So I do a tuneup on my blazer yesterday. We go about pulling the plugs, changing cap and rotor. Well, The last tuneup it had was at a chevy dealership in oregon according to the maintenance records. Well, we get all the plugs pulled, and we come across an oddity. The #4 Cylinder plug, is a different brand than the rest, and it's sufficiently fouled up/warped and everything.

THe oddity, well, the number 4 plug had never been changed since the factory, still the OEM AC delco plug, while the other five were NGK plugs. Needless to say, I'm gonna have to stay away from dealerships from now on. That kinda makes me mad that they left a plug in there because it's a little more difficult to get. (took us over an hour because of the steering arm from the cab)

My little rant of the day :P

 

Well, at least you know why they didn't change it. Lazy and unwilling to do the work.

 

Back when dealers had mechanics that got paid straight by the hr it was better. Now they get paid a percentage of what the book says it should take them to get the job done and have to cut corners cause they keep getting ripped off by the companies they work for. The estimates are way off sometimes. Your car being a noteworthy example. That one plug is HARD to get to.

You're better of in a shop that has some of its mechanics still working hourly and not paying attention to what else is going on rather than FIXING it properly. I was just discussing this with someone today. Back when my dad actually still was a mechanic, he was one of the few at the dealer who did NOT work on the newer system. He simply got paid hourly, no matter what he did. The good dealers still do this in bigger shops. They will have a mechanic or two that takes all the garbage that has been beating the other 'hurry up guys' to death and just go in and "get er done". Find this guy and let him do your work privately at his house.

 

I do beleive blazingsadle hit the nail on the head. The dealership I worked for was hourly pay shop and switched to flat rate. This saves the dealership a lot of money. When they get a trade in and give it to a tech to fix, no matter if it is 20 yrs old or 2 weeks they will only pay you what the book says. Many techs have worked 40+ hr weeks and been paid for a lot less. This has causesd a tremondous turn over rate and what are known as "come backs". Come backs occur when work the tech performed was done improperly, mainly due to the tech having to hurry the job to get paid. The tech has to do the come back for free by the way.

This has also caused another bad habbit which is promoted by the dealerships, the techs are told to "find something wrong". Usually it is something real simple that is wrong, that the tech can easily fix and the dealership can make some bucks on.

In the end the customers are really taken advantage of and do not have a choice. There have been a good number of customers
that have filed complaints and tried to sue. The facts are that there are not enough resources available to investigate all complaints and the burden of proof in a lawsuit is very hard to accomplish.

 

The problem I have with this whole thing is the plugs put in... I do not believe that a dealership (a GM dealership) would not have installed NGK plugs. They would have installed AC Delco plugs.

I do agree with the 'book time' assessment above. With any mechanic (dealership or otherwise) working on book time, you have to check their work. I always ask for ALL parts replaced by any mechanic. This used to be just to see the actual condition of the parts, but it is becoming more and more necessary to check the mechanic.

It is in the mechanic's BEST interest to get the job done as quickly as possible. 'Book time' is defined as the amount of time it would take a competent mechanic to do the job the *FIRST* time complete. 'Book time' is inherently longer than the time it would take pretty much any mechanic to do provided no 'surprises'. No matter how long it actually takes the mechanic to do the repair, the dealership gets paid by the 'book time'.

 

I agree that it is in the best interest for the mechanic to complete the work as quickly as possible however, I was a shop foreman with ten techs and two bays at the dealership, so I received all CSI (customers service index) ratings, tech average times vs book times, and come backs. When they paid hourly, come backs were about 8% a month with a CSI of 98% after the big switch the come backs went to 83% and the CSI went down to 64%.

I do have to say though the dealership where I was, specialized in RV's so work was a llittle different. For example to check the brakes on the rear axle of a motor home, the dual tires come off, the axles come out etc. The book time for this was one half hour, while this was fine for a new motorhome the one in question was a 1974 that never even had the rear wheels off, it took 2 people 5 days to take it apart. Some of the other tech killers were electrical work and optional equipment. I had one tech that had 45hrs in for a wide spread electrical problem on a motor home the book says it should take you 15 minutes to trouble shoot and 45 minutes for the repair, at the end of the week this tech got paid for only 20 hours. This tech had 20 some years of experience and more training than I could count, he quit after the 20 hour pay check and we lost a very good tech. This became the norm rather than the exception unfortunately.

Another problem was that the dealership refused to purchase specialized equipment (computers, sockets etc.) that would enable the tech to complete the job faster and do it right the first time. It does not really make since for the dearlership not to buy the equipment since they would be making more in the long run.

I had thought that maybe this was just the norm for a specialized dealership but I had a bad water pump on my diesel so I took it to a dealership instead of using the specialized wrench to remove the fan nut they used an air chisel, when I picked up my truck the t-stat was leaking, I had a broken air shield, and all of my chrome tire valve caps were missing. Not being to impressed I got hold of the manager, he told me that they did not touch the t-stat yet it was connected to the water pump, the air shield was broken because it was not properly adjusted, and I never had valve caps. As soon as the truck started the water pump failed (litterly fell apart). The dealership then took 1 month to fix it, refused to get me a rental veh, and refused to replace the air shield and they put on black plastic valve caps on.

Recently I had taken my drive shafts off and went to a dealership, with just the drive shafts, to have them press out the old ujoints and install the new ones(my press was down). I was told that they would charge me $365.00[:@] to do this half hour job. I had to travel 1 hour to where I used to live in order to get this done and was charged only $65.00 (what it should be).

In talking to techs in other states I found that they were being paid twice the amount that my techs were getting. The dealership charged $75.00 hr yet only paid its techs $9.00 - $12.00 hr. I think that the problem is the greed of the dealership owners taking advantage of the techs and "unflexible book times"

 

My borther in law quit as a Ford dealer tech and became an electrician becuase of the book time rate.

Book time rate is the main reason I will not take my vehicle to the dealer. Its NOT becuase of the techs, most of those guys know there stuff and get the some great trianing. I don't like the book time scale. I would rather pay to have it done right the first time. I work part time in a service center, we have hourly charges for work and that is what we charge the customer. Even if it takes us 2 times as long. Trust me the service center is making thier money, even if it took us twice as long.


Ummm..... that should have been the Number 3 piston, not the number 4 piston.

 

Yep, That's why I had my friend that knows engines 100,000 times better than me there to show me how and help me. I got the numbers mixed up lol.

 

I didn't stay very long in the auto repair business after the flat rate took effect. I just repair family and friends vehs. I went into the hi tech field, trying to make up for the money I lost.

 

I guess I have been spoiled in all my years of many many vehicles I have owned...if my dad couldn't fix it....most dealerships and repair shops had mechanics that my dad had taught....however...when I moved 500 miles away and my transmission blew....I took it to the chevy dealership....and I had nothing but a wonderful experience...I brought the used transmission..they put it in....and even found out that my front axle was always engaged..which was why I was getting such bad gas milage...(and it didn't cost me a kidney...)...but then again....I always assert the fact that I am not some dumb girl that they can rip off....(not in a mean way) just like when one of the oil change places I no longer go to...the door was open and I heard them laughing at me and making jokes because I wanted my differental fluid checked...they thought it was stupid..I watched to make sure they did...and as soon as they lifted it up..they noticed I had already had the whole rear end replaced...they stopped laughing.....

however I did notice that when I had my kia...and it was waranty work....not so good customer service....and never realy fixed it right....I think it makes a difference of it's waranty work or stuff you need done.....I have found that if they know you are watching....they do what's right.....just my two cents...not all dealerships are bad..or are out to screw you....