Dodgy Customers

Owen

Well, we've all had the dodgy dealers threads, so how about a dodgy customers thread for us Dealers where we can post some anonymous, but humourous (ie: no harm intended) anecdotes?

I'll try one to begin with ... guy came in today with what he described as a pristine Seat Ibiza. As we walked around the car, I asked if it had ever had any damage, and of course the answer is no, until I got close and noticed orange peel all around the vehicle - the whole car had been resprayed - badly! And it was only then he admitted it.

Andrewf20

Talking to a mechanic I know, he was telling me stories of folks who come in asking him to take 40,000 miles off the clock because they want to sell the car.

Another customer apparently was having an ABS warning light on the dash, and he wanted the bulb disconnected, but leave the root cause unfixed, due to the bills it would incur. Again, he was hoping to sell the car.

He refused to do the jobs thankfully.

crosstownk

Ah yes! The dodgy customer. I've had too many to recall. I had a similar one with an Accord that was apparently never crashed - until I look at it and the whole n/s was repainted complete with orange peel and paint runs and other scratches that had been painted over :eek:

I've had plenty of customers who for one reason or another decide that they don't want the car and come up with all sorts of faults (usually of a safety nature) and lo and behold, eventually they tell you they want their money back.

Then there's the nutbags who expect that a puncture should be covered under warranty.

Ah yes - sometimes it can test your patience. But thankfully dodgy customers are few and far between.

Anan1

Years ago, when I was selling cars for a large Dublin VW/Audi/Mercedes dealership, I had a guy come in with a Seat to trade in. I offered him the highest trade-in value I could but he wasn't happy, said he was going to shop around. After he left, I had a chat with the other sales guys and we came to the conclusion that if anything I had offered him too much. Anyway, a couple of days later, sunny Saturday afternoon, garage thronged with people, he arrived back in looking for a higher trade-in value. I politely told him that not only could I improve on my previous offer, but that I could not even offer him quite as much as I had previously. Guess what he did? He started crying. And I don't mean whimpering quietly, I mean full-on CRYING. It was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me at a dealership - everyone staring at me, me just standing there, and this guy in front of me clutching a Golf brochure and balling his eyes out.

Owen

I had a guy tape over the Engine Management Light on his dash with black insulating tape to hide the fact that it was on. The glass being 1cm away from the instruments so not only could you see the light as you stepped into the car, but you could see the tape a mile away.

I've had a man who claimed one of his hard luggage cases fell off, despite the locking mechanisms making this a physical impossibility - we took him into the workshop, explained the mechanism, explained that he couldn't have locked it properly, lifted the bike off the ground by the pannier, shook it around a few times, and he still wouldn't admit his mistake.

Then we had a guy who filled his diesel car with petrol, and it was somehow our fault because we hadn't put a big enough Diesel sticker on the fuel cap.

I could go on and on and on and on ...

Wossack

ned78 wrote:

...
I could go on and on and on and on ...

please do! makin the last hour fly in work here

seamus

Anan1 wrote:

It was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me at a dealership - everyone staring at me, me just standing there, and this guy in front of me clutching a Golf brochure and balling his eyes out.

:eek:
OK, a woman might be easier to sort out and deal with. But a man. Crying in a car dealership?

Some people really will stoop to anything to get money out of others...

Fey!

If it makes ye feel any better, ALL retailers have these kind of customers! At least they represent the minority, otherwise who'd work in sales???

Darragh29

Jesus I so needed to see this thread today!!! Will someone please please explain this to me...!!!

Why do people INSIST on trying to pull off the following the following with independent garages:

(1) "Listen, I want to bring my own parts, can you fit them for me???" There is nothing more annoying or offensive than a customer opening a boot and producing a <snip> bag full of sh1tty car parts that are low quality and cheap. Imagine going into your local Mc Donalds and saying, "Listen mate, I just bought this Granby burger in Eurospar, could you stick in on the grill there for me and throw a few chips in with that for me!?!".

