jerjan

I just read a post about a one of our own Mustang guys who had a horrific experience at a dealer. It reminds me of several experiences I myself witnessed while working as service manager at Nissan/ Honda dealer in Southern California back in the 70s and 80s. I'll try to make them short so they don't read too long. Mechanics can be some of the worst offenders, then comes lot boys and service advisors. Don't get me wrong a lot of the guys that worked at our dealership were quality, I mean the best at what they did. But, there were several that absolutely sucked and unfortunately left their mark before they were found out and fired.......

1) We had an apprentice mechanic who forgot to put oil back in in a car that came in for a 1000 mile service. Boom! engine blew up in the parking lot. Dealer had to buy customer a brand new car. Lost customer. I wonder why?

2) Mechanic forgot to tighten front wheels after 12,000 mile brake inspect. Boom! Wheel fell off on test drive, totaled front end into concrete curb 3 blocks from shop. 5K later after repairs, customer was never satisfied. I wonder why?

3) Top mechanic in shop forgot to torque oil pan drain plug on 45K service. Boom! plug fell out at 75 mph, engine blew up 400 miles from shop. Customer was on vacation, dealer had to pay 5k for new engine from another dealer + rental car for 3 weeks. Lost customer. I wonder why?

4) Customer was personal friend of district service manager for Nissan. Brought car in for 15k service. Mechanic flat rated major service, customer had painted bolts all over car. picked up car and half the work was not done. bolts had not moved. mechanic fired, customer allowed us to redo service for free. Factory was notified, bad report filed on dealer. Customer was pissed never came back. I wonder why?

5) Every once and awhile mechanics would stay late to finish up some cars. One night at least two stayed late and were drinking beer. They got into a pissing match and a fight ensued with the lube guns. They both put needle tips on the guns. The needle tips could shoot lube grease like silly string about 50 feet. You could only imagine what all of the cars in shop looked like the next day with lube grease all over them. What a mess! Fortunately we were able to get the cars cleaned up before the shop opened. The customers never found out. If they had found out, what would have happened?

6) Lot boys test driving cars at lunch and running errands in customers cars. Several times lazy *** service advisors and mechanics would send lot boys out to get lunch for them with customers cars. Also service advisors would send lot boys out with brand new customer cars to test drive for noises. Cars would come back with a lot more miles than would be needed for a normal test drive. Cars like 300ZX turbos. ouch !!!!! If I was the customer I'd be pissed!!

7) Nissan decided to put clutch safety-start switches on their trucks: Mechanics were lazy and started trucks with one foot on clutch while standing outside of truck, they then took foot off clutch and the truck was in gear. Well, the trucks ran into the steel work benches and destroyed the front ends. Happened twice, two different mechanics, two completely pissed customers. **** Happens!

These are only a few things I can remember right now. So, I guess now that you have read this post you may be a little leery of taking your car in for service. I don't blame you! I will never take mine in to a dealer for little BS warranty items ever! It has to be something really big or my Stang will never get worked on by anyone other than me! Beware! Most dealers hire a lot of unqualified individuals that you would never allow to touch your car if you knew who they were!

Rt1Rebel

Thanks for that... I'm supposed to take my car in monday for the E-Brake cables... []

Any advice? I will take a mileage reading and make it obvious to them that I'm writing it down for reference.

blackout

I have a list of things that I need fixed, that cost money which are under warrenty. I hate going to dealers for work and won't leave my car there. I'm waiting for a day where I can wait all day and of course still check my mileage...

-Jeff

Apoptosis

Yea, thanks I am taking my car in for some TSB work before my xmas mods get here

But htink of it this way... If they screw up your car badly, you get a new car out it [sm=smiley20.gif]

mygt500

I really don't like dealers too! I go to custom places that have made a name for themselves unless it is warranty work then I have a problem! I do know a guy at the dealer ship that is the service manager and he insistes that hte car will be treated with utmost care and handling! I only hope after it is in the back and out of his hands that the techs and the lot boys don't get to excited and fu@$ thinfs up! Take care and always check mileage and ask that if you are staying at the dealership and the car needs to be test driven that you want to go with them! I have done it in the past and it works great!

