Mike Shaw Subaru Severely overcharged for a 30,000 mile service and oil change other Colorado
My wife did not have a good experience with Mike Shaw Subaru. She took her car in for an oil change and a recommended 30,000 mile service. No one there told her how much it would be and unfortunately she assumed that it would be minimal work and price. She was told it would take three hours, but dropped her car off at 0745 and it wasn’t ready until 5 p.m. That’s three times the amount of time it should have taken. she had hoped to pick her car up during lunch, but had to inconvenience a coworker for a ride after work. Mostly, though, she felt completely taken advantage of. We found out later that an average price for such a service is around $250. When she showed up at the service center she was given a bill for over $500!! After arguing the bill she was given $50 off. Looking closer at the bill there were miscellaneous parts that I'm sure were inflated dramatically and then a flat charge of $299.99 for a technician. The oil change had it's own separate charge so the tech fee must have been for the air cleaner and a few other trivial maintenance items that were supposedly completed. $500 is a major repair bill for a car and any upstanding service center would at least call afterwards or notify you on dropoff how much the service was going to be before doing the work. We would have never agreed to that. She chose Mike Shaw because it’s closer to home but won’t make that mistake again.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
FloridaNative
West Palm Beach,Florida,
United States
Did she sign the service order allowing the dealership to work without prior written permission?
#3Consumer Comment
Thu, December 14, 2017
If you bring your vehicle to an auto mechanic, there is a spot on the form for the consumer to either require the estimate in writing prior to working on the vehicle or waiving that condition. I would never allow the mechanic to have final authority over how much I spend by giving cart blanch at the beginning. That clause is there to protect the consumer but it only works if the consumer requires the estimate in writing AND SIGNS THE FORM where that clause is required. I have never, ever seen any mechanic point out that clause. It is on the consumer to read and understand the contract (it is a contract) before she authorizes work. It is in the consumers best interest to get the quote in writing before having any work done. Your wife should have known to require this estimate first. No matter which mechanic you both decide to use. Hopefully she will learn now from this very expensive work.
Robert
Irvine,California,
United States
Dealer Service
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, December 01, 2017
Why would she "assume" anything about the price? Do you go to a resturant and order things on the menu without knowing the price? Do you have a plumber come to your house and just start to work without giving you an estimate? So why when your wife went to a dealer would she think it is any different?
The fact is that in most cases any "Dealer Service" is going to be 2-3 times higher than you can get from an Independent shop. I don't know where you got your average of $250, but the reality is that $500 is about average for a dealer service and actually a bit low.
If you want to see a comparison take a look at the link below of another Subaru dealer in Colorado to see what they charge for 30K service. Just be sure you are sitting down first. If it happens to get redacted then just search for the dealer in Englewood.
As for the time involved, again did she ask how much time it would take or did she just assume it would be a couple of hours?
groovesubaru . com / service / subaru-service-menu.htm