Dealership auto repairs

[tm76]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Massachusetts


Here's my story:


It all started when I took my car for the annual car inspection, my car was rejected due to the front right control arm ball joints. So I called my dealership and set up a service appoint to have this fixed. I stated that I needed the passenger front right control arm ball joints replaced so that it may pass the car inspection and that I had this same problem the previous year with the front left driver side.

On the day of the appointment I was told that my ball joint was perfectly fine and did not need replacement after inspection and what I did need replaced was only the bushings. I stated that I believe the ball joint does need replacement and that was also what the licensed technician noted down on the rejected inspection, the service rep. then proceeded to once again say that no, two of their techs looked at it and the control arm ball joint is perfectly fine and I need to replace the bushings only. I stated that if I replace those bushings and not what I had requested for service and it doesn't pass the inspection what is the dealership going to do?

The service rep then stated that if I failed my re-test that for me to bring in my car and he will pass it. I was weary of this and asked if I can have this in writing as an offer and he said no he can't do that but it wouldn't be a problem. So I said ok and had the repair done and paid 598.26 for it. After being persuaded to replace the bushings and not the control arm ball joint, I once again took my car to the inspection station.

After being re-tested the licensed technician told me that my car still did not pass the inspection and that the same problem why it was rejected was still not resolved, I told him what the dealership advised me and told me and he said that in fact my car is in worse condition than when I had originally brought it in, and that my control arm ball joints need to be replaced.

I called the dealership and the service rep who did my consultation told me to go down and he will pass my car. I then proceeded to say that would not be good enough because come next year I will have to replace a part that I had initially requested to replace but was told by them that it was perfectly fine, and that I wanted my original service repaired at no cost to me.

The dealership offered to look at my car again and continued to say that my ball joints are fine, while the other licensed technician says they need to be replaced. When I stated this to the dealership they said that the other licensed technician is not qualified because he is not a BMW technician. The manager of that department proceeded to say that I can take my car to any BMW shops or technicians referred by him and they will advise me the ball joint was fine. I then stated that I would be willing to bring my car in for a 3rd opinion at an auto shop of my choice, not a BMW shop or a technician of his referral, and if I am told that my ball joints still needed to be replaced what will they be willing to do.

The manager of the service department then stated that his answer would remain the same, they would do nothing, and that he would tell me that those technicians are all not qualified or any technician who tells me that the ball joints need to be replaced is not a qualified technician, because they are not a BMW tech or one he refers, even though they would all be licensed technicians.

The service manager states that I brought in my car for a service that was not needed and they performed one that was needed and I agreed to it and thats the end of it and they are not responsible for anything and do not need to do anything further.

After my car inspection re-test, the dealership asked me to bring in my car to have it looked at and this time around they said that yes, there is a little give and take on the ball joint but not enough to be replaced, which is the main reason why I brought it in for service.

I feel as though I have been scammed to replace parts on my car that I was not looking for to be repaired just so that I can once again schedule an appointment for repairing the same part that I had initially requested to repair. I advised the dealership that if they had repaired what I had initially requested than the fault would be with myself and not with them, and then I would have just scheduled an appointment at a later time for more repairs. So here I am stuck with a rejected inspection sticker still and not knowing where to turn, and looking at another repair bill down the line for a service that should have been done right the first time.

Is there anything or any suggestions you can give me on how to proceed or am I clearly out of luck.

 

[justalayman]

So, what do you want? You aren't entitled to have the ball joint repaired for free. If you can prove the bushings were not in need of replacement, you can, or should be able to, recover the cost of replacing those bushings. The guy that inspected is would have to testify the bushings were fine.

I'm curious; what year and model of BMW is this? Nearly $600 for a couple bushings sounds quite extreme.

