Should I trust my dealer service center?

[EddieS'04]

Rich,,Ditto on all you just said.

I used to have a nieghbor. That was a trained ASE mechanic, for ford. He told me many stories about how. Managment would override his diagnoses. To sell more parts.

He got tired of being involved in crookery. Went elsewhere.

Sad thing is, that ford dealership is the only one left, close to me. All the others are 20 miles or more away from me.

Where I bought my trac and my wifes first escape. 10 miles from me. Had a 5 star service rating. I give them a 10 star for service and sales. Eventualy they couldnt compete with the high volume dealers. They were consumed and moved to dickinson, tx. Too far for me.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

l1tech said:

Brake fluid does not get consumed. There are only 2 reasons for having low brake fluid, one is a leak in the system and the other is worn brake pads and if I were a betting man I would put money on you needing front brakes. It may have been overlooked at the servicing dealer becasue brakes are never coverd by warranty becasue they are a wear item. I suggest that you get the brake checked immediately for pad wear before you end up needing rotors becasue the pads wore completley away and you end up needing rotors.

Understood which is why I asked my follow-on question as to whether or not a loose cap could cause the low level.



There is no leaks that I can see. The most common leak is around the master cylinder and that drips down the brake pedal...clean as a whistle.



The brakes pads were replaced not that long ago. Besides, after filling and driving for several weeks the level hasn't dropped and the light hasn't come back on.



So. could the simple fact that the cap was loose, very loose, cause the drop in level?



RichardL said:

I agree, that your dealer is probably not pulling a scam, but they may have noted that your are not getting the routine mainenance performed there, and they might not look at you as a loyal customer??

Not sure what that is supposed to mean. I am sure the dealer doesn't view me as a loyal customer. Not sure what bearing that has on the correctness of service they should be providing.



I don't get routine maintenace done at the dealer because I do it myself. I do it myself because it saves me TIME (lots of it) and MONEY.



TJR

 

[Richard L]

TJR,

I see your point...I put two different thoughts into the same sentence



I meant that I did not think the dealer deliberately left the cap of the brake fluid reservoir....just shoddy workmanship by the tech that serviced your vehicle.



And as a separate note, if you do your own routine mainenance, you never get to know the dealer of shop and they don't know you. They may just be incompetent, or they could be crooks. If you go to a shop on occasions you will begin to get a sense if they are a good shop or bad. Also if they know that you do some of your maintenance at home and are familiar with the mechanics of the vehicle, they are less likely to try to screw you over.



If the shop knows your and that you occasionally have your vehicle serviced there, they are less likely to screw over a loyal customer....unless they are crooks. You would have already gotten an impression of whether you trusted them or not just by the small jobs you took to them to do. Now you have gone to a dealer who you have not done much business with, and they do something supicious and you wonder if you should trust them?



I am talking about just building a rapore with a shop so when you are faced with a problem that requires more elaborate equipment or skill, you will not be at the mercy of an unscrupulous shop.



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

RichardL,



If a shop wants to build rapore with me they can do so by not raping me for my money and time. Making me schedule weeks in advance for routine maintence (oil change), then requiring I leave the car for the day, then charging me over $30 for the service is what has kept me from becoming a faithful customer.



I'm at WalMart and other places that sell filters and oil cheaply, and I even see when they have sales. So, I stock up. Then, when I need an oil change I do it myself in less than 20 minutes.



I guess I don't think they are crooks, but I don't trust them to do routine maintenance now.



TJR

 

[brian brown 3]

Rich

I guess it's up to your own experiences to decide if a shop is crooked or not. We can argue points forever, but it's really up to TJR to decide on his own experience.



As for dealers charging warranty and customers for the same repair, I am sure it happens.. but records are kept on file and when the manufacture does an audit, it will show if they are charged for both. (they pull the customers files and review all repairs, CP, warranty, Internal) I have heard they will even call customers and ask.



addionally, many dealers have independent auditors come in and audit the books to stop fraud. Honest people can make a decent living in the business, but the ones that cheat, make it look bad on all the others... maybe that's why I am arguing about it. It's a profession I have been a professional at for over 30 years and I just don't think most are dishonest. But I do see many that mis-diagnosis and that is because of lack of training.



But then again.. the jails are full... and I know.. they all say they are innocent!



Good luck. I hope your able to find someone whom you can trust and help you when you need them.