Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozz
A couple stories....
Took my wife's Q3 in for (first) annual service last year. We did the Prepaid Maintenance, so this should be a "free" service.... They called and told us the same thing ..."screw in tread, too close to sidewall to patch". We never noticed any air leakage or anything but since there is lots of construction in our area, figured it was plausible.....about $300 for new tire! Road hazard warranty on tires was the only one we didn't buy for the car.
Took my Honda Pilot in for 105,000 mileage maintenance last fall....timing belt, plugs, etc...the works. About $2000 or so in total....Tech Advisor calls me to tell me I have a small oil leak...labor to replace gaskets is normally $1200, but since they have the car pulled apart anyway, it will be $600 plus the gaskets ($100-200).
I have never seen a drop of oil on our driveway (new driveway, brushed concrete) nor am I ever low on oil when I check it....
Told the guy no thanks....
It seems to me that I consistently get an estimate for the service, but there is always a call that wants to add $300 to $1000 to the original number. I just get the feeling I am getting played somehow.....car is already in the shop, and they figure my time is worth more than a couple hundred bucks. 
These two incidents rub me the wrong way about mechanics |
I'm also inclined to think they all up sell and overcharge but you can occasionally be surprised. I've never used a mechanic for anything but will pay for body work if needed. Anyway I have Dodge truck that had an airbag recall so I scheduled that as there is no way they'll just give you the parts and dropped it off at a dealer in St Louis when we lived there. It has 160,000 miles although it still looks good and I have done 100% of the work/maintenance other than body work when it got hailed. They drove over a bay for inspection while offering coffee and donuts and at least three people were picking at it plus cameras. In less than five minutes they gave me the inspection results which were 100% accurate, at least they pointed out all of the things I knew were there and made up nothing. They stated the rubber on the ball joints and rod ends was starting to fail as I knew it was and offered that the transmission fluid looked a bit dark but not bad.
No idea what they would have charged but if I needed to use a mechanic I'd go back.