The following is a real letter about a real place. I have changed a few names in the unlikely event this dealer notices and plans to sue.
On August 9th I took in my 2013 Forester 2.5 to Erpenbac Subaru to have them look at the brakes because they were feeling "squidgy".
When Muriel McGee called me back at 11:30 she informed me of the costs for repairing the brakes would be $380, and that I needed to have the power steering flushed, $200. Additionally, she informed me that the Check Engine Light caused them to look deeper. She told me that my short block was blowing oil everywhere ($10,000) and that the cam carrier was also leaking oil ($3,000.)
She said these facts would be added to my carfax; and encouraged me to trade in the vehicle to them.
I asked if the warranty (60,000 miles or 6 yrs) would pay for any of the above repairs. Muriel said, "Well, we can try that, but your best option would be to pursue a trade in." They offered me $5k. I looked up carfax while on the phone and told Muriel the stated value was $10k to which she responded "Yeah, but we know the condition of the car."
I was suspicious because I have never seen the check engine light on. Nor was it when we retrieved the car from the Dealer that same day, nor the next day. In fact, it has never been on.
At a friend’s recommendation we took the car to Straight Arrow Auto Repair. The proprietor asked me, “Does it make any kind of rattling noises?” No. “Do you see any oil leaking?” No. “Does the check engine light come on?” No.
Straight Arrow’s investigation revealed that there is nothing wrong with the short block, and that there was no evidence of any oil leakage from that area. He said that for the dealer to have ascertained the condition of the cam carrier, they would have had to remove the valve cover. In his opinion the valve cover had ever been removed. He further stated that he had checked the power steering fluid and it showed no signs of grit or any other indications that it needed to be drained/flushed/refilled.
He fixed my brakes at about half the cost the dealer was asking.
Erpenbach had me leave a $500 deposit for a new car. When I tried to get my money back they said it would take 10 business days. This is incredible. We do credit card refunds all the time. They take 24-48 hours and our credit card vendor is in Indonesia.
When buying my first car, (1978 Dodge Aspen SW, already 15 years old at the time) my Dad gave me some advice that has stood me in good stead over the years.
"If you assume a car salesman is a thief, liar, and con man, you won't go far wrong in dealing with them."
I find the same thing holds true with politicians.
I have only had to deal with car salespeople a few times in my life. Most of the time i buy a car sitting by the road with a for sale sign on it or from someone who knows someone who wants to sell a car. That being said i only took one vehicle to a dealership for service ,once. I had bought a fairly new 1984 Toyota pickup truck with 4wd and flashy decals. I took it in for its first oil change and they charged over a hundred bucks. For an oil change! I paid the bill and started yelling that i would NEVER bring my vehicle back for service again.
Being that the service window was open to the lobby the service manager didn't look too happy. Perspective buyers were looking our way. After a few more back and forth statements i left and never returned. I changed my own oil and eventually sold the truck for more than the bank loan payoff was. That was the last new vehicle i ever bought.