 

[Dave1952]

You say that the left side needed ball joints last year and now the right side may need ball joints. One mechanic has failed your car for bad rt. ball joints. Another mechanic insists that they are fine but he's unhappy with your bushings. You have the bushings replaced. The car fails inspection again (mechanic #1?).
Look in your phone book for someone who fixes Beemers and does State inspections. Take it in for an inspection. Don't be surprised if he finds some bad ball joints.

Good luck

 

[tm76]

So, what do you want? You aren't entitled to have the ball joint repaired for free. If you can prove the bushings were not in need of replacement, you can, or should be able to, recover the cost of replacing those bushings. The guy that inspected is would have to testify the bushings were fine.

I'm curious; what year and model of BMW is this? Nearly $600 for a couple bushings sounds quite extreme.

Its an 01 330i, old model! yea 600 for one side of bushings replacement is excessive, the part cost was 258 and the labor was 352, which is also a whole another scam in its own. I filed a consumer complaint w/the attorney general's office for mediation, since I tried talking to the dealership and they won't do anything. If we can't come to an agreement I will just take them to small claims court.

 

[tm76]

You say that the left side needed ball joints last year and now the right side may need ball joints. One mechanic has failed your car for bad rt. ball joints. Another mechanic insists that they are fine but he's unhappy with your bushings. You have the bushings replaced. The car fails inspection again (mechanic #1?).
Look in your phone book for someone who fixes Beemers and does State inspections. Take it in for an inspection. Don't be surprised if he finds some bad ball joints.

Good luck

Yes the first licensed mechanic failed my car for control arm or ball joints front right side. When he says control arm or ball joints, BMW parts for this is only one entire part, the ball joints are not sold seperately it is attached to the control arm. So I called requesting for the replacement of my front right control arm ball joints at the dealership. The BMW dealership says the ball joints and control arm is perfectly fine and its the bushings, I made it clear it wasn't the bushings and that it was the control arm ball joints, he adomently insisted it was the bushings only and two of his techs said the ball joint is perfectly fine. So i replaced the bushings. Took my car back to for the re test and it failed for the same reason, control arm ball joints bad. when I phoned the dealership and talked to them they agreed to put the car back up on the lift, they said the ball joints "had a little play" in them but not bad enough to be replaced and they are not going to do anything, and that the licensed tech who failed me is not qualified and any other licensed tech who tells me I need my ball joints is not qualified unless its a BMW dealership shop or a technician he refers me too, he would not accept any other independant 3rd party licensed technicians answer cause they would all be un-qualified if they said I needed my ball joints replaced.

I know I need my control arm ball joints replaced as I can clearly see a lot of movement when the car is lifted

 

[justalayman]

it appears you can get a lower control arm with a ball joint (apparently they are not available separately) for $200. From my experience working on cars it looks like it could be replaced in less than an hour. So, maybe $300 for a ball joint and lower control arm.

The only bushing I can see that would be replaceable would be the rear swing/pivot point of the control arm. Seems like that would be about 1/2 hour tops and I cannot see the part being more than $100 (but just a guess on that), if that is so, maybe $150 tops.

I can't see $600 for the ball joint and the bushing and the labor to do the work.

dang, I'm going to have to go back to being a mechanic if they can get away with charging $600 for that one bushing.

anyway, the dealership is not liable for the cost to repair the balljoint. You lost nothing and were not injured by not replacing the balljoint, other than possibly the cost of this re-inspection.

As to the bushing; unless you can get a mechanic to testify the bushing did not need replacement, you will likely not get anything there either. While I see the price as exorbitant, it is generally not illegal to rape the customers in this manner. You always have the option of going elsewhere or getting a second estimate to compare. As such, it is generally accepted that since you agreed to the work and the price, it is what it is.

 

[tm76]

it appears you can get a lower control arm with a ball joint (apparently they are not available separately) for $200. From my experience working on cars it looks like it could be replaced in less than an hour. So, maybe $300 for a ball joint and lower control arm.

The only bushing I can see that would be replaceable would be the rear swing/pivot point of the control arm. Seems like that would be about 1/2 hour tops and I cannot see the part being more than $100 (but just a guess on that), if that is so, maybe $150 tops.

