Lying Dealer Service Department

Had the brakes on my 2014 Touring worked on today by the dealer. They definitely needed to be done and the easiest...not the cheapest I'm sure...way at this point was to have the dealer do them. Car was picked up at my house...that was nice...and taken to the dealer. Service Advisor called to discuss what I wanted done with the brakes and he ran down the list of other things that they thought needed to be done. First on the list was "the oil level on the dipstick is dangerously low". A flat out lie! I had driven 170 miles yesterday and decided to check the oil level since it had been about a month since I last changed the oil. Level was checked after the car sat for about 5 minutes so oil was still warm. The level on the dipstick was just below the center line between the Fill and Full marks. I added about a 1/4 of a quart to bring the level up to be right between the marks. Probably not absolutely necessary but I wanted to be safe instead of sorry since I'm towing a trailer this weekend. So there was no way that "the oil level on the dipstick was dangerously low"! I explained this to the SA and he moved on to other items and I declined each of them right away and he gave up in mid list since he could tell I wasn't going to be having any other work done.

I know the dealers have to make a profit but it really chaps my hide to be flat out lied to for them to try to make a buck! From my previous dealings with this dealer's service department, and this SA, I had felt that they were about average as far as how they treated the customer. Now I'm thinking that I was giving them more credit than was due. Guess it's time to find another place to have work that I can't or don't want to do performed.
Sorry...rant over...
Bill
 
Outside of used cars, the service department makes the most money for a dealership. I don't even have a problem with them making as much money as possible, but I hate the lying or Deceit by omission. If there's something that is 99.78% operational, I don't want them telling me I have a huge problem somewhere. While nobody's thrilled with auto mechanics, how come we don't get quite that same frustration of being lied to at independent shops. Oh, and don't even get me started on Firestone, they must really be paid on commission
 
I'm curious about the oil level item. I would think if they added a few ounces of oil it wouldn't be that expensive. Or, maybe they would just say they topped it off but actually did nothing.
 
I agree with you 100% I understand they are in business to make money and I have no problem taking my car in for service except when they lie to your face about unnecessary work to make extra money. It's sad there's no oversight in this line of work to protect consumers. Only recourse is to bring to media and hope they'll run a story. Very sad and frustrating..
 
Agree with SW. Bring it to the media, complain to Mazda Corp, then find a different shop. It sucks, but this is the typical experience a lot of people have. It's a stereotype to expect that a dealership will try to scam you in one way or another, but it happens so often that it can't be ignored.

I really wish something more could be done about it.
 
There are if course penalties for fraud but it's probably hard to prove.
Too bad mechanics aren't licensed and truly professional. It's like a tradition from the days of horse trading to cheat.
 
A mazda dealer here in Dallas Ft Worth has a bunch of dirty cabin filters that the SA keeps under his desk. He brings it out and shows it to customers - I had changed mine 6-8K miles ago and he bought the dirty one for me as well. Oh sigh. I switched to Toyota dealer here in Dallas. Have done my 2nd car's brakes with him. He gave me a no charge OC when I got my car and my own oil - he got the oil filter though but did not charge me for any labor. I trust him.
Btw the rear brake TSB on my Mazda was a disappointment as well. Both Mazda and the dealer were bad. But hey I got new rear pads.

The 2.5NA is easy enough to service - take it to any brand dealer. My Scion tC was serviced at a Jeep dealer as it was .3 miles away.
 
Oh...on top of lying to me about the oil level, the car now has a pretty bad vibration that wasn't there before they worked on it. Maybe a wheel weight got knocked off? Hoping that that's all it is. Will have the wheels balanced tomorrow and hopefully that will solve the vibration. If it doesn't, could something with brake work lead to a vibration?
Bill
 
Oh...on top of lying to me about the oil level, the car now has a pretty bad vibration that wasn't there before they worked on it. Maybe a wheel weight got knocked off? Hoping that that's all it is. Will have the wheels balanced tomorrow and hopefully that will solve the vibration. If it doesn't, could something with brake work lead to a vibration?
Bill

could be a couple of different things. I’m guessing they need to be rebalanced. Sometimes a tire rotation makes vibrations crop up or go away.

The lugnuts being put on too tight with an impact wrench could do it too. Too tight can cause a warped rotor. Ask me how I know, lol. I don’t even trust dealerships to do tire rotations anymore after they zapped my old odyssey wheels on way above spec. Removing and reinstalling my lugnuts to the proper torque alone got my vibration to go away on that vehicle.
 
