robscharp05

Hey Guys! I bought a TLX 2.4 certified back in May of 2017 with about 24k miles. I bought it because I needed a fairly new car to commute 48 miles to and from work every day which I thought would be a good car for not having a lot of service costs. I purchased the Maintenance plan and extended warranty through SafeRide motor club. Anyways fast forward to December 22nd of 2017, within that 6 months, I have accumulated three oil changes. I have also had two batteries replaced under warranty. Had cabin & engine filter done once, brake fluid, alignment, tranny fluid, and had induction system serviced. So the other day when I took my car in for its detail and had the transmission updated, I come back after 6 hours and I am quoted with $900 of work and I was shocked. The only thing that was going through my head was that I should have leased.....I have invested about $1400 or more this year in services ALREADY. I have two dealer's in St.Louis, MO and I chose Frank Leta Acura because of customer service and will price match the other dealer in town by $500. Someone, please tell me if these "services" are actually needed. I had filters, fluids, and alignment done at 30k miles. The vehicle at check in was 42,939.

Greekjim

So you have driven about 18,000 miles in 6 months of having the car?

robscharp05

Yes Sir. I work at a marketing agency west of St.Louis and I live on the east side of St.Louis. Total round trip most days will be 101 miles. The mileage and invoice dates and mileage are below.

AZuser

Engine protection service -- What is this? What do they do? Seems like some made-up useless money-making service for them.

Perform climate control service -- What is this? What do they do? Seems like some made-up useless money-making service for them.

Perform 4 wheel alignment -- Didn't you just have one done? And the dealer wants to do another one? I never get an alignment done blindly. I either get a free alignment check from dealers or places like Big O Tires. Then use print out to see if alignment is off or not. Example: https://www.sunnysideacura.com/acura-alignment-service/



Replace cabin air filter -- Didn't you recently have this done? If it needs to be done, it's a simple job. Takes less than 5 minutes to do yourself and requires zero tools. Just buy a filter for $20 and change it yourself. They want $60 for it?



Replace air filter -- When did you have this last done? Another easy job. There's probably a DIY somewhere here.

Perform fuel injector service -- Waste of money. Another money-making service for the dealer. Just pour a bottle of Chevron Techron or similar in your gas tank.

robscharp05

@AZuser Thanks for the links! Out of all the cars I've owned I've never had anyone tell me about the services, so I was just taken by surprise. I wasn't sure if the manufacturer was recommending these or what. I never had these when I owned my RL, Audi Q7, or my first car. My service advisor told me it would cost just as much to buy the filter and do it myself. What?? After talking to him all I could see was that he just wanted money out of my pocket since I'm young and walked in wearing a suit. Sorry but I will just take my loaner and you can send my car to get detailed. I will do what is actually needed. I will be replacing the filters in the spring by myself. I still don't know why he recommended the filters and allignment. Maybe just a mileage thing. I will also have the alignment done in the spring as I will need new tires. Headed to Texas on business and will be putting another 1300 miles on the TLX. I bought the TLX assuming it would be lite on maintenance, considering I drive an average of 40k miles a year. When my maintenance contract is up my semi-synthetic oil changes w/ tire rotation will be $49.95..

Greekjim

Maybe it’s time for a change for where you go for service. And like stated, super easy to change those filters. I did it myself after watching YouTube videos

robscharp05

I will seriously consider doing that. There's one other Acura dealer in St.Louis but its massive. Been there once and I was just another face in the crowd. I do enjoy the free car washes, details, expresso here. But that is cancelled out when I found being taken advantage of. Another thing is that I have all my money tied up in this dealership because I can only use my service contract and extended warranty repairs at this location only. It's too late to cancel the contracts because they are built into the loan and I just hit 44k miles today so I wouldn't get any money back. I just bought a huge home, and have a new job. I'm not quite to the point of paying extra on my loan quite yet. I would have loved to just lease a new RLX.

TSXV6Guy

Like AZuser said, most of the listed services are "scams" and not necessary at all. Just get yourself a cabin filter and an engine filter from any auto part store (or even the dealer if you want to spend more$ for the same stuff) and replace them yourself.
About the alignment, why are they recommending one? There is no reason to have one unless there is a specific problem: premature tire wear, car pulling, suspension issue, etc.

