Is this a rip-off?

[dbsanders]

Here's the story. My mother has a 2000 Camry, with 35,000 miles. Yes, 35,000. It does sit for 3-4 months at a time, as she travels frequently. She has had oil changes (maybe not enough of them, but every 5k-8k) and new tires and brakes, but no other work done.

Anyway, it started slowly leaking a red fluid. Transmission, brake, I don't know as I didn't look at it. She took it to the Toyota dealer in Costa Mesa, CA.

They apparently told her that since the car was 11 years old, and it should have a BUNCH of work done. New timing belt, other belts/hoses, new water pump, ALL the seals replaced (they didn't know which was leaking apparently). It was all sold to her as "preventative maintenance" that should be done before something else fails. Maybe $2,000 worth of work.

Wish she would have called me first, but she authorized the work to be done. Is all this work really a good idea? Is just the age of the car enough to warrant replacing things, even though there are only 35k miles on the engine?

[Safari Wagon]

Wow! Another case of dealer taking advantage of people.... You can probably replace the whole transmission for that much!
I am not saying the work they are doing is bad, but most of it is probably unecessary. You should get a list of what they do and post it. It could be something minor that would be inexpensive to fix.

[71Corolla]

That is an absolute rip off, and worse the car probably didn't need 90% of the work! What dealership is that so other people can avoid it.

[pmesfun]

I would say the only thing it probably needs is new fluids, and fix what's actually leaking. Everything else is unnecessary.

[dbsanders]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

That is an absolute rip off, and worse the car probably didn't need 90% of the work! What dealership is that so other people can avoid it.

This was South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa, California. Avoid like the plague.

[71Corolla]

I would arrange to talk to the service manager there, give them a chance to explain themselves. If you don't get anywhere with that, log a complaint with the BBB they are an accredited member.

It's almost impossible for a car at that mileage/age to need those kinds of repairs. Especially considering that generation of Camry is exceptionally reliable.

[agni]

$2000 for "preventative maintenance"? I'm really sorry to hear that man. I sometimes wonder if some dealerships have training sessions on how to prey on women and the elderly. I would demand that they save all of the old parts so that you can verify that they did indeed do all of the work.

[fenixus]

probably they want to replace all rubber pieces on the car

yeah, I wouldn't go that far, flush all fluids and find what's leaking, probably a trans pan gasket leaking ATF fluid - that's one of 2 OEM red fluids. the other one is the coolant, so maybe some hose, radiator or water pump leaks, that MAY get pricey at dealer with their parts @ MSRP.

OEM Power Steering fluid despite being same type as in automatic transmission is transparent (no color), so that excludes the P/S leak.

another side of story is that rubber like to deteriorate in some climates (unlikely for California, especially if car was garaged), so it might be a good idea to replace periodically hoses, belts and stuff ... but if there is nothing visibly wrong with it and car runs fine (timing belt not stretched, drive belts under good tension, no other leaks) then just fix what it needs, probably $30 in aftermarket parts and cost of a new ATF (if that's the transmission pan leaking from gasket).

another approach, make them find the leak and show it to you, and then agree only to that repair service and maybe all fluids flush (but that can get pricey at dealer too as they will again want to do bunch of other stuff to "save" on labor).

good luck!
keep us posted.

[Eye8Pussies]

2K sounds like too much, but 1K work of work, def.


I would def. replace all timing belt related parts, including all seals and gaskets and probably change hte water pump too while it's all being done , all valve cover seals, sparkplug seals, tranny pan seals and change all fluids. I would also be tempted to change the top and bottom rad hoses as well.

all that could easily add up to more than 1K, but I'm not too sure how it could add up to 2K. Also. it's totally BS that they can't figure out which seal was leaking the atf fluid.

[xpeed]

New timing belt and water pump? They're trying to milk you. Toyota manual lists that you only need to change the timing belt and water pump after 90-100k miles. In your case, the car barely has 40k miles so no, it doesn't need to be replaced. Seals are probably still good. Just find what's the source of the leak. if it's red, it could be coolant or transmission which is a easy fix with some new seals. Never go to the dealer to fix your car as they will charge you unnecessary crap that you don't need and overcharge you on labor in which they probably don't do much work most of the time.

[pmx007PL]

Nobody mentioned another source of ATF red oil leak = differential (worn axles seals).
In 11 years old car it's also possible option (but first power steering and transmission oil pan must be examined).

[zythr]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

I would arrange to talk to the service manager there, give them a chance to explain themselves. If you don't get anywhere with that, log a complaint with the BBB they are an accredited member.

It's almost impossible for a car at that mileage/age to need those kinds of repairs. Especially considering that generation of Camry is exceptionally reliable.

She authorized the work to be done already, so there is little that can be done, other than to post a bad review, but the dealership can then say, that they did not "force" an agreement for the work, Lesson learned in this case.

[dave255]

They are absolutely taking advantage of your mother, it's a shame she didn't call you first. The original timing belt and water pump on my 95 Camry currently have 247,000 miles on them and are still working perfectly.

[Bdub215]

Originally Posted by xpeed

New timing belt and water pump? They're trying to milk you. Toyota manual lists that you only need to change the timing belt and water pump after 90-100k miles. In your case, the car barely has 40k miles so no, it doesn't need to be replaced. Seals are probably still good. Just find what's the source of the leak. if it's red, it could be coolant or transmission which is a easy fix with some new seals. Never go to the dealer to fix your car as they will charge you unnecessary crap that you don't need and overcharge you on labor in which they probably don't do much work most of the time.

What's the service interval for a t-belt? It gives mileage And it should give a year. Almost all parts are like that. I don't see what the big deal is here. I'd be happy an 11 year old tbelt was off my car along with fresh seals that happen to get hard over time. Maybe I'm crazy.


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[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by zythr

She authorized the work to be done already, so there is little that can be done, other than to post a bad review, but the dealership can then say, that they did not "force" an agreement for the work, Lesson learned in this case.

True.

But doing work that is not needed is still dishonest. If a shop told you need all new tires even if you did not, even if you agreed to pay for them, they're still ripping you off. But dealerships do this kind of thing all the time, my concern would be that they actually replaced the parts they said they did. It would not surprise me in the least if they didn't. Especially on a very low mileage car, very easy to get away with.

Always ask for your old parts back (many dealerships have it as a checkbox on the service form).