The Goodyear store must of thought I didn't have a clue

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The local Goodyear shop ran an ad offering a free tire rotation and brake examination. I knew they were going to try to sell me something but Man, they must of thought I was totally clueless.

My GLS Sonata has 35,000 easy miles on it. After they finished rotating the tires they showed me their examination sheet.

They stated that:
My transmission oil needs changed $154.99
Coolant needs replaced $109.99
Battery cables need service (put the felt tabs on the posts) A/C needs serviced $49.99 plus freon (Thermometer in outlet does not confirm this. I let him know this) Struts and shocks need to be upgrade. $435.99 Alignment $174.99 (The tires do not show uneven wear) Brake fluid need changed $109.99 Valve cover gasket is leaking (My garage floor shows no leaks or drips) He also said my trannie was seeping fluid at the seam. He had no reply when I told him I was under the car only the day before and saw no evidence of leakage. Serpentine belt need replacement $137.99 (I told him that as I looked at the belt I could see no signs of wear or detrioration) He disagreed.

I questioned him further about the trannie and the radiator coolant. He said "Yes, you have 35,000 miles and those thing are needed." (I then told him that the trannie as replaced with a new one under warranty 15,000 miles back and the radiator coolant was also replaced at that time. He replied "Well the new trannie is burning the clutches and the radiators coolant looks discolored"

I then asked him if I had them replace the trannie fluid what kind would they use. He said "AFT" I said "AFT????" He said "ATF plus an additive". I told him that Hyundai says that is a real NO NO!. He said "They are lying to you". He then called his manager over to have the manager confirn that "ATF plus additive" is the correct fluid to use. I asked him if he knew that Hyundai specified and sold a special trannie fluid. He said "That's a rip-off"

Perhaps they thought that brake jobs was not their high profit item for he agreed that the (original) brakes were only 30% worn.

Then just to see what they would quote, I asked him what they charged for replacing the plugs in a v6 Sonata. (not that it is due) They quoted me $280.00. And then they added that the labor time for that job was 2.6 hours. I told him that the Hyundai dealer does not allow his mech that much time for changing plugs. He said "Well, I would NEVER work for Hyundai"

If GoodYear thought they were winning a new customer by giving me a free tire rotation they were badly mistaken. I would NEVER go back to their store.

After all of the above I stated I wanted assured that the lug nuts would be hand torqued and then watched then to insure that they were.

I am in my middle 70's and still do much of my own vehicle maintenance, especially on my truck which is long out of warranty. He probably figured this old grey headed old goat knows nothing and is an easy mark.

Actually, I think they were happy to see go out the door.

Old_Timer
 
I learned several years ago to NEVER go to Goodyear. Those guys are crooks.
 
Don said:
I learned several years ago to NEVER go to Goodyear. Those guys are crooks.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they saw you coming...or at least they thought they did. Glad to hear that you outsmarted them. The big muffler/shock/brake/tire chains all operate the same way. They train their employees in how to sell service that people don't need. They can get away with it because all of the parts/fluids are maintenance items that do wear, so it's strictly a judgement call as to when to replace them.

I had a similar experience with a Bridgestone dealership when I brought my car in for an inspection. I've found that the most honest place to take my Hyundais is - believe it or not - my dealer. They've always been completely straight with me and have never given me any grief or BS.

Your best bet is to ask around and find an honest independent shop. After a dealer tried running a brake scam on my mother, she went back to a shop that she'd dealt with for years. They laughed about the scam, the fixed only what she needed. Now she goes there for all of her work, so the jerk of a dealer loses out. Not that they care...
 
Any honest repair shop should be able to explain to you why a repair is needed or recommended. Any honest repair shop should be willing to show you on your vehicle (this is possible on nearly all repairs) what the problem is.

ATF that needs changed due to mileage interval is justifiable. What makes me curious is why ATF condition was an issue only AFTER it was pointed out that the ATF was new 15K ago. And, if there was an issue with the fluid that they were able to detect, they should have been able to show you.

Coolant replacement is recommended every 2 years, 30k, so if you haven't yet done it, they were on the money on that one.

Can't see your battery from here, so no comment on that one.

Cold a/c needs servicing. And they have the nerve to say that the dealer is a rip-off! Did they actually say this with a straight face???

Upgrade the shocks and struts?? Is this a new gimmick or something?? I suppose the factory ones specifically designed for this vehicle aren't nearly good enough. This sounds almost as funny as the A/C service.

Any reason for recommending the alignment, or did they continue to be stupid on this one?

Replacing brake fluid is a common recommendation at several shops. The idea is that this will help keep rust from the calipers/wheel cylinders. In my experience, it's the wheel cylinders that usually fail, and usually only after 50k or so. I'm not a big believer in this service because it's cost is a large enough portion of the cost of replacing wheel cylinders that it doesn't seem financially wise. If the wheel cylinders begin to leak, just replace them when it happens.

On your next visit to the dealer, report his leak findings and let them check it out. They'll be happy to fix anything actually leaking if you're still within the warranty period.

The serpentine belts on the 2.5 and 2.7 v6 engines usually start to crack around 30k/3 years, whichever comes first. The place to look is where the belt wraps around the tensioner pulley. The cracks will be visible there because the belt will be bent backward.

As for the plugs, in their defense, on the 2.5 and 2.7 engines, the plenum must be removed to get to the back plugs. Kudos to your dealer for helping to make this item cost effective. We charge 3 hours here for replacing them, but if the 60,000 mile service is done, we only add an additional hour to the time, so effectively the customer gets the plugs for only 1 hour labor.
 
news said:
Firestone's Shops are almost the same maybe worse..
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Bridgstone and Firestone are the same company now, so that's not surprising.

The problem is really with the entire undercar service industry. I briefly worked for a distributor of undercar parts and exhaust pipe bending equipment. The main attraction of this business is that it's all about "quick and dirty" repairs with HUGE profit margins. Parts are frequently marked up as much as 400% ($20 cost, sold for $100 retail), with 200% (same part sold for $60) being quite typical. Labor charges are equally outrageous. Employees are taught to sell as much as they can get away with to everyone that comes in and mechanics are frequently paid commission on the jobs they sell, or at least paid bonuses based on them. They tend to victimize women, the elderly and other people who they assume are clueless. It's all a very sordid and deceitful business, which is why I didn't stay in it for long.
 

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