Yeah, none of that surprises me. I once brought a Saab turbo into the dealer with a turbo problem: the turbo was only generating about half its normal boost pressure, as evident by the dashboard gauge and by the anemic sense of acceleration. After a day of diagnosis, the mechanic told me everything was working exactly as it should, that if I ever experienced more boost in the past, it was a malfunction. After a test drive together with him and my continued insistence, he switched to claiming the big expensive direct ignition cassette on top of the engine needed to be replaced, and he just so happened to know someone who would sell me a used one on the side. Unbelievable. I must have spent an hour and a half pleading with this guy for a more reasonable diagnosis and course of action. And this is at a well-respected, community-focused local dealership in a small town.I'm guilty of that. I am not a mechanic but know enough as a DIY'er to see when a mechanic completely blows it. Just from memory:There appears to be a lot of hate or dislike for dealership service departments. I use the dealership and they appear to have done well by my cars. My cars have run well. I wouldn’t know how to evaluate an independent shop.
Car had a hard metal ticking noise. Periodic on/off for a while then on. Dealer said it was a loose caliper bolt. Drove it and noise still there. I diagnosed further. It was an unsecured pinion pin in the rear end and the pin was clacking back and fourth.
Car in for "service". Tire rotation of directional snow tires, 2 tires faced forward after rotation, 2 faced back.
Car in for "service". We later swapped from winter to summer wheels. Lug nuts were so over torqued that 2 broke and had to be replaced. Car was less than a year old.
I now only bring my cars to our local independent if I either don't want to do it myself or can't.
I finally got an appointment with the former service manager at the same dealership, who was then working out of his own garage out in the sticks. As I drove up to his house on his long driveway, the mechanic walked out of his garage to meet me. Before I could even get out of the car he came up to my door and said, "sounds like you've got a bad turbo." He went in, grabbed a stethoscope, pointed it at the turbo unit and confirmed the diagnosis. Less than 5 minutes. When I got it back, he told me it ran like a rocket! (And it did.)
Oh, and the independent guy knew the dealer's mechanic who worked on my car and told me how surprised he was — because that guy was actually one of the best ones left there. He couldn't believe the attempt at a side deal for parts.
Statistics: Posted by iceport — Tue Mar 05, 2024 5:55 pm — Replies 20 — Views 1101