Think the stealership is trying to screw me..
10-13-17, 11:08 AM
#1
Think the stealership is trying to screw me..
Long story short last Saturday my car was sputtering and i knew there was a only a couple potential problems that it could be..
My car only has 2 more months left on the extended warranty that I bought so of course I brought it to the dealership (woodland hills Lexus)
Turns out it was a MAF sensor and a MAF meter.
I've had at least a half a dozen issues with this car that would have cost me 2k-6k to fix....every time I've gone in there the diagnosis fee has always been the same. 2 months ago they had fixed a crack in my exhaust manifold and replaced all the valve lashes? Each time i've brought in my car I've only had to pay $150 MAX to have them diagnose the problem. Since all that what fixed 2 months ago...obviously there could only be very few possibilities as to what the problem could be.
They want to charge me $300 for the diagnosis, Even though I've had issues that have been far more complicated to diagnose it doesn't make sense as to why they're charging me twice the amount for something that should of been one of the first things tested.
Does any of this sound right to anyone? I also have the best warranty option too if that helps.
My car only has 2 more months left on the extended warranty that I bought so of course I brought it to the dealership (woodland hills Lexus)
Turns out it was a MAF sensor and a MAF meter.
I've had at least a half a dozen issues with this car that would have cost me 2k-6k to fix....every time I've gone in there the diagnosis fee has always been the same. 2 months ago they had fixed a crack in my exhaust manifold and replaced all the valve lashes? Each time i've brought in my car I've only had to pay $150 MAX to have them diagnose the problem. Since all that what fixed 2 months ago...obviously there could only be very few possibilities as to what the problem could be.
They want to charge me $300 for the diagnosis, Even though I've had issues that have been far more complicated to diagnose it doesn't make sense as to why they're charging me twice the amount for something that should of been one of the first things tested.
Does any of this sound right to anyone? I also have the best warranty option too if that helps.
10-13-17, 11:36 AM
#2
Forum Administrator
iTrader: (2)
Is this a Lexus warranty or aftermarket?
10-13-17, 11:39 AM
#3
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you but if you know what the issue is, why are you needing them to diagnose it?
Also, we know the dealership is a safe Haven for some people (and you have a warranty) but try not to run to the dealership for too many 'small' issues or things you can fix or repair yourself. Your case is slightly different since you do have warranty left. But things like this happen when you become too frequent of a customer at the dealership.....when all the work you're getting done is warranty work also. They want to make money off of you somehow and they are probably raising your diagnostic fee to slow down your warranty visits.... Just a wild guess though, lol.
V.
Also, we know the dealership is a safe Haven for some people (and you have a warranty) but try not to run to the dealership for too many 'small' issues or things you can fix or repair yourself. Your case is slightly different since you do have warranty left. But things like this happen when you become too frequent of a customer at the dealership.....when all the work you're getting done is warranty work also. They want to make money off of you somehow and they are probably raising your diagnostic fee to slow down your warranty visits.... Just a wild guess though, lol.
V.
10-13-17, 12:16 PM
#4
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you but if you know what the issue is, why are you needing them to diagnose it?
Also, we know the dealership is a safe Haven for some people (and you have a warranty) but try not to run to the dealership for too many 'small' issues or things you can fix or repair yourself. Your case is slightly different since you do have warranty left. But things like this happen when you become too frequent of a customer at the dealership.....when all the work you're getting done is warranty work also. They want to make money off of you somehow and they are probably raising your diagnostic fee to slow down your warranty visits.... Just a wild guess though, lol.
V.
Also, we know the dealership is a safe Haven for some people (and you have a warranty) but try not to run to the dealership for too many 'small' issues or things you can fix or repair yourself. Your case is slightly different since you do have warranty left. But things like this happen when you become too frequent of a customer at the dealership.....when all the work you're getting done is warranty work also. They want to make money off of you somehow and they are probably raising your diagnostic fee to slow down your warranty visits.... Just a wild guess though, lol.
V.
I ended up arguing with the manager for close to 30 minutes and he ended up saying "fine..i dont want to waste anymore time on this...we'll just do it for $150 but i never want to have this conversation again and if you bring your car into us in the future than you will agree to the diagnosis or we wont work on the car" I was like fine...im not taking it to you guys again and i will for sure not give you any of my business again in the future either!
10-13-17, 12:36 PM
#5
I didn't know what the issue was...i knew it could only be a couple issues. But, i also took it to the dealership because of my warranty and i didn't expect them to try and make more money off me because they've done so much for my car.
I ended up arguing with the manager for close to 30 minutes and he ended up saying "fine..i dont want to waste anymore time on this...we'll just do it for $150 but i never want to have this conversation again and if you bring your car into us in the future than you will agree to the diagnosis or we wont work on the car" I was like fine...im not taking it to you guys again and i will for sure not give you any of my business again in the future either!
I ended up arguing with the manager for close to 30 minutes and he ended up saying "fine..i dont want to waste anymore time on this...we'll just do it for $150 but i never want to have this conversation again and if you bring your car into us in the future than you will agree to the diagnosis or we wont work on the car" I was like fine...im not taking it to you guys again and i will for sure not give you any of my business again in the future either!
