I filled in my advice for all the above. Its a honda… it doesnt need anything crazy and also if its a lease, all you need is oil changes and tire rotations for 3 years and return it to them.
ever notice how if the customer pays for service, you gotta do an oil change every 5k miles + everything else under the sun? But if free maintenance is included, the first oil change isn’t until like 12k+ miles based on the adaptive maintenance reminder? It’s all a game.
No, I have not noticed. Any free maintenance I have been offered I have utilized on my schedule. Oil changes every 5k. No one has ever turned me away fro trying to use the free service at my discretion.
And i thought MB is the only one that charges $800 for 30k service.
Your friend’s husband is a total fool 
Your point is well taken! To you and I we can’t fathom of doing such a thing. “Total fool” might be bit harsh though.
He’s a very nice guy with a soft heart, and is actually a pretty well known musician as the lead performer for a professional sports team. He’s just not good with negotiations and pressure. That’s why there are people like you and me to help all of our friends like that!
BAHAHAHAHA. Nice.
Which brand is this? I asked for maintenance before it was due on my BMW and was turned away. Don’t know what would happen if I insisted though.
The free maintenance is by miles and/or months whichever comes first. It is also a count so if its not due yet and you insist, dealer will just use the next nearest one. Well this is my experience on different brands incl bmw. I havee never requested maintenance >2k mi or >3 mos before actual free maintenance so dont know how early can one insist.
If he’s as well known as you say he is, it’s possible that the dealer knew this too and just shot their shot assuming that he can afford it. Being a bad negotiator is one thing, but compounded with notoriety I could see someone in that position not wanting to look stupid for questioning the service advisor, or even worse, look cheap.
Surprisingly enough… Ford.
Prime candidate for dealer shafting
Were you turned away from free maintenance or paid maintenance? I can see being turned away for free maintenance as BMW isn’t going to pick up the tab before you need something done. If turned away from paid maintenance, one could deduce that’s a decent and honest SA trying to save you some $$$.
If only he capitalized on such friends prior to being ripped off.
Free maintenance during lease term.
couple weeks back i went to acura dealer for oil change and yearly inspection(NY) for 15 RDX, it has only 27k miles so far and 1hour later while i was waiting, service advisor told me that their head mechanic checked and it needs
- brake light bulb
- emission system cleanup
- drive belt replacement ( they said it has cracks)
- brake line flush and fluid change
- timing belt is worn out and need replacement along with spark plugs
i even asked as vehicle was still under warranty(15 days were left) and they said its regular maintenance and not covered under warranty. before they were really good in terms of customer service and advise so i agreed to get first 4 things done along with oil change and inspection and i told them i will come some other day for timing belt and plugs, total for services authorized was approx 900 while timing belt and plugs were another 750.
few mins later i was just hanging in their lot and saw my RDX parked outside washing area and few mins later the guy who was supposed to wash the car asked if i need it washed or not. so i asked him if everything is done and he confirmed that everything is done and vehicle is ready for release, then i raise issue that how is it possible to finish 900$ worth of maintenance in 10 mins while they took 1 house for simple oil change.
he went inside quickly to check and service advisor came running that he is sorry and he mixed up info with another RDX and my RDX didnot need anything except oil change.
generally after oil change they fill a status report for car, where they fill level of fluids/battery/tires etc. and when i went to pay i found it empty ( my guess is they changed the original one with new one, as original had all recommended services written on it, along with details of my car) so i had to raise the issuue again and they said mechanic might have forgotten to fill it.
i am still confused that they were trying to trick me or it was genuine mistake where they mixed up cars, seeing the new and empty status report makes me think that they were trying to trick and luckily it didnot happened otherwise i would have been in hole for 1000 bucks approx.
If you traditionally had a good experience with them in the past, it’s very possible that it was an honest mistake (though, a hard one to believe…) I wouldn’t look too much into it, but it was great that you caught the mistake and did not pay for some one else’s maintenance. I was about locked and loaded with a “Spark plugs and timing belts should never be done that early…”
Always be vigilant!
All of that shouldn’t need to be done in a 27k mileage car, they are trying to take you for a ride. I’d complain to the service manager. I’ve never heard of a Honda timing belt wearing out by 27k. That stealership is trying to rob you blind. Spark plugs, I’d tell them to get bent. Do you always go along with what they say? They might see you as an easy target.
I see now that it was a mix up, I’d still bring it up with the service manager.
I’m not surprised in the least you were turned down trying to do free maintenance early then.
yeah me too. It was a request out of convenience. I didnt mind to take it back after two months. I had nothing but good experience with my BMW dealer . Maintenance being free was probably the factor… 