Don’t get talked into unnecessary car repairs

With the economic crisis taking a toll on new car sales, you might need to be even more vigilant for car repair and maintenance schemes, as two recent cases demonstrate.

In one example, a New York area Ford dealer tried to sell one of our staffers hundreds of dollars in unnecessary repairs, claiming that his Ford Explorer would not otherwise pass state inspection.

When our knowledgeable reporter brought the incident to the attention of the service manager, the manager acknowledged that the fixes were not needed. He said that had our reporter authorized them instead of raising questions, he would have nonetheless checked the technician’s assessment and notified our reporter that the work, including tire and brake replacement, was not required for the vehicle to pass inspection.

“I do it all the time,” he said. Yeah, right.

In another case, a Toyota dealer wanted to charge a Prius owner more than $500 for 30,000-mile service. In additional to all those basic inspections that a repair shop should do anyway when servicing a car, the vehicle owner’s manual details just four items: oil change, tire rotation, and replacement of the engine and cabin air filters. Figure maybe $100. Just as bad, the dealer insisted that the work had to be done by a dealer in order to maintain the vehicle warranty. Wrong. A second dealer wanted to throw in a transmission fluid change for $189.

The bottom line? Don’t just blindly agree to do whatever a repair shop says. If you’re not knowledgeable about the basics of auto repair and maintenance, check with a friend or family member, especially if there’s even a hint that the work may not be necessary.

And when it comes maintenance, don’t mention the 30,000-mile, 60,000-mile, or any other mileage-interval service. Instead, determine the procedures your owner’s manual recommends and find out how much a repair shop charges to do those items you can’t do yourself. Surely, you don’t need to pay hundreds for someone to make sure your door hinges are greased and your lights are working. And don’t forget to comparison shop.

This article from the Consumer Reports Money Adviser offers additional advice on how to avoid car repair rip offs.—Anthony Giorgianni

Comments

[Gene]

I like my 2006 Toyota Sienna. At 18,000 miles though, when I brought it in for an oil change, they said Toyota requires that the air induction be cleaned for some $150.00. I declined. Then at 22,000 miles, that same Toyota Dealer said the fuel injection needs to be cleaned at a price of $75.00. At 30,000 the cabin filter and air cleaner needs to be changed. But when I brought in in for an oil change, I said I would change both of those myself. The Toyota repair said the cabin filter is very difficult to change and takes about one hour. That if I were not careful, I could break the glove compartment which will then be very expensive to repair. I said I will take care of it. Before you know it while changing my oil, the mechanic comes into the waiting area holding both my air filter and cabin filter stating, "see just how dirty they are?" I asked him just what part of "I will change them myself do you not understand?" The Cabin Filter took me one minute with no problem I could see with the glove compartment. Air Filter took 5 minutes. I can only imagine that the Toyota mechanic does not know how to change the cabin filter, or that Toyota wants to scam people. Oh, I filed a formal report with Toyota corporate headquarters and never heard a thing.

[Michael Thomas]

Took my 2005 GMC Canyon in to the dealer as the Check Engine light came on. Was told it was necessary to clean my injectors as it read a carbon buildup error. I declined, at which time they said the charge would be $90 to read the code! This was half of the charge to have them "complete" the service and essentially spray injector (special "factory stuff") cleaner directly into the throttle body.

In addition to that service, I opted to get the oil change (mostly for convenience to me) and it was pretty reasonable ($24.95). However, it came with over $900 in recommended repairs including full transmission flush, four new tires (2 of 4 are at tread wear indicator due to previous alignment issue), recommended brake service, and a couple of other small cost items I don't presently recall.

Had I been the nervous type, or like my wife a woman who doesn't want to take a chance, I would have been facing a bill of over $1300....most of it unecessary given the 80K miles on the truck!

I would love to have you publish some ratings on the little chip readers for consumers so they know what their car is saying BEFORE they choose a shop. I found out later that for less than $100 I could buy a chip reader for my truck that would then USB connect to my PC and tell me my error code. An online database gave me the same information my $90 in dealer charge would have...and now I own the chip!

[Mike]

I brought my 2005 Camry for oil change to the dealer. The service desk tried to sell me the following services - $60 to replace the cabin filter, $110 to flush the oil, $100 to clean the fuel injection and anoter $130 for 35k miles service (I have 33k miles on my car.) I declined all of them and told him just do the oil change. Geeez be careful out there ... a simple oil change can turn into a major maintenance expense... all unnecessary in my opinion.

[KC]

It's best if you can find an independent mechanic you trust, but that isn't going to happen overnight, it will take years to get that relationship. I bought a used Acura in 05 and when the transmission went out 3 months later I took it to the dealer for service under the warranty. They fixed the trans and then listed some other things that needed repair - a few hundred dollars worth. I said all I could afford at the time was the warranty work :). So next time I was at my mechanic for an oil change I had him look at the things Acura said was wrong. He checked it out and said they were just trying to make some extra money off of me. I've been using this mechanic since 2000 and I'd trust him over a dealership that sold me a car with a lousy transmission any day of the week. I won't be buying another Acura either because of the transmission, not because of the suggested but unnecessary work.

The way I found my mechanic was in the phone book - he specializes in care of Nissans, which is what I drove at that time. But when I started asking around town he had a sterling reputation, especially among some women I knew. I'm a librarian and a lot of other female librarians I worked with had their cars serviced there. Some of these women were single, others, like me, were married to someone with no knowledge of cars. So if you are looking for an honest mechanic you might check with women (especially librarians - LOL!). If the same name keeps coming up as someone they trust you might be on to something there.

[DL]

My local Mazda dealer has to be the best dealer for service on the planet. My old beater Mazda van wouldn't start one day, then we left on a trip for a couple of days (in our little Mazda3). The old beater van started up when we got back, so I drove it to the dealer for a check up. They kept it two days, and couldn't find anything wrong with it. No charge. They've patched up another old beater Mazda minivan for me once while the hubby was out of town and they didn't have the replacement part in stock--no charge. The mechanic will come out and listen to me describe weird noises or whatever. (We've had lots of Mazdas over three decades.) The dealer is extremely competitive on oil changes, tire rotations, new tires, etc. Jim K. is my mechanic in Bloomington, IL, and as long as he's around, I'm buying Mazdas from Sam Leman Mazda, and Jim will be working on my Mazdas. I don't work there. I just buy a couple of new Mazdas every 12 years or so. Not all dealers are scum. :D

[New Car Repair]

I have a 1997 Nissian Altima. I had the rear breaks replaced today. Pads only. the drums were not cut. When I got home I was smelling a burnt rubber smell. I drove some more and now I hear squeaking when moving from a stop. The smell seems to be gone.. Please let me know what you think the trouble is.

Rose.

[Terri]

I have my oil changed at a Firestone that is conveniently located near my office. After each service they always have a list of recomendations. What bothers me is that when they recomend repair of two problems, and both problems require removal and replacement of the same parts, they will charge you twice for the removal and replacement of the parts they only remove and replace once.

[Bob M.]

So specifically what do you have to do in order to change the cabin air filter in a 2006 Honda Accord? Gene said it took him about a minute on his 2006 Toyota Sienna.

I have not been able to find out any procedures for this, and the dealer makes it sound so difficult stating that the entire glove compartment has to come out in order to reach the filter. Anyone have any comments on this? Thanks in advance.

Bob