Oil changed = damaged fender

[summer4x]

You'd never know it by the shop rate these dealerships are charging. Service is typically the biggest money maker for a dealership, and used car sales.

Right. Back in the day, "mechanics" (as they were known) made commission. They got a percentage of the labor charge, which was sometimes 50% - the shop made half, they made half. That morphed into hourly flat rate which was a far cry from what they used to make. The hourly rate they are paid is sometimes as low as $20 per hour, compared to the $40 to $50 they were making back in the early 80s. When you factor inflation into the mix, the numbers are embarrassing.

As mentioned above, the shops are charging close to $200 per hour now, yet the "techs" are making less than $30 hourly. See what happened? The shops are keeping almost everything to themselves, screwing over the employees.

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[Chupacabra]

I have always gotten oil changes at the dealership during the warranty period out of the fear that If the engine grenades they can’t say “ oil hasn’t been changed according to warranty requirements) how do you “prove “ you changed it yourself?

I have receipts for every DIY oil change showing the brand and type of oil and the oil filter. I keep a log of all the maintenance I perform. That should be more than adequate to prove that I changed the oil on time.

What else am I going to do with 20 quarts of oil and 4 oil filters, shove them up my ***?

 

[2nd 392]

Makes perfect common sense in a sane,honest world, but in today’s environment would it prove the oil was changed according to time and mileage requirements if legal action was required? Perhaps I’m a bit paranoid but it is due to bad experiences

 

[Pig-Pen]

I have receipts for every DIY oil change showing the brand and type of oil and the oil filter. I keep a log of all the maintenance I perform. That should be more than adequate to prove that I changed the oil on time.

What else am I going to do with 20 quarts of oil and 4 oil filters, shove them up my ***?

maybe you forgot to do the oil change and thats why your motor blew up. do you have an video footage of you doing the oil change?? - service advisor

agreed that looks like a box full of oil that was on the ground was placed on the fender. it picked up some gravel on the bottom of the box. seen it many times with the heavy boxes i deal with. if it was a fender cover it would be superficial scratches. deep scratches take some weight.

definitely not from someone putting their foot on the fender. im sure many of you havent experienced how easily these fenders pop off. was working on my jeep and a buddy who was sitting on the ground put his hand on the fender to help him stand up. fender came half off there is NO way you could put your foot or knee on the fender to work on the motor. it would come off and your ass would be on the ground or upside down in the engine bay lol.

do new fenders some pre-painted?? i cant imagine they do. i would think they come prepped for paint and then have to be painted by a shop. from the looks of the pics, if it cant be buffed out then i would think the best course of action would be to have a paint shop sand it, repaint and clear it. i wouldnt even want them removing the fender for the fear of it not going back on properly. as long as the fender is still on nice and solid. as for matching the paint, its a brand new vehicle. it hasnt been sitting in the sun for a couple of years so new paint should match nicely. not to mention, the fenders are plastic and the hood is metal so they typically arent a perfect match as it is. allowing them to have it repainted is also far more feasible than demanding new parts/install. they can send it to the local paint shop they work with and have it done quickly and for a good price (to them). should look like new and everyone is happy. i would think they would be much more agreeable to that then new parts, send to paint, then install (time and $$). which should have the same final outcome anyways.

then maybe ask for a few more complimentary oil changes for your troubles


seriously though, do the oil changes yourself. theyre probably putting in the wrong amount anyways. get yourself a Fumoto oil drain valve (if you offroad, only use one if you have skid plates to protect it). take the used oil to autozone or elsewhere that accepts used oil.

 

[Lawn Jockey]

If they didn’t assume that some folks were going to change their own oil, why then would they include the reset instructions in the owners manual?

It’s all bullshit. Keep your receipts, keep a detailed log and if they have a problem with it hire a great Jewish attorney.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Regarding the fender damage, I think the OP should let his friendly service advisor check it out and decide how to make the repair. If he runs a detailing biz, he may be very knowledgeable about how to fix it. A "new fender" won't necessarily be the best fix. Once the dirt is removed and they get a good look at it, possibly just wet sanding and polishing would fix it, or sanding and repainting the clearcoat, or worse case, the base color and clearcoat may need repainting .

 

[roaniecowpony]

If they didn’t assume that some folks were going to change their own oil, why then would they include the reset instructions in the owners manual?

It’s all bullshit. Keep your receipts, keep a detailed log and if they have a problem with it hire a great Jewish attorney.

I can't recall anyone posting about being challenged for not changing their oil. But I see a lot of threads on these forums over the years about their concern.

I believe the cost of fixing an engine at a dealer is still within the limits ($10,000) of small claims court, in most cases. With that threat, I think most dealers would back down from any false contention about oil changes. Hauling half the dealership into small claims court costs them and then these types of cases are often ruled by pragmatic judges, who won't side with a dealer putting up a smokescreen.

 

[SH556JL]

That really sucks... But I'm not surprised it's an Orlando dealer.

 

[rickinAZ]

I can't recall anyone posting about being challenged for not changing their oil. But I see a lot of threads on these forums over the years about their concern.

I believe the cost of fixing an engine at a dealer is still within the limits ($10,000) of small claims court, in most cases. With that threat, I think most dealers would back down from any false contention about oil changes. Hauling half the dealership into small claims court costs them and then these types of cases are often ruled by pragmatic judges, who won't side with a dealer putting up a smokescreen.

I agree with Roanie. Trust me, if anyone on this forum was denied warranty, there would be a thread a thousand posts long.