As for the maintenance contract, looks like it's designed to get in through the door and get scared by the "red/yellow/green" signs on the printout. Just ignore them, unless it involves brakes and tires. And even then, thank them for their input and go have it checked elsewhere....

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Massive dealership, free espresso, car washes, car detailing.....someone has got to be paying for that. Good thing you asked about these services. Follow what AZuser posted. Engine protection, fuel injector and climate control service

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Also note - your local Honda dealer can do basic services (non warranty) for your TLX at a cheaper rate than the Acura dealer. I've been going to Honda for oil changes and it's half what Acura charged me.

quantum7

Find a new mechanic ASAP. I stopped taking my cars to the dealership....only go to the dealer until the car passes the warranty period. Then do the basic work yourself and/or find a small garage (or Honda dealer). My dealership got bought out by a mega dealer a few years ago and the service dept started doing massive up-sales of services like these. I knew it was BS and asked the service manager where in the manual Acura recommended these. He just smiled.....I said goodbye. Just follow the service schedule for your car and the maintenance minder....and use the garage thread here to see what you need to do.

wlkeel

Try the other dealer or an independent shop. I don't mind a dealer trying to sell me one of those "dealer recommended services", but four of them at once is a bit much!

Christopher.

My Acura dealer gives me $24.95 oil changes "for as long as I own the car" using Acura brand filters and Acura synthetic blend 0W20 oil. That's cheaper than Valovine with a coupon.

a35tl

The nearest Acura dealer to me is almost 60 miles. Honda dealer is 3 miles. Honda dealer does all my servicing for considerably less than the Acura dealer. Oil changes are about half the price. I've developed a good relationship with them and they treat me fairly and honestly. Honda can do just about anything Acura dealer can do, other than any warranty issues you may have, and can do so more affordably.

BEAR-AvHistory

You are being "upsold" for about $550. Can't comment on the 225.41 because they don't list what's in it. Most likely more BS items. Only do red items. Do the yellow ones only if you have an known issue in that area & you know what they are doing.

TacoBello

And this is why I hate dealerships, and the car industry as a whole.

Glad and you asked us, OP. They are just being money pocketing assholes, and that's it.

Ken1997TL

Alignment (if needed) and filters if needed. Basically you can skip all that. Oil changes and rotations for now.

robscharp05

Hey, Thanks guys for the help. I contacted my other Acura dealer and they said they have never heard of those services either. They also offered me a price match guarantee for all other work as long as I get an estimate. I think I will just have the other dealer service my car from now on. This made me pretty upset. I contacted the service manager today at Frank Leta. He insisted that the services be done for the car to run long and healthy. He even went as far as to tell me we look at your service history when you have a warranty item to be repaired. He told me improper service could impact warranties sometimes. BULL SHIT. Since when did you guys become so pushy about service. I told him the car is only three years old. Now I know why the other Acura dealer outsells them by 3x's as much..

fiatlux

They don't call them stealerships for nothing.

wreak

Those scam services they're trying to sell you aren't even in the Acura maintenance schedule for the TLX. The idea that they think they can refuse warranty coverage for you not agreeing to them is laughable and would never fly once you call acura client relations on them.

Glad to hear you're switching dealers the moment I read the first line I knew they were trying to screw you.

ytr1903

wreak,
I bought my 2015 TLX from the "other" dealer in St. Louis. You will not be disappointed with their service. All services have been free over the years and they even suggested to me that I may need a new transmission. I took them up on their offer and one day later had my car back with a brand new transmission. They let me drive a AWD TLX while my car was in the shop. That will be my next car.
Tom

Christopher.

I sure hope that any of you guys that have experienced this kind of sleezy money grabbing bullshit attempts by service departments, have called Acura Customer Care to register a complaint - these kinds of scumbag service departments make a whole brand look bad! If the person you talk to on the phone at Acura says "oh, we're sorry, there's nothing we can do because it's a franchise" or some other cop out, don't accept that, it's their brand that's on the line, they need to move up the chain of command until they get the issue to someone who can do something.

