Building a solid relationship with the shop that takes care of your vehicles isn’t an easy task. Just finding one that you can trust completely is a challenge, even though there are plenty of quality facilities out there.
With more and more technology creating an ever-widening gap of working knowledge between vehicles and their owners, having trust in our service providers has never been more important. So, what’s all this have to do with the “Ever since you—” debate? Plenty.
For those not familiar with this refrain, it’s used by vehicle owners to try to improve their position with their service provider. It goes along the lines of “Ever since you changed my oil, the signals don’t work, so you must have broken something.” Now this example is pretty exaggerated, and will bring a chuckle out of even those with the least amount of automotive knowledge, but you get the idea.
Sometimes these debates start off innocently enough, mostly because someone really didn’t know better. But they can often be deliberate, since customers know that shop managers – and especially dealership department heads – will often give in to minor yet unrealistic client claims, just to avoid bad manufacturer surveys or social-media site scores.
If you have an “Ever since you—” concern with your regular service provider, tread carefully and ask questions of the manager in private, not at a busy service counter. If you’ve got a legitimate concern, you should be able to work things out. If not, and especially if your approach is way less polite, don’t be surprised if you’re shown the door and asked never to return, leaving you on the hunt for a new shop.
Here are a few common examples, and how things should be handled to get to a happy conclusion.
“Ever since you rotated my tires, there’s a wheel vibration”
This is entirely possible, and likely not the shop’s fault. For the most part, tire and rim assemblies are balanced off the vehicle. When a tire moves to a new position, it can vibrate, because the match between it and the wheel hub isn’t perfect. Answer: You may be on the hook for a re-balance.
“Ever since you updated my radio’s software, my playlist is gone”
When infotainment systems develop glitches — and it seems to be more common these days — automakers scramble to develop software patches. Sometimes these come with detailed instructions on how to save embedded music, but sometimes not.
If you’re told an update is needed, and you’ve got a playlist that took you hours to choose and upload, ask about the risk of losing it, and if the tech can download it onto a temporary drive to be reinstalled afterwards. Almost any newer infotainment system may require an update, so do what IT folks have been recommending for years: Create your own backup file.
“Ever since you replaced my engine, I’ve got no heat inside the car”
This one may require a little diagnosis to determine if the shop is at fault, or whether you’ve got a new and unrelated problem. If it is caused by low coolant level, the tech probably didn’t make sure all the air in the system was expelled, and a simple, no-charge top-up should resolve things. But if an HVAC control behind the dash isn’t working, be prepared for a new repair estimate. Cars are complicated machines, and right after you’ve repaired something else, it is possible that more things could go wrong.