Sprzout

I hear ya...I've had a run-in like that with 2 of the Saturn dealers here in San Diego county.

Engine in our 1998 Saturn SL2 siezed; oil was leaking out the tailpipe in a slow leak. We replaced it because my dad didn't want to buy a new car for my grandmother to drive (She's had problems with accidents before in her other cars).

We take it in to the dealer, they take a week and a half to get the new engine from somewhere and install it. We get the car back, and on the way out, less than a mi. from the dealership, the Check Engine light comes on. It's a brand new engine; there's no way the light should be coming back on.

Dealer checks it out, says, "We're sorry, the tech forgot to reconnect the O2 sensor."

"Ok, so, he checked it, and remapped the PCM, because that has to be done after a new engine's installed, seeing as how the airflow sensor and O2 sensors are critical to how the Saturn adjusts for timing for pollution control, right?"

"Uh...."

They go back in to the back and come back out 30 min. later, after remapping the PCM.

We then leave, driving the car on the freeway to take it back to my grandmother. On the way home, all of a sudden, we notice some whitish smoke and a huge cloud of fluid that comes spraying out of the bottom of the car. My dad pulls the car over, only to discover that the coolant has been dropped out of the radiator and thusly, the brand new motor.

It gets put back onto a flatbed to go BACK to the dealer, who THEN tells us, "Well, the hoses weren't on good; the tech wasn't able to tighten them down enough to get a good seal because the hose ends are old."

I knew the service advisor who was telling us this; I went to high school with him. I looked him in the eye and said, "Really? Willie, you really believe that? If that's the case, how come the hose clamp is still on the end of the hose that popped off of where it connected TO THE ENGINE BLOCK? Come on. It popped off because the mechanic didn't loosen up the hose clamp, push it on to where it went over the lip on the engine block, and then tighten the hose clamp on PAST that lip. In short, the mechanic didn't do his job right."

And he looks me in the eye and tries to tell me otherwise. I looked at him square in the eye and said, "Then I need a job application for a mechanic, because I can shovel out the bull**** just as good as these mechanics and do a half@$$ job too."

We get the car back home, and we notice that the radiator's plastic end tanks have been damaged. There's cracks in the end tanks caused where something (perhaps a hammer) hit them and cracked them. I know it was damage done when the techs were working on the car, because the damage was from underneath; the air dam that pushes air up around the radiator showed no signs of damage, and there's a frame brace that runs directly below where the damage was. The frame brace wasn't damaged at all; I wonder how the damage could have occurred? HMMM...

The Better Business Bureau got called on this one, but I'm leery of taking cars in to the dealership anymore, and those incidents on the '98 SL2 were what prompted me to trade in my 2002 Saturn to get the Mustang. It's also why I will NEVER buy another Saturn vehicle.

But...sometimes, you just have to get your car in to the dealerships for things to be repaired. You have a recall, most local yokel mechanics I know won't repair them; they send you to the dealership.

mygt500

It's true there might be times when you HAVE to go in to the dealership but I will avoid it as much as I can!

lmunz22

Always write down the mileage and how much gas you have left on a Post-it and stick it to the steering wheel. It helps them get the idea.

jerjan

Oh, a couple more interesting little items. I had to fire a mechanic who was quite the practical joker. One summer he found a used diaper on the floor of one of the cars that came in. It was about 95 degrees that day, The car had been locked up in the sun for several hours, you could imagine the stink. So he proceeded to stuff the diaper up under the dash into the heater box after he worked on the car. That was his little way of getting even. On another car, the customer left a disposable camera on the seat, He took the camera into the restroom, dropped his pants and snapped a picture of his privates then put the camera back into the car. You can see why he got fired. I'll post any more little tidbits as they come back to my memory.

Stooge

Another reason to do your own work. And for any warrentee work, diagnose the problem yourself, tell the Service Writer exactly what to do and NEVER leave your for work.