gohawks63

I take my '01 TL in for an oil change (16K) miles at Arlington Acura 'cuz it's close to work. The following conversation takes place:

service manager: "I see your overdue for the 15K mile maintenence, would you like to have it done?" ($200).

Me: "No, You guys rotated the tires at 13K miles and I have a K&N Filter so there's no need to replace that" I'm not paying them an extra $170 for the visual inspection, especially after I noticed at my last oil change that they put it on the lift and do it anyway."

Service manager: "Well the transmission fluid needs to be changed."

Me: "not according to the manual"

Service Manager: "It does under the Severe schedule"

Me: "No it doesn't, it states 30K miles. If you want, I can show you. I was also wrong, I checked afterwards and it states that the first draining should occur at 60K miles, then every 30K after that

Service manager: uuhmm... oh.. really? I guess I must have confused it with the Type-S. Acura recommends every 15K on the Type-S. can anyone confirm this?

He then proceeds to put on the work order "Customer declined 15K mile maintenance". Looked like he was trying to cover his a$$. I figure they're trying to get customers to pay for tranny fluid changes 'cause of some of the tranny problems. I can understand that, but it all felt sneaky to me.

I then go to pay and I'm charged $31 for a freakin' oil change (used to be $26). They just remodeled, so I guess they need to pay for it somehow.

I'm not cheap mind you, but Toyota charges me $19 for our Land Cruiser, guarantees I'll be out in 30 minutes and doesn't try to sell me needless service. We bought our 'Cruiser used (46K miles) and a bunch of maintenance work was performed for free on it when we bought it. A couple of months ago I asked the Toyota Service Manager, what special maintenance I should expect in the next 50K miles, and his response was "just oil changes and tire rotations"!

As a matter of fact, my first oil change was free because it took 45 minutes. I wasn't even aware of the guarantee. The guy just comes out and says "Sir, sorry it took so long, this oil change is on us". The next time I went, after a few days I notice that I was still getting a significant amount of oil under the car. I took it back and they told me that the tech didn't do a good job of cleaning one of the shields that tends to collect oil when it's drained. They then gave me a coupon to pay for my next oil change because I had to make an extra stop (Libertyville Toyota).

I think I'm either going to go back to Acura of Libertyville or drive out to Woodfield Acura where I bought the car.

I figure I'll either drain the tranny oil myself or I'll check into having it done somewhere else. Has anyone drained their oil sooner than the book states?

6speed

I pay $18 from an independent mechanic. He uses genuine parts. Look for an alternative to the dealer.

KCPreki11

Do it yourself or trade the CL for a Toyota.

MikeS 18

$10

http://www.mechanicsdirect.com/coupons.htm

Crazy Bimmer

Dont go to that dealer. I didnt like how they ran things when i brought my car there for my first service. I figure i would try them since i bought my car from them. But that was the last time i went there. I take my dads car to woodfield mullers acura since 1996, and they treat me great. So i started to go there now for my TLS. They will not try anything to sell you somthing you dont want. They asked me if i wanted the 15k service, i just said no, and they didnt ask again. They never asked about a tranny fluid change yet. I never had a bad experience with them since 1996!! I say go try them out and see how ya like it.

gohawks63

I bought my car from them and Chris Anderson (Service Manager) is great. He really took care of me last year when I took it in for the rotor warping problem and the smearing wiper problem, but they're just not conveniently located. I live in the Northern suburbs and it's at least a 25 one way trip for an oil change. I may try Acura of Libertyville (where I bought my '93 Vigor). If I get the same treatment, I may have to make the trip back to Muller's.

Thanks!

Black CL-S 4-Life

Time for a different dealer.

Woodsdaddy

I take my car to the dealer here and it usually takes 15 min.

Samer007

I paid for a lifetime oil changes for $110 at my dealership

Black CL-S 4-Life

That is a great deal, I wish my dealer had that package.

MikeS 18

Why not do your own oil change? When you turn the wheels to the right the filter is basically sticking into the wheel well and collecting 5 quarts and pouring it back into the crankcase is pretty easy. Go for it!

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

I bought my car and get serviced at Mullers....they have been great. They definately will get repeat business from me. I have also sent a couple of freinds there. They love em too.

cl-driver

Why don't you bring your Acura to the Toyota dealer? Some dealers are willing to work on different brands. Sounds like that Toyota dealer is one of the rare dealerships that cater to customers' needs and not their pockets.

Nugs3

Libertyville is ok..........I wasn't too happy. People there are assholes. They always give me dirty looks cuz my car isn't stock

Go to the Pauly in Highland park-------------friendly service dudes and fast as hell.