(2) "Listen, I don't want to pay VAT, I don't want a receipt so how much can you do it for cash?!?" Don't even get me started on this one!!! What is the problem with paying the amount thats on the bill, the amount that we agreed before you left your car in here, afterall this is actually a business???

I don't have to deal with sales customers as we don't sell cars here but the two points above really wreck my head in here at times. I can't understand why people wouldn't try this with a main dealer.

Darragh29

Fey! wrote:

If it makes ye feel any better, ALL retailers have these kind of customers! At least they represent the minority, otherwise who'd work in sales???

I have to disagree Fey! The kind of sh1te I get in here at times, like below, people don't try this stuff with mc Donalds or anywhere else!

craichoe

Errr .... My mechanic lets me get my own parts and he'll fit them.

Timing belt Kit

And got a new Steering rack also ... ?

Saves him the hassle of having to go and source stuff and charging you for his time, saying that though i wouldn't go off and buy hokey parts.

Captain Slow IRL

crosstownk wrote:

Then there's the nutbags who expect that a puncture should be covered under warranty.

Haha, If I had a quid for every time I heard this!!

One of our instructors in GMIT had warned us of customers if we were ever selling cars, had a class story -

Sold a car to a neighbour (think it was a newer mondeo), 2 or 3 weeks later, the guy brings the car back, on a tow-truck, saying it overheated and he wanted his money back.
The instructor went to have a look at the car, looked down at the rad, and noticed written in tippex "02 Mondeo Petrol" (obviously from a breakers yard).
He rang around a few friends to try to suss out what happened - the buyer had drove home one night, rotten drunk, clipped the front bumper and rad - emptying the coolant out. And to top it off, the guy went in home, engine still running, until it finally siezed.

How the class did laugh as he concluded the story!

Darragh29

craichoe wrote:

Errr .... My mechanic lets me get my own parts and he'll fit them.

Timing belt Kit

And got a new Steering rack also ... ?

Saves him the hassle of having to go and source stuff and charging you for his time, saying that though i wouldn't go off and buy hokey parts.

I used to "tolerate" this practice until I had one or two customers who brought the wrong parts for their car and tied up my workshop until the right parts came on the scene. I can't understand why people do this. There is no saving to be made for the customer, as the customer is paying full retail price at the motor factor for the parts as opposed to a garage who has negotiated anywhere up to a 50% trade discount which can be passed on as a saving to the customer.

Darragh29

I had a customer once, he came for a pre-NCT. No major problems there. As it happened, the crankcase breather hose pipe at the top of the engine was broken and needed to be replaced. This was going to cost him an extra 22 Euro. I rang him before I ordered the part in so that he would know exactly where he stood with regard to his bill. Anyway, after calling him, he asked me to hold off on ordering the part until he got back to me and he said he would call me straight back. He asked me before he went what the part was called and how much the part cost. So, an hour later he rings back to tell me that he:

(A) Contacted the nearest main dealer for his car brand and checked the price and that I was correct, it was 22 Euro.

(B) He contacted the NCT Customer Services Dept and asked to speak to someone who could talk "technical" with him. After being put on hold for 20 minutes, someone finally confirms to him that yes, his car would fail the NCT if he crankcase breather hose was broken and there was oil pissing out all over the top of his engine due to this.

Finally he rings me and tells me to go on ahead and order the part and fit it as he is happy that it does genuinely need to be changed.

I could understand this approach if a garage tells you that something is wrong and a part costs 220 Euro, but if someone told me that my car would pass the NCT only that I needed a part that cost 22 Euro, I'd be relieved.

This guy opened my eyes as to how scabby and ungrateful some people can be.

colm_mcm

Girl, and two parents come in to look at new car. I inspect trade in, ask the dad if it's ever been in a crash (as obviously some panels had been repaired) bloke said he was the first owner and he had never so much as scratched it. mother and daughter go red - turns out the daughter had damaged it while daddy was away on business, neither of them told him what had happened.

whippet

even though I am not in the trade .. selling a car privately recently. We had agreed a price based on two viewing and subject to a mechanic's check.

