do people that work at oil-change places get commission?

[Syrinx]

I took the car in for an oil change yesterday.

The gentleman who was helping me informed me that I need a "fuel system service" as well.

So I told him to go ahead and take care of it. That was about $50 extra.

Then after he did that, he said that I needed a new belt, too. He said that would be another fifty bucks. I declined because I only had a hundred bucks with me.

He seemed like a friendly honest guy. But I'm wondering, do these people get commission on their sales?

[KitchenWitch]

1. I don't know, but it would not surprise me

[Syrinx]

3. hey KitchenWitch!

Not long ago I came across an "old" picture of you and liberaltrucker. And I noticed I have the same glasses as you (or very close). I only wear them when I'm driving. Other times I'm glad to not see most of what is going on. :)

[KitchenWitch]

4. Cool

I love my glasses. They have a magnetic clip on sunglass as well.

[Syrinx]

6. I used to wear contacts

But it got to be such a hassle. I haven't try the disposable ones, but it's an inviting idea. Plus I'm scared of eye fungus.

Did ya'll get to hang out any?

[KitchenWitch]

9. We ate lunch!

It was a great meeting.

[Syrinx]

12. I think I live near the dude

I'm always on lookout for the big red truck with the DU sticker. I'll run into him one day!

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

14. I am sure you will

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. Fifty bucks for a *belt*??

Unless it's a serpentine, you would've gotten rooked. Again.

I swear, all car places ram pistons up our butts. :grr:

[Syrinx]

5. I don't know what a serpentine belt is

I'm not very knowledgable about working on cars. My dad was a master mechanic, but he didn't have the patience to teach me.

It wasn't quite $50. $46.95 or something like that. But it included labor. (Is that bad?)

I had a friend that a few years ago that took a relatively new car into the dealership where he bought it for some routine service. They claimed he needed all kinds of repairs costing a couple thousand dollars. My friend was savvy enough to know what they were saying was BS. He called the boss (a very prominent and rich guy around here) and called him on it. He said "are you accusing me of being a crook?) Etc., etc. :)

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. It's one belt

that drives all the pulleys — cam, a/c compressor, p/s pump, etc. They're expensive because they're long, and often toothed. They're found more on newer cars.

A standard V-belt shouldn't cost more than a few bucks, and depending on where it is, the time to change it should run anywhere from five minutes to maybe half an hour.

It's hard for me to gauge, really, since I do all my own automotive work unless it involves pulling the engine or transmission. But, yeah, that seems like a lot for a V-belt.

[Syrinx]

13. thanks for the help!

DU has saved me a few bucks over the years.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

They could have been worse

My Jeep had the service light stay on even after getting the oil change it was due. My stepdad told me to just bring it to the Jeep dealership and get it checked out. They called me back to say that the car (which was running PERFECTLY fine) needed $1900 in repairs. We picked up the car and he brought it to his regular place. The car needed something replaced and it cost around $300. That is a HUGE fucking difference. Apparently, the dealership wanted to replace everything that may potentially be a problem within the next 5,000 miles, but could just as likely not be a problem.

[Syrinx]

8. I'd replace every part every 1,000 miles...

... If I were Bill Gates. :)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. It's a Jeep with 137,000 miles on it.

I'll be driving it for less than a year then it's getting donated. It runs great and it's old enough that we're not going to premptively fix anything.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. They could have been worse

My Jeep had the service light stay on even after getting the oil change it was due. My stepdad told me to just bring it to the Jeep dealership and get it checked out. They called me back to say that the car (which was running PERFECTLY fine) needed $1900 in repairs. We picked up the car and he brought it to his regular place. The car needed something replaced and it cost around $300. That is a HUGE fucking difference. Apparently, the dealership wanted to replace everything that may potentially be a problem within the next 5,000 miles, but could just as likely not be a problem.

[RebelOne]

15. When I get my oil changed,

I tell them to just change the oil and do not try to sell me anything else.