EricL

15K ATF change would be a good idea, but it IS NOT in the owner's manual (or the "official" Service Manual CL/CLS [well, at least not in my 2001 CL Service Manual (and it covers CL and CLS)]).

That oil change stuff -- oh, boy.... The suggestions about a new dealer are in order...

My corner gas station does it for $10 (but I bring my own Honda filter and Mobil 1 Synthetic). I just pay them the $10 for the nice treatement I get ALWAYS and they let me "explore" the underside of the car while up on the lift.

You can always go with the service items in the owner's manual and pick the options that you need according to YOUR needs and driving style. Do be careful with the inspections... At some places/dealerships, that means a dance around the car with a voodo incantation... If you have a problem with a CV Boot or other part that is worn or loose, they could "bust" you from a warranty standpoint if it was "missed" by never having an inspection to fix a less serious problem before it got "nasty"...


Finally, re: the do-it-yourself and other dealer's of other makes of cars options. I found a dealer (Jaguar) that was only a few blocks away with a Hunter Roadforce balancer, but they won't work on my car due to some "policy issues" (So, check around, if you look at the previous suggestion about using another dealer -- it works depending on the dealer).

The oil and oil filter change is very simple on the CL/CLS!

Type S

i paid about $30 include tax and oil filter at my local acura dealer but i do bring my full syn mobil 1 5W~30W oil...
i do not do 15k maintenance,i only do the oil change and tranny fluid change ($60)

Nicky Pass

Go see Chris at Woodfield Acura.......He takes care of me the way Barry did at Arlington

JOE

Talk about being shady! I live in the north suburbs too and I have always gone to Napleton Acura in Elmhurst. Steve is the service manager there and he has always been honest and direct with me. They also gave me a year's worth of oil changes absolutely free!

When I was in the market to by the CLS I stopped in Arlington Acura and I personally thought that every person there was shady... Every CL on their lot was scratched and dinged and they had the nerve to tell me that it was caused by shipping and that they would "fix" it if I bought one from them.. What the shit is that?? I thought that going to Arlington Acura or even Mcgrath Acura would be better because both dealerships are pretty close to my house. Wrong, I went back to Napleton Acura where I bought my 97 CL 3.0 and they gave me a great deal on my 97 CL as well as a sweet deal on my CLS with Navi. I would highly recommend Napleton Acura and Steve to anyone on this board.. Try em out!

gohawks63

Really, they've been great to me, but I guess it depends. I WILL NEVER go to Pauly! When I was first was interested in a TL in '99, they tried to pull some of the slimiest scams on me. I understand that it was the sales dept, but they pi$$ed me off so much that they'll never get any of my business.

gohawks63

I used to, I even used to have a way to get rid of the oil. My uncle own's a repair shop in the city, and he has a furnace that runs on waste oil. I would collect it and every so often when I was going that way, I'd drop it off.

For $20 (what Toyota is charging me), you really can't go wrong. By the time you by the oil and filter, you're not saving that much. I also don't have that much time, so going at lunch has always been convenient for me, but I may start reconsidering it for my TL.

gohawks63

LOL! Ain't that the truth. I know for a fact that they look at the car anyway. This dealer was doing some major remodeling and for a while they had the waiting area right next to the service desk in the service area, so you could actually see them working on your car. At my last oil change, I saw the tech lift the car and look around underneath.

Nicky Pass

GoHawks.....Arlington's service sux since Barry left......TRUST ME, go see Chris at Woodfiled Acura.

gohawks63

Hey Nicky Pass,

That's for sure. I'm not going back. They kind of alluded to me that they let Barry go, I wish I knew if he went somewhere else.

I guess I'm going to have to go back to Chris. It's just out of the way for me.

meeh416

Thomas Acura In West Covina, CA sucks like $h!T, they try to charge u everything. once i drove them there because my sunroof was making noise and asked them to fix it for me. But all they did was telling me to go home and clean it myself because they didn't have time for things like that?

FunkeeTown

i go to vandergriff acura in arlington off cooper. i'm very happy. the guys name is bill and he will never try to f. u. he even got my srs light reset for free when macchurchill in fort worth was gonna charge me 85 bucks for it. oh yeah, and once he put the license plate bracket on the front of my car himself. now that's commitment to the customer. i live in fort worth but the wonderful service i get is well worth the extra 10 minute drive. plus, they have good coffee. hehe. :bigclap:
i have my 60K mile service coming up. I'm actually overdue. I'm thinking of holding out on the water pump until 100K and just having my belts and stuff checked at the local auto shop. someone had their type s sitting in front of fort worth tire on white settlement today? who was it? huh? :sneaky:

lead_sled_dog

Different state ...

gdubb

Thats what it costs me here at Gillman Acura in Houston. 31 and some change

Joe5.0

If you guys dont have 30 minutes on a weekend day every 3 months maybe you should open up your schedule a little bit.

