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boxster7614 · 08-25-2012, 10:26 PM

Not Porsche but my brother-in-law, who is a special education teacher, went to have his oil changed and a seat belt fixed that was broken on his 4x4 blazer at 62,000 miles. He told me they asked him if he would like to have all his fluids changed. He doesn't really know much about cars but responded "yeah sure I guess". About five hours later they called him "you can pick up your car its going to be $1600". At this point he freaked out and asked what did they do? He then called me and asked if I would go in with him to check it out.

Turns out they changed every thing they could possibly find that they could change. Any and everything listed on the 60,000 mile service manual or anything that was to be done when ever "recommended by inspection" . 1st off $200 was for fixing the seat belt. (1hr labor and part) which he was made aware of before hand. The rest was: changed oil and filter, filled washer fluid, changed air filter, fuel filter and complete fuel system flush, flushed brake fluid, flushed power steering fluid, changed front differential fluid & replaced seals, changed rear differential fluid and seals, flushed transmission replaced trans filter, flushed a/c lines and recharged fluid, flushed radiator and coolant, and replaced wiper blades. As a dealer courtesy they vacuumed it out. LOL

I spoke with the manager and I immediately got this strange vibe, from the start I felt like there was something off with this guy. When I asked him about the charges and why they didn't call my bro-in-law to ask if he wanted all of these services performed or inform him of the price he just said "well he said to change all the fluids, this is what we recommend at 60,000 miles" they had his signature on the ticket. I pulled out the 60,000 mile service guide from the glove box and asked him to show me where all this was necessary. He replied with "the rest is recommended upon dealer inspection". I told him that I felt like they had taken advantage of my bro for not knowing anything about cars. At this point I got sarcastic and asked why they had not replaced the headlight bulbs or changed the air in the tires? He then got really upset with me and started dropping F bombs, screaming, yelling and verbally personally attacking me. He then came around the counter like he was going to punch me however one of the service guys grabbed him.

Wow this is how you handle upset customers, you jump over the counter to punch them? This guy knew he had taken advantage of my bro and was upset that I had calling him out on it.

There wasn't much we could do at this point, My brother-in-law needed the car the next day and didn't have time to fight it. He just ended up having to put it on his credit card and make pmts. He started out thinking this was going to be around $300 ......was completely shocked when he got the call for $1600. Never had any idea what he was getting into when they said "all" the fluids. He didn't even know what most of those thing were let alone that they had fluid in them.

Now did changing all this fluids hurt? No, I am an advocate for maintenance but not preparing someone for the cost or talking them into it when it really isn't necessary at the time so they can turn a profit. I know dealers are in business to make a profit but "making a profit" shouldn't been done by taking advantage of someone because they are not intelligent about mechanics.

08-25-2012, 10:26 PM	#12
boxster7614 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: utah Posts: 96	Not Porsche but my brother-in-law, who is a special education teacher, went to have his oil changed and a seat belt fixed that was broken on his 4x4 blazer at 62,000 miles. He told me they asked him if he would like to have all his fluids changed. He doesn't really know much about cars but responded "yeah sure I guess". About five hours later they called him "you can pick up your car its going to be $1600". At this point he freaked out and asked what did they do? He then called me and asked if I would go in with him to check it out. Turns out they changed every thing they could possibly find that they could change. Any and everything listed on the 60,000 mile service manual or anything that was to be done when ever "recommended by inspection" . 1st off $200 was for fixing the seat belt. (1hr labor and part) which he was made aware of before hand. The rest was: changed oil and filter, filled washer fluid, changed air filter, fuel filter and complete fuel system flush, flushed brake fluid, flushed power steering fluid, changed front differential fluid & replaced seals, changed rear differential fluid and seals, flushed transmission replaced trans filter, flushed a/c lines and recharged fluid, flushed radiator and coolant, and replaced wiper blades. As a dealer courtesy they vacuumed it out. LOL I spoke with the manager and I immediately got this strange vibe, from the start I felt like there was something off with this guy. When I asked him about the charges and why they didn't call my bro-in-law to ask if he wanted all of these services performed or inform him of the price he just said "well he said to change all the fluids, this is what we recommend at 60,000 miles" they had his signature on the ticket. I pulled out the 60,000 mile service guide from the glove box and asked him to show me where all this was necessary. He replied with "the rest is recommended upon dealer inspection". I told him that I felt like they had taken advantage of my bro for not knowing anything about cars. At this point I got sarcastic and asked why they had not replaced the headlight bulbs or changed the air in the tires? He then got really upset with me and started dropping F bombs, screaming, yelling and verbally personally attacking me. He then came around the counter like he was going to punch me however one of the service guys grabbed him. Wow this is how you handle upset customers, you jump over the counter to punch them? This guy knew he had taken advantage of my bro and was upset that I had calling him out on it. There wasn't much we could do at this point, My brother-in-law needed the car the next day and didn't have time to fight it. He just ended up having to put it on his credit card and make pmts. He started out thinking this was going to be around $300 ......was completely shocked when he got the call for $1600. Never had any idea what he was getting into when they said "all" the fluids. He didn't even know what most of those thing were let alone that they had fluid in them. Now did changing all this fluids hurt? No, I am an advocate for maintenance but not preparing someone for the cost or talking them into it when it really isn't necessary at the time so they can turn a profit. I know dealers are in business to make a profit but "making a profit" shouldn't been done by taking advantage of someone because they are not intelligent about mechanics.