re: Car dealership service centers have officially jumped the shark

quote:

---

do it to perfectly keep my lifetime powertrain warranty valid. I take my car in twice a year for oil changes. Not that big of a deal to me. Ya'll act like you deal with dealerships every day or something.

---

I have the maintenance package on my truck thru Ford. I bring it to the dealership for service. I did buy tires through them because I had already priced tires thru Sam’s and they actually had a better deal. They’ve yet to give me any issue taking my vehicles in for service.

This is Banner Ford in Mandeville.

My wife’s old suburban( before we sold it) was similar in regards to what should be a 5 minute headlight replacement. Manufacturers obviously now design vehicles so that the previous simple task is now a pain in the arse for the average person. I watched a YouTube how to video and the 1st time is took about 1.5 hours. Had to get under the vehicle to remove a bolt to start the process. Detach the fender trim, detach the grill, etc.. just to get the bulb housing out to replace a bulb. I think I recall it being 19 bolts had to be taken off in several different areas starting under the vehicle. And all the bolts needed metric sockets which your typical household won’t have. Seems like it was metric #13 for most of the bolts. A couple might have been #11. When the passenger side bulb went out a few weeks later, I replaced it in 30 minutes.

The dealers bank on the probability that most people will say to hell with it and pay the $200+ they charge instead of learning how the process. Once you take the time to learn the process, it is a $15 and 30 minute job. I think it’s well worth it to learn how to change a bulb and not be a participant in their racket.I just remember when I started the job, I thought it would take 5 minutes like the old days. And then when I realized how they had
intentionally designed it so that it would be a pain in the arse, I was pissed and thinking “these mother frickers!”

A dealer mechanic once told me it is not how well you can do mechanic work.

It is how well you can write the story to get warranty and non warranty work sold.

He said they had a squeak in a dash. Under warranty he said it took 8 hrs to take the dash apart, replace a part, and replace the dash to fix the problem. Took him 5 minutes and a tube of black sealant he put against the part rubbing against another part.

He got an 8 hour job billed to warranty that took 5 minutes.

I only use dealership service departments for warranty work. My truck came with a free first oil change to try to get me to use them for regular maintenance. I passed and just went to my trustworthy local shop near my house and paid for it. I avoid dealership service departments at all costs.

I get nails in my tires pretty often and the Mexicans always just patch it up, never trying to upsell me. I've always figured it would go differently if I were a woman.

quote:

---

JEEZ! I cant wait for car dealerships to go away. They, like real estate agents, are useless.

---

Problem is they won’t go away. With all of the new safety systems, self driving, and EV/hybrid equipment, specialized computers and software are required. They’re ridiculously expensive and the small independent shops can’t afford them.

I quit going to dealership shops around 2010 when I was quoted 1100 to replace an O2 sensor. After my warranties end, I fo all the work myself or take it to an independent shop.