After the mechanic checked the motor out I get a call from the buyer .. 'we'll have to knock at least €1000 of the price, the mechanic says it is due a service in 6,500 miles and the timing belt will have to be changed in about 10,000miles.'

I told them to p1ss off and they did call back with the original agreed price the next morning.

MercMad

I’ve had some head wreckers too, and similarly to Anan a woman left her car in for a service and we were doing the fixed priced servicing, she wanted the car tip top as she was touring Kerry with her two young daughters fopr the next two weeks. She worked in a hospital and could not be contacted. Anyway things with the car were fine, it was two years old but the front pads were almost on the metal, like 1mm left. So we changed them.
She came back and when I explained about the brakes she hit the roof ! She shouted and roared at me and told me I had ruined her holiday, she would not be able to feed the kids. I tried to explain the whole safety aspect of things, showed her the old parts…………….she started balling, really roaring. Her being a nurse and all I though she was very unstable with a pretty strange attitude towards the safety of her children. Anyway I coerced her into the office and told her to pay for the normal service and we will send her an invoice in 30 days. Pretty reasonable I though, but she had bought the car there. When she calmed down she accepted and went off happy as Larry ! She came back after a month and went through me for a short cut …..saying “My brakes feel exactly the same as they did when I lefty the car in ! “ I explained that that was normal. Anyway she paid and left.

That was about 15 years ago, so 2 weeks ago I am lying on a hospital bed……………….and guess who walk in !!

Yes…………..she recognised me !!

Plenty more stories…………………..more later……but keep them coming !

DukeDredd

Darragh29 wrote:

Why do people INSIST on trying to pull off the following the following with independent garages:

(1) "Listen, I want to bring my own parts, can you fit them for me???" There is nothing more annoying or offensive than a customer opening a boot and producing a <snip> bag full of sh1tty car parts that are low quality and cheap. Imagine going into your local Mc Donalds and saying, "Listen mate, I just bought this Granby burger in Eurospar, could you stick in on the grill there for me and throw a few chips in with that for me!?!".

I don't have to deal with sales customers as we don't sell cars here but the two points above really wreck my head in here at times. I can't understand why people wouldn't try this with a main dealer.

Well some garages put in sh1tty spurious parts from motor factors e.g. oil filters, brake pads etc when maybe the owner would prefer genuine manufacturer parts?

Saying this i wouldn't be so cheeky as to land on with a bag of bits for a mechanic to put in either!

craichoe

Darragh29 wrote:

I used to "tolerate" this practice until I had one or two customers who brought the wrong parts for their car and tied up my workshop until the right parts came on the scene. I can't understand why people do this. There is no saving to be made for the customer, as the customer is paying full retail price at the motor factor for the parts as opposed to a garage who has negotiated anywhere up to a 50% trade discount which can be passed on as a saving to the customer.

Fair enuff .. Then charge storage for the car, simple as, its not your problem if they order the wrong stuff.

Myself, i can take the time and shop around, whereas my mechanic doesn't have time to be looking for the best price vs how long it will take to get.

If I have a part number or Engine Code + Year + Model theres not really much you can go wrong on.

Saying that though, ordering parts for a Jap Import motorcycle ! OMG .. ARRRGGH ..

I ordered Fork Seals, had the exact part number and ended up receiving a bag of screws.

Eoin

DukeDredd wrote:

Well some garages put in sh1tty spurious parts from motor factors e.g. oil filters, brake pads etc when maybe the owner would prefer genuine manufacturer parts?

Saying this i wouldn't be so cheeky as to land on with a bag of bits for a mechanic to put in either!

Or the other way round, in that some OEM stuff isn't great, and you'd prefer to get after market stuff fitted. I would have absolutely no problem asking my garage to fit parts I had sourced myself.

For instance, if I knew that I should get new brake pads on my next service, what's wrong with taking the time to hunt for the best price, and ask them to fit them? If the garage isn't making that much profit from them, then they shouldn't care.

NeMiSiS

Kinda off topic.. but in the near future I was thinking of selling my car, and it does have a few scratches.. two of the ones I want to get covered were in fact on it when I bought it.. but I wasn't two bothered.

