DeaneG said:
As a wide-eyed consumer I wonder when these kinds of attempts cross the line from simply taking advantage of underinformed people into something less legal.
Dealers cross the line of legality all the time as do independent garages. Caveat Emptor is the absolute watchword when doing ANYthing about your automobile. Dealers have been taking extra money from car buyers for 100 years and are not about to stop any time soon. Remember, part of their profit center best practices is to extract as much money from the customer as possible.
Now as to crossing the legal line. Back in the day when compact spare tires were first around, dealers would take out the full size spare and wheel and substitute for a compact tire. Immediate profit to the dealer as most new car purchasers would not look under the mats in the trunk to see if the spare was really there. If the customer did look and complain, the salesman would do a tap dance and blame it on the manufacturer. This scam was discovered back in the 1980 in Virginia. Moot now, since you have to pay extra for a full size (if you get a spare at all, ala the LEaf).
Un-needed services, swapping parts between vehicles after a quick wipe with a WD40 rag, is so common that most dealers have a special class for their mechanics on how to do it.
Here in Tennessee, the State Attorney General's Office has received several complaints about the practice of the Leaf dealer saying to the customer that the State $2,500 rebate was "applied directly to the MSRP" and then attempting to sell the Leaf at full MSRP thus pocketing the $2,500. I expect to see some out of court settlements on this in a year or two and maybe some of that money will filter back to the buyer.
Another scam is the "high-grading" of various fluids and parts. Remember, almost everyone hasn't a clue as to where the oil comes from that a quick oil change place puts in your car. After all it comes in a 55-gallon barrel with a large colorful sticker on it. What most folks don't know is that the Quick change folks simply have a travelling "recycled oil" guy come around with a 5,000 gallon oil tanker and pump oil into the barrel. Then they charge your for "High Mileage Special Oil with Special Stuff in it". Special Stuff all right --- when beer was shipped in wooden barrels back in the 19th century, the Teamsters would stop to water the horses, pop the bung out and fill up on beer, then pee into the barrel to fill it back up.
Bottom line on all of this is to never, ever, trust anyone who is in the business of working on cars. Motor vehicles are such an emotional and integral part of our society that it is guaranteed that the whole industry is full of thieves. Also, read Consumer Reports Magazine. I've subscribed for years and years; usually glance once at the alarmist leftie commentary and the warning about "don't let your lab rat eat more than 100 times his body weight in BBQ sauce" crapola but definitely read and re-read the automotive articles plus tests of appliances, and other hardware.You know, I am sure, that you cannot rely upon Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) for anything close to honest evaluations any longer -- it is the fox guarding the hen house over there. Likewise, never trust people who write independent review or blogs or columns unless you can do vetting of their motivation and resources. Everyplace you can make a comment about a product, Amazon, etc., is filled with trolls for the manufacturer or sales force as well as folks who just post erroneous information to get a thrill or some kind of invidious stimulation from sabotaging -- sort of like anarchists.
Finally, review every single scrap of paper from the dealer or independent mechanic. You will find stuff like "$3,42 for work-room frammis adjustment" or $2.00 for waste supplies. It is all used to add up to real money at the end of the day and you may be sure that the guy behind the cash register has all the answers as to why you "have to pay this". Welcome to the Capitalist System, BTW. Ira est potens et pertinax.
