Often, it\u2019s not the big things that deflate your trust in your fellow humans. It\u2019s the small, petty, pre-meditated stuff\u2014the representative that won\u2019t call you back, the subscription that\u2019s impossible to cancel, the new car problem just after the vehicle has been serviced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a TikTok viewed more than 215,000 times, conspiracy hunter and truth seeker @shittystateofmind2 says that a recent oil change left him feeling like he\u2019d been \u201cset up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something Isn\u2019t Adding Up<\/p>\n
Under an on-screen banner that said, \u201cSomething isn\u2019t adding up,\u201d the TikTok creator explained that he felt like a recent encounter at the car dealership was poor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I trippin\u2019, or has anybody else gone through this [expletive]?\u201d he asked. Then explained, \u201cI take my car to the dealership, right? Just to get a simple oil change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said all went smoothly at the dealership. But he said that when he went to start his car, the \u201cvery next day,\u201d it wouldn\u2019t start. \u201cIt is completely dead,\u201d he said. He said he fiddled with the vehicle a bit and figured out that the issue was with his starter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, he said he called his mechanic, one who is not affiliated with the dealership. He said the mechanic agreed to replace<\/a> his starter for $500. So, he brought the vehicle in, and, according to him, that\u2019s when things get suspicious.\u00a0<\/p>\n Did Someone Tamper With His Starter?\u00a0<\/p>\n The TikToker said the mechanic<\/a> called him shortly after starting to work, asking, \u201cHey, who the hell worked on your car last?”\u00a0<\/p>\n The customer said that after he told the mechanic he got service at a dealership, the mechanic told him, \u201cI can\u2019t say for certain, but it looks like somebody unscrewed your starter. And if I can guess, it would probably be the last person who worked on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Dealership Making Problems To Get Paid\u2019<\/p>\n The video ends with just a beat so the vehicle\u2019s owner can stare silently into the camera for a second or two. He\u2019s letting the audience draw their own conclusions. The consensus? That, as one person speculated, the \u201cDealership [is] making problems to get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n Another user agrees, writing, \u201cThis is why I stopped going to the dealership. It just seemed like every time I went they always managed to \u2018find\u2019 additional things that needed replacing. The third-party garage I go to now only fixes what I ask to be fixed and if they point out anything else it\u2019s because it\u2019s an obvious problem, they don\u2019t go looking for things.\u201d<\/p>\n But other commenters detect a hole in the story: \u201cI’m not a mechanic. But if the starter was disconnected, how did it start at the dealer?\u201d asked Winter Soldier 05 (@firstsergeant05).<\/p>\n And then GorditoBonito (@roasrtedpig1) offered a plausible explanation: \u201cThey might\u2019ve left the nut barely holding on so driving over bumps on the road it would come off causing the cable to come off. Because you\u2019re right there\u2019s no way it should\u2019ve started at the dealer if they had fully disconnected it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do Dealerships Really Cause Problems Only To \u2018Fix\u2019 Them?\u00a0<\/p>\n Anecdotal research (Reddit<\/a>) shows that while it\u2019s highly unlikely that a dealership would tamper with a vehicle to generate work, they might not always do what\u2019s in the best interest of the vehicle. In a \u201cconfessional\u201d article on Edmunds<\/a>, a former dealership service writer admits that often, service sales trumped vehicle care. The writer said he was regularly at odds with his bosses because \u201cThey wanted me to sell more, to recommend service that wasn’t needed and to overcharge for the work being done.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He explains that dealerships can get away with behavior like this because many car owners don\u2019t take the time to consult their vehicle\u2019s owner\u2019s manual. Because specific vehicles need specific care, it\u2019s not a one-size-fits-all approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are also sales techniques and phrases that are deployed that are designed to impart a feeling of urgency or convenience. The example of \u201cgetting things done while the customer is already at the dealership\u201d is given because no one likes to spend half a day on a dealer\u2019s lot. Or safety language like, “\u2019There’s less than 50 percent of your brake pads left.\u2019 That sounds bad but actually it isn’t time to get a brake job until that number is much closer to 15.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the upsell, where the car is basically fine but the dealership may recommend mileage-based services (often fluid checks and fills). But these are worth checking against a vehicle manual, too. As the author said, \u201cIn one case, I looked at the dealer-recommended service and compared it to the owner’s manual \u2014 it had almost doubled the service frequency from the manual.\u201d<\/p>\n So, while the dealership can offer great service and vehicle knowledge, as an owner, it pays to familiarize yourself with your specific automotive needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Motor1 reached out to @shittystateofmind2 via TikTok direct message and with a comment on his post. We will update this if he replies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \n \t\tWe want your opinion!\n\t<\/p>\n What would you like to see on Motor1.com?<\/p>\n