 

[JLUW75]

I agree. A mechanic can make lots of money but it comes at an expense. For example, they need to supply all their own tools (which is expensive). Top it off, then they get paid flat rate. So that means, if a mechanic gets a job that pays 6 hours of labor and they can get it done in 4, they get paid for 6. This is nothing new as it's been around this way since at least the early 60's. Thus, dealers (plus many repair shops) want their mechanics to get the job done as fast as possible.

What else happens is that the service manager knows which mechanics are the good ones are. Thus, they get the more technical jobs. The not so good ones get things like tire rotations and oil changes. So, the good tech is penalized because he will get the job done right even though it will take the full time that the manufacturer lists to pay for it. The bad one cranks out a 30 minute oil change in 10 minutes and makes 20 minutes of money. He can repeat this all day long and thus make more than the good mechanic. Thus the good mechanic leaves and goes elsewhere.

Where I work, it's interesting. I only get paid an hourly rate. This is because I'm part time and can take off whenever I want. This is because I do engineering in racing and that pays way better (that's a seasonable job). I only do the regular service just because they are friends and I like to see local independent shops survive. Right now, getting a good mechanic is really hard. In the end, I'm overkill for where I work but I rarely have a comeback and it usually takes me longer to do a job, as compared to the other guys. Thus I get the more difficult ones.

For example, I just did a boatload of work on an old Dodge truck that is a farm truck. It was parked for 5 years in a field (thus it was a mess). Now it's back up and running and the owner is happy. Plus I took my time and didn't break 20 other things just to rush the job. Same thing for a 1989 Jeep I did. In the end, I even fixed his FOD (those are vacuum operated) because that thing wasn't working for years (thus it was only 2wd). Owner is over the top as he can now use it in the winter. It's the little things. Right now it's fall, does anyone take out all of the leaves on the cowl and throw them away, so you have a clean cowl? I do. Why? Because that's what I do. Does anyone notice? So far only 1 out of 100 do.

Speaking of oil changes, I keep getting these emails from my dealer to come in for service. So one time I went to the online site and looked for an appointment for an oil change. NOTHING was available at all. I got bored and stopped looking around the middle of March 2022. Can you believe that? No appointments at all. I felt something was odd so I tried again but this time I added a bunch of things like coolant flush, brake flush, and transmission oil flush, and suddenly appointments started to pop up left and right. I could take my pick of day and time. Isn't that interesting?

 

[JLUW75]

Right. Back in the day, "mechanics" (as they were known) made commission. They got a percentage of the labor charge, which was sometimes 50% - the shop made half, they made half. That morphed into hourly flat rate which was a far cry from what they used to make. The hourly rate they are paid is sometimes as low as $20 per hour, compared to the $40 to $50 they were making back in the early 80s. When you factor inflation into the mix, the numbers are embarrassing.

As mentioned above, the shops are charging close to $200 per hour now, yet the "techs" are making less than $30 hourly. See what happened? The shops are keeping almost everything to themselves, screwing over the employees.

With the recent increase in inflation and the fight for a $15/hour min wage, You could get $13/hr working at Walmart or McDonalds. That will put a lot of pressure on those entry-level techs at dealerships. They won't find anyone to do those jobs because it is easier to just work at McDonald or Walmart.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

“Quick” oil change shops and the express lube bays at your dealer don’t hire anyone who is ASE certified. These guys are hired at minimun wage, or the lowest possible pay, and given little on the job training. Many dealers even have a dedicated area for oil changes that is separate from where the certified techs work. There’s no way a dealer makes money on a $19.95 or even a $29.95 oil change with a “35 point inspection”. And I’m sure the dealers hate the “Jeep Wave” oil changes the most. I have no idea what, if any, the dealer gets reimbursed for on those. It’s probably spun as a selling point that benefits the dealer, so I’m guessing nothing.

I’ve never seen a warranty claim denied because someone couldn’t show receipts. They can tell if the there is a maintenance or abuse issue pretty quick. If there is a defective part, they get reimbursed, usually slowly and at a lesser rate, from the factory.

If someone comes in and demands warranty on an engine that has 20k miles and a factory installed oil filter (they are different and they can tell), low oil, abuse, owner caused damage, they can see all of that and then the owner of that vehicle would have issues.

 

[viper88]

With the recent increase in inflation and the fight for a $15/hour min wage, You could get $13/hr working at Walmart or McDonalds. That will put a lot of pressure on those entry-level techs at dealerships. They won't find anyone to do those jobs because it is easier to just work at McDonald or Walmart.

One saving grace is many people choose to work on cars as techs because they like it. They have a interest in automobiles. It's more than a job. They like being around and working on cars.

EV is probably going to change the automotive service landscape. There will be less demand in the future for as many hands on techs.

 

[ECP]

According to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, it's illegal for manufacturers or dealers to void your warranty or deny you coverage because you performed the work yourself.

So you can change your own oil without fear of being denied warranty claims - unless of course they can prove you didn't do the work or did it incorrectly.

Waiting to hear back from OP...

 

[GrayHawk20]

Update: Stopped by the service area before going to work, and showed my advisor, the advisor I dealt with and the service manager. And they were all surprised to see the damage. Service Manager will get ahold of the body shop since it is fixable, I’ll be the final judge when it’s done. Service Manager was apologetic for the persons F*ck up and said he’d be talking to his tech staff, looks like they can check who performed the work on the 392. More updates to follow as they come.

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