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Dealerships Being sneaky.


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Three weeks ago I got a letter in the mail for my 2005 Cadillac CTS-V for the ignition switch recall and a fuel pump module recall, so I call my local dealer and make an appointment. One and a half hours later they give me a call and tell me that I need two keys to perform the recall. Being that I only had one I tell them to just cut a second key and bill me for it. Their service advisor provides to tell me that it's going to be 54 for the cadillac key or 9 dollars for a regular key and 150 for programing.

 

150 for programing I ask, yes sir your vehicle has a system called passlock and the key needs to be programed after being cut. She knew who I was and what I do and she still tried to charge me to program a key that doesn't need programed.

 

Just today, I bought a C6 Z06 Corvette in kansas and had it taken to the local dealer for a check up, oil change and what ever else it needed including a few recalls. About 3 hours later I get a call from the advisor telling me that the TPMS needs to be reprogrammed at a cost of 49.95 even though the car didn't have any TPS lights on when it was dropped off. (these cars do reduce performance when you have a bad TPS sensor)

 

So I just told him that was fine Ill take care of it when I get back to Alaska, well he insisted that he will just take care of it for me at no charge so I say thanks and hang up. About 7 min later he calls me back and says that because it requires the use of the Tech2 that he will only charge me 39.95 (this car doesn't require a scan tool). So I decline and tell him Ill just bring the equipment with me to take care of it when I pick up the car at the end of the week. Thats when all hell broke loose and he told me that I didn't know what I was doing.

 

Why is anyone going to the dealers if this is how they are being treated?

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I hate to hear these kinds of stories. I only ever worked for two dealerships. They were very high end luxury car dealerships, and one has published a book on providing top notch customer service. I was proud when I worked there and still brag about how good they are. In fact, I've taken both my employees to both dealerships so they can see the level of service they offer... I know it's rare, I just hate to hear people are being treated like this. I feel like experiences like you described is what gives our entire industry a bad rap.

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I had a customer come in yesterday and she told me the dealer said she needed front wheel bearings. Guess what, I just replaced them with Moogs 2 months earlier, I mean come on it was plain as day the front wheel bearings were new. Same dealer told my sister her front brakes were so bad they didn't want her to leave with the car. She brings it to me, pads are 3/4 full and everything else ok. 6 months later they tell her the front calipers are sticking, they were not. I get crap like this all the time from a local dealer, they prey on women with fear tactics. Too many stories to tell.

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I like the local dealers, they grab the customers with $19.99 oil change/rotate then the customer comes to me with a $900 brake job estimate to see if we can beat it. I can always beat it, and I don't have to give away an oil change to get the job.

 

I'm not sure if there's a new trend but the new car dealers are making the wallet flush chains look like saints.

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We are a Vw/Audi shop, and the local Volkswagen dealer has told a few of our customers that we have sent to them for recalls that we have no business working on their car, that we are not certified to performed the work that her car needs,blah,blah,blah. (My partner and I were the top techs there for over 5 years) All they have done is lost customers for good. When a business speaks poorly of another business i think it makes them look unprofessional but alot of them will still do it.

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

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      Auto shop owners are always looking for ways to improve production levels. They focus their attention on their technicians and require certain expectations of performance in billable labor hours. While technicians must know what is expected of them, they have a limited amount of control over production levels. When all factors are considered, the only thing a well-trained technician has control over is his or her actual efficiency.
      As a review, technician efficiency is the amount of labor time it takes a technician to complete a job compared to the labor time being billed to the customer. Productivity is the time the technician is billing labor hours compared to the time the technician is physically at the shop. The reality is that a technician can be very efficient, but not productive if the technician has a lot of downtime waiting for parts, waiting too long between jobs, or poor workflow systems.
      But let’s go deeper into what affects production in the typical auto repair shop. As a business coach, one of the biggest reasons for low shop production is not charging the correct labor time. Labor for extensive jobs is often not being billed accurately. Rust, seized bolts, and wrong published labor times are just a few reasons for lost labor dollars.
      Another common problem is not understanding how to bill for jobs that require extensive diagnostic testing, and complicated procedures to arrive at the root cause for an onboard computer problem, electrical issue, or drivability issue. These jobs usually take time to analyze, using sophisticated tools, and by the shop’s top technician. Typically, these jobs are billed at a standard menu labor charge, instead of at a higher labor rate. This results in less billed labor hours than the actual labor time spent. The amount of lost labor hours here can cripple a shop’s overall profit.
      Many shop owners do a great job at calculating their labor rate but may not understand what their true effective labor is, which is their labor sales divided by the total labor hours sold. In many cases, I have seen a shop that has a shop labor rate of over $150.00 per hour, but the actual effective labor rate is around $100. Not good.
      Lastly, technician production can suffer when the service advisors are too busy or not motivated to build relationships with customers, which results in a low sales closing ratio. And let’s not forget that to be productive, a shop needs to have the right systems, the right tools and equipment, an extensive information system, and of course, great leadership.
      The bottom line is this; many factors need to be considered when looking to increase production levels. While it does start with the technician, it doesn’t end there. Consider all the factors above when looking for ways to improve your shop’s labor production.
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