After buying a car, the ensuing problem is the repair and maintenance. In general, we often choose to relatively standardized 4S stores for maintenance and repair, however, there is also a risk of being pitched. Below, I'll share with you my experience of being pitted in a 4S store.
On a weekend last year, I drove to an out-of-town business trip. On the way, I suddenly felt the vehicle stalling and the gas didn't work. I didn't realize at the time that it could be a mechanical problem, I thought it was a fuel consumption issue, so I simply found a 4S store nearby to have it checked.
During the inspection at the 4S store, the mechanic told me that it was the spark plugs, throttle, etc. that needed to be replaced, and that the cost would be around 20,000 yen. I was hearing this price, the whole person froze. However, the return date of the business trip is already imminent, there is no any other choice, I have to be hard to pinch the car into the repair shop.
When I got my car and determined that the 20,000 dollar repair bill was something I really needed to pay, I was still a little baffled. How did such a high cost come about? I then began my own investigation.
First of all, I spoke to a number of automotive industry experts and came to the conclusion that my car was indeed breaking down, but that the stated 20,000 repair bill was just too high. On the other hand, I also looked up repair manuals for similar models and found some problems myself against the checklist: it seems that some of the repair costs were unnecessary. For example, I rechecked the spark plugs and found that they weren't that big of a problem and didn't need to be replaced. Also, when checking the throttle, I found a small scratch on the new part, so it should have been damage from the overall replacement, but it was tested as usual.
My doubts and suspicions were confirmed and proved to be true. I went to other repair places to check it out and they told me that the repairs could cost between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars if done realistically, which is nowhere near as high as what the 4S store was billing. All this is a wake-up call to me that when problems arise in the future, I must have more specialized knowledge and not be fooled by unnecessary store operations.
To summarize, being screwed by a 4S store is a very unpleasant thing. But if we know more and stay alert, we can keep unnecessary losses to a minimum right at the repair and maintenance stage. We need to be less careless and more thoughtful and cautious. I hope that my experience to everyone, in the choice of 4S store more understanding, more forensics, do not be needless repair costs.