My grandfather asked me to take his car to get an oil change, he likes to take his 2002 Camry to the dealership. So I did as he requested. His car has been problem free since the day he bought the car in 2002. No problems whatsover, all the maintenance was done by either Claremont or Puente Hills Toyota.
So I get to the dealership and I meet Mark Fetterman, Service Advisor. I tell him all I need today is an oil change. He gets into the car and starts it and asks "Have you noticed this car starting slow?" I think to myself starting slow? What the h*ll is this guy talking about starting slow" It instantly throws up a red flag to me, this guy is trying to add problems to a perfectly running car. I think he sensed my irritation and moved on. So we walk over to his computer and he tries to get me to change out all the fluids (Brakes, Coolant, Power Steering, etc...) but sees in the computer that it was done already and he stops pushing the issue. He asks if I am going to wait for it and I tell him yes and he quotes me an "hour or so."
Three hours later, (remember this was just an oil change I was asking for) Fetterman calls me and tells me that there is an oil leak on the engine cover. I forgot to mention that this guy thinks that I am my grandfather because that is the name that the computer states in their records. Anyway the guy tells me I need to change it, because it could decrease it's reliability. Of course I ask the guy how much this repair is going to cost and he quotes me $1700 for parts and labor. That is an insane amount of money, from my earlier dealings with him I knew he was just trying to add to the bill. I declined and asked when will the car be ready. (Remember the car is already 2 hours late for an oil change) and Fetterman says 10 minutes.
Fours after the initial quote and about 45 minutes after the 10 minute quote I see the Camry sitting outside in a parking spot. So I call Fetterman asking is my car is ready and he tells me to see the cashier. So go to the cashier and they see my frustration with the 4 hour wait for the oil change and they call him over. (I did not mention the fact that he tried to add unnecessary repairs) He asks what can I do to make you happy and I tell him nothing. He offers to pay for the bill and we call it a day.
I get to my grandparents house and search for this so called leak on the front engine cover. How can an engine cover leak cause decreased reliablity when the cover is purely for cosmetic purposes?!?! All I see is a clean engine bay, it's not even really dusty. No leaks between the gaskets, no leaks whatsoever. This just makes me even more angry, I tell my grandfather what happened and he told me that he paid for that before (Engine Cover Leak). Which made me even more angry.
So I think that Fetterman wanted to add the extra repairs because he was thinking that my grandfather fell for it before why not again? Luckily this time I was there to catch it before they could take advantage of my grandfather again. Please learn and make sure you don't get ripped off by this guy or his dealership.
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