Dealership life.

In reply to iceracer :

The front tires wore out on the outside edge.  

13 years in the dealerships here. The last 10 at Acura. We were a good shop. Advisors came and went, some good some E36 M3. Same with techs. The only constant was that every customer knew I was scamming them and marking the price up to live in my mansion. No one believed that we didn’t set the prices that Honda sells E36 M3 for. 

bobzilla said:

13 years in the dealerships here. The last 10 at Acura. We were a good shop. Advisors came and went, some good some E36 M3. Same with techs. The only constant was that every customer knew I was scamming them and marking the price up to live in my mansion. No one believed that we didn’t set the prices that Honda sells E36 M3 for. 

They have to believe you're scamming them, that way they can turn around and ask a friend or family member to do the same job for free and tell them with a straight face that they are appreciated. Had someone ask me to change a radiator the other day and offered to pay, and I could really use the money but I declined because I can't think of any reason someone would ask me unless they were trying get the labor for less than it's worth

Some dealerships suck but I still recommend a dealer to people who ask me where to get their car serviced. On the one hand I do actually believe many dealers offer quality service, on the other hand I just like to recommend the (perceived) most expensive option and hope people get the hint that I won't be helping them for free.

bobzilla said:

13 years in the dealerships here. The last 10 at Acura. We were a good shop. Advisors came and went, some good some E36 M3. Same with techs. The only constant was that every customer knew I was scamming them and marking the price up to live in my mansion. No one believed that we didn’t set the prices that Honda sells E36 M3 for. 

See, and this attitude is why rich folks love Tesla, despite everything about owning one soaking you for $. Everything about the dealer model is completely broken and adversarial, and in this day and age, if you've got money you don't want to put up with that crap. I don't have Tesla money, so I just do my part by making sure no money of mine goes to a dealer.

bobzilla said:

13 years in the dealerships here. The last 10 at Acura. We were a good shop. Advisors came and went, some good some E36 M3. Same with techs. The only constant was that every customer knew I was scamming them and marking the price up to live in my mansion. No one believed that we didn’t set the prices that Honda sells E36 M3 for. 

Glad your dealership was like that.  Last time I called the Toyota dealer looking for a part (wiper arm for a Highlander), they quoted me higher than MSRP and it would take the same amount of time for them to get it as if I got it from one of the dealers with online ordering and discounts from MSRP.  Plus, I wouldn't have to drive to the dealer to get the part.

I have no idea what it’s like now. It’s been almost 5years since I got out of that world and I don’t regret a second of it. 

In reply to eastsideTim :

That's pretty common, a lot of dealers around here mark up beyond list price.

FuzzWuzzy said:

Link is working for me on my work laptop.

Link to one story, then you should be able to go to his profile: https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromAutoRepair/comments/3ml8el/the_exodus_part_1/

Link worked, ended up reading them all. Great writer!

FuzzWuzzy said:

Link is working for me on my work laptop.

Link to one story, then you should be able to go to his profile: https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromAutoRepair/comments/3ml8el/the_exodus_part_1

Great story writer, made me think about the crazy places I have worked. As a customer to some shady dealerships, I can clearly see some of this going on. I found another writer but on the IT side https://www.reddit.com/r/airz23/comments/25gtfq/the_index/

On the flip side, the worst customers are the so called 'mechanics'...if you were a mechanic, you wouldn't have brought your car to the dealership in the first place. And if you really are, pay the diagnostic fee and fix it yourself. Don't bitch about our pricing