I dont use Mobil-1 because they dont make 5w-20, and I think that if you change it the standard 3,750 miles regular oil is fine. I always use a Mobil filter though.

Mobil filter + 5 qts of Mobil Drive Clean 5W-20 = $15. The knowledge that some monkey didnt screw up my car = priceless.

sgmotoring

Probably 4:30pm on a Saturday and no appointment.

6spdmanual

dfreder371

Ditto Jesal and Nicky. Woodfield Acura is great, service is wonderful. I have bought seven acuras from them, and I wouldn't go anywhere else.

A peculiar story about arlington acura. They are five minutes away from me, woodfield is about 20 minutes at best. Owned a 2002 RSX-S and the 2003's just came out, so I went to arlington for a look see. I was disturbed to find out the biggest change from the 2002 RSX-S to 2003, was that the valve spring cross section was now oval, not round. Shit, they didn't even change the exterior colors! I was not gonna dump $3,000 plus tax, lisence, paperwork, etc, just for the same car in the same color for new car smell. So, I left.

Just for shits anfd giggles, I grabed Mom and Dad and we went back to Arlington Acura, I was thinking about a CL, and in a way, I wanted the folks around because for the first time in my life, I was looking at a more expensive car than they had, a 99 TL. So, we get there, and this is a saturday afternoon about 1:00. This is Thanksgiving (the day after) 2002. There are plenty of salesmen there, and none had customers.

A beautiful red, non navi six speed CL is there, and I open the hood, I open the trunk, I show my mom and dad the spiffy electric seats for rear access. I even get them to sit in the back seat. All this time, Acura salesman are passing within five feet of the three of us, and none of them even says "Hi" to any of us. After hanging around the CL for fifteen minutes, we left.

I dropped Mom and Dad and the dogs off at home, went to Woodfield Acura, went for a six speed test drive and two hours later had a CL in Satin Silver.

Talk about ambivilence, Scheese!

BEETROOT

my last oil change was almost $60 I think.

mobil one at jiffy lube.

acura_service

at motorworld its policy to do "all" the visual inspections outlined, i see them checking torque on nuts in the suspension, plus the oil changes are less than discussed in the topic

i have found one thing, if the service experience is trustworth, everything that is supposed to be done is done, and customers are treated with "respect and kindness" alot of times price isn't the issue, its when the respect, kindness, friendly smiles, and trust is gone and probably the customer will be gone also

its funny we have a 10 foot rule at work, if you come within 10 feet of a customer or fellow employee smile and say hello, and it really works, makes everyone feel a little at home, "treat people like you would want to be treated" or even better yet "treat people like "they" want to be treated, i often find myself saying hello to people walking down my street

at my dealership we are really turning it up a notch, pretty much CSI is not an option, its manditory and below the factory average is not good enough, but you know people want to go somewhere they trust and the atmosphere is friendly, nobody likes to part with money, but if you have a choice (and there are alot of them out there) you can meat the customers expectations and watch your business grow, or stand back and watch your customer base dissapear


not all dealers are bad, some really want to do the best they can, when you visit one that does you will see what i mean

Chopsie

Wow, search button in use. (date)
The one time i got an oil change at my dealer it was $21.00 regular 5w 30
Now they are $40 at Time it Lube for fullservice Castrol Syntec Blend.

sgmotoring

Yes, CSI is never an option at the dealer I worked in too. But there are about 3% of our customers who are asshole. Of those bad customers, I think some deserve to be kicked out. I know for a fact my dealer black list a few customer. Sometimes I really want to give those customer :fingerfawk:. Those customers just need to understand we are there to help. Instead they think we are trying to rip them off once they step into the dealer. To be honest $31 for an oil change is really reasonable, plus you get a free car wash. All those man power cost money. Jiffy lube charge $30 without a wash or tires pressure check and that is not counting that cheap oil filter they used. Yes, you can go to a independent shop and get an oil change for $20, but do you get a nice place to sit, a tv with a/c in the waiting room or free juice and soda? I am not saying this because I work in an Acura dealer. I don't care about Acura dealer anymore because after 13 years kissing customers ass, I decided to quit. I have totally change my line of work and now would like my ass to be kissed for a change .

getdowng

Libertyville is awsome as well. I never went to Woodfield except for when I was looking to buy a car. Anyways, if you decide to go to Libertyville, ask for Bobby.

fender4

....................

get the 60k check up here http://www.dealer-alternative.com/ 18 month warranty and very good service. The owner manage MacChurchhill's shop,, then set up this place