For those of you who don't know, I work at ____ here in Brandon, but not in the service department. I took my truck in about 2-3 weeks ago and they tried to screw me. AN EMPLOYEE!!! So I figured I'd tell you my story about the _____ Service Centre. I just copied & pasted this from another website, so I apoligize if the flow of the story is off or anything like that. Here we go:

About ____, the upsell there is ridiculous. I work there (not in service though) and got them to pull the codes out of my truck because the check engine light was on. Figured it was the 02 sensor, and sure enough I was right. So when I got my keys, they tried to upsell A STAFF MEMBER for $638. The service writer told me I should have a tune up done, new o2 sensor, and had a driveline vibration which the mechanic thought was the hanger bearing (I'll rant about that in a sec). Granted, I took it home and it did infact need a tune up, but to try and upsell that to someone they knew worked there is ****in redonculous. Especially when they know, or should know, that I do pretty much all of my repairs on my own. And they still charged me $62 after tax to tell me what I was 95% sure of. Makes me really wish I'd taken the time to get my buddy back home to pull the code the weekend before.
Now my driveline vibration rant.....
The service writer I was talkin to told me the mechanic working on my truck had "detected" a vibration while the truck was up on the hoist. Now there are at least 2 several major problems with the mechanics actions.

1. A driveshaft vibration is not something you feel idling along in 1st gear. It's there, but it is generally unoticable. So in order for the tech to feel the "vibration" my truck had, which I've never noticed before going 100km/h down the highway, he would have had to have the wheels spinning over fairly quick, like 60km/h or more. This incredibly hard on my truck, as the spider gears in the rear end would have been flying around inside the diff since I have an open rear end, and given that there is no resistance against the wheels, it would have been easy to over rev the engine. Even more important though, is how unsafe doing that is. What would have happened if a u-joint failed while he was doing this??? The driveshaft would have came flying off, likely destroying the undercarriage and body of my truck as well as the driveshaft itself, and quite possibly hitting someone.

2. The geometry of any suspension system isn't designed to operate at full wheel travel, it's desinged to operate sitting on the ground at ride height. So naturally when it was being used improperly and outside the parameters it was designed to work in you are going to notice/feel something you shouldn't.

So thats my story about the _____ service department, and why I DO NOT advise anyone to take their vehicle there.

 

I wonder too also he measured a vibration. We just went over this same topic at school but we had the truck sitting on some 5 foot jack stands. We measured the driveshaft angles and calculated the angles to see if they are in range. I think a test drive is the only way to tell.

 

Each time i have taken a vehicle in for repairs i can't do.....I do 95% of my own work, i can tell a "scam story".
Recent one was this summer in S'toon. I needed a tie rod and sway bar end links.....my wife was agast at how they wanted to sell me more stuff. I pitty anyone that goes into these shops that has no idea.
I need something.......okay how much i guess

 

I know what you are all talking about I run into the same thing just about every time. Ordering parts from some of these places is almost as bad too.

 

I have been instructed by the Administrator to remove the company name from this post to prevent any possible legal ramifications. FTE periodically runs into legal problems by naming names and cannot run the risk no matter how small the possibility may seem.
I am very sorry for your experience and would feel that same very way if it happened to me.

 

That's fair Fom, gotta protect ourselves. In retrospect, I shouldn't have named names.

 

No problem, it`s taken care of. There have been legal problems including law suits in the past for FTE and rules have been put in place to avoid them as much as possible.

 

I refuse to go to one of the auto parts stores in Regina because every time I go there they try to upsell me things I don't want and don't want to take no for an answer.I was replacing a blown head gasket once and the counter guy asked if I needed to get the head milled.I told them no I checked the head and block for flatness already and they were both well within specs.He still insisted I was wasting my money replacing the head gasket without getting the head milled.So I asked him how they mill a head that is already flat?He just kept muttering how I was wasting my money.It has been over 2 years and the engine still runs fine.

 

Ya been there been sc####d
A few years ago was driving the 86? ranger into the city from Vanscoy area and it died on the highway right by large repair shop. Since it was a Saturday and we were in the city it would mean finding a ride home getting the other truck towing it home etc etc I was being lazy and took it in.
It was the brake booster I think and when that sprung a leak lost vacum etc and dumped a whole bunch of raw fuel into the engine. They pulled the plugs as part of the repair and I said go ahead and put new ones in So they did then proceeded to charge me for pulling the plugs as part of the repair then charged me for installing new ones. I asked and got the usual reply which was the service manager isn't here right now but if you come back Monday he should be in and he can review your complaint about the charges. Havn't taken anything back there since. Now I try to do everything myself even if it means parking the truck for a while.

 

That sucks that you got that kind of service. It doesnt really surprise me though, companies are out to make money, and no matter how much money you make them, they will screw you over just to make a little more. It is kind of sad really, considering alot of people work hard for those kind of companies!

 

That does suck and it is sad like you cant trust anyone these days no one is honest but there always is the good one