Not everybody with an Acura has too much money, that they need help getting rid of excess? IMO what they're doing is just as bad as a burglar that breaks into someone's house and steals stuff, or a crack dealer selling crack, or companies selling poor quality goods at ripoff prices - they're all screwing over people to get money that they don't deserve and they're all scumbags that should be stopped. Isn't it actually a crime to lie to a customer and try to sell them something they don't need, or to imply that their warranty will be voided if they don't submit to this unesc. service? Personally, I don't think the service desk guy has a valid excuse if he says "my boss told me to do this" - if your boss tells you to go mug some people on the street, because they need some more money, you say "no". The whole lot of them should serve some jail time unless they voluntarily stop this BS!

FLYGUY31

Christopher.

Cabin air filters cost about $9 and it honestly takes just a few minutes. Why couldn't they give us a "fair" price such as $20 installed instead of trying to "milk a cash cow" (basically reaching into our purses/wallets and taking more than they should). Why do we, as a society, tolerate this type of behavior from businesses? Why do they think it's OK in the first place?

Wouldn't it be nice to live in a society where we don't have everyone trying to rip off everyone else as much as possible?

robscharp05

Amen lets just take over the dealers! They will be better run anyways!

AZuser

Fixed for accuracy

BEAR-AvHistory

All cars come with a maintenance book. Read it before you take the car in. Its what the manufacturer who designed & built the thing says you need. They are not doing you a favor but keeping warrantee claims down. The rest of the BS is dealer upselling to increase their bottom line.

Anyone who believes a SA (commissioned) or the service manager (incentive bonus) need to have a relook to see if Santa is real.

Christopher.

If I could go to a car dealer / service department that had a "no bullshit" policy, I would - that is where I would buy my next car.

I wish we could live in a world where it was a "buyer's market" and businesses had to prove they deserved your business before consumers would even think of spending their money there.

BEAR-AvHistory

Christopher sometimes I think we live on two different planets, you on Planet ACURA me on Earth. All servive departments are NO-BS if you tell the service adviser just do what's in the service manual & don't try upselling because I am not buying the first time he tries it.

Acura can't sell its basic production shift cars so its a buyer market. Its not going to ever get any better then it is. Tell the they have an hour to make the deal or you are gone. You don't like the deal & think they are jerking you around say see you get up & walk out.

We knocked an extra $6K off the Porsche the other day, got more favorable financing terms & pre-paid maintenance for the first 4 years at a steep discount (less then what 4 annual trips would have cost). All it took was me suggesting that we should go over to Performance Porsche as we left. Had a phone message with a better deal before we got home. Walked out on Thursday drove the 2018 Boxster home on Saturday. Total transaction time for both days about 2 hours. Saturday just went in to check & sign the paperwork, skipped the finance guys upsell for protection packages & other stuff like tire insurance had the temp tag hung & drove off.

BTW the same outfit sells Honda, Acura, BMW, Land Rover & a few other makes. The ACURA lot is spilling over into the next door lot so there is a glutt that anyone with a little moxie should be able to exploit.

Christopher.

What I mean is, I want to give my business to a company that doesn't try to screw people "just because they can". You got a better deal than other people because you knew you could. I want to buy my car from a company that will give the person who is totally clueless, a good value for their first purchase, before they "know what to watch out for" or "how to get a good deal". I don't want a service department that advertises one fee, but then tacks on bullshit like "shop fees" because they "have to pay for paper towels and disposing garbage"... No, they are trying to advertise one price to get the customer to come in, but then charge something else because they want more profit. You want to operate your business deceitfully? Well then I want you to go out of business.

BEAR-AvHistory

Which part of slim to none do you want to pick. As uninformed buyer is always going to leave money on the table because the person selling you the product makes more money to support his family or lifestyle by getting more money out of you. Even the occasional we only have salaried car salesmen is a game. The bottom producers quick find themselves at the unemployment office, so they are playing "you bet your job" while they are extracting the last possible cent out of your pocket.

Doing your homework to save a few thousand dollars is well worth the time. I discovered a gap in the way BMW will deliver its cars with Performance Delivery System. The cars come off the boat & go directly to the PDC in Greer, SC.

By franchise agreement any BMW dealer is required to service any BMW under warrantee regardless of where you bought it as long as it was in the USA. This lets me shop the entire country for the best deal on the car. I pick the car up in SC & drive it home after a day of drivers school in BMW's own cars. My two local dealers both service the cars.

Last 3 were 1 from an Atlanta dealer & 2 from west coast dealers.

Write on the blackboard 100 times "The Informed Consumer Will Do Better"