I seriously believe you've over done it with your warranty work/visits and they'd rather, unfortunately, lose you as a customer. Move on from them if that's the case....never want anyone working on your car that doesn't wanna work on it.
V.
10-13-17, 12:55 PM
#6
Driver School Candidate
V, why would they need to run him away, warranty work or not, the dealership gets paid. May be they simply assigned a marginal tech who couldn't ID the problem within an hour, hence the 2x charge. One of the very best tech there left a year or so ago. And sometimes the diagnosis charge depends on the relationship with the service writer.
10-13-17, 01:05 PM
#7
V, why would they need to run him away, warranty work or not, the dealership gets paid. May be they simply assigned a marginal tech who couldn't ID the problem within an hour, hence the 2x charge. One of the very best tech there left a year or so ago. And sometimes the diagnosis charge depends on the relationship with the service writer.
And it's quite clear by the 30 min conversation he had with the manager and what the manager last statement was. He posted in another thread the crazy amount of times he's been there in the past few months. Over extended his stay, IN MY OPINION. Of course I could be wrong. But at least get some work done where he pays them....keeps the relationship good with your dealership....instead of wanting free work Everytime you show up. Then arguing over $150 almost proves the point in itself....
And again, I know that's what warranty's are for! Just saying, do what you can to keep the relationship good with your dealer otherwise he ends up where he is now.... looking for another dealership to deal with.
V.
Trending Topics
10-13-17, 01:12 PM
#8
V, why would they need to run him away, warranty work or not, the dealership gets paid. May be they simply assigned a marginal tech who couldn't ID the problem within an hour, hence the 2x charge. One of the very best tech there left a year or so ago. And sometimes the diagnosis charge depends on the relationship with the service writer.
Just because its "warranty work" does not mean that the dealership doesn't get paid. It just means that Lexus Corp themselves (NOT the dealership) is paying, instead of the costumer.
Its an aftermarket warranty? That means the dealership usually has to call it in (to the warranty company) to get it approved. but the dealership STILL gets paid by the aftermarket warranty company.
Sounds like you just need to be upfront with the service writer and find out why this diagnostic is more compared to your other visits.
Good luck!
Typically the only person that gets screwed on warranty work is the Technician working on the vehicle...
10-13-17, 02:46 PM
#9
Again, I totally know they get paid, lmao....but again, TRUST ME, it's much less than what they would normally get. Just how insurance/warranty companies work. I know the process all too well and have had plenty of co-workers complain about this very type situation PLENTY of times.....I'm not guessing here, speaking from experience. But again, may not be the case here, but just throwing it out there.
V.
V.
10-13-17, 08:27 PM
#13
Again, I totally know they get paid, lmao....but again, TRUST ME, it's much less than what they would normally get. Just how insurance/warranty companies work. I know the process all too well and have had plenty of co-workers complain about this very type situation PLENTY of times.....I'm not guessing here, speaking from experience. But again, may not be the case here, but just throwing it out there.
V.
V.
Sorry, definitely not accurate. They get paid retail market labor rate, whatever that is. They pay the same posted hourly shop labor rate that the dealer charges retail customer pay service clients. Although it changes per market, dealership, labor rate in Manhattan will be a lot more then middle of nowhere Oklahoma...
Dealers love warranty work, however theres only one bigger, more important customer to a dealership's service department then the warranty work paid for by factory and that is.... wait for it.... the sales department. A lot of times they'll even jack up the labor rate to the used car department just because the its the owners way of keeping a little more gross profit he doesn't have to pay commission on...
Warranty and internal work done by new and used car departments is one of the most profitable places of a dealership, and the highest margin.
10-15-17, 06:59 PM
#14
They get paid much less on warranty work, trust me.
And it's quite clear by the 30 min conversation he had with the manager and what the manager last statement was. He posted in another thread the crazy amount of times he's been there in the past few months. Over extended his stay, IN MY OPINION. Of course I could be wrong. But at least get some work done where he pays them....keeps the relationship good with your dealership....instead of wanting free work Everytime you show up. Then arguing over $150 almost proves the point in itself....
And again, I know that's what warranty's are for! Just saying, do what you can to keep the relationship good with your dealer otherwise he ends up where he is now.... looking for another dealership to deal with.
V.
And it's quite clear by the 30 min conversation he had with the manager and what the manager last statement was. He posted in another thread the crazy amount of times he's been there in the past few months. Over extended his stay, IN MY OPINION. Of course I could be wrong. But at least get some work done where he pays them....keeps the relationship good with your dealership....instead of wanting free work Everytime you show up. Then arguing over $150 almost proves the point in itself....
And again, I know that's what warranty's are for! Just saying, do what you can to keep the relationship good with your dealer otherwise he ends up where he is now.... looking for another dealership to deal with.
V.
10-15-17, 07:18 PM
#15
Sucks that dealers are basically operated 1) as cool as your service guy happens to be 2) as good as the ownership group that manages that dealer is. Seeing these posts makes me very grateful for our dealers here. They are cheaper than performance shops for installing upgrades usually. lol