I can't see $600 for the ball joint and the bushing and the labor to do the work.

dang, I'm going to have to go back to being a mechanic if they can get away with charging $600 for that one bushing.

anyway, the dealership is not liable for the cost to repair the balljoint. You lost nothing and were not injured by not replacing the balljoint, other than possibly the cost of this re-inspection.

As to the bushing; unless you can get a mechanic to testify the bushing did not need replacement, you will likely not get anything there either. While I see the price as exorbitant, it is generally not illegal to rape the customers in this manner. You always have the option of going elsewhere or getting a second estimate to compare. As such, it is generally accepted that since you agreed to the work and the price, it is what it is.

The charges for the repairs they made were absurd, and yes I know I can go somewhere else to have them done at a lower rate and replacement part!! for you stating that I am not entitled to replacement balljoints at no cost sounds like you don't understand the concept here. Yes I did agree to the work because,

1. He and his technicians confidently told me that my ball joints control arm was "PERFECTLY FINE" and do not need to be replaced to sway me to replace my bushings when that was not why I had called to have my car serviced. I can clearly see that the ball joints are rocking back and fourth up on the lift.

2. The inspection failed again for the reason: ball joints need to be replaced which is the SOLE reason why I brought it in for service.

Therefor I was mislead by the dealership repair service to by stating that my control arm ball joints are perfectly fine and for me to replace the bushings only because that was the only thing wrong w/my car. I now still need to repair what I originally brought my car in for service on, which is the control arm ball joints replacement.

When I brought the car back to the dealership the very next day, they now say that yes there is some play on the ball joint, so how did it go from being "PERFECTLY FINE" to SOME PLAY on it. They scammed me to fix the bushings knowing fully well that my ball joints were not perfectly fine and needed to be replaced. I brought in my car to replace a part that was told did not need to be replaced but yet it still does in turn need to be replaced. I was mislead, decieved, and persuaded to fix a part on my car that I did not request service on, instead of fixing the part I did set an appointment to repair.

The dealership also promised me that they would pass my car if the inspection station did not. But how can they pass me when one station rejected me, they have to follow the same state regulations, and when I brought my vehicle in, the service reps and service directors all started making excuses as to why they would not be able pass me any longer.

Are you only a member?? because I thought this site was a forum for free legal advice from lawyers??

 

[tm76]

it appears you can get a lower control arm with a ball joint (apparently they are not available separately) for $200. From my experience working on cars it looks like it could be replaced in less than an hour. So, maybe $300 for a ball joint and lower control arm.

The only bushing I can see that would be replaceable would be the rear swing/pivot point of the control arm. Seems like that would be about 1/2 hour tops and I cannot see the part being more than $100 (but just a guess on that), if that is so, maybe $150 tops.

I can't see $600 for the ball joint and the bushing and the labor to do the work.

dang, I'm going to have to go back to being a mechanic if they can get away with charging $600 for that one bushing.

anyway, the dealership is not liable for the cost to repair the balljoint. You lost nothing and were not injured by not replacing the balljoint, other than possibly the cost of this re-inspection.

As to the bushing; unless you can get a mechanic to testify the bushing did not need replacement, you will likely not get anything there either. While I see the price as exorbitant, it is generally not illegal to rape the customers in this manner. You always have the option of going elsewhere or getting a second estimate to compare. As such, it is generally accepted that since you agreed to the work and the price, it is what it is.

maybe I should say it like this to you -

you bring in your car to have tires replaced in order to meet state regulations

they say no we looked at it and its Perfectly fine

you need to fix the rim only cause thats what the problem is, you fix the rim and bring your car back - FAILED

reason, need to replace tires, but why didn't you replace them because you were deceived and told that they were PERFECT, so now your out 600 dollars for repairing rims, and have to pay for tires still, what you originally brought your car in for. you bring it back and they tell you, oh yea the tires are bad but not bad enough to be replaced. would you feel as though that was right? or did they scam you to fix something else, knowing your tires still needed to be replaced? Just think about it, you would have had your tires replaced and said you'll think about replacing the rims at a later time or something