If I was to get the panels resprayed, and then come to sell the car, would this be viewed suspiciously ?
Thanks
TK

Owen

eoin_s wrote:

For instance, if I knew that I should get new brake pads on my next service, what's wrong with taking the time to hunt for the best price, and ask them to fit them? If the garage isn't making that much profit from them, then they shouldn't care.

This should probably be split off into a separate thread, but regardless, it's not about the profit. Most main dealerships have sales targets to hit for their Parts Departments.

I'd a guy supply his own alloys for a MINI last month, and it's taken his supplier a fortnight to locate bolts and spacers. That's 2 weeks I have a car sitting on a forecourt going nowhere, and taking up space as well as time.

Gerry

Darragh29 wrote:

I used to "tolerate" this practice until I had one or two customers who brought the wrong parts for their car and tied up my workshop until the right parts came on the scene. I can't understand why people do this. There is no saving to be made for the customer, as the customer is paying full retail price at the motor factor for the parts as opposed to a garage who has negotiated anywhere up to a 50% trade discount which can be passed on as a saving to the customer.

Sorry Darragh. I can understand you being annoyed with your garage being tied up, but I'm going to point out a few things.

1) Buying parts online can often be near, or cheaper than the trade price, and then theres no markup for the garage.

I recently sourced bilstein b6 shocks for my car. Including shipping, and customs duty, they were 350 euro from shox.com in california.
The uk price is 610 euro including delivery. The irish price - invariably going to be higher again.


2) Most garages rip you off on parts.
I'll give two examples. A former workmate regularly gets charged 120 euro for oil for his e60 520i.
Another friend just paid 600 euro for a set of brake pads for his toureg.
I wonder what the markup was in both those cases.
So Darragh, you seem like a genuine mechanic, but theres so many cowboys out there that people invariably get burned.

Darragh29

Gerry wrote:

Sorry Darragh. I can understand you being annoyed with your garage being tied up, but I'm going to point out a few things.

1) Buying parts online can often be near, or cheaper than the trade price, and then theres no markup for the garage.

I recently sourced bilstein b6 shocks for my car. Including shipping, and customs duty, they were 350 euro from shox.com in california.
The uk price is 610 euro including delivery. The irish price - invariably going to be higher again.


2) Most garages rip you off on parts.
I'll give two examples. A former workmate regularly gets charged 120 euro for oil for his e60 520i.
Another friend just paid 600 euro for a set of brake pads for his toureg.
I wonder what the markup was in both those cases.
So Darragh, you seem like a genuine mechanic, but theres so many cowboys out there that people invariably get burned.

I don't believe most garages rip people off on parts. The garages in the business that are screwing people to the wall are the likes of Belgard Motors who are charging over 100 Euro an hour for labour. I recently rang Belgard Motors to check out what they were charging as I'm planning on opening a garage beside them and competing with them. I nearly fell off my fu*king chair when they quoted 370 for an oil change and "to check the vehicle as per the Volkswagon Service Guidelines"!!!

What I found even harder to understand was when the girl said that they were booked up for 2 months!!!

It's always the independent garage that is viewed with suspicion when it comes to value and service, and my experience is that its the independent garage operator who is one of the more honest participants in the business.

This is my main problem with someone who comes in with a bag of parts, its making a pretty strong statement about my perceived honesty as a supplier or businessman. You may as well say to me, "I don't trust you to (A) Buy the parts for the right price and/or (B) I don't trust you to buy the right quality parts for my car".

Independent garages don't make much money on parts, thats my experience anyway. At the end of the day, a professional garage is a business and like all businesses there are overheads to be paid every month. Just like all other businesses, these overheads are paid by making a profit margin on what is sold. If you don't maintain your margin, you cannot pay your bills, I can't say it simpler than that. People who expect you to fit parts on the basis of the customer supplying these parts are relegating their mechanic to the level of a back street/cowboy operation, thats just my humble opinion.

My contribution to this debate is leave the independent garage operator alone, because he/she isn't screwing anyone in my experience.