Am I getting ripped off?

From: Shaun.Hendricks@bergenbrunswig.com
Date: Fri Aug 28 1998 - 16:59:17 EDT


   I was always taught to have the injectors cleaned once a year or every
15,000 miles. Usually an additive will do it if you're using okay gasoline
(not the super-cheap "Thrifty" stuff). I think you had your wallet lightened
by one of these guys since the episodes were so close together.
   You could contact the Department of Motor Vehicles for each state and see
if either dealership has complaints against them for fraudulant repairs. You
should then post a complaint about both of them. The first one may not have
done the cleaning, and the second one could've also been yanking your chain.
   In California, if they get a complaint of this nature, they frequently
"rig" a car with some easy problem that mimicks a whole host of problems.
They then take the car to the dealership to be repaired. If the dealer fixes
the problem that was "rigged" and lets the car go: they get a passing grade.
If the dealer starts giving them a bunch of "repairs" that need to be done,
they fine the dealership mega-bucks and usually pull it's license to repair
cars (which is a death sentence for most dealerships).
   It really doesn't hurt a dealership to report a complaint of this nature,
but if they start piling up, the government agencies will look into it.

Shaun
Tustin, CA

(My favorite story of this type was the CA DMV rigging up a car by pulling a
sparkplug wire [beyond the pulled wire: the car was perfect!. The dealership
they took it in to told the older lady (an employee of the DMV) that she was
going to need an entire engine rebuild and it would cost her $3,800 to do it.
 She okay'd the work and they "rebuilt" the engine. When the DMV mechanics
checked the car out afterward, they had done nothing but armor-all the engine
and replace the plug: they didn't even turn a screw. The DMV ended up fining
the dealership at 100:1 (ie: $380,000) and pulled thier dealership license.
They arrested all the mechanics associated with the fix and tossed them in
jail for a year. Yes, the DMV *IS* on our side sometimes.)



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