 

[justalayman]

=tm76;2730197]The charges for the repairs they made were absurd, and yes I know I can go somewhere else to have them done at a lower rate and replacement part!! for you stating that I am not entitled to replacement balljoints at no cost sounds like you don't understand the concept here. Yes I did agree to the work because,

1. He and his technicians confidently told me that my ball joints control arm was "PERFECTLY FINE" and do not need to be replaced to sway me to replace my bushings when that was not why I had called to have my car serviced. I can clearly see that the ball joints are rocking back and fourth up on the lift.

so?

2. The inspection failed again for the reason: ball joints need to be replaced which is the SOLE reason why I brought it in for service.

and I know that.

Therefor I was mislead by the dealership repair service to by stating that my control arm ball joints are perfectly fine and for me to replace the bushings only because that was the only thing wrong w/my car. I now still need to repair what I originally brought my car in for service on, which is the control arm ball joints replacement.

exactly but that doesn't mean they owe you for the balljoint. They don't.

When I brought the car back to the dealership the very next day, they now say that yes there is some play on the ball joint, so how did it go from being "PERFECTLY FINE" to SOME PLAY on it.

that's something you can ask them. It is irrelevant though.

They scammed me to fix the bushings knowing fully well that my ball joints were not perfectly fine and needed to be replaced.

So? They didn't charge you for the balljoint therefor, no damages.

I brought in my car to replace a part that was told did not need to be replaced but yet it still does in turn need to be replaced. I was mislead, decieved, and persuaded to fix a part on my car that I did not request service on, instead of fixing the part I did set an appointment to repair.

Ya, I get that. That is why you have a claim for the repair you did pay for and if you can prove the bushing wasn't bad, you should win. It does not make them responsible for the cost of installing the balljoint.

The dealership also promised me that they would pass my car if the inspection station did not. But how can they pass me when one station rejected me, they have to follow the same state regulations, and when I brought my vehicle in, the service reps and service directors all started making excuses as to why they would not be able pass me any longer.

complain to the state agency that supervises that then

Are you only a member?? because I thought this site was a forum for free legal advice from lawyers??

Read the TOS

You are not understanding the situation. You are not entitled to the ball joint costs because they never charged you for them. You are not out anything additional (concerning the ball joint) by getting it repaired now. The only thing you are out is maybe the cost of the bushing, if it wasn't actually bad.

Look at it this way.

If the BMW dealer looked at the car, did nothing and said that everything is fine. You go back to the inspection place and they say "nope, balljoint still bad". If you can convince me why the BMW dealer would be liable for the cost of the repair, you win. If you can't, you lose.

When you sue, you sue for damages. Since you paid nothing to repair the balljoint, you have no damages, except for the possible re-inspection fee I spoke of long ago.

The bushing is a totally separate issue.

 

[justalayman]

maybe I should say it like this to you -

you bring in your car to have tires replaced in order to meet state regulations

they say no we looked at it and its Perfectly fine

you need to fix the rim only cause thats what the problem is, you fix the rim and bring your car back - FAILED

reason, need to replace tires, but why didn't you replace them because you were deceived and told that they were PERFECT, so now your out 600 dollars for repairing rims, and have to pay for tires still, what you originally brought your car in for. you bring it back and they tell you, oh yea the tires are bad but not bad enough to be replaced. would you feel as though that was right? or did they scam you to fix something else, knowing your tires still needed to be replaced? Just think about it, you would have had your tires replaced and said you'll think about replacing the rims at a later time or something

It's not a matter of how you feel. It is a matter of damages. Since you paid nothing to replace the tires, you weren't injured and are owed nothing because they didn't replace the tires. Now, you might have a claim for buying the rims but as with your bushing, that is a separate issue.

