5 WAYS TO AVOID BEING RIPPED OFF ON YOUR NEXT AUTO REPAIR TRIP

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“Proper, routine car maintenance is vital to avoid major repair bills and keep your vehicle running reliably for many years.” – Consumer Reports

 

 

 

 

 

So my wife’s 2014 BMW X3 had the dreaded ‘idiot light’ on for the past month and we finally had time to bring it in for service.

 

I had bought the car as a CPO ‘certified pre-owned’ and I know I saved a few thousand on it as opposed to buying a brand new car, and I’ve taken the car in for routine service for the past year and a half and paid zero dollars due to the warranty that came with it.

 

We’ve been budgeting $150/month for car repairs and maintenance the past year that translates to $1800/year. We had the cash and was confident it would be enough.

 

So I confidently drove into the dealership and our service advisor, who I’ve been dealing with the past year and a half, plugs in the key to his computer and does the initial ‘recommended’ service based on the car’s maintenance history.

 

He rattles off the routine oil change/tune-up service, but then, later on, suggests that front and rear brakes need to be replaced.

 

I thought this was odd since the car computer would normally say that on the dash if it ever needed to be replaced, one hint that should’ve warned me I was going to be taken for a financial spin; but I trusted the dude since dealt with him before and he’s “after my best interest” right? (sarcasm here)

 

At any rate, I was given an initial quote of $398 for the service and the brakes so I agreed.

 

I was hanging out for an hour and a half at the lounge when I got a call from my service advisor, apparently both front and rear are being recommended to be replaced, it would cost around $800 bucks; I took a long pause and thought that we had the money for the service, so I agreed.

 

Long story short, when I had to pay for the service, the cashier handed me my invoice for $1238. She even proudly told me my service advisor gave me a $50 coupon discount

 

Cold sweat started streaming down my forehead; I was confused, irate, and irritated all at the same time. I’m like, how’d this happen when I was quoted $800 over the phone?

 

I asked my service advisor if anything was covered by the CPO program and he said my warranty expired. WOW, it would’ve helped me if he’d told be in the beginning, but I tried to keep my cool.

 

I hesitantly paid the bill and when I got home told my wife. She was livid. . and rightly so She was so mad that she called the service advisor and gave him a piece of her mind.

 

With that background, here are 5 ways to not get ripped off like I did, on your next car service visit.

 

 

KNOW YOUR CAR’S MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE

 

A great article from Nerdwallet suggests that learning about your car’s maintenance schedule is the first step in arming yourself with knowledge to not get taken for a ride at the dealership or mechanic.

 

A list of your specific car manuals here.

 

The best piece of advice, per the Wall Street Journal’s  Charles Passey would be to  only perform the needed maintenance recommendation per the car’s maintenance schedule. Anything that’s recommended or suggested by the service advisor or mechanic would be a play at ‘upselling’ you to spend needlessly for repairs that are unneeded at that particular time.

 

A look at our car’s recommended maintenance schedule did not warrant a brake replacement but sadly it was too late for me. Had I gotten this information beforehand, would’ve saved $800 from that particular tip. So my pain is your gain.

 

 

 

DO SOME RESEARCH

 

Knowledge is power and sites such as driverside.com and Consumer Report’s Car Maintenance have a ton of resources that will give you information you need from your car’s scheduled maintenance to repair cost estimates, not to mention highly recommended car shops that are local to your area.

 

The more information you have on a particular issue and what the ‘fair price’ of what it would cost, will give you a leg up when negotiating for the best price whether at the dealer or the recommended repair shop that’s local to you.

 

 

PRICE SHOP

 

Armed with information from the above sites, you now have ammunition to comparison shop from the service department of your dealership or the mom and pop auto mechanic down the street.

 

Find out over the phone what they would charge for a particular issue or for the service maintenance due. You’ll quickly find out that the range goes from $50 to a couple hundred dollars. And you wouldn’t have known this if you hadn’t done some research beforehand and just trusted the ‘friendly’ service advisor.

 

 

AGREE TO A FIXED QUOTE BEFOREHAND

 

My mistake when I came in and had my car’s maintenance done was that I did not ask for a fixed ‘ALL IN’ dollar quote that I had to pay for that particular service.

 

It would’ve taken the anxiety out of finding out I was way off on the ‘audio quote’ given earlier, and would’ve saved me from being irate when the time came for me to pay for the service at the cashier.

 

My wife was right when she asked, what if since you were quoted $800, to begin with, and only had that amount with you when you picked up the car? And we’re faced with ‘sticker shock’ in front of the cashier, telling her that you were short and wouldn’t be able to pay? What then? Would they ‘hostage’ the car if you didn’t have the extra cash? That’s what she angrily told our service advisor over the phone when she gave him a piece of her mind.

 

I couldn’t blame her, even though we had budgeted for it, it didn’t seem right to have one quote and a different amount which was way beyond the original price quoted earlier.

 

Moral of the story, eliminate guesswork and have a fixed cost quote that you will pay when you agree to have the service work done.

 

 

ASK FOR A DISCOUNT IF YOU’RE PAYING CASH

 

It will work most of the time, especially if the repair center is an independently owned operation.

 

If you’re paying more than $1000 in repairs, you may end up saving at least $100 if you pay cash since they will tell you they can waive the tax. That’s almost 10% you can save right away.

 

It may not work 100% of the time but it still is worth a try and it doesn’t hurt to ask too.

 

 

 

IN CLOSING

 

In a 20/20 story  aired a few years ago about ‘Auto mechanic rip-offs’, women are the most common recipient of these scams; and according to Marty Guerrero, author of “Exposed: Auto Repair’s Dirty Little Secrets to Rip You Off”  who ended up being charged more than $1000 for a minor battery issue when her car wouldn’t start, she suggests that the best way to combat these scams is to ‘read the owner’s manual’ and be educated on how our cars work.

 

Our car is simply one of the most important tools in our everyday life, and we should take care of it if we want it to last as long as we need it to.

 

Unfortunately, the ‘car maintenance’ game has long been a lucrative play for dealerships and auto shops alike, and arming ourselves with knowledge is one of the ways to ‘not be taken for a ride’, pun intended, when it comes time to have our cars serviced.

 

Bottom line, being responsible and spending a little time in learning about our car’s maintenance will not only end up saving us tons of money in the long run but can also contribute to our strong financial posture long term.

 

Don’t be taken for a ride, period.

 

Do you have other tips on how to prevent auto maintenance rip-offs?  please do share by commenting below or emailing us at thedebtfreejourney@gmail.com.

 

Until the next post.

 

Peace and Blessings to you All.