I often wonder how you would feel about a repair facility or even the mechanic that saw a problem or an issue with your vehicle, but did nothing to bring it to your attention because he knew he would not get paid to fix it or worse yet he could possibly get in trouble from management.
There are auto repair shops that truly do their best to protect your vehicle and your best interests. You may experience this kind of caring service from a one man garage all the way up to a national chain. I guess I was a little too trusting thinking every repair shop worked with the same goal in mind "take care of the customer and their vehicle", and then I learned of the other kind of auto repair shop.
There are the "other" shops that are in the auto repair business but definitely not the customer service business. Many people trust their mechanic to find problems that are small and inexpensive before it becomes a larger, more expensive one. The "other" repair shops instruct their mechanics not the look for additional work other than your original concerns and possibly any safety items. I do not know about you, but I have very little extra time in my schedule and it is almost always a burden to find extra time to have something fixed at a later date that should have been caught and taken care of the first time. I seem to recall being told over and over again as I was growing up, if you do not have time to do it right the first time, how are you going to find time to do it right the second time?
I learned about the "other" repair shops practice about nine or ten years ago. We sent a car sent to the local dealership for a recall and warranty work. The car was still under the factory warranty and the check engine light was on. The service advisor at the dealership called to say the car was ready, and there may also be an issue with the transmission, but they could not authorize any extra repairs at this time.
The mechanic who repaired the car noticed a small transmission leak while taking care of the check engine light. After a lengthy discussion with the mechanic and then the service advisor, I learned that the District Service Manager (DSM) advised them not to up-sell any additional warranty work. The policy is clear "Do not perform or recommend any corrective warranty repairs that the customer did not mention when they dropped off the vehicle." I guess they did not want to fix anything covered under warranty, since it would be at their expense. Why even offer a warranty if you are not going to honestly take care of the defective parts covered?
It seems like they were looking to reduce warranty claims, what a better way to do this, than to tie the hands of the dealership mechanic. If they want to get paid for warranty work the rules are clear, only fix what the customer tells you to fix, even if you find something that is covered under warranty. As a mechanic you are not going to make much money with this policy in place and it is not exactly the best policy for customer satisfaction.
Just to let you know there is a big difference if the warranty work is safety related, they can and usually will repair any safety items found to be defective. I was surprised to find that every dealership we questioned had the same policy. The dealerships are audited about every 90 days. If there is a warranty repair performed and charged to the manufacturer, that the customer did not state or complain about when he or she dropped off the vehicle. (On the original signed repair order) The dealership in most cases will be charged back for the repair. This makes you sit back and think, can you trust them to check out and fix your car? The mechanics, service advisors and the management know extremely well that up-selling warranty work is a big no-no!
Now they want to fix your car, but only when it benefits them financially, that means they will check your car and even fix it-while under warranty, but they will most likely do a much better job when the warranty has expired... and you are required to bring your wallet!
It makes sense to have an independent repair shop take care of your vehicle. They will look for everything covered under warranty that the dealerships are not allowed to tell you about. Most repair shops will even take your car to the dealership for covered items, which can save you time and money. Some dealerships will try to weasel out of covering the repairs, and make you pay for a portion of the service. Most good repair shops know all their tricks and will ensure you get your car fixed with no money leaving your wallet.
