fixing your car at a dealership?

[jarviz]

think again!

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...152707580.html

This is exactly why I'm worried about dropping my car off for more than a few hours with them.... that plus all the other horror stories that's been posted here.

[MarkWF1]

Yea I was just reading this one.. I'll be out in the drive bugging the heck out of them.. Hell hath no fury they screw with my car like this! For me though I'm a little lucky in the fact I know the owner of the dealership and a few of the techs as well. Still human nature being what it is you still have to keep an eye on them with a car like this.. Boy's will be boys..

[HunterGreene]

Dealership or otherwise, you will have a few bad apples out there. The best you can do is take note of the miles when you drop it off, and note how many are there when you pick it up.

Also, just dropping off the car and leaving is never a good idea. Get to know the staff at the garage you are using, or at least the service manager. If you are nice and show that you are paying attention, the staff are far less likely to take advantage of you and your baby. If you do your homework, you will almost never end up with a bad maintenance experience (acts of God not included).

Also, the guy in the article who had his SS busted--he could have been a complete asshat to this garage. Their actions were unprofessional either way, but that is an important piece of the story that may have been left out here.

[kendalldwhite]

wow.. that sucks ass

[gily25]

No one should ever have to do this, people are jerks, you want a Camaro save your pennies and buy one! My uncle had a situation like this back in the 80's, if he were around now he'd love that somenoe recorded this happening.

In addition to waiting something you can do...ask the service writer to put in the requests (i.e. customer requests oil change, customer requests tire rotation, customer notes...), vehicle not authorized to leave dealership (this is also where you want notations like customer declines complimentary car wash), when you sign, it is a contract between both parties. Sure you will still have the burden of them trying it and defending it, but it's more clear cut than a recording.

[Grimlock]

I was a bit concerned about such things when I took my BRZ in to get its first oil change (free). It turns out that the tech that was working on my car owns a BRZ himself and is very well versed in the car.

It's too bad that I took the car in on the same day the cricket chirp TSB came out

[Shagaliscious]

That is f*cking ridiculous.

[Obja]

I mean the whole joy riding thing is pretty common, but trying to scam him into the clutch thing is not cool at ALL.... if you didnt read the whole thing at least read the "update 2" at the bottom

[Carban]

i do all my own work. ive worked in shops and seen whats possible. if i ever take my frs to get worked on by the dealer, ill stand there and watch the entire time. why? because i love my car more than anything.

[Lonewolf]

The same things can happen at an independent shop...

[TheSt|G]

Why don't more cars have the valet key that GM had for the first gen ZR1? Limited the car to 50hp or so. Just enough to move it.

[gmookher]

Originally Posted by FRSowner

This kind of shit can happen at any shop. I learned how to drive a stickshift on customers cars during my first couple of jobs.
I read on another website about these asswipes abusing this guy's Camaro and the general consensus is that the owner could get in legal trouble by illegally recording the asswipes (he didn't notify them beforehand). I think that's garbage. It might not be a bad idea to leave a recording device out in plain view and let the shop know that it's there so that the asswipes that work there won't pull this kind of crap (that is if they don't steal the recorder).

so youre the guy....

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by jarviz

think again!

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoram...152707580.html

This is exactly why I'm worried about dropping my car off for more than a few hours with them.... that plus all the other horror stories that's been posted here.

seriously,might want to consider independent mechanics
that YOU know.first determine if toyota will "honor" "receipts"
for warranty purposes should a problem develop with the car.
in this regard,you can effectively avoid the dealer network,
and still get your car properly serviced...just sayin'

[jarviz]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

The same things can happen at an independent shop...

I know this local shop that do wonders and you can literally watch over their shoulder even for just an oil change. I was walking around and looking at all the other cars and the work they were doing.

Only problem is you have to shell out almost a hundred bucks for an oil change (cost of oil + labor plus refilling the coolant, speaking of which, I asked Toyota how much for coolant for the FRS, they quoted me $30!!!! really?)

I already shelled out 60 bucks for my first oil change at 1K miles, and now all I want is my free oil change, tire rotation, and all fluids checked/filled as promised by the scion boost program..... 100 bucks vs the fear of leaving it with dealer mechanics...