]

One day I take in a load of scrap and the yard forman is trying to  unclog a diesel fuel line, I ask Bob if he would wait until I leave before continuing. He's at least curious enough to ask why.

 

I point to the gauges on the oxygen bottle to where it says ( USE NO OIL ) and that diesel fuel is an oil which could react violently with an oxidizer.

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by bcgold

[bc.gold 3,403]

What I learned while fishing with George,we both used the same rigging and bait while he caught fish I caught none. The fish have such a keen sense of smell that if your a smoker your Creel will always be empty.

[Ed Kennell 38,246]

Without question, there are many service departments that will take advantage.     The  Ford F-150   5.0 Coyote fiasco is a prime example of what a big manufactuer can do to force their dealers service depts. to cover up a major engineering problem.     It appears there are several problems that contribute to the excess oil consumption  in these engines.  Inadequite PCV system, poor ring assembly, a deaccelaration valve, all causing  high crankase pressure  are some things causing these engines to burn 1 qt/ 1000 mile.     

I am a lifelong Ford owner and feel personally responsible  for a good friends purchase of one of these lemons.     We took several non-stop 34 hour hunting trips to Montana in my 2010 F-150 Super Crew and he , a lifelong Dodge owner, was so impressed with the Ford performance on these trips, he bought a new 2020 F-150 SC .    

I won't list all the details here, but if interested, just google F-150  oil consumption.     

When he checked his oil level at 1000 miles, it was down a quart.     The dealer said this is normal and changed the oil...9 qts.     Same thing at 2000 miles.     Then they installed the new dip stick that has a two quart range from low to full.   This is to mask the 2 quarts it uses in 2-3000 miles and they recommend an oil change every 3000 miles... again to mask the consumption.    

My friend is 80yo and not computer literate and I am afraid he is stuck with a worthless $55,000 lemon.   I did print out the class action suit that has been filed against Ford for him,  but he all know how that ends.