Mechanic scam? - what do you think?

[abcxyz]

Just wanted to get some of your opinions on a mechanic I've been going to for oil changes ONLY. (I have another mechanic I trust that I go to for repairs & mtce). They only service BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Volvo, and use OEM parts and have been rated #1 in Customer Serivce for 10 years etc.

Last year I got an oil change deal from them - For $299, I can get the oil changed (Synthetic oil) 3 times per year (January, April, September), for the LIFE of my car, and can even transfer it to the new owner if I sell my car. Well that's a no brainer, it pays for itself after 3-4 oil changes.

FIRST oil change I did with them was on 9/1/07. They recommended the following services:
1. Power steering rack - he showed me the boots and said they're full of fluid.
2. Alignment
3. Auxillary belts (the 2 that power the a/c, power steering, alternator etc)

I didn't do any of the recommended services.

SECOND oil change 1/2/08. Recommended services.
1. Power steering rack
2. Power Steering High Pressure Hose
3. Auxillary belts
4. Coolant Reservoir vent Hose
5. Gas door operation solenoid
6. Right headlamp assembly Fastners

My gas door is loose after I close it, but i can gently hit the hinge and it will shut. They wanted to charge me $250 to replace the solenoid. I think I can live with hitting the door with my hand. Have no clue about the head light fastners, it's not loose at all, so I'm not going to replace anything unless it's half way falling out or something.

THIRD oil change 4/28/08 (this past Monday) Recommended services:
1. Power steering rack
2. Power Steering High Pressure Hose
3. Auxillary belts
4. Alignment
5. Inspection I


Ok, my beef is:
1. Power steering rack - it's been 8 months since they recommended the POwer steering rack repair. I have noticed NO difference in the steering now than 8 months ago, I checked the fluid level, and it's STILL full, and it makes no noise or anything when I steer. I think they're full of crap.

4. Alignment -- How would he even know I need alignment if he didn't drive the car. It's not pulling at all either left or right. And my tires are quite new, so I doubt they show signs of uneven wear.

3. I questioned them on the Auxillary belts, and he says the mechanic says they are cracked and need to be replaced. I went home and lifted my hood, and lo and behold, the hood didn't even stay up at all, apparently the hood shocks are dead, but he failed to mention that in my recommended services (that's a huge red flag to me), but he can find every other little thing wrong with my car, except the obvious, which makes me wonder if he even changed the oil & filter! I checked the oil and it looked clean though. Anyway, so I get a flash light and look at the belts from above...it does not look ANYTHING like the picture in this DIY article from Pelican Parts.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/techarticles/E36-Belt-Replacement/E36-Belt-Replacement.htm

I mean, I can't see the whole belt viewing from just above, but i didn't even see one knick/crack in either of the two belts of the viewable portion of the belt. I checked my service history and 3 years ago I had an Inspection II done at my regular mechanic and he changed the BELT A/C ($24.75) and BELT ALT ($30.75). I don't know that much about cars & repairs but I'm ASSUMING those are the same two belts as the Auxillary belts that this place is telling me I need to replace. I don't think belts only last 3 years. I called them and questioned them why the hood wasn't even mentioned as a repair, and he didn't know, and then I asked about the auxillary belts, and he said, "the mechanic has a trained eye, if he says they're cracked, they're cracked..." --what a lame line.

Well, what do you guys think about all this? Any recommendations or suggestions? I'm thinking of going over there and getting the car hoisted up and making them show me where the cracks are. If they are b.s'ing me, I will speak to the owner who I actually have a good repoire with and let him know my concerns. It's obviously a sales guy I'm talking to about all the above. Anyway, what do you guys think?

 

[frolf]

if you have access to a jack and jackstands check the rack yourself. if the boots are full of fluid your rack is taking a nose dive. you'll need some zip ties to get the boots back on though, just an fyi.

 

[E30m42cab]

You can't say the belts are not cracked if you haven't looked at them yourself... you don't need to hoist the car up to see the belts. If you want them to show you this stuff, have them show it to you, simple as that. Get them to prove it. I don't know where you live (climate) what you drive, or how many miles/kms you put on the car annually, so 3 years for a belt might be right in your case.

The truth is, telling people they need stuff is what they do, because people are 1)too stupid to know any better and will let them do it, or 2) defiant, and won't do anything 'till it breaks, or 3) defiant because they know better. They're hoping your the first option. Hell, if I was a mechanic, I could probably get 99% of people to pay for an oil change without actually doing one. Who ever checks their oil after a shop changes it for them?

Check this stuff yourself, and everything else on the car, and tell them what needs to be done... or take it to the mechanic you trust (no such thing) and have him confirm or deny the other shops claims.

You should know your car better than anyone, and it sounds like you've got a pretty good idea, but you need to start touching stuff, doing your homework and learning more so you don't get burned. (example, gas door solenoid $130, +tax, +labour = $250... probably about right. Getting one from a wrecker and installing it yourself $40 - $60 (guessing). I think that when he is telling you you need an alignment, he means that once you replace the steering rack, you will need an alignment to make sure it's on straight.

When they tell you something is wrong with the headlight assembly, print this off: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BF31&mospid=47430&btnr=63_0273&hg=63&fg=05 and get them to show you on the paper and on the car.

The best thing you can say is "Prove it". If they can't prove it, you know where to tell them go. The worst that can happen if they can't prove it, is that you find some other monkey to change your oil.

On the other hand, they may be right about everything.

 

[Kirby]

They have the oil specials for a reason - to try to develop additional work with the free inspection. This DOES NOT mean they are dishonest or trying to rip you. If they work on your car and see a problem, it's good customer service to let the customer know about it. How would you feel about them if a belt breaks, you take it to them to fix it, and they say "Oh yeah, we saw that when you were here last time but didn't tell you." You'd be pissed, right?

