W5: An undercover probe of Canadian garages
 

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories...chanic-110409/

discuss.

Something similar was done here at can tire. They too failed at noticing the real issues but offered a lot of unnecessary work.
Doesn't surprise me one bit.
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that's effed. i prob get ripped all the time then ...

These people should be punished... most likely by life altering beatings that will assure they can never work again.

I firmly believe this. I hate scammers and liars.

we own the family toyota for 10yrs now & its always been at open-road toyota for service as my dad trusts the dealer more then outsiders as they could possible scam u, also its easier to file a complain if its at the dealership even though the dealership might cost a little more

The time it actually takes to do something via book-rate has no merit on what should actually be charged if the time involved is less than what is formally noted. If you're charged less, take it as a kind gesture.

15mins to change sparkplugs =/= you pay for 15 mins of labour.

Going over book time, however...really depends on what complications were involved.

Otherwise, I'm not down with the (excessive) scamming.

i wish they do a survey in vancouver

So many different services are like this, it's not just the auto industry.

how a little knowledge of cars can save big money guys

learn stuff about your own cars so you don't get ripped off as hard ;)

Shops can get away with it all the time because the average person doesnt know that much about cars. If a mechanic tells a customer who doesnt know much about cars there's a good chance of something going wrong if you dont get something fixed, they will usually get it fixed.

Stick with a mechanic you can trust.

I will say this. I have seen the reports given by other shops, to some customers, and I can only shake my head and wonder "What the fuck."

Here's a good one for you guys. This came in about 2 years ago.
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Customer went to a shop in the west end with driveability/rough running issues on her van. The shop did some "diagnosis" and told her the engine was "done" (engine had 110k kms on it). They recommended replacing the engine. She didn't like that quote of $5000 work on the van.

Next day, she came to the shop I work at with the repair order/estimate and asked us to check it out. I checked the van out, did about 5 minutes of testing and found the PCV valve to be faulty. We replaced the PCV valve for a total cost of $14. The van ran perfectly, flew through aircare, etc. afterwards.
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What I'm trying to say is that yes, there are shops that will try to screw you over, and yes, there are shops that may not track down the simple problems because they overlook the simplest things first. Small businesses rely on repeat customers. Customer loyalty is what keeps us alive. We get dealership refugees all the time.

Places like Canadian Tire don't rely on repeat business, as they're the "big name" in auto repair, and will have numerous walk-ins. As a result, they don't necessarily worry about the customer ever coming back. Sad but true.

PS. The customer with the van is now a regular customer who has services/repairs done regularly at our shop.

^ you mean yourself? xD

honestly ya.. i know what you mean, but I even got scammed by like a mechanic that was a "family" aquintance =.= sigh,,

nope, women. I've had the same mechanic for close to 10 years.

how did they scam you?

Every few years, they come up with this story, and every few years we say, suckers get taken.
Nothing changes.

Should do one here godamn

This is not exclusive to car industry if you think about it. Walk into any electronics retailer and if you're not knowledgeable about the products, you're going to get taken for a ride. You bet they'll sell you somthing that has a higher commision rate than the product that would actually suit you better according to your needs.

This is not that different than sales people up-selling you and telling you to buy some more ink with that printer or a extended warranty for 60% of the product's value. Stuff you don't need.

Not saying that this is moral for the shops to do, but this happens all the time, everywhere.

Buyer beware.

These shop managers and workers are usually not the problem. You bet head office is breathing down their necks come monthly/quarterly reports. Head office won't say "sell them shit they don't need", but they imply it with that firm grip on the manager's balls.

Shops do this, but dealership service deparents take it to the next level. They'll say things like if you don't do this, your warranty gets voided. I personally can't wait till electric vehicles storm the world as they need only battery, tires, and suspension services!
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There are very few in the automechanic industry who aren't incompetent.

ya it happens all the time. An accquaintance works at one of those shops and knowingly does this to make a quick buck

What shop?

Unfortunately, a simple screwup or misdiagnosis doesn't make for good TV the way a deliberate scam does, so you'll rarely see reports like this take Hanlon's razor into account, which is: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

Also unfortunately, those who are likely to get scammed, are just as likely to get screwed by mistake. There are so many simple, little things - like a bad PCV valve - that can be easily mistaken for bigger, more severe problems by someone who either isn't knowledgeable, or isn't taking just a few extra seconds to actually THINK about the problem.

And most unfortunately, I think a lot of that comes down to guys who are only learning to plug a computer into the car and wait for the car to tell them what's wrong... instead of really learning how an engine works first (and even with all the advanced electronics these days, the actual function of a car engine is not that much more complicated than your average lawnmower motor).

I'm going to be changing my own oil for the first time when exams are over...

any tips?
where is the cheapest place to get good oil?

Its a service industry no matter what car, computer, or home service you need. Its hard to make everyone happy, because when doing service there are too many scenario's to go by.
When you are in a industry that requires troubleshooting its hard since the customer doesnt want to pay "x" amount of hours in labor to diagnose an issue but not all issues can be solved in 10 minutes. So when you have someone come in saying I need this fixed but dont have a lot of money, its just tough because you obviously want to help everyone that comes in the door.

I work in the computer industry and trust me its tough competing with the other bigger companies out there. But the difference between me and the bigger stores are I take care of my customers till the end, always making sure they are happy with my service. Something as small as calling the customer back after a service to make sure they are happy goes a long way.

Me, myself I'm not that knowlegable technically with cars. So when it comes to service I make sure I ask lots of questions and see if there are any red flags. Not only that but also googling you issue before going to a shop helps out lots too..

One of the biggest factors I looked at was TRUST when i looked for a shop to take care of my car. You may have to look around at a couple shops before you find the right when. But when you do, hope and do what you can to ensure that they stay in business for a long time.

Its like having a girlfriend...if you can't trust them then dont even bother