Am I fair calling BS on this?

[RockJustRock]

A female acquaintance drives a Candy Apple Red 2009 Sebring. I know, lame car, but she cherishes it. She just took it in for one of her faithful dealer oil changes and service. They told her she had a leaky strut and oil pan gasket. They "attempted" to get it covered as extended warranty. After waiting a day for that result she was so concerned she decided to spring for the $950 for the repairs. I recommended she just check her oil more often and wait for the ride to deteriorate significantly, but it's "her baby". Shenanigans or not? I thought the "leaky shock" thing was a perpetual scam and a modern engine, gently female driven, seems very unlikely to rot/blow a pan gasket.

[pdub]

How much did they charge her for turn signal fluid?

[RockJustRock]

I guess that is one vote for scam......

[JOES66FURY]

at 100 bucks an hour labor the cost seems legit.....Does it NEED done? That is the big question...some of us would let it ride until it was puking oil all over the driveway others not so much. I've had seals go bad on cars just a few years old...had a rear main puke out on a Sunbird with 20K on the clock....I guess the only way to know is to look for yourself.

[Big Dave]

Dis they check her muffler bearing????

[Dan Barlow]

Did they load 3000 more starts in the starter too?

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

cars 5 years old, it's due for struts, well honestly, PAST due.. the oil leak.. if it's the mopar 3.7ltr v6.. yup I'd get it fixed.. they blow up easy enough on their own.. never mind a leak.. me I'd have to have seen the leak. and watch the oil to see if it was worth bothering with..

[oletrux4evr]

Sebrings are really Mitsubishis, and are usually very reliable and durable................the oil leak would probably not be a real problem until it becomes excessive, so I agree with Mark on that one. Struts? Yes. Guess I agree with Mark on that one too........

[LORENSWIFE]

gently female driven, seems very unlikely to rot/blow a pan gasket.

Gently female driven?!? I guess most women are gentle on cars but ask my husband, daughter, sister etc. I am a frightful vehicle operator, not really proud of that but what is, is...

I have a Sebring that I LOVE but have not driven in a long time, miss that car!

[Loren]

My attitude about "suggested repairs" is, it's a scam until they can prove it's not. They may have acted so concerned that the problem was so significant that when she hesitated at the expense they offered to try to get it under warranty just so she would be safe on the road...after a day or two of all this urgency playing on her conscience, when the warranty thing was not looking good she was convinced it was worth stepping up and paying for the repairs herself.

Meanwhile, score one for the service manager and his knowledge and command of human nature. Did the car really need $950 of repair? You'll never know now...possibly not, but the service dept. certainly has bills it needs to pay and numbers it needs to meet.

We had a similar situation once with my wife's car having a "bent rear control arm", on being busted for it our fine Chrysler service manager just ran away to hide for ten minutes as corrupt little sh#theads will do. One of my first jobs was working for a very dishonest shop in a very dishonest part of town, it was extremely educational and there were some amazing opportunities (including for to get in trouble) for a naive little kid as I was and with that I can often still smell lies in the air, when I have the stomach for feeling like paying attention to it. You wouldn't believe the predatory attitude (and skill/techniques) of some people, your best defense is to simply do your own due diligence on any little helpful suggestions you get that also happen to cost a pile of money.

And incidentally, I always say, "an honest mechanic can make a very good living. A dishonest one can do even better"...hopefully your friend was in the hands of the former.

[redneckjoe69]

she should have waited for the warranty claim to be approved,...then had the work performed.

[RockJustRock]

Well..... after some research on the interweb I came across an idea for her to test them. She needs to ask if they also checked the PVC system, valve AND tubing. Might help....

[Beagle]

Gently female driven?!? I guess most women are gentle on cars but ask my husband, daughter, sister etc. I am a frightful vehicle operator, not really proud of that but what is, is...

I have a Sebring that I LOVE but have not driven in a long time, miss that car!

We've seen what your transportation does to you... now we know why!

Just kiddin with ya Gail. My mom was not a gentle driver, no fear of redline in any gear.

RJR, the shock being blown out is way more common these days than I remember it being when I was younger. My dad is 84, used to drive about 8,000 a year on his 2009 Camry, about 45k gentle highway miles. He's no hotrod and as far as I know wasn't chasing squirrels over curbs or motocrossing it either. It needs struts already. It may be legit and will probably improve the ride significantly.

[Barry Donovan]

Well..... after some research on the interweb I came across an idea for her to test them. She needs to ask if they also checked the PVC system, valve AND tubing. Might help....

the pricing is BullS***, but they are making a living.

my first thoughts, as a real mechanic...was the pcv.
if it all checks out, she is in a bad environment.

my own public servicing tours, I learned that a leaky pan is a car defending itself. Most often a repeat customer to swap out the old oil. No need for super gaskets and a few more inch pounds on the pan bolts to blow it up.

I have since learned to use a pressure relief in a billet filter. (one Wants to to see the strange leak there).. but it still gets the pan sometimes. just clean it off.

[Mater]

struts go out on them pretty quick if it;s just the one the other 3 will probably go out soon

the oil leak on a 3.7 i would get it done them have oiling issues to begin with. but i would of also requested to see leaks my self. they don't let you in to see they don;t get my money as we had people come in all the time when i worked at the ford dealer if they requested to veiw the parts that where broke, bent, or leaking