 

[tm76]

It's not a matter of how you feel. It is a matter of damages. Since you paid nothing to replace the tires, you weren't injured and are owed nothing because they didn't replace the tires. Now, you might have a claim for buying the rims but as with your bushing, that is a separate issue.

if they didn't fix anything and just said that everything was fine and I went back to the inspection and it failed, I wouldn't be having this problem. I'd simply go and get my control arm replaced and then re inspect it. the issue is NOT whether or not my bushings needed to be replaced, that is not the reason why I called my car in for service. They LIED to get me to replace my bushings and not a faulty control arm. I would have declined the bushings replacement and only fixed the control arm. No matter how you swing it, this is an injustice and a deception practice.

thanks for the replies but you don't need to continue to reply, I was hoping to receive some type of free legal advice on here but it seems there is none.

 

[justalayman]

tm76;2730575]if they didn't fix anything and just said that everything was fine and I went back to the inspection and it failed, I wouldn't be having this problem. I'd simply go and get my control arm replaced and then re inspect it.

then go do that and the ONLY thing that would be possibly considered to be damages would be the cost of the bushing. If they can justify that, you don't even have that.

the issue is NOT whether or not my bushings needed to be replaced, that is not the reason why I called my car in for service

.Oh well. It sounds like you should have simply told them "replace the control arm and nothing else".

They LIED to get me to replace my bushings and not a faulty control arm.

Really? You can prove they lied? If so, then you have a claim for the cost of the bushing repair. It still doesn't make them liable for the cost of the control arm repair.

I would have declined the bushings replacement and only fixed the control arm.

then that is what you should have done

No matter how you swing it, this is an injustice and a deception practice.

Not necessarily. It may simply be a matter of opinion. Especially with a rubber bushing, there is a point where professional opinion comes into play as to it being bad or not.

thanks for the replies but you don't need to continue to reply, I was hoping to receive some type of free legal advice on here but it seems there is none.
you got all the advice you need.

Oh well. You are simply wrong that you have a claim for the cost of the control arm. You are out nothing because you didn't fix the control arm. You are out the cost of replacing the bushing and if they can justify it, you have no claim to that either. If you want a lawyer to tell you the same thing, go on down and plunk a couple hundred bucks on somebody;s desk and ask your question. You will get the same answer there as you have here.

 

[tm76]

then go do that and the ONLY thing that would be possibly considered to be damages would be the cost of the bushing. If they can justify that, you don't even have that.

.Oh well. It sounds like you should have simply told them "replace the control arm and nothing else".

Really? You can prove they lied? If so, then you have a claim for the cost of the bushing repair. It still doesn't make them liable for the cost of the control arm repair.

then that is what you should have done

Not necessarily. It may simply be a matter of opinion. Especially with a rubber bushing, there is a point where professional opinion comes into play as to it being bad or not.

Oh well. You are simply wrong that you have a claim for the cost of the control arm. You are out nothing because you didn't fix the control arm. You are out the cost of replacing the bushing and if they can justify it, you have no claim to that either. If you want a lawyer to tell you the same thing, go on down and plunk a couple hundred bucks on somebody;s desk and ask your question. You will get the same answer there as you have here.

LMFAO

you don't know ****, and the bushings FYI are not rubber LOL youre an idiot who likes to troll these posts and be all negative towards people, they may be partly rubber but not entirely rubber.

you like to troll peoples questions and concerns on here and put in your lame ass two cents which you are not even correct. like the post about insurance and ****, FYI in Wisconsin you are not even required to carry insurance to operate your vehicle.

Did I not tell them REPLACE the control arm ?? and did they not come back and lie to me that its perfectly fine?? move along and get a life and stop posting to everyone's questions and concerns acting like you know the ins and outs to everything, specially when your responses are only negative and condescending and not the least bit helpful or encouraging.

As you can see you are blocked and on my ignore list idiot.