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Getting played by a Dealership... Opinions?

3K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  Smokin6-0 
#1 ·
So i took the truck in my sig in to get new tires yesterday and later that afternoon we get a call from the dealership saying I need tyerods all the way around, drag link array, front shackle spring bushings in the front, a new belt (i knew that), and new belt tensioner. Now they want about $2000.00 to do all this work and yet what Im wondering is why did they find this stuff when all they were supposed to do is putt tires on. I feel like they looked for things that were wrong on purpose and are maybe just playing this stuff up as being bad. Not only does the truck ride just fine, there is no uneven wear on the tires (they said there was), and a mechanic that I had check it out before I bought it didnt mention any of this. Any opinions?
 
#2 ·
I kinda think they are lookin for work. Everyone is hurtin for work/money. Not to mention i wouldnt have the dealership do any of that work anyways. If you really are worried about it, have a good mechanic check it out if you cant yourself. Just my .02
 
#3 ·
Thanks Smokey thats what I was thinking too. I have to friends who are mechanics and a diesel shop behind my house so I can get some other opinions.
 
#4 ·
:whs:

Get a second opinion and if you need to replace tie rod ends or ball joints and you are mechanically inclined then you can do it yourself. It really isn't that technical. Can be difficult but not technical. You would just need to get an allignment afterwards.
 
#5 ·
Tell them thank you very much for the info, but just do the tires.

You can replace all that other stuff for one fourth what they want, or even less than that.

Tensioner & belt will take only about 15 minutes tops.
I just replaced the drag link assembly on my truck. It took more time to put the Moog parts together than it did to put the assembed drag link on the truck. Less than an hour total for a parts cost total of less than $200 at Advance.
 
#29 ·
:whs:

Got a call from the father in law last night. He's got a 2002 Expd. with a 5.4L gas( :pointlaugh: ). He tells me that he's getting a "shake" at idle, power is down and there's a CEL. Told him it sounds like either a bad plug or bad coil and I'll look at it tomorrow (today) after I get off work. Say's he's taking to his local dealer in the early morning to have them look at it cause he's leaving Saturday night and I won't have time to look at it for him before he leaves.

Just got off the phone with him, turns out that he had a bad spark plug and coil (#6) so he had them change the coil (only the bad one) and all 8 plugs. They had the truck for 2 and a half hours......and charged him $961:doh::doh::doh:

On Edit: His invoice says that they charged him $89 for the coil and $9 for each plug....the rest was "labor".
 
#7 ·
Tell them to just take care of what you brought it in for in the first place, and put everthing else THEY want to do in writting, then take that to your mech. and go from there, I would not let my local stealership change a light bulb

Roy
 
#8 ·
Maybe the dealer is trying to do you a service by making you aware of needed service.... I am a service dept manager at a boat dealer and do the same thing for my customers. Everybody thinks they are a expert and the dealer is out to screw them, if customers know it all then fix the crap yourself.
 
#9 ·
and don't bring it to me with six lug nuts missing and tell me you "take impeccable care of [your truck]"
did that one Friday..
6 of 32 lug nuts missing, right front wheel bearing howling like a banshee, and headlight lenses so cloudy we couldn't tell if the lights worked or not..
his "mechanic" had "checked it all over" earlier in the day and the "only thing wrong with it was the tires."

you actually expected them to not check stuff out at bare minimum to CYA?
all you have to do is say, "No thanks, I'm not interested right now."
We're big boys. We can take "no" for an answer.
We understand professional friendships, you may know someone who does it on the side, or for less overall.
We understand you might like to do it yourself.
We get it.

But don't pi$$ on our leg and say, "it's raining"
We do this for a living. We know better.
 
#10 ·
It's called a multi-point brutha. It's pretty much protocol at a dealership now, especially since your truck is already on a lift up in the air, they crawl all over the thing. Normally, they just want to make sure you are aware the these certain items will need some sort of P.M. in the near future. If nothing else, atleast you are somewhat aware {now}....afterall, you are thinking about it....were you before?
 
#12 ·
They are salesmen even in the service department. It's up to you to decide if you wanna do it or not. When you step foot on the lot they are gonna try to sell you a vehicle. When you step foot in the service department they are gonna try to sell you parts/service.

I brought my truck in to get the turbo replaced under warranty years ago and they told me I needed up-pipes too. I ended up doing the turbo myself after some arguing and voided warranties and did not need to replace the up-pipes at all. They were perfect. They are just trying to sell you parts in case you don't know better.

I have many insiders in the dealership game and have seen lots of scams. I will NEVER deal with a dealership again.
 
#17 ·
Yes I lied about the chip. But like I said i'm not pissed about the warranty being voided. It's a case of someone who didn't know these things were done previously who just got porked.

Also why would they offer a warranty on a vehicle that was "modified" then? I could've fought them over the Magnussen-Moss Act for the pinion seal but it wouldn't have been worth it.

What it comes down to is they sold a invalid warranty on a vehicle that the previous owner modified that you were unaware of. Say if a chip was installed by the previous owner and was removed before trading it in. What happens to the normal schmo who bought the truck? That doesn't sound f-ed up to you?
 
#19 ·
Alright everybody time to calm down. we all know there are some really dirty dealerships out there and then there are some that do honest work. I just wanted to know if what the dealership in question was doing was routine and if I should be worried or not. It turns out my tie rods are actually fine but I do have a cracked rotor (I have no idea how they didnt see that when they were putting tires on).
 
#21 ·
The stuff they mentioned are kinda problem areas on TTB trucks, even a little play can cause loose steering... just make a note to check that stuff once in a while... at least they didnt take it upon then selves to change all the stuff out without your permission and then try and charge you for it like a place did to my dad.
 
#25 ·
This is a great example of why buying an extended warranty a rip off.
I will never ever buy one again for what they cost you can buy a lot of parts and do the work yourself. Plus you dont have to fight with some jackass service manager like in most of the ford shops around here.
 
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