The lugnuts being put on too tight with an impact wrench could do it too. Too tight can cause a warped rotor. Ask me how I know, lol. I don’t even trust dealerships to do tire rotations anymore after they zapped my old odyssey wheels on way above spec. Removing and reinstalling my lugnuts to the proper torque alone got my vibration to go away on that vehicle.
Sounds familiar. I've been down that road as well.
Rookies with their impact wrenches set to max. Drives me nuts.
Anytime I've had my vehicles in for service (dealer, indie, whatever) and the wheels were off, the first thing I do when I get back home is loosen and retighten the lug nuts.
They are always too tight. Some of them so bad I had to use a break bar to get them loose.
 
Vibration is gone! Could have been the lug nuts were too tight because the tech who did the balance today said that the wheels were not that much out of balance. I'll loosen and then retighten the lugs tonight to be sure.
Bill
 
I always assume they are lying... or exaggerating.
Leak, cracked belt, sticky intake, dirty filter, etc. you name it.

Replacing pads could cost from $221 to $530 at Mazda dealers around where I live.
You just need to watch your wallet carefully.
Oh, please never go for the 15k, 30k miles services unless you don't mind spending more than necessary.
 
Oh, please never go for the 15k, 30k miles services unless you don't mind spending more than necessary.

Yeah, at $300 to $600 you'll never recoup that in "catching something wrong before it causes more damage" That's like the Air Conditioning companies here in Phoenix telling you to replace your 10-15 year old AC unit because it's useful life is almost over and you don't want to be without AC in the summer. (true, but most AC companies will repair or replace within 2 day - spend a day in a hotel if you have to) It's ridiculous to spend $6,000 to replace something that is still working.
 
It's ridiculous to spend $6,000 to replace something that is still working.
Ya, I tend to think that way with pretty much every big ticket item.
Replacing things like an appliance because it's 15 years old and you want a stainless steel finish instead of white is hard to justify in my mind.
Also have to agree that most big ticket items are readily available on short notice.
I had my furnace replaced 19 years ago on one days wait.
If my microwave dies, there's plenty of them down the street at Home Depot.
As for cars, you can buy one anywhere, anytime. No rush.
 
It's not too hard to understand the motivation behind some dealers' tactics.

They sell new cars and make a commission on each sale.
 
I tend to think that the profit margins are not that high on the actual car sales.
It's all the other stuff that makes money: add-ons, accessories, financing and service.
They are especially profitable with the upsell in service they attempt, and are quite successful at.
My father in law used to fall for every upsell when he took his Buick in to the dealership.
Filters, wipers, brake service, rad flushes, engine wash, fresh air in the tires.....
You name it, he went for it.
They saw him coming from miles away.
 
The biggest profit center for dealers is the service department.

In order of profitability, from most to least:
1. Service
2. Parts
3. Used Car Sales/Finance
4. New Car Sales/Finance
 
I've got a dishonest dealer story to share, though not related to Mazda. I had an 2004 Mustang SVT Cobra. ALT light was coming on periodically. After visiting an SVT forum, learned that failed alternators weren't uncommon. Removed mine, took it to a shop, had it rebuilt, re-installed it but the issue remained. The new alternator appeared to be overcharging when I measured the voltage after installing. Long story short, I tried another rebuild shop, said they had installed the wrong diode, they installed the proper one, re-installed it and still had the same overcharging issue! I finally decided to take it to my local Ford dealer. However....before I took it there, I popped the fuse box cover in the engine bay to have a look. I noted there was one fuse that had a glowing LED. Didn't think much about it, and took it to Ford. Dealer called me a little while later to inform me it was the Alternator and that they recommended replacing it. I explained to them that I had done that. They insisted, so I said ok.

Time went by without a call back, so I called them and they said they were doing some final testing. A while later I got a call to come get the car. I picked the car up and took it home. I popped the hood to check things out, and also popped the fuse box lid. Much to my surprise....no more glowing LED on the one fuse. There was ZERO mention of them replacing the fuse when I picked up the car. Now understood why it took so long; after they replaced the alternator and it didn't fix the issue....they had to dig deeper into the problem!

As it turned out the issue was the fuse; it had actually blown, and this particular fuse brand would light the LED when that happened. After discussing with the service mgr., I told him that I had argued against it being the alternator. After calling them on their deception, they agreed to not charge the labour on the newly installed alternator. I agreed.

Had I not opened that fuse box again, I'd never been the wiser....exactly what they were hoping.
 
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