Auto Repair

Hidden Cameras Exposes Oil Change Scams

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Oil-change shop caught scamming customers: Marketplace investigation

CBC Marketplace finds aggressive upselling and services paid for but not performed. An Ontario chain of quick oil-change shops is upselling customers with unnecessary work and not performing services that customers have paid for, a CBC-TV Marketplace investigation has found.

Economy Lube has 12 shops across southwestern Ontario. After speaking with former employees, Marketplace tested Economy Lube’s service, with cars equipped with hidden cameras.

The investigation uncovered a variety of problematic business practices, including aggressive upselling of services that cost hundreds of dollars and were not needed and work that was charged for but not completed.

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Muffler Man repairs not done right

On 05/31/12 I took my car in to the Muffler Man on a referral from a person who works next door to them. My clutch went out and I was leaking oil. My boyfriend said he could get me a clutch cheaper but the shop said they couldn’t warranty it then. They said they could fix it and the leak was my rear main seal for $600.00

I said ok when they took the cover off they called my friend next door over to look at it and there was a bunch of debtis from the previous clutch laying on the cover on the day I got it back my check engine light was on and it made this sqeaking sound everytime the clutch wasn’t engaged. So I went back and was told by Eric the mechanic it just had some dust on it drive it around awhile which I did and it was the same so I went back and this time Carlos and Eric said I needed a clutch cable so I told him to price that for me. I heard nothing back meantime everywhere I go I run into 12-15 mechanics that listen to it and tell me its the throw out bearing, I guess you can order a clutch kit without it and its cheaper!

Anyway the original shop didn’t want to hear about it but told the friend next door it was a combination of the throw out bearing and clutch cable. So I take it to another shop and pay to have it looked at they tell me to take it back immediately that there’s no cover over my clutch its just swing in the wind and im leaking oil from my oil pan gasket bad all over under the car. So I call the original shop and the owner Mike tells me to bring it in. 06/09/12 I hear there going to honor my warranty with the clutch but I needed the cable which is $50.00 and an oil pan gasket that’s $10.00 and they could have messed that up fixing the rear main seal which they won’t admit!

All the while I was posting what was going on, on my Facebook page without naming the shop the next day I get a call from Carlos that they were going to fix my car for $300 but read my posts and won’t do it now. Then the owner calls me and proceeds to yell and tell me I didn’t have a cover when I brought it in and there’s nothing wrong with the car and to come get it within the hour or he’s having it towed. My boyfriend fixed my steering and seen the cover on the car and if it wasn’t in there why didn’t they tell me the first time it was there its pretty important. And why mention it when they took it off the first time.

So now im left with a messed up clutch with no cover and a serious oil leak. And if nothing was wrong with the car what were they going to honor and fix? I think they should do the right thing either fix it right or give me a refund basically I don’t think they did anything but make it worse im a single mom and can’t afford these things and to not have my car.

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