The trick is to know if they are up and up, taking you for a ride. You didn't mention how old the car is so we can't guess at the age and failure possibility.

The above posts are dead on - it's YOUR car, you have the RIGHT to ask them to show you the problems!!!!! Just do it!!!! You'll find out real quick if they are up and up or jerking you around.

 

[Big Daddy]

I guess I am confused, you asked about replacing the steering rack on Auguast, 2007 here and than again on January 14 here in this thread, than again here on April 29th at which time you asked about the belts as well and back in 2005 you mentioned a squeek in your steering and even provided a link about hose failures etc. I am not sure why you think your being scammed if you keep getting all this great advice and fail to act on it?

 

[abcxyz]

I guess I am confused, you asked about replacing the steering rack on Auguast, 2007 here and than again on January 14 here in this thread, than again here on April 29th at which time you asked about the belts as well and back in 2005 you mentioned a squeek in your steering and even provided a link about hose failures etc. I am not sure why you think your being scammed if you keep getting all this great advice and fail to act on it?

Hi Big Daddy,
Yes, you are correct I asked about the steering rack at first on Aug 2007 as that was the first time I was informed about it. And then brought it up again in January and now in April. I guess my concern is how urgently these things need to be done, of course the way they make it sound, it has to be done right away. Well, 8 months later, the car is still steering just fine, I'm sure it's leaked more since then and will need to be replaced at some time, but I just don't like how they make it seem so urgent and something that has to be done right away. I don't have an automotive background, so I like to find things and ask a lot of questions - that's how we learn right? I don't think the squeak in the steering wheel that I posted back in 2005 l was the same issue, because that squeak has disappeared since then (I didn't do anything about it), and if my power steering rack was going bad in 2005, it's 3 years later now, so I guess the rack is pretty resillient as I have not done any repairs on that yet.

As for the belts, I saw them under the car today and verified that one of them does have little cracks. I believe it's the a/c belt (the one closer to the middle of the car). I saw the alternator belt and it didn't have any cracks. I mean, the kind of mechanic that would attract me to go to them would be one that said, "well, it's the a/c belt that has cracks, it might last a few more months and if it did break, you just wouldn't have a/c (assuming that's the only thing that that belt controls I don't know, cuz I don't know much) until you got it replaced, so you can replace it now and save that trouble, or just wait til it breaks." Instead they just tell me I need to replace both belts and it'll cost $170, and if the belts break my car will become immobile rather than telling me that one belt controls the a/c and if that broke the car would still run fine, but if the belt that controls the waterpump, alternator etc broke, the car would not be immobile immediately but the alternator would lose power and it could damage the waterpump. That's more 'honest' to me and would make me feel more comfortable to go to them for inspections and repairs without feeling like they're takin' me for ride. $170 seems a bit steep too as the belts only cost about $25 for both and the DIY doesn't seem to hard. I didn't like the fact too that they seem to find little things wrong with my car such as the gas door solenoid and some part of the headlamp assembly, yet they fail to mention the obvious that my hood shocks are shot and the hood doesn't stay open. It made me wonder if he even changed the oil!

Anyway, as always, I appreciate whatever feedback I receive as I try to learn as much as I can. From one of the earlier responses, that guy mentioned that the alignment was probably recommended because after you get the power steering rack replaced you would need an alignment, which I didn't know before, but now I know.

 

[Big Daddy]

No problem and you are correct the steering rack is not critical, you just do not want to drive the car without PS fluid, and when the rack does go stop driving it. As far as the belts are concerned if you are going to replace one you should just do them all, sometimes you have to remove one to get to the others so why not, plus that way you can plan to did them all at the same time in the future. I did my own steering rack on my E30 and measued the tie rod ends (which I replaced at the same time) so correctly the alignment was spot on and did not need to be adjusted. Good luck with your car, but never let needed repairs go too long!

 

[abcxyz]

No problem and you are correct the steering rack is not critical, you just do not want to drive the car without PS fluid, and when the rack does go stop driving it. As far as the belts are concerned if you are going to replace one you should just do them all, sometimes you have to remove one to get to the others so why not, plus that way you can plan to did them all at the same time in the future. I did my own steering rack on my E30 and measued the tie rod ends (which I replaced at the same time) so correctly the alignment was spot on and did not need to be adjusted. Good luck with your car, but never let needed repairs go too long!

Great...thanks for the tip on the PS fluid and replacing the belts at the same time. Seems the belts are pretty cheap, so no problem.

Yes, for sure don't let needed repairs go to long, that's why I like to ask questions to see how critical the repair is or not.

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[Detrich]

it also comes down to trust. i've been going to the same shop for over 10+ years. and, i trust them.

a friend that i also referred over recently had problems with his '97 318i. my shop told him that he needs a new cat. and they recommend he go with an oem bmw one- even tho it's more expensive. they also offered him aftermarket option, tho they didn't recommend it.

my friend, not believing what they said, asked for some time to think about it. he questioned me about their honesty, and i said michael runs an honest shop and i think he has nothing to worry about. still unsatisfied, he took it to another "highly recommended" shop from another one of our bmw enthusiast friends. and, after leaving his car there for about a day or so, they ended up telling him the exact same thing. and, they charged him more for the same part & labor to replace the cat with an oem bmw one.

 

[Kirby]

Regarding replacing the belts, as Dan said it's wise to replace both belts - for several reasons:
Labor - You'll save $$ on labor doing both vs. doing them individually 6 months apart.
"Catastrophic" failure - suppose you replace just one belt, and then the second belt breaks. It can get tangled in the first belt and cause it to break! So it is actually a BAD call for a mechanic to suggest replacing only one belt!