chernmax

iTrader: (15)

Just an FYI...

If you take your car to a shop for a routine oil change you have a high probability of being told your car needs one or more of its critical fluids flushed, changed or serviced. This started originally at the quick-lube shops and spread to the whole auto repair industry, including the dealers.


Part of the reason is technology. New machines have made it possible in most cases to change the fluids quickly and easily, or so the sellers of the machines say. But the real driving force is profitability.

Today I'm changing a timing belt and water pump on a Dodge Caravan. It will take all of five hours of bay time, a lot of parts and a lot of potential liability. In half the time I could do a series of flushes with little effort or liability and make much more profit. Since most people, mechanics and shop owners included, respond to economic incentives, it is coming to pass that every car going to every shop needs every fluid flushed every day.

In short, what is really being flushed is your wallet. It is straining the credibility of an industry that rightly or wrongly has always had credibility problems.

Click on the below link for the full story...

http://autos.aol.com/article/general...05115609990001

SilverMax_04

This is one of the reasons I do as much work on my vehicles as I can. I know it was done right (and slowly), and I don't get the "you need to have this work done, too" -- that you get when you take the vehicle in to a shop.

sky jumper

this cuts both ways. with many fluids, chemical analysis is the only way to know for sure if it needs changing, or if it doesn't. I've seen ATF that "looks good" give very poor analysis results. and I've seen oil that looks like black mud give decent results. and I've bled brakes on "newer" vehicles that appear to have clean brake fluid in the master cylinder, but the fluid coming out the bleeder screws is black/green/nasty. and labs have confirmed that on average, brake fluid absorbs about 5% moisture per year - moisture that causes corrosion, boils and compresses making your brakes spongy, etc. since this is time dependent, not mileage dependent, changing brake fluid every 2 or 3 years is a smart thing to do.

sure there may be some overkill out there, but I believe there is far more under-maintenance going around. sure old timers didn't change fluids so regularly - but then their cars usually didn't last more than 70 or 80k either. and many mechanical systems (e.g. transmissions) were easier on fluid back then.

clayman88

iTrader: (1)

Its disgusting how many of these places are ripping off people every day. Whats even worse is sometimes they say they're doing these flushes/changes and they never do!

Really though, consumers NEED to be better informed and stop being so ignorant about their own cars. We need to KNOW when our scheduled changes are to be done and not just rely on whatever the service guy says and we need to demand proof that the work has indeed been done. Unfortunately we can no longer trust the vast majority of these shops any longer.

JwaxMax99

iTrader: (14)

Excellent article. I only visit the shop when I absolutely have to. (balancing tires, allignments, ect.) For example you know what it's like if you ever visited Firestone or Goodyear chains.
They disguise the sales push and call it a "Courtesy Check" I have to tell them each time I only want the service performed that I requested.
I declined a service one time, and they called the mechanic into the lobby to try and scare me into getting the service done. It's crazy, I have had to actually get disruptive there to stop these sales tactics at times.

matty

iTrader: (54)

Its pretty sick stuff.

I went up there with my moms 92' Accord for an oil change. They took off the filter and told me I needed a $27 filter along with shoving his finger inside of the power steering bottle to tell me I need to flush the power steering fluid...I pretty much said as nice as I can "just do an oil change" The reason I came here.

Well there was guy next to me with a land rover and they were telling him he needed a motor flush with a price of $325.67. He stood there and was in shock as he looked at me...we both pretty much started cracking up cause its such a rip-off that is totally focused towards woman that go there because either their husband or Father told them to go there for an oil change and they are being TOTALLY HAD

-matt

00MaxSE

iTrader: (25)

It's amazing how some people will fall for that.

sky jumper

well just remember that unlike us, the vast vast vast majority of car owners have no clue about maintenance, and most of those do not follow their owner's manual maintenance schedule. so in their case they will be better off in the long run getting scammed for things like ATF, coolant, and brake fluid changes sooner than they need them - otherwise they will just neglect the vehicle and will face high repair costs later on (or the poor sucker who buys the used car). and I think that may be a downside from the emerging truth that quick-lube joints are a ripoff -- people will now reject legitimate service b/c they think it is a scam.

but things that are actually harmful (like engine flushes, or ATF flushes on high mileage cars) - that is another story. and just not doing the work when the customer